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The Program in Electronic Music
Composition and Musical Production at the
School of the Arts of the Polytechnic Institute
of Castelo Branco
Carlos Guedes* and Rui Dias†
* Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas (ESART-IPCB), Castelo Branco, Portugal, carlosguedes@mac.com
† Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas (ESART-IPCB), Castelo Branco, Portugal, ruidias@esart.ipcb.pt
Abstract — This paper presents the program in electronic
music composition and musical production at the School of
the Arts of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco
(http://www.esart.ipcb.pt). This study program offers a 1st
cycle degree and is functioning since the academic year of
2005/2006. At the conference, we will present the curriculum
of the program, some recent work by the students, and the
next phase in the program development, which includes
making contacts with people and institutions to further
develop the program through ERASMUS exchanges of
faculty and students, hiring of new faculty members, and
eventual creation of an European partnership for a 2nd cycle
degree
Keywords: New academic programs in electronic music,
electronic music, musical production, multimedia.
I.
A.
1)
B.
INTRODUCTION
The program of Electronic Music Composition and
Musical Production at the School of the Arts of the
Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco (ESART-IPCB)
started functioning in the academic year of 2005/06, and it
is now at the end of the first phase of development. After
briefly describing the institution at which the program is
functioning we give a detailed description of the
program’s philosophy and goals, its curriculum, and the
next phase in the program development.
The Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco
The Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco (IPCB) is a
public institution of higher education created in 1980.
Located in Castelo Branco, the IPCB has taken part in the
growth of the region, actively contributing to the regional
development and to the improvement of the town’s quality
of living
Comprising six schools, 36 graduations, about 5000
students, over 400 faculty and 240 staff members, high
level teaching and research departments, accommodation,
high quality sport facilities, and with increasingly efficient
connections to the market and the surrounding
community, the IPCB is nowadays a modern and solid
institution striving for the highest quality standards in
education.
Its main objectives are the initial, continuing and
specialized training of highly competent professionals,
scientific and technological research, the provision of
services to the community and the promotion of regional
development.
The strong connections that the IPCB has with the
community and with cultural and economic development
have evolved into partnerships with the most important
national scientific offices and into research and
development partnerships with several European
universities.
The IPCB has been in great demand, being the
Portuguese public institution of higher education with
more applications in the academic year of 2004/05. In that
year, the IPCB offered 975 vacancies and there were 5282
candidates. About 95% of these candidates chose the
IPCB as their first option [1].
The Schools: the IPCB has six Schools in the areas
of Agrarian Sciences, Arts, Education, Health,
Management and Engineering. The courses taught at
IPCB combine strong practical and technical training
with theoretical foundations at the highest scientific level,
aiming at preparing highly competent professionals. The
IPCB schools have high quality facilities with state-of-
the-art equipment. The Institute also has excellent sport
and cultural facilities.
The School of the Arts
The School of the Arts (ESART) has study programs in
two areas: Communications and Visual Art and Music and
Performing Arts. It has over 50 faculty members and over
530 students, of which 150 are in Music and Performing
Arts study programs. The programs in Communications
and Visual Art are:
xImage Arts with specializations in Graphic Design
and Multimedia and Audiovisual Design;
xFashion and Textile Design;
xInterior Design.
The existing programs in Music and Performing Arts
are:
xInstrumental Performance with specializations in
Violin, Viola, Violoncello, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet,
French Horn, Bassoon, Trumpet, Trombone,
Accordion and Guitar;
xMusic Education and Theory
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xElectronic Music and Musical Production
There is a great interdepartmental activity at ESART.
As an example, the school organizes every year a fashion
design show to showcase the graduation works of the
students from the Fashion and Textile Design program, in
which most of all the other programs participate by
creating the set, by creating video clips to be shown
during the performance, and, of course, by creating the
music for the whole event.
ESART has established several ERASMUS-
SOCRATES bilateral agreements for the exchange of
students and faculty with similar institutions in several
European countries. They include Belgium
(Lemmenistituut Leuven), Finland (Kymenlaakson
Polytechnic), France (Conservatoire National de la Région
de Boulogne – Billancourt), Germany (Bauhaus –
Universitat Weimar, Hochschule für Musik Köln,
Hochschule Vechta), Greece (U. of Macedonia), Italy
(Politecnico di Milano, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti di
Milano, Conservatorio Santa Cecilia di Roma, Universita
degli Studi di Roma " La Sapienza"), Poland (Bialystok
Technical University), Romania (Universitatea
"Transilvania" din Brasov), and Spain (Universidad de
Salamanca, Universidad de Extremadura, Universidad
Europea Miguel de Cervantes).
II.
A.
B.
THE PROGRAM IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC COMPOSITION
AND MUSICAL PRODUCTION
The program in Electronic Music and Musical
Production started in the academic year of 2005/06 and is
one of the latest programs that were created in ESART. It
now counts 15 students — 10 in the first year and 5 in the
second year — and soon became a very attractive study
program in Portugal since it is the only of its kind in
higher education institutions in the country — there is a
Music Technology program in Porto but it aims at forming
studio technicians and sound engineers. In its second year,
the program attracted one-third of the overall candidates to
the music study programs at ESART.
