Walden School - Summer Program

Overview

Curriculum

Schedule

Faculty

Computer Music Program

Composers in the 21st century consider the computer to be an instrument. As with any instrument a composer requires guidance, practice, patience and a strong artistic sensibility to evoke the beauty of music from its keys. Historically speaking, at the dawn of the 20th century it was common to find a piano in the average home, and many young people were educated in the art of playing and composing for the piano. Now rather than a piano, one is more likely to find a computer in the majority of homes. However, society at large and even established institutions of music learning, have not recognized the importance of training musicians, particularly composers, to use computers effectively in their creative endeavors.

Therefore, The Walden School offers a program that nurtures young composers in the art of composing music on and for a computer, and of combining computer generated music with acoustic music. At Walden students learn to use state of the art computers, high-quality recording equipment, and current computer software programs, which manipulate and transform sound. They also learn how to write, notate, and perform electro acoustic music.

The Curriculum

Computer Musicianship is the entry-level course in Walden School's computer music curriculum. It offers basic computer skills (as necessary), experience in using a DAT recorder, and instruction in transferring sound from DAT tape to a computer. In addition, students learn how to use the software they will need for computer music composition later on. They artfully manipulate and transform their recorded sounds and complete several small-scale creative projects over the course of the summer.

Computer Music Composition builds on the skills and concepts learned in Computer Musicianship. Students create larger-scale electronic or electro / acoustic compositions and present them on Composers Forums.

Electro-Acoustic Music Literature rounds out our student's experience by introducing them to the seminal composers of the computer music field and their music. Through creative listening and discussion, students are guided to develop the language and skills necessary to discuss and analyze this genre of music.