This is a first course in computer programming for students with no prior experience. Students will learn the core process of programming: given a problem statement, how does one design an algorithm to solve that particular problem and then implement the algorithm in a computer program? The course will also introduce elementary programming concepts like basic control concepts (such as conditional statements and loops) and a few essential data types (e.g., integers and doubles). Exposure to programming will be through a self-contained user-friendly programming environment, widely used by the scientific and engineering communities, such as Matlab. The course will cover problems from all fields of science, engineering, and business.
This is an introductory programming course using the Java language. The topics include: basic facts about object-oriented programming and Java through inheritance and exceptions; recursion; UML diagrams and how to read class diagrams; ethics in computer science; and some basic understanding about computer systems: the compile/link/interpret/ execute cycle and data representation.
Limits, the derivatives of functions of one variable, differentiation rules, and applications of the derivative.Definite integrals for functions of one variable, antiderivatives, the Fundamental Theorem, integration techniques, and applications of the integral.
The primary focus of this course will be the theoretical study of sound and light wave theory as it relates to productions techniques: for audio, the basics of transducer technology and signal flow; for vision, electromagnetic waveforms, theory of optics, and the different applications of capturing visuals through digital means. At the completion of the course, students will be able to understand wave theory, transducer theory, basic acoustic properties of sound and hearing, basic understanding of characteristics of light and color, signal flow and practical applications of the above. Ultimately students will have the theoretical foundations to develop their audio/visual engineering skills as an art form. Not for general Humanities credit.
This course involves production tools available in hardware and software utilized to make compositions and sound tracks for an array of visual and live performance environments. The course provides an introduction to these areas, offering background important to other courses in the program that students may take in the future. Topics include the music business, general recording studio protocol, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), basic recording techniques with ProTools, techno music production sequencing with Digital Performer, synthesizer history and programming, electronic music and synthestration, interactive applications such as MAX, sound design, digital sampling for visual art support with Mach 5, and sound-effect libraries, music programs for the Web Quicktime, Real Audio, and Windows Media Player applications, mastering with ProTools Plug-Ins, Peak, Roxio Jam and Toast, and MP3 creation and web uploading and distribution with e-commerce.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
This course emphasizes the biological underpinnings of behavior and of mental processes. What do we know? How do we come to know? What do we want? Why do we act the way we do? In this course these fundamental questions of psychology are mainly looked at from a biological perspective that emphasizes the study of the brain and nervous systems. Historical, philosophical, and evolutionary perspectives on mental processes are considered, as well.
An introduction to issues and theories in Life Span Development, Personality Theory, and psychological disorders. Topics include cognitive and social development, attachment, moral thinking, and psychoanalytical theory. Focus is placed on those seminal theories that have had lasting import for psychology as well as other disciplines. These theories include, but are not limited to, those of Piaget, Erikson, and Freud.
An analysis of the historical development of psychology. Issues such as perception, learning, cognition, and memory are explored within the context of various schools of thought.
This course is designed only for undergraduate students in Business and Liberal Arts majors. It introduces basic concepts and methods in probability. Topics includes the definition of sample spaces, events, and their probabilities; elementary combinatorics and counting techniques; and conditional probability, the total probability, and Bayes' Theorem. The course also deals with concepts of discrete and continuous random variables and probability distributions; multi-random variables and their joint distributions; the mean, variance, and covariance of random variables; and the Central Limit Theorem and t-distributions.
Mixing consoles in project studios will be explored and more advanced techniques in dynamics, equalization, reverberation, and signal processing. Students will meet in small groups for at least four hours a week to execute organized studio "hands on" lab exercises. Students will experience the producing and recording of a more advanced multi-track song project at the completion of the course. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) revolutionized the production world of electronic music. This course will explore the fine details of the code, as well as the everyday studio and stage use of the protocol. The student will explore all types of synthesis techniques via keyboards, tone modules, and software plug-ins. There will also be an overview of traditional electronic music from the last century to the present. In the weekly lab, the student will explore the software and hardware interconnection process and create an artistic experiment in electronic music as a final project.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
With the presumption of no previous formal study, Music Theory I presents the fundamental materials and procedures of tonal music. The students are introduced to elements of music theory, including scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, seventh chords, Roman numeral and figured bass analysis, 4-part writing, and first species counterpoint. Aural skills are developed with the introduction to "fixed-do" solfege.
