Generative Music

Syllabus for Generative Music Fall 2018

View the Project on GitHub handav/itp_fall_2018

Generative Music, NYU ITP, Fall 2018

Instructor: Hannah Davis | hannah.davis@nyu.edu | @ahandvanish

Description


This 4 point course will go over the field of generative music, from its inception to the current state. The course will focus on both the history and technical implementation of generative music systems. We will work up from older practices (such as Markov chains) to the current intersection of music and machine learning, examining deep neural networks.

This course aims to provide machine learning literacy as well as an overview of the various tools for generative music. Students will come out of the course with several small generative music projects of their own. This will be a primarily workshop-style course with a few lectures and guest speakers.

We will use p5.js/ml5.js as well as Python and command line tools.

Note: this is a 12-week class spread over the 14-week semester. There will be NO CLASS on Thursday, September 27th, Thursday, November 1st, and Thursday, November 8th. There will be one makeup class on Monday, November 12th.

Course information


Evaluation:

Code for each class as well as homework assignments and readings will be found at https://github.com/handav/itp_fall_2018/tree/master/classes.

Assignments can be submitted at https://github.com/handav/itp_fall_2018/wiki.

Office hours are late Thursdays afternoon in person, and occasional Monday hours online. You may also request other hours. Sign up: Office Hours.

Syllabus (subject to change)


1. September 6

2. September 13

3. September 20

No class September 27

4. October 4

5. October 11

6. October 18

7. October 25

No class November 1

No class November 8 – makeup class November 12

8. Monday November 12

9. November 15

No class November 22nd, Thanksgiving

10. November 29

11. December 6

12. December 13


Statements


STATEMENT OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as though it were your own. More specifically, plagiarism is to present as your own: A sequence of words quoted without quotation marks from another writer or a paraphrased passage from another writer’s work or facts, ideas or images composed by someone else.

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLE

The core of the educational experience at the Tisch School of the Arts is the creation of original academic and artistic work by students for the critical review of faculty members. It is therefore of the utmost importance that students at all times provide their instructors with an accurate sense of their current abilities and knowledge in order to receive appropriate constructive criticism and advice. Any attempt to evade that essential, transparent transaction between instructor and student through plagiarism or cheating is educationally self-defeating and a grave violation of Tisch School of the Arts community standards. For all the details on plagiarism, please refer to page 10 of the Tisch School of the Arts, Policies and Procedures Handbook, which can be found online at: http://students.tisch.nyu.edu/page/home.html

STATEMENT ON ACCESSIBILITY

Please feel free to make suggestions to your instructor about ways in which this class could become more accessible to you. Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities. Please contact the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980 for further information.

STATEMENT ON COUNSELING AND WELLNESS

Your health and safety are a priority at NYU. If you experience any health or mental health issues during this course, we encourage you to utilize the support services of the 24/7 NYU Wellness Exchange 212-443-9999. Also, all students who may require an academic accommodation due to a qualified disability, physical or mental, please register with the Moses Center 212-998-4980. Please let your instructor know if you need help connecting to these resources.

STATEMENT ON USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

Laptops will be an essential part of the course and may be used in class during workshops and for taking notes in lecture. Laptops must be closed during class discussions and student presentations. Phone use in class is strictly prohibited unless directly related to a presentation of your own work or if you are asked to do so as part of the curriculum.