Project 7: Composition

No Late Days; due April 21 on Google Forms!

Project 7 due Monday, April 21, 2025 by 11:59PM Eastern

No peer grading.

NO LATE DAYS ALLOWED – HANDIN VIA Google Forms, not ATutor

Concert dates: In class during Week 14 Apr 22/24

Description

Project 7 will be an ambitious computer music composition that you create by combining techniques we have explored during the semester. Your goal is to create a composition that is technically ambitious (combining at least four major techniques in Nyquist), and is a compelling listening experience (visit Jesse Stiles’ Spotify playlist for inspiration).

Your composition will be primarily composed and executed in Nyquist. You may optionally use DAWs such as FL Studio, Ableton, Logic, etc. to mix, edit, master, etc., but we expect that most of your creative effort will center around the Nyquist programming techniques covered in the course. Optimize for interesting exploration in computer music programming moreso than “sounding good” in a conventional music sense.

Your piece may, of course, be created using Nyquist alone. We will have an award for the best computer music composition (as judged by peers) that is fully executable in Nyquist, i.e., not mixed with any external software. Your work will be immortalized online as the inaugural winner of the Dannenberg Award for executable computer music, alongside winners from future editions of the course. The winner will also receive a small surprise memento to commemorate their achievement. Please specify in your andrewid_p7_answers.txt file if your submission qualifies (fully realized in Nyquist).

All compositions will be presented at one of the final ICM concerts in class during Week 14. Please limit your piece to stereo (2-channel) audio.

Assessment will based on:

  1. Completeness – Audio requirements are fulfilled, code, slides, and text are included according to specifications below.
  2. Code – Code is included and compiles.
  3. Significant use of Nyquist – Your piece must include at least four major techniques explored in the course. For example: granular synthesis, FM synthesis, spectral processing, physical models, sampling/looping, etc. At least one of the techniques must be a score processing method, for example: patterns, Markov chains, granular synthesis (as a way of generating musical material rather than sound design), etc. In your report, you will document where each technique is used and how it is used.
  4. Composition quality – Your piece should demonstrate effort exploring musical and technical possibilities and should present an interesting listening experience.
  5. Mixing – The various sounds created for your piece should be mixed with intentionality. You should control the amplitude of all sounds over time so that they are balanced and the listeners’ attention is focused to aspects of the music which you wish to highlight. Your piece should contain no common mixing errors such as clipping or clicks. If you wish to include these types of sounds intentionally for artistic effect please explain this in your program notes and explain your reasoning for why this decision was made.

Additionally, citing and license compliance - all source material must be properly cited. You may use sounds from Freesound w/ proper license compliance (usually attrbution statement in your andrewid_p7_answers.txt file). You may not use more than 5s of any copyrighted music recordings or sounds from commercial sample libraries. If you do use these, you must include the clips you used (max 5s each) in andrewid_p7_source. You may use musical scores (e.g. MIDI files) collected from external sources, though you must submit/cite the source and also modify the scores in some way (e.g., using patterns to create arpeggiations of chords). Failure to properly cite audio/score sources may be considered an academic integrity violation.

Audio Requirements

Submit your audio file as andrewid_p7_comp.wav. (For example, acarnegi_p7_comp.wav .) It must adhere to these requirements:

  • Stereo file
  • WAV format
  • 16 bits, 44.1 kHz
  • No clipping
  • Must be normalized
  • Must not contain long periods of silence
  • 90-120 seconds long

If you compose a longer piece and feel that cutting it down to 120 seconds significantly reduces its quality, you may also submit an extended version, which will be taken into consideration in grading.

Visual requirements

In andrewid_p7_slide.pdf, submit a slide, in the form of a one-page landscape 16:9 PDF, to be projected while your piece is played. You should include an image in the slide that relates to your music and include the title of your piece, your name (optional, feel free to remain anonymous), and any additional text you wish. The image can come from anywhere, and does not need to be original work. Your complete program notes will be printed in the program, so you do not need a lot of text on the slide. Hopefully, the slide will add an engaging visual aspect to the concert, so please strive for an aesthetic, artistic presentation.

If you wish to create “live visuals” to accompany your piece rather than a slide, please instead submit andrewid_p7_video.mp4 (16:9, ideally 1080p) and embed your audio file into the video. (You must also submit a wav file even if you submit a video). Tools like Open Broadcaster Software may come in handy for preparing this MP4.

Questions

Include the answers to the following questions in andrewid_p7_answers.txt:

  1. What were your inspirations, motivations, and music composition goals for this work? Give a short summary.
  2. What Nyquist programming techniques did you use in this work? For each technique, briefly describe how it works in your program code. A reminder that at least one must be a score processing technique
  3. What mixing techniques you use in this work? Try to be concise.
  4. Do you have any additional comments for the graders?
  5. Do you give permission for your piece to be made available online after the concert?
  6. Is your piece fully executable in Nyquist? If so, would you like to be considered for the Dannenberg Award (see above)? If selected, this would require your permission to have your name, code, and audio permanently inscribed on a special website.