The cultural convergence of music, performance, theater, and visual art has variously been termed multimedia, hybrid arts, intermedia, interdisciplinary arts, and transmedia, among others. This course looks at how artistic disciplines inform one another and how parallel developments in technology have played a significant role in the history of the arts and music, from early tribal rituals to our contemporary digital age. Organized as a historical survey of technology and the arts, the course will move beyond the idea of the arts as simple modes of expression to consider how it has been an active site of cultural practice. The course will begin with the concept of “techne,” first used in antiquity, as a means of establishing the philosophical basis of creative practice and showing the fundamental unity between art, science and technology. Through weekly lectures, readings, and discussion, we will explore the many ways that science and technology informs and inspires the creative production. By the end of the course students will understand the ways in which diverse modalities of artistic practice function as forms of symbolic communication with aesthetic material, cultural and political dimensions.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
Each student is encouraged to either give solo performances or to join a student ensemble and take part in a series of performances on campus, as well as in other metropolitan New York City stages. Many of the performances will be recorded and marketed by the student-run media label. The student will need to attend weekly rehearsals and participate in at least one performance each semester.
Lecture will be based around advanced implementation of recording techniques and procedures in the professional studio environment. Students will end the semester with; a thorough understanding of large frame in-line audio mixing consoles, additional advanced microphone placement techniques, and understanding of transducer experimentation. Synchronization between analog machines and digital audio workstations and MIDI interfaces will be explored. The student will gain the ability to troubleshoot and avoid externally generated noise in an audio system. Students will experience the entire engineering process that goes into integrating tracks from a live recording session with songs, from running the original recording session to producing the final mix. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.
Music Theory II continues the presentation of the material and procedures of tonal music with the study of harmonic syntax as it pertains to tonal cadences, intermediary harmonies modulation and tonicization in major and minor, and fundamental concepts of diatonic sequences. Students continue their mastery of 4-part writing with Roman numeral and figured bass analysis and undertake writing assignments in second and third species counterpoint in two voices. Aural skills are developed with alto clef "fixed-do" solfege primarily in minor.
In this course, student will review western Baroque to Classic music from 1600 to 1780, from several perspectives: as individual expressions of various composers, as examples of particular styles and forms, as analytic problems, and as artworks derived from changing social circumstances. This course emphasizes the development of skills in talking and writing about piano, pipe organ, orchestral and early opera music. Some composers include Bach, Vivaldi, Purcell, Pachebel, and Handel. The course will in discussions, assigned readings, oral presentations, and periodic examinations. Goals: To learn by reading notation and listening to samples of the earliest forms of music; To acquire verbal skills which are needed to explain music styles; To learn about the culture of the time which inspired the compositions. Outcomes: This is a continuation in Music History commencing with the earliest forms of the Baroque era from 1600 to the Classic Era near through the 1700's The student will receive an overview of the styles, learn about the social system of the period which directed the style and will also learn specifics about individual instruments which were used to create the sound.
All Music and Technology majors are required to take four semesters of musical instrument instruction. After choosing an instrument (subject to availability), the student will be assigned an instructor with whom weekly lessons are arranged. Lessons are 1 hour/week with grade evaluations based on a combination of homework and in-class performance. The first two semesters of lessons are taken under HMU 496, while the second two are under HMU 497 and require a recital/performance.
Each student is encouraged to either give solo performances or to join a student ensemble and take part in a series of performances on campus, as well as in other metropolitan New York City stages. Many of the performances will be recorded and marketed by the student-run media label. The student will need to attend weekly rehearsals and participate in at least one performance each semester.
As the final semester of Sound Recording Arts, students are expected to fully understand the basic principles of audio engineering and the studio environment as a workplace. This class is designed to specifically address digital audio production. Although many of the topics have been mentioned in previous classes, course work will require in depth analysis of the many elements of this production format. Additionally, we will be studying in depth, advanced audio techniques. Students will be required to bring an audio example every class to be evaluated and attempt to recreate using the studio as lab. By the end of the semester, students will understand advanced principals of digital recording and the practical application thereof. Additionally, students will have in depth experiential knowledge of recording practices and advanced production techniques. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective
Pre-Requisite: HMU 333 Sound Recording III (formerly 412)
In order for students to acquire the most basic and fundamental piano techniques, students will undertake rudimentary exercises designed to facilitate the most common fingering techniques and hand positions. Students will be required to demonstrate the ability to play major scales, simple arpeggios, and develop muscle memory for basic intervals. By the end of the semester, students should be able to read 2 part treble and bass compositions.
