PLOrk fall2007

General Information

this is not *just* a " PLOrk seminar"; we're calling it "Tech Band" and addressing more general issues facing composers and performers integrating technology into performance, and also how technology can create new performance paradigms. PLOrk will, however, remain a resource and constant point of reference. Hands-on with both:

• hardware (basic electronics, speakers and so on, inspired by Nic Collins' workshop last year; also sensor and microcontroller stuff, etc...)
• coding (ChucK and Max/MSP).

projects from members of the seminar will likely drive things as we proceed, and we will undoubtedly form a band ourselves, do some improvising and composing together, and, if there is interest, put on a performance and/or "house 'o sound" after the semester.

• primary meeting time: Th 1:30-4:20, McAlpin and/or Studio B; assistance setting up may be requested for many of these meetings

Important Dates

• November 7 (tentative) and 8 (definite); performances in DC area.
  • Not everyone will be involved, and this is a PLOrk-specific performance.

Hardware Resources

books and other readings

• get Nic Collins' book on hardware hacking
• Reed Ghazala's book on circuit-bending is also a blast
• Bart Hopkins' book on instrument building has lots of great info about building musical things out of metal, wood, glass, and so on...
• Dan O'Sullivan's book on Physical Computing
• check out the proceedings from past NIME conferences (New Interfaces for Musical Expression) for ideas and general wackiness
• PLOrk Reader; lots and lots of reading relevant to PLOrk and this seminar in general. please add as you see fit, and ask me for the password for protected papers if you can't guess it.

campus stuff

• if you haven't visited Perry's soundlab do so!
• Perry's Human-Computer Interfacing course is also relevant.
• there is a machine shop class offered in the Engineering Quad; useful primarily for metal-working, though wood and plastic is also possible. contact Larry McIntyre about taking this 5-week course to get access to the shop and learn your way around.

arduino stuff

• Arduino microncontroller resources
  • tutorials
  • useful introductory notes from a different course (check out the "class notes" pdfs)
  • assembly tutorial for the ProtoShield; a useful way to get comfortable with some basic electronics assembly and end up with something useful (we have the parts for a few of these on hand if you'd like to build one).
  • another super easy protoshield; $10 at Radio Shack

places to get stuff

• don't forget Radio Shack
• All Electronics is great!
• DigiKey
• Jameco
• great resource for speaker components (thanks seth!)
• amazing miniature amplifier boards. these are all T-amp boards, like the $30 Sonic Impact amps. more on the T-amp here.

Software Resources

• ChucK
• max/msp/jitter

Class Notes

we'll put up notes from each weekly meeting as needed

Week 1

• hasn't happened yet!

Other Stuff

• go ahead, put stuff here that might be useful/interesting/hilarious/just stupid
• check out this for gutting an inexpensive Sonic Impact T-amp. great if you want to embed it and/or battery power it somewhere small.