EMWG was established in 2013 by Dr. Gran. From the beginning the main focus of the group has been to provide an interdisciplinary experience for students interested in programming and music. Most projects have focused on synthesis instruments for live performance with results presented at Student Research Conferences. In 2014 the Group collaborated with the 3D Fabrication Task Force lead by Prof. Lily M. Lee in the creation of sculptural hardware and fabric controllers. This afternoon’s performance includes technologies developed using the music programming languages Pure Data and ChucK. emwg.truman.edu
The Electronic Music Working Group will be presenting two unique instruments and a graphics environment using Pure Data. The EMWG explores the various ways to create and react to music by tracking motion, synthesizing music in various ways, and create graphics that react to the music being played. The overall goal is to combine all three of these projects into a single working instrument. The instrument will be played using computers, keyboards, a MIDI controller, a projector and a video camera. We plan to use some traditional techniques combined with some new ones to create a unique and interesting performance with the instrument created.

Past Projects

SRC 2015

The Electronic Music Working Group demonstrates software synthesis instruments designed and created using the music programming language ChucK. The EMWG explores the various advantages of the language such as parallel programming, “live coding”, and a unified timing mechanism across various events. Using computers, keyboards, and MIDI controllers, instruments have been produced following traditional models such as additive synthesis and signal processing using Fourier analysis (FFT), as well as unique methods for adaptable music-tuning and an Android interface for use of the software over a network. The presentation will conclude with a performance.

SRC 2014

The Electronic Music Working Group is a multiple year endeavor investigating unique musical opportunities. This year, we are collaborating with student artists under the direction of Professor Lee to create four objects that combine music and visual art and function as interactive, live musical instruments. These objects generate sounds via analog sensors connected to a Raspberry Pi computing device. The instruments consist of woven structures and metal forms and will be integrated with various sensors. One object primarily features an accelerometer for its input. Another uses light sensors on a metal form. The third consists of pressure sensitive conductive material on a woven form. The last receives audio input from a microphone. The sensory input is digitally processed using python. Using the sensory input, we have coded for thematically unified sounds to be produced from manipulation of the sensors and objects in real time.

SRC 2013

The Electronic Music Working Group is a computer synthesis research team based in the Music Department and made up of students from the wider University community. The Group primarily uses Csound, the venerable software synthesis language whose antecedents, beginning with the program MUSIC, were developed by Max Mathews at Bell Labs starting in the 1950s. This year, the Group has focused its efforts on the creation of synthesis instruments to be used in live performance using Macintosh computers, mixers, keyboards, and other hardware controllers. These instruments implement the main modes of synthesis including frequency modulation, physical modeling, sampling, scanned synthesis and granular synthesis. Several of the instruments will be demonstrated and an ensemble performance on some of the instruments will follow.