Sound Design calls upon major technical elements from HMU 410-413 from psychoacoustics to sound wave manipulation within the digital to create soundscapes that enhance the art of story telling. The student will learn to create original sound effects, use and manipulate existing sound effect libraries, and identify the audio needs of a visual image. They will use the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), as instructed in the Sound Recording course series, to integrate audio and visual elements. They will also be able to create a stand-alone soundscape for radio or audio only internet applications. Via lab assignments, students will complete the course with the foundation for an audio portfolio - demo CD.
In this course, students explore the tools and techniques of advanced writing and research. Students write four research papers and give several oral presentations. This course is required for single degree B.A. students and strongly recommended for double degree students.
Piano II is the second in a series of Piano Instruction for Beginner/Intermediate Music Technology Students and all students interested in learning how to play piano and/or keyboards. This class will focus on the Development of Functional Keyboard skills.
This course deals with the basic principals of physics as it relates to sound. Sound wave transmission, musical instrument sound vibration, transducer theory, room acoustic design and isolation design are discussed and explored. Recording Studio design will be explored and the mysteries of the room "appearance" will be explained. The more informed an individual is about the topic of acoustics; the art of music production becomes more efficiently achieved. The student will complete the course with a thorough understanding of acoustical design techniques. This knowledge will not only prepare the student for professional studio design and construction (music, audio/video for post production), it is also applicable in understanding the environments in which they might create productions.
Pre-Requisite: MA 117 Calculus for Business and Liberal Arts
An individual program of study arranged between student and instructor. A tutorial plan must be prepared (and presented to the Tutorial Committee of the Department of the Humanities) outlining the program and indicating the nature and scope of the project (generally a written paper). Upon completion of the program, the student receives a grade and credit for a Humanities elective.
HMU 406 explores the integration of audio production for such visual mediums as television, film and interactive games. Through an analysis of various commercial visual media The course introduces 1) the techniques and terminology representing the technical parameters common to both audio and visual producers 2) the psychological impact of sound association 3) the implementation of audio tools in the creation of . ADR (automatic dialog replacement), Music Editing, Sound effects and/or Foley.. 4) An understanding of the commercial marketing impact of sound.
This course is an overview of the vast music business world and what a real and successful producer must know to compete in today's commercial music environment. Topics include: discovering an act, training, development, music union memberships, performance, music attorney expectations, management contracts, booking agents, promoters, publishing deals, performance rights organizations, production deals, recording studio management, record deals and labels, interactive media and Web promotion, and distribution. Guest speakers may be invited to class and students may visit "indie" and major label headquarters. All students will be encouraged to participate in the student organized Media Label Club
This course is an overview of the vast music business world and what a real and successful producer must know to compete in today's commercial music environment. Topics include: discovering an act, training, development, music union memberships, performance, music attorney expectations, management contracts, booking agents, promoters, publishing deals, performance rights organizations, production deals, recording studio management, record deals and labels, interactive media and Web promotion, and distribution. Guest speakers may be invited to class and students may visit "indie" and major label headquarters. All students will be encouraged to participate in the student organized Media Label Club
This is a first course in computer programming for students with no prior experience. Students will learn the core process of programming: given a problem statement, how does one design an algorithm to solve that particular problem and then implement the algorithm in a computer program? The course will also introduce elementary programming concepts like basic control concepts (such as conditional statements and loops) and a few essential data types (e.g., integers and doubles). Exposure to programming will be through a self-contained user-friendly programming environment, widely used by the scientific and engineering communities, such as Matlab. The course will cover problems from all fields of science, engineering, and business.
This is an introductory programming course using the Java language. The topics include: basic facts about object-oriented programming and Java through inheritance and exceptions; recursion; UML diagrams and how to read class diagrams; ethics in computer science; and some basic understanding about computer systems: the compile/link/interpret/ execute cycle and data representation.
Limits, the derivatives of functions of one variable, differentiation rules, and applications of the derivative.Definite integrals for functions of one variable, antiderivatives, the Fundamental Theorem, integration techniques, and applications of the integral.
