BAIN MUSC 336 Introduction to Computer Music
University of South Carolina
School of Music

BAIN MUSC 336
Introduction to Computer Music

Fall 2025

MUSC 336 | Blackboard
C O U R S E   M O D U L E S
1. Course & Studio
Introduction
2. Audio Editing &
Transformation
3. Interactive Music
Programming & MIDI
4. Real-Time
Digital Audio
5. Synthesis
Triangle icon Sequencing


News

Thanks for a great semester!


Assignments/Activities

See Blackboard


Quotable

Left quotes To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.
 Right quotes




– Leonardo da Vinci

Course Description

Techniques of computer-generated music with a focus on music programming, MIDI, digital audio, and synthesis

Required Textbooks

Burk et al., Music and Computers {E-book} (Burk et al. 2011)

Hass, Introduction to Computer Music {E-book} (Hass 2021)

Learning

Audacity | Max | MIDI | MSP | Digital Audio | Synthesis | Notation | Reason | Sequencing

Other Topics: History | SuperCollider

Course Documents

  1. Fall 2025
  2. Studio B
  3. Technology Survey (pdf)
  4. Activities
  5. Getting Started with Max & MIDI
  6. Digital Anthology
  7. Handouts
  8. Terms & Concepts
  9. Bibliography
  10. Software

Creative Projects

Overview: Google Slides

  1. Project #1: Audio – Due: Fri., Sept. 26
  2. Project #2: Programming – Due: Fri., Nov. 7
  3. Project #3: Sequencing (or Free Choice) – Due: Fri., Dec. 12

Technical Overviews

  1. Audacity (pdf)
  2. Max Programming (pdf)
  3. MIDI (pdf)
  4. MSP Basics (pdf)
  5. How Digital Audio Works (pdf)
  6. Reason (pdf)

Burk et al., Music and Computers  {Table of Contents}
Chapter Overviews:
  1. Ch. 1: The Digital Representation of Sound: Sound and Timbre (pdf)
  2. Ch. 2: The Digital Representation of Sound: Playing by the Numbers (pdf)
  3. Ch. 3: The Frequency Domain (pdf)
  4. Ch. 4: The Synthesis of Sound by Computer (pdf)
  5. Ch. 5: The Transformation of Sound by Computer (pdf)

Hass, Introduction to Computer Music {Table of Contents}
Quick Links:
  1. Ch. 1: Acoustics
  2. Ch. 2: Studio Gear
  3. Ch. 3: MIDI
  4. Ch. 4: Synthesis
  5. Ch. 5: Digital Audio
  6. Ch. 6: History of Electronic and Computer Music
  7. Appendices

Magazines & Journals

  1. Create Digital Music {CDM}
  2. Computer Music Journal {CMJ}
  3. Journal of Music, Technology & Education (JMTE)
  4. Journal of the Association for Technology in Music Instruction {JATMI}
  5. Leonardo Music Journal (1991-2020) {LMJ}
  6. Music Radar: formerly Computer Music Magazine, Electronic Musician & Keyboard
  7. MusicTech
  8. Sound on Sound {SOS}
  9. Synthtopia

Cloud Storage

  1. USC Office 365
  2. Dropbox
  3. Google Drive

Research

  1. Britannica Academic
  2. EBSCO Advantage: Music
  3. FindIt @ USC
  4. Grove/Oxford
  5. Harvard Dictionary
  6. JSTOR
  7. Oxford Dictionary of Computer Science {TCL}
  8. Sweetwater, InSync Glossary {Sweetwater}

Online Music Distribution

  1. Bandcamp
  2. Naxos
  3. SoundCloud
  4. Spotify
  5. YouTube

References

See also: BAIN MUSC 336 Bibliography & Articles

Burk, Phil, Larry Polansky, Douglas Repetto, Mary Roberts and Dan Rockmore. 2011. Music and Computers:  A Theoretical and Historical Approach, Archival Version. Available online at: <https://musicandcomputersbook.com>.

Cycling, '74. 2025. Max 9 Documentation. San Francisco, CA: Cycling '74. Available online at: <https://docs.cycling74.com>.

Hass, Jeffery. 2025. Introduction to Computer Music: An Electronic Textbook, 2nd ed. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University. Available online at: <https://cmtext.indiana.edu>.
Updated: January 6, 2025

Reginald Bain | University of South Carolina | School of Music
https://reginaldbain.com/vc/musc336/