Interactive Music Group
Goals
Design musical instruments, installations, and interactive systems that will be showcased and/or used in performance. The Interactive Music Group brings the ambitions of the Guthman Competition to a student-driven setting. The group aims to provide an inspiring environment for students to stretch and grow their creativity through making. With a focus on socially conscious making, we will design musical instruments, installations, and interactive systems that will be showcased and/or used in performance. We are particularly interested in projects where students express themselves and engage with current issues in Atlanta.
Issues Involved or Addressed
The School of Music has hosted the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition since 1996. The annual event is aimed at identifying the world’s next generation of musical instruments and the best new ideas in musicality, design, and engineering. Each year, we invite musical inventors to share their innovative musical instruments and engage with the campus community. Their instruments enhance the musical experience by augmenting existing acoustic instruments, focusing on accessibility with the development of new interfaces and techniques, or by building novel ways for the user to interact with sound. Student work will be featured at the Music, Art, and Technology Fair, with potential performance opportunities at Guthman Music Instrument Competition concerts and other exhibition/performance venues on campus. In the future, the Interactive Music Group will work towards showcasing our findings throughout Atlanta and presenting work on a national and international scale. The group aims to connect students to the Atlanta arts and music community and help students develop more portfolio pieces by providing an opportunity to get student creative work seen, heard, and recognized.
Partners/Sponsors
Georgia Tech School of Music Guthman Musical Instrument Competition
Methods and Technologies
- Embedded Systems
- HCI
- Fabrication
- XR
- Microcontrollers
- Interaction Design
- Amplifier/Speaker Design
- C/C++ Python Max/MSP Pd
- DSP
Majors Sought
Computing: Computational Media, Human-Computer Interaction
Design: Industrial Design, Music Technology
Engineering: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering
Liberal Arts: Computational Media, Literature, Media, and Communication
Sciences: Neuroscience
Preferred Interests and Preparation
Multifaceted students that are interested in engaging with arts and technology and developing creative works. For example: An electrical engineering student who DJs on the side. An LMC student who specializes in film and composes film scores. A mechanical engineering student who plays classical violin. A computer science student who performs with a dance group. A physics students who wants to apply what they are learning to instrument design. All majors: Broad interest in using, designing, analyzing, and building musical instruments, installations, performance systems, and performance experiences. Broad interest combining disciplinary expertise from students from a variety of backgrounds and experience with sound/music. You do not need to be a musician or have musical/art training to join this project. Music and Arts: interests in music composition, music performance, graphic design, painting, drawing, installation design, recording/mixing/production, and dance. Electrical and Computer Engineering: Interests in working with microcontrollers (e.g. Arduino, ESP32, etc) and microprocessors (Daisy Seed, Raspberry Pi, Bela), amplifier design, speaker design, DSP, and/or embedded systems. Computer Science, Computational Media: Interests in audio programming, computer vision, graphics, UI design, live coding, creative AI, generative systems. Languages include C++, Python, Rust, PD/Max MSP. Rapid prototyping and scripting in Python, Pure Data (Pd), and Max/MSP. Mechanical Engineering, HCI, Industrial Design: Interests in fabricating instruments, enclosures, user interaction, wearable tech, Virtual Reality, Extended Reality, Augmented Reality
Advisors
Alexandria Smith
Alexandria Smith
alexandria.smith@gatech.edu
Jocelyn KavanaghMusic Technologyjocelyn.kavanagh@gatech.edu
Day, Time & Location
Full Team Meeting:
2:00-2:50 Thursday
Couch 207
Subteam meetings scheduled after classes begin.