During this course, we will review Western Medieval and Renaissance art music from the 2nd century B.C. to 1600 A.D. from several perspectives: as individual masterworks, as representatives of various composers, as examples of particular styles and forms, as analytic "problems," and as artworks derived from changing social circumstances. We will emphasize the development of skills in talking and writing "about" monophonic, liturgical and polyphonic music. The course will include lectures and class discussions, assigned readings, written assignments, and periodic examinations.
This course involves production tools available in hardware and software utilized to make compositions and sound tracks for an array of visual and live performance environments. The course provides an introduction to these areas, offering background important to other courses in the program that students may take in the future. Topics include the music business, general recording studio protocol, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), basic recording techniques with ProTools, techno music production sequencing with Digital Performer, synthesizer history and programming, electronic music and synthestration, interactive applications such as MAX, sound design, digital sampling for visual art support with Mach 5, and sound-effect libraries, music programs for the Web Quicktime, Real Audio, and Windows Media Player applications, mastering with ProTools Plug-Ins, Peak, Roxio Jam and Toast, and MP3 creation and web uploading and distribution with e-commerce.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
This course is designed only for undergraduate students in Business and Liberal Arts majors. It introduces basic concepts and methods in probability. Topics includes the definition of sample spaces, events, and their probabilities; elementary combinatorics and counting techniques; and conditional probability, the total probability, and Bayes' Theorem. The course also deals with concepts of discrete and continuous random variables and probability distributions; multi-random variables and their joint distributions; the mean, variance, and covariance of random variables; and the Central Limit Theorem and t-distributions.
In this course, student will review western Baroque to Classic music from 1600 to 1780, from several perspectives: as individual expressions of various composers, as examples of particular styles and forms, as analytic problems, and as artworks derived from changing social circumstances. This course emphasizes the development of skills in talking and writing about piano, pipe organ, orchestral and early opera music. Some composers include Bach, Vivaldi, Purcell, Pachebel, and Handel. The course will in discussions, assigned readings, oral presentations, and periodic examinations. Goals: To learn by reading notation and listening to samples of the earliest forms of music; To acquire verbal skills which are needed to explain music styles; To learn about the culture of the time which inspired the compositions. Outcomes: This is a continuation in Music History commencing with the earliest forms of the Baroque era from 1600 to the Classic Era near through the 1700's The student will receive an overview of the styles, learn about the social system of the period which directed the style and will also learn specifics about individual instruments which were used to create the sound.
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) revolutionized the production world of electronic music. This course will explore the fine details of the code, as well as the everyday studio and stage use of the protocol. The student will explore all types of synthesis techniques via keyboards, tone modules, and software plug-ins. There will also be an overview of traditional electronic music from the last century to the present. In the weekly lab, the student will explore the software and hardware interconnection process and create an artistic experiment in electronic music as a final project.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
This course emphasizes the biological underpinnings of behavior and of mental processes. What do we know? How do we come to know? What do we want? Why do we act the way we do? In this course these fundamental questions of psychology are mainly looked at from a biological perspective that emphasizes the study of the brain and nervous systems. Historical, philosophical, and evolutionary perspectives on mental processes are considered, as well.
An introduction to issues and theories in Life Span Development, Personality Theory, and psychological disorders. Topics include cognitive and social development, attachment, moral thinking, and psychoanalytical theory. Focus is placed on those seminal theories that have had lasting import for psychology as well as other disciplines. These theories include, but are not limited to, those of Piaget, Erikson, and Freud.
An analysis of the historical development of psychology. Issues such as perception, learning, cognition, and memory are explored within the context of various schools of thought.
With the presumption of no previous formal study, Music Theory I presents the fundamental materials and procedures of tonal music. The students are introduced to elements of music theory, including scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, seventh chords, Roman numeral and figured bass analysis, 4-part writing, and first species counterpoint. Aural skills are developed with the introduction to "fixed-do" solfege.
In order for students to acquire the most basic and fundamental piano techniques, students will undertake rudimentary exercises designed to facilitate the most common fingering techniques and hand positions. Students will be required to demonstrate the ability to play major scales, simple arpeggios, and develop muscle memory for basic intervals. By the end of the semester, students should be able to read 2 part treble and bass compositions.
