The Bachelor of Music degree program in Computer Music, offered since 2004, combines the rigorous musical and academic undergraduate curriculum of the Peabody Conservatory with specialized courses in Computer Music and Music Technology.
The degree requires four years to complete. Students specialize in one of two tracks: Composition or Performance/Concert Production.
The Composition track allows special concentration in composing music utilizing computer music systems. Students will work with the latest digital synthesis hardware and software and learn to develop idiomatic composing techniques which take advantage of the unique capabilities of digital music technology.
Students in this track will take instruction in Composition. They must submit, during the year they intend to graduate, a portfolio of compositions created during the time of study. This should include a variety of works in the computer music medium, with a substantive work of at least ten minutes duration, and at least one work that uses acoustic instruments and/or voice(s).
The Performance/Concert Production track allows students to gain the skills and sensibilities necessary to become expert performers with the new technology. The term “performance” may include real-time control of musical parameters using existing technology in an expressive way, performance on electronic instruments such as synthesizers, performance on conventional instruments combined with electronics, and concert production techniques, depending on the student’s background and needs.
Students in this track will take instruction in Performance. In the year they intend to graduate, they will present a full program, which may be entirely computer music, or combined with acoustic instrument(s) and voice(s).
The Master of Music degree program in Computer Music prepares students for advanced work in areas of music where technology occupies an essential role. It normally requires a minimum of two years to complete. Students specialize in one of three tracks: Composition, Performance/Concert Production, and Research/Music Technology.
The Composition track allows special concentration in composing music utilizing computer music systems. Students will work with the latest digital synthesis hardware and software and learn to develop idiomatic composing techniques which take advantage of the unique capabilities of digital music technology.
Students in this track will take instruction in Composition. They must submit, during the year they intend to graduate, a portfolio of compositions created during the time of study. This should include a variety of works in the computer music medium, with a substantive work of at least ten minutes duration, and at least one work that uses acoustic instruments and/or voice(s).
The Performance/Concert Production track allows students to gain the skills and sensibilities necessary to become expert performers with the new technology. The term “performance” may include real-time control of musical parameters using existing technology in an expressive way, performance on electronic instruments such as synthesizers, performance on conventional instruments combined with electronics, and concert production techniques, depending on the student’s background and needs.
Students in this track will take instruction in Performance. In the year they intend to graduate, they will present a full program, which may be entirely computer music, or combined with acoustic instrument(s) and voice(s).
The Research/Music Technology track is designed for students interested in musically-related research or developing new music technology. Students in this track study with a departmental adviser, and if applicable to a specific research topic, with another member of the broader Johns Hopkins academic community.
Research/Technology track students work closely with practicing composer and performers in developing new computer music systems. Areas of research may include psychoacoustics, perception, hardware or software synthesis and control techniques, algorithmic composition and performance systems, and other related topics. Students in this track will have a document adviser analogous to the instructor in composition or performance mentioned above, and will submit in the year they intend to graduate a thesis documenting their research or new technology.