Computer Science | Grinnell College

This week in CS table we’ll be exploring the intersection of music and computation along two dimensions:

1. Computational Musicology: the analysis of musical structure from a statistical perspective, i.e., music informatics.
2. Live Coding: the live performance of music using computer programs.

Computational Musicology. Along the first dimension, there are two readings:

• Kris Shaffer. “What is computational musicology?”. 2016.
• Trevor de Clercq and David Temperley. “A corpus analysis of rock harmony”. In Popular Music, Volume 30/1. 2011.

The second reading is fairly dense and pre-supposes some knowledge of basic music theory. If you can get through the "Analysing the harmony” section where the authors describe their analysis technique for music, that would be grand. You may find that this recording of Hey Jude by the Beatles helpful to compare against: The Beatles - Hey Jude. Uploaded by TheBeatlesVEVO on youtube.com.

Live Coding. Along the second dimension, watch this TEDxNewcastle talk by Sonic Pi creator Sam Aaron on live coding: Sam Aaron. "Programming as Performance”. Uploaded by TEDx Talks on youtube.com.

If you are interested, feel free to dive deeper by checking out:

• Aaron’s Sonic Pi programming language, Sonic Pi: The Live Coding Music Synth for Everyone.
• And the TOPLAP organization which promotes live coding performances.

Computer science table (CS Table) is a weekly meeting of Grinnell College community members (students, faculty, staff, etc.) interested in discussing topics related to computing and computer science. CS Table meets Tuesdays from 12:00-1:00pm in JRC 224B. Contact the CS faculty for the weekly reading. Students on meal plans, faculty, and staff are expected to cover the cost of their meals. Visitors to the College and students not on meal plans can charge their meals to the department.