The primary focus of this course will be the theoretical study of sound and light wave theory as it relates to productions techniques: for audio, the basics of transducer technology and signal flow; for vision, electromagnetic waveforms, theory of optics, and the different applications of capturing visuals through digital means. At the completion of the course, students will be able to understand wave theory, transducer theory, basic acoustic properties of sound and hearing, basic understanding of characteristics of light and color, signal flow and practical applications of the above. Ultimately students will have the theoretical foundations to develop their audio/visual engineering skills as an art form. Not for general Humanities credit.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
Each student is encouraged to either give solo performances or to join a student ensemble and take part in a series of performances on campus, as well as in other metropolitan New York City stages. Many of the performances will be recorded and marketed by the student-run media label. The student will need to attend weekly rehearsals and participate in at least one performance each semester.
Music Theory II continues the presentation of the material and procedures of tonal music with the study of harmonic syntax as it pertains to tonal cadences, intermediary harmonies modulation and tonicization in major and minor, and fundamental concepts of diatonic sequences. Students continue their mastery of 4-part writing with Roman numeral and figured bass analysis and undertake writing assignments in second and third species counterpoint in two voices. Aural skills are developed with alto clef "fixed-do" solfege primarily in minor.
Piano II is the second in a series of Piano Instruction for Beginner/Intermediate Music Technology Students and all students interested in learning how to play piano and/or keyboards. This class will focus on the Development of Functional Keyboard skills.
Mixing consoles in project studios will be explored and more advanced techniques in dynamics, equalization, reverberation, and signal processing. Students will meet in small groups for at least four hours a week to execute organized studio "hands on" lab exercises. Students will experience the producing and recording of a more advanced multi-track song project at the completion of the course. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
Each student is encouraged to either give solo performances or to join a student ensemble and take part in a series of performances on campus, as well as in other metropolitan New York City stages. Many of the performances will be recorded and marketed by the student-run media label. The student will need to attend weekly rehearsals and participate in at least one performance each semester.
This course is an exploration of traditional orchestral instruments. The student will learn fine details related to the characteristics of instruments in the orchestral family with classroom examples of masterpieces in the classical repertoire, as well as by experiencing either live demonstrations or sampled demonstrations by the instructor. The student will learn the basics of expanding a piano score to woodwind, brass, and string quartets.
Music Theory III continues the presentation of the material and procedures of tonal music with the study of elements of melodic and rhythmic figuration, dissonance and chromaticism, modal mixture, and an advanced examination of applied chords and diatonic modulation. Students undertake writing assignments in 4th and 5th species counterpoint in two voices. Species counterpoint is incorporated into 4 part-writing exercises. Aural skills are developed with and chromatic alterations.
Piano III is the third in a series of Piano Instruction for Beginner/Intermediate Music Technology Students and all students interested in learning how to play piano and/or keyboards. This class will focus on the Development of Functional Keyboard skills. Prerequisites: HMU 221 or permission of the instructor.
A working seminar in which students will become acquainted with the various research methods and resources in the Humanities disciplines, and with the modes of presentation characteristic of each discipline. Special attention will be paid to clarity of expression and logical structure of essays and research papers.
This is part two of a two-semester sequence. Whereas Orchestration I explored the mechanical aspects of the orchestra and presented the physical and technical boundaries of each instrument contained therein, Orchestration II explores the aesthetic principals engaged when writing for this most unique subject, and the student will be introduced to the art of conducting. In addition to completing the Adler text, students will spend significant time in the MAC Lab realizing their orchestrations of the standard literature from Mozart to Penderecki. To this extent, we will use the new interactive edition of the classic Principles of Orchestration by one of history's greatest orchestrators, Rimsky Korsakov. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.
Music Theory IV continues the presentation of the material and procedures of tonal music with a continued study of dissonance and chromaticism including 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords, Neapolitan II, Augmented Sixth chords, and chromatic voice leading techniques. Students undertake writing assignments in species counterpoint in three voices. Aural skills are developed with more complex "fixed-do" solfege primarily in mixed modes with chromatic alterations. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.
Piano IV is the fourth in a series of Piano Instruction for Beginner/Intermediate Music Technology Students and all students interested in learning how to play piano and/or keyboards. This class will focus on the Development of Functional Keyboard skills. Prerequisites: HMU 322 or permission of the instructor.