Program notes

You should also submit the following in andrewid_p7_notes.txt:

  • On the first line: the title of your composition.
  • On the second line: the name by which you would like to appear in the program (can be an artist moniker or “Anonymous”).
  • After that: your program notes. You may use LaTeX syntax if you want to include any formatting. Keep your notes to a maximum of 200 words.

SUBMISSION VIA GOOGLE FORMS, NOT ATUTOR

  • SUBMIT HERE: https://forms.gle/4crritbCFXrUpEMz5 . Must submit under your CMU Andrew Google Drive account. 100MB maximum. You may revise your submission up until the deadline. You may need to press “Submit a new response” instead of “Edit response” - we will grade the file with the latest timestamp before the submission deadline. Contact us if there are any issues with file upload.

If you’re uploading a video file for the concert and exceeding the 100MB limit, feel free to instead include andrewid_p7_video.txt with a Google Drive link to download your MP4 (make sure to enable sharing!).

Please create a zip file named andrewid_p7.zip containing the following files (at the top level, not inside an extra directory except for the composition source files):

  • Your composition sound file: andrewid_p7_comp.wav
  • Your composition source code in folder: andrewid_p7_source/, e.g., andrewid_p7_source/{composition,lib}.sal
  • Any audio source files: also include under andrewid_p7_source/ folder
  • Your slide(s): andrewid_p7_slide.pdf or andrew_p7_video.mp4
  • Answers to the above questions: andrewid_p7_answers.txt
  • Program notes: andrewid_p7_notes.txt (anything you want to be shared with your classmates about your composition, e.g., creative motivation or technical details)

Rubric

Total of 20 points

(4 pts) Audio Requirements

  • Does the final audio file meet the requirements as specified in the assignment? 1 point each: stereo/wav/16-bit/44.1kHz, clipping free and normalized, no long periods of silence, between 60-120 seconds.
    • 4 to >3.0 pts: All Requirements met
    • 3 to >2.0 pts: 3 Requirements Met
    • 2 to >1.0 pts: 2 Requirements Met
    • 1 to >0.0 pts: 1 Requirement Met
    • 0 pts: No requirements met/No sound file

(1 pt) Visual Requirements

  • Does the submission include a slide or video file that is suitable for use in the final concert with the relevant information included?
    • 1 pts: Full Marks
    • 0 pts: No Marks

(1 pt) Q1: Motivation

  • Does the response indicate what the motivation was that led to the composition? What is the theme or goal that drove the creative process?
    • 1 pts: Full Marks
    • 0 pts: No Marks

(5 pts) Q2: Nyquist techniques

  • Does the response include a concise explanation of each Nyquist technique used? (1 point per technique)
    • 5 pts: At Least 4 Techniques Explained Well and at least one of them is a score processing technique
    • 4 pts: At Least 4 Techniques Explained Well
    • 3 pts: 3 Techniques Explained Well
    • 2 pts: 2 Techniques Explained Well
    • 1 pts: 1 Technique Explained Well
    • 0 pts: No answer/No techniques explained correctly

(1 pt) Q3: Mixing Techniques

  • Does the response concisely describe how mixing was used to build or enhance the final composition?
    • 1 pts: Full Marks
    • 0 pts: No Marks

(1 pt) Program Notes

  • Did the submission include interesting program notes that can be included in the program? Did the notes say something about how the composition was created, either through mixing and/or Nyquist elements?
    • 1 pts: Program Notes Submitted
    • 0 pts: No Program Notes

(1 pt) File Submission: Correct Format and Names

  • Did the submission have files named correctly and archived in the zip file correctly?
    • 1 pts: Full Marks
    • 0 pts: No Marks

(2 pts) Uniqueness of Nyquist Implementations

  • How unique or creative are the Nyquist implementations as compared to examples done in class? Are the Nyquist techniques very small modifications of class examples, or did the submission include unique variants or experimentations starting from the initial examples?
    • 2 pts: Techniques are Very Unique and/or Complex
    • 1 pts: Techniques Show Some Development but stick close to Class Examples
    • 0 pts: Examples Replicate Course Examples

(2 pts) Overall Creativity

  • What is the overall impact of the final composition, as a whole? Does the composition evoke a reaction from the audience or connect well with the intended meaning from the composer?
    • 2 pts: Composition Has Impact/Evokes A Response
    • 1 pts: Composition relates to overall motivation but does not evoke a strong reaction
    • 0 pts: Composition is Uninspiring

(2 pts) Concert Attendance

  • Did the student attend both classes during Week 14 (Apr 22/24) for the concerts?
    • 2 pts: Both classes attended
    • 0 pts: Zero or one classes attended