Abstract
In this chapter, a music-centered STEAM course implemented in the European School (Schola Europaea) Brussels III is presented. This course, driven by constructivist conversation pedagogy, aims at students in secondary grade and is independent of their prior involvement in music. In the Sound Design module of the course, which is presented in detail, students explore the world of electronic, software-based instruments through the use of software synthesizers and subtractive synthesis. Visual programming with Max/MSP is applied for the design and implementation of basic synthesizers although dedicated software synthesizers are also used. In this chapter, a brief overview on the composition, arrangement, production, mastering, and development modules of the course is also provided.
TopMain Focus Of The Chapter
As technology advances and redefines areas of human activity, it is important that at school level, STEAM courses are designed to serve as entry points to this emerging and evolving ecosystem. With musical sound as the central theme, the proposed course blends science, mathematics and ICT to develop intuition in the world of synthetic sounds and virtual instruments of modern electronic music soundscapes. The scope of this chapter is to propose STEAM tools that can drive the exploration and establish skills in computational, algorithmic, physical and mathematical aspects of synthesized sound.
Issues, Controversies, Problems
The biggest issue in creating a STEAM course in synthesized sound is the amount of complexity attenuation required to adapt a professional course to school level. If complexity attenuation is too high, learning is mechanized to heuristics and rules of thumb, and students' interest may retreat. If complexity attenuation is limited, students might get overwhelmed and eventually abandon. Obtaining the right balance is challenging and requires proprietary tools and methodologies. Furthermore, music is generally considered an artistic form of expression driven mainly by talent. It is really challenging to reveal the strict mathematical, computational and physical principles that govern the generation of electronic music and at the same time preserve its artistic character. It is also challenging to design a STEAM course that can engage students with no musical background alongside students with experience in music.
Background
STEAM was initially perceived as an attempt to enhance STEM with the involvement of art. According to this viewpoint, the infusion of art can make STEM more acceptable and appealing to students but as Bequette & Bequette (2012) point out, more interesting STEAM curricula can be developed if art can be also seen as an end goal. As the typical music consumer transforms to a prosumer (producer + consumer), classroom activities that focus on the production part of the music can foster both creativity and collaboration (Clauhs et al., 2019). Student interaction with music and digital content in general has evolved and this gives the opportunity to explore additional possibilities in student engagement with music at the school level (Tobias, 2013), thus making the STEAM approach an additional source of differentiation.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Oscilloscope: A physical or virtual instrument used to visualize the waveform of a sound signal.
Cybernetics: Progenitor of information theory focusing on the formal modeling of communication and control.
Fourier Analysis: A mathematical algorithm that decomposes a complex waveform to its discrete harmonics.
Digital to Analog Converter: ( DAC): A software or hardware module that converts a digital signal to an analogue equivalent.
General Systems Theory: A theory that attempts to create a common ontology based on disciplines’ interrelated concepts.
Harmonics: Sinusoidal functions with frequencies that are integer multiples of the note frequency.
Noise Signal: A noise signal is composed of random uncorrelated frequencies. In a white noise signal the frequencies have equal intensities.
Musical Instrument: Any device, real or virtual, capable of generating acoustic signals in an organized, controlled, and predefined way as dictated by musical theory.
Ontology: A structured relation of concepts capable of being embedded in Information Systems.
Pitch: The musical interpretation of frequency. Pitch refers to the recognizable sound characteristics of a note.
Conversation Theory: A cybernetic agent-based theory that models both human and machine learning on the same conceptual basis.
Frequency of a Note: The numerical (physical) value of the pitch of a note.
Modular Synthesis: A technique that applies a combination of autonomous modules to modify the sound signal thus offering more freedom in routing. Non modular synthesizers have predefined sound signal routes.
Timbre: The characteristic sonic signature that differentiates two instruments even if they are playing the same note.
Virtual Studio Technology (VST): Technology platform for creating software modules that emulate devices found in real production studios.
Synthesizer: A virtual or real electronic device capable of creating musical instruments.
Subtractive Synthesis: A method of creating music by sculpting the harmonic content of analog signals.
Sonification: The process of generating musical sounds and sequences triggered by events which are not necessarily related to sound.
Max/MSP: A graphical programming language aimed at multimedia production.
Spectrum Analysis: The process of analyzing a sound to its discrete harmonics.
Overtones: Resonant frequencies above the fundamental frequency. Often used interchangeably with harmonics.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): Software that hosts virtual instruments and devices and organizes music production.
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI): Technological protocol used for interconnecting different electronic devices during music production.