An individual program of study arranged between student and instructor. A tutorial plan must be prepared (and presented to the Tutorial Committee of the Department of the Humanities) outlining the program and indicating the nature and scope of the project (generally a written paper). Upon completion of the program, the student receives a grade and credit for a Humanities elective.
Music Composition is a one semester course that presents a detailed analysis of the techniques of music composition. The course will focus on Form and Structure, Stylistic Movements, and Compositional Techniques. Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of all concepts presented in class via a series of quizzes and two significant works they will compose during the course of the semester. Music Composition will deepen the students understanding and implementation of the various techniques of musical composition. Since all students will have completed HMU202 (formerly 302), HMU420 will allow for a stronger and more coherent understanding of the implementation of those concepts and will greatly enhance the students understanding of the concepts presented in HMU 303 & 304 & 405.
Contemporary Music Theory is a one semester presentation of the materials and procedures of music emanating from the evolution of Romanticism through Impressionism and arriving at the dismantling of tonality in the 20th century. In this class, melodic, rhythmic and harmonic analysis will transcend the triadic structures of the common period as presented in Music Theory I-IV. Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of all concepts presented in class via a series of quizzes and two significant works they will compose during the course of the semester.
This is a first course in computer programming for students with no prior experience. Students will learn the core process of programming: given a problem statement, how does one design an algorithm to solve that particular problem and then implement the algorithm in a computer program? The course will also introduce elementary programming concepts like basic control concepts (such as conditional statements and loops) and a few essential data types (e.g., integers and doubles). Exposure to programming will be through a self-contained user-friendly programming environment, widely used by the scientific and engineering communities, such as Matlab. The course will cover problems from all fields of science, engineering, and business.
This is an introductory programming course using the Java language. The topics include: basic facts about object-oriented programming and Java through inheritance and exceptions; recursion; UML diagrams and how to read class diagrams; ethics in computer science; and some basic understanding about computer systems: the compile/link/interpret/ execute cycle and data representation.
An introduction to differential and integral calculus for functions of one variable. The differential calculus includes limits, continuity, the definition of the derivative, rules for differentiation, and applications to curve sketching, optimization, and elementary initial value problems. The integral calculus includes the definition of the definite integral, the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, techniques for finding antiderivatives, and applications of the definite integral. Transcendental and inverse functions are included throughout.
This course involves production tools available in hardware and software utilized to make compositions and sound tracks for an array of visual and live performance environments. The course provides an introduction to these areas, offering background important to other courses in the program that students may take in the future. Topics include the music business, general recording studio protocol, MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), basic recording techniques with ProTools, techno music production sequencing with Digital Performer, synthesizer history and programming, electronic music and synthestration, interactive applications such as MAX, sound design, digital sampling for visual art support with Mach 5, and sound-effect libraries, music programs for the Web Quicktime, Real Audio, and Windows Media Player applications, mastering with ProTools Plug-Ins, Peak, Roxio Jam and Toast, and MP3 creation and web uploading and distribution with e-commerce.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
This course emphasizes the biological underpinnings of behavior and of mental processes. What do we know? How do we come to know? What do we want? Why do we act the way we do? In this course these fundamental questions of psychology are mainly looked at from a biological perspective that emphasizes the study of the brain and nervous systems. Historical, philosophical, and evolutionary perspectives on mental processes are considered, as well.
Continues from MA 115 with improper integrals, infinite series, Taylor series, and Taylor polynomials. Vectors operations in 3-space, mathematical descriptions of lines and planes, and single-variable calculus for parametric curves. Introduction to calculus for functions of two or more variables including graphical representations, partial derivatives, the gradient vector, directional derivatives, applications to optimization, and double integrals in rectangular and polar coordinates.
The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) revolutionized the production world of electronic music. This course will explore the fine details of the code, as well as the everyday studio and stage use of the protocol. The student will explore all types of synthesis techniques via keyboards, tone modules, and software plug-ins. There will also be an overview of traditional electronic music from the last century to the present. In the weekly lab, the student will explore the software and hardware interconnection process and create an artistic experiment in electronic music as a final project.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
The primary focus of this course will be the theoretical study of sound and light wave theory as it relates to productions techniques: for audio, the basics of transducer technology and signal flow; for vision, electromagnetic waveforms, theory of optics, and the different applications of capturing visuals through digital means. At the completion of the course, students will be able to understand wave theory, transducer theory, basic acoustic properties of sound and hearing, basic understanding of characteristics of light and color, signal flow and practical applications of the above. Ultimately students will have the theoretical foundations to develop their audio/visual engineering skills as an art form. Not for general Humanities credit.
