Those pieces can be listened to here:
What was interesting, though, was the fact that there was no basic melody accompanying the songs, so the only things that the listener could discern between the two was the fact that there were different beats being employed and the different forms of sound density that allowed for a variety of sounds.
The programs that we will be using this semester are as follows: Frequency, SPEAR, Recycle, Radial, Reason, and Logic. Each has its own distinct purpose. For example, Professor Kojs illustrated to us how certain programs are used to create basic beats and rhythms, while other programs are used to modify the sounds within a certain song to create a perfectly fleshed out song that matches the composer's liking.
After giving us a brief introduction of the course, Kojs began his lectures discussing the intricacies of sound and acoustics and how certain sounds can be artificially constructed by layering simple sounds on top of other simple sounds to create more complex sounds. Additionally, Acoustics can be measured in four separate categories:
1) frequency
2) amplitude
3) time
4) frequency spectrum
Frequency spectrum relates to the timbre of the sound, or it can be interpreted as the "fullness" of the sound. This spectrum is directly connected to which frequencies are being generated at any given moment.
On a different note, Professor Kojs discussed the intricacies of the beat of a certain piece of music and how this can affect the feel of any given piece. Specifically, Kojs cited the Mission Impossible theme song (5/4 time) and Pink Floyd's Money (7/4 time) as examples of irregular beats that work because of this tense irregularity:
After delving into the specifics of what a sound consists of, Professor Kojs led his next discussion to talk about the different instruments that began the cultural phenomenon of electronic music. Following a brief discussion about the history of basic instruments such as the piano and the violin, Kojs introduced the more bizarre, yet seemingly genius forms of music synthesis. One example, in particular, stood out in my mind: the "Theremin"
The Theremin is a type of instrument, as you'll see, that generates sound based off the mere positioning of one's hands within an electric field. Rather than being a traditional instrument where sounds are generated by tangible vibrations, the Theremin creates its sound based on the relative positioning of one's hands and thereby creates a very electronic-sounding sound that can't really be replicated anyway else.
So that's what's happened in the first couple of weeks. The rest of the semester should be fantastic.
-MK