This program combines subjects from the fields of
sonology — with extensions to computer science and
digital visual arts — and sound registration and music
production. It has a fair amount of optional credits, which
allows the students to take full advantage of the existing
programs at ESART, for example, by combining classical
instrumental performance or graphic design with their
study program.
General Philosophy and Goals
The main goal underlying the creation of the program is
to form highly qualified professionals with a strong
knowledge about sound recording and musical production
to work in the all the areas where electronic music is
applied. The areas where the graduates from the program
are expected to work range from straightforward
electronic music composition, music for games and
multimedia products, to software development and sound
engineering. In tandem with the philosophy of the IPCB
and of the Polytechnic system in Portugal, the program in
Electronic Music and Musical Production combines strong
practical training with solid theoretical foundations, and
aims at forming professionals that can swiftly respond to
the challenges imposed by today’s ever changing music
technology world.
The curriculum is designed to accept a wide variety of
students provided they show that they have a musical
activity, preferably in electronic music. Once admitted
into the program they may have to take remedial basic
musicianship courses. While at the program they have to
develop their own vision about electronic music practice
as an outcome of the experiences they will have in the
course of their work.
The main concept underlying the creation of this study
program is that the students should pass through several
experiences in the areas where computer technology is
applied in musical practice and develop their own practice
in the field through this experience. The program has 5
tracks of apprenticeship: electronic music composition
and practice (49 - 64 credits), musical production (15 - 30
credits), digital visual arts (14 credits), programming
languages (16 credits), and theoretical foundations (43
credits). There is also a fair amount of optional courses,
which total 25 credits, and a 1-credit seminar on a relevant
subject to the study program every academic year. We
now present a summary of the subjects covered by each
track:
The track in electronic music composition and practice
offers courses in MIDI and digital audio editing and
manipulation, all known forms of sound synthesis
(analogue and digital), computer music languages such as
CSound and SuperCollider, Max/MSP/Jitter
programming, algorithmic composition, sound for film
and multimedia, and digital interactive systems.
The track in musical production offers courses that
teach sound capture techniques, studio recording and
audio production and post-production.
The track in programming languages comprises courses
that teach C, C++ and LISP.
The track in theoretical foundations offers courses in
the history of electronic music and digital arts, music
analysis, acoustics, psychoacoustics, digital signal
processing, and a speculative course on the future of
audiovisual production.
The track in digital visual arts offers courses in image
capture and editing, website creation, and creation of
multimedia content.
The optional courses allow the students to complement
their education in subjects of their own interest.
In the third year, the students have to develop an
original individual project that must reflect their interests
and vision in electronic music practice and/or musical
production. This project can consist of virtually anything
related to these fields of study (e.g. software, music for a
game, a set of electronic music pieces, an installation, a
sound recording project, etc.).
By implementing this eclectic approach in the program
and by promoting aesthetic diversity, we are expecting to
form knowledgeable professionals that can follow very
distinct and independent paths in their future, be it in
electronic music composition, musical production,
software development, multimedia, or research.
The curriculum and faculty
The program of study lasts 6 semesters, comprising 180
ECTS credits, and offers a 1st cycle degree. It takes
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advantage from the fact that the school has programs in
digital visual arts and in music theory and performance,
which makes that some of the courses in the curriculum
belong to other study programs as well — e.g. Music
Analysis, Multimedia/Hypermedia Tools.
Below, we show the courses that constitute the program
as well as the suggested sequence for the six semesters of
study.
TABLE I.
LIST OF COURSES COMPRISING THE PROGRAM AND THE SUGGESTED SIX-
SEMESTER SEQUENCE
1st Semester — COURSES ECTS
Seminar I 1
Composition I 5
Introduction to MIDI and Digital Audio 3,5
Musical Production I 3
Acoustics I 3
Programming Languages I 4
History of Electronic Music and Digital Arts I 2
Music Analysis I 3
New Communication Systems in Music I 2,5
Option I 4
2nd Semester — COURSES ECTS
Composition II 5
Introduction to Sound Synthesis 3,5
Musical Production II 3
Acoustics II 3
Programming Languages II 4
History of Electronic Music and Digital Arts II 2
Music Analysis II 3
New Communication Systems in Music II 2,5
Option II 3
3rd Semester — COURSES ECTS
Seminar II 1
Composition III 5
Musical Programming I 3,5
Musical Production III 4,5
Acoustics III 3
Programming Languages III 4
History of Electronic Music and Digital Arts III 2
Multimedia/Hypermedia Tools 4
Option III 4
4th Semester — COURSES ECTS
Composition IV 5
Advanced Sound Synthesis 3,5
Musical Production IV 4,5
Acoustics IV 3
Programming Languages IV 4
Image Capture and Editing 5
Option IV 4
5th Semester — COURSES ECTS
Seminar III 1
Project I 6
Musical Programming II 3.5
Sound for Film and Multimedia 4
DSP I 4,5
The Future of Audiovisual Production 2
Edition and Post-Production 5
Option V 5
6th Semester — COURSES ECTS
Project II 9
Introduction to Algorithmic Composition 3.5
Digital Interactive Systems 4
DSP II 4,5
Psychoacoustics 3
Option VI 5
There are three faculty members that teach the main
subjects in electronic music composition and musical
production in the program: Carlos Guedes, Rui Dias, and
Gustavo Costa.