The cultural convergence of music, performance, theater, and visual art has variously been termed multimedia, hybrid arts, intermedia, interdisciplinary arts, and transmedia, among others. This course looks at how artistic disciplines inform one another and how parallel developments in technology have played a significant role in the history of the arts and music, from early tribal rituals to our contemporary digital age. Organized as a historical survey of technology and the arts, the course will move beyond the idea of the arts as simple modes of expression to consider how it has been an active site of cultural practice. The course will begin with the concept of “techne,” first used in antiquity, as a means of establishing the philosophical basis of creative practice and showing the fundamental unity between art, science and technology. Through weekly lectures, readings, and discussion, we will explore the many ways that science and technology informs and inspires the creative production. By the end of the course students will understand the ways in which diverse modalities of artistic practice function as forms of symbolic communication with aesthetic material, cultural and political dimensions.
This course provides the background necessary for advanced study of mathematics or computer science. Topics include propositional calculus, predicates and quantifiers, elementary set theory, countability, functions, relations, proof by induction, elementary combinatorics, elements of graph theory, mends, and elements of complexity theory.
This is a course on standard data structures, including sorting and searching and using the Java language. The topics include: stages of software development; testing; UML diagrams; elementary data structures (lists, stacks, queues, and maps); use of elementary data structures in application frameworks; searching; sorting; and introduction to asymptotic complexity analysis.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
Each student is encouraged to either give solo performances or to join a student ensemble and take part in a series of performances on campus, as well as in other metropolitan New York City stages. Many of the performances will be recorded and marketed by the student-run media label. The student will need to attend weekly rehearsals and participate in at least one performance each semester.
Mixing consoles in project studios will be explored and more advanced techniques in dynamics, equalization, reverberation, and signal processing. Students will meet in small groups for at least four hours a week to execute organized studio "hands on" lab exercises. Students will experience the producing and recording of a more advanced multi-track song project at the completion of the course. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.
In this course, student will review western Baroque to Classic music from 1600 to 1780, from several perspectives: as individual expressions of various composers, as examples of particular styles and forms, as analytic problems, and as artworks derived from changing social circumstances. This course emphasizes the development of skills in talking and writing about piano, pipe organ, orchestral and early opera music. Some composers include Bach, Vivaldi, Purcell, Pachebel, and Handel. The course will in discussions, assigned readings, oral presentations, and periodic examinations. Goals: To learn by reading notation and listening to samples of the earliest forms of music; To acquire verbal skills which are needed to explain music styles; To learn about the culture of the time which inspired the compositions. Outcomes: This is a continuation in Music History commencing with the earliest forms of the Baroque era from 1600 to the Classic Era near through the 1700's The student will receive an overview of the styles, learn about the social system of the period which directed the style and will also learn specifics about individual instruments which were used to create the sound.
This course provides a general introduction to the essentials of the software development process, that series of activities that facilitate developing better software in less time. The course introduces software development and deployment life cycles, requirements acquisition and analysis, software architecture and design, and resource management and scheduling in the implementation phase. Students gain experience with tools and methodologies for configuration management and project management. Security engineering is considered as an essential part of the software development process, particularly from the standpoint of applied risk management.
This is a course on more complex data structures, and algorithm design and analysis, using the C language. Topics include: advanced and/or balanced search trees; hashing; further asymptotic complexity analysis; standard algorithm design techniques; graph algorithms; complex sort algorithms; and other "classic" algorithms that serve as examples of design techniques.
The student is required to play a musical instrument and is expected, according to the audition process, to have moderate skills on his/her primary instrument. The student may continue with private lessons on his/her primary instrument or they may take lessons on their secondary instruments. A faculty member or a member of the tri-state area's community of professional musicians may conduct regular lessons as per the student's level and artistic desires. The lessons may be on campus, or the student may commute to the musician's training studio. There will be one hour of lessons weekly with the instructor and the student is expected to rehearse for at least four additional hours. The lessons shall lead to a performance on campus during the same semester. The performance may be solo or part of an ensemble.
Each student is encouraged to either give solo performances or to join a student ensemble and take part in a series of performances on campus, as well as in other metropolitan New York City stages. Many of the performances will be recorded and marketed by the student-run media label. The student will need to attend weekly rehearsals and participate in at least one performance each semester.
