The following courses were designed during my time at University of Florida; Musical Data Structures has since been proposed and delivered at Ohio State as well. (titles link to syllabi)

Musical Data Structures

In this seminar, we will engage with computational methods for the analysis and generation of musical materials and structures to better understand how humans produce and interact with them. Topics covered include music representation and encoding, feature extraction and music information retrieval, corpus studies, analytical and generative machine learning techniques, data sonification, and multimodal human-computer interaction. These techniques will be considered in the context of many different aesthetics, styles, genres, theoretical frameworks, and societal contexts.
Credits: 3
Pre-requisites: none
Population: U/G

Finding Your Voice in the Era of AI

The voice is often referred to as the first instrument, and arguably, it is the instrument with which we are all most familiar. From the very moment we are born, we are all quite adept at using our voices to get what we want through a variety of vocalizations that become increasingly sophisticated and complex over time, ultimately shaping who we are and how we engage with the world around us. However, despite this extreme familiarity and technical facility, the voice is also the instrument that most defies attempts at classification and theory – and especially, technological reproduction and mediation. Artificial intelligence is drastically changing the landscape of voice technology, and with it, our relationship to ourselves and those around us. In addition to its seemingly limitless expressive capabilities, the voice is one of the most important sites for the construction and communication of identity, both individually and societally. Together, we will explore questions of embodiment, agency, and power through the context of the voice and its intersections with many aspects of our varied identities, including (but not limited to) race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, age, sexual orientation, and (dis)ability, with an eye toward deepening our understanding of how our voices influence our own and other people’s understandings of themselves in an increasingly diverse and technologically-mediated global society.

This course is highly interdisciplinary in nature; readings, viewings, and listenings are drawn from a variety of sources including scientific journals, magazines and newspapers, works of art, and social media platforms like TikTok, in fields ranging from neuroscience, linguistics, and computer science to the performing arts, popular culture, and political science. Topics covered will include sonic cognition, linguistics, voice recording, transmission, and synthesis technologies, artificial intelligence and machine learning, disability, the media, and democracy and representation. Through hands-on creative and technical projects (such as creating AI-generated art, training a neural network using one’s own voice, and producing a podcast episode), writing both an analytical paper and short self-reflection statements, and in-class discussions, we will explore what it means to have, to use, to generate, and to manipulate a voice in modern society – and what the future may hold for our voices.
Credits: 3
Pre-requisites: none
Population: U (in particular, first years)

Electronic Arts Ensemble

This course explores composing and coding for and performance with live electronic musical
instruments. We will also cover fundamentals of sound synthesis, audio programming, instrument
design, human-computer interaction, sound-driven multimedia, data sonification, and electronic
concert production and documentation. Using the instruments that they design, students will perform
their electronic works and works of their colleagues during a two concert experiences over the course
of the semester. Participation in the final concert is required.
Credits: 1
Pre-requisites: none
Population: U/G