With the presumption of no previous formal study, Music Theory I presents the fundamental materials and procedures of tonal music. The students are introduced to elements of music theory, including scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, seventh chords, Roman numeral and figured bass analysis, 4-part writing, and first species counterpoint. Aural skills are developed with the introduction to "fixed-do" solfege.
In order for students to acquire the most basic and fundamental piano techniques, students will undertake rudimentary exercises designed to facilitate the most common fingering techniques and hand positions. Students will be required to demonstrate the ability to play major scales, simple arpeggios, and develop muscle memory for basic intervals. By the end of the semester, students should be able to read 2 part treble and bass compositions.
In this course, students explore the tools and techniques of advanced writing and research. Students write four research papers and give several oral presentations. This course is required for single degree B.A. students and strongly recommended for double degree students.
Music Theory II continues the presentation of the material and procedures of tonal music with the study of harmonic syntax as it pertains to tonal cadences, intermediary harmonies modulation and tonicization in major and minor, and fundamental concepts of diatonic sequences. Students continue their mastery of 4-part writing with Roman numeral and figured bass analysis and undertake writing assignments in second and third species counterpoint in two voices. Aural skills are developed with alto clef "fixed-do" solfege primarily in minor.
Piano II is the second in a series of Piano Instruction for Beginner/Intermediate Music Technology Students and all students interested in learning how to play piano and/or keyboards. This class will focus on the Development of Functional Keyboard skills.
An introduction to the large and diverse field of artificial intelligence. Topics include: problem solving by search and constraint satisfaction; alpha-beta search for two-player games; and logic and knowledge representation, planning, learning, decision theory, statistical learning, and computer vision.
The main aspects of computers: data (data types and formats, number bases), hardware (stored program computer concept, addressing methods and program sequencing, instruction sets and their implementation, the CPU and microprogrammed control, input/output organization, peripherals and interfacing, and main memory), communication (network protocols), software (operating systems, dispatching algorithms), and assembly language programming.
An individual program of study arranged between student and instructor. A tutorial plan must be prepared (and presented to the Tutorial Committee of the Department of the Humanities) outlining the program and indicating the nature and scope of the project (generally a written paper). Upon completion of the program, the student receives a grade and credit for a Humanities elective.
An introduction to the functional level structure of modern pipelined processors and the empirical and analytic evaluation of their performance. Topics include: empirical and analytic techniques for measuring performance (use of various means, Amdahl's Law, and benchmarks); tradeoff analysis; principles of instruction set design and evaluation (memory addressing, operations, types and sizes of operands, instruction set encoding, CISC vs. RISC, and related compilation issues); pipelining (basics, data hazards, and control hazards); and memory systems.
Introduces the essentials of probability theory and elementary statistics. Lectures and assignments greatly stress the manifold applications of probability and statistics to computer science, production management, quality control, and reliability. A statistical computer package is used throughout the course for teaching and for assignments. Contents include: descriptive statistics, pictorial and tabular methods, and measures of location and of variability; sample space and events, probability axioms, and counting techniques; conditional probability and independence, and Bayes' formula; discrete random variables, distribution functions and moments, and binomial and Poisson distributions; continuous random variables, densities and moments, normal, gamma, and exponential and Weibull distributions unions; distribution of the sum and average of random samples; the Central Limit Theorem; confidence intervals for the mean and the variance; hypothesis testing and p-values, and applications for the mean; simple linear regression, and estimation of and inference about the parameters; and correlation and prediction in a regression model.
Introduction to systems programming in C on UNIX. Students will be introduced to tools for compilation, dynamic linking, debugging, editing, automatic rebuilding, and version control. Some aspects of the UNIX system call interface will be studied, drawn from this list: process creation, signals, terminal I/O, file I/O, inter-process communication, threads, network protocol stacks, programming with sockets, and introduction to RPC. Style issues to be covered include: naming, layout, commenting, portability, design for robustness and debugability, and language pitfalls. X programming and GUI design will be covered, if time allows.
The use and internals of modern operating systems. Lectures focus on internals whereas programming assignments focus on use of the operating system interface. Major topics include: the process concept; concurrency and how to program with threads; memory management techniques, including virtual memory and shared libraries; file system data structures; and I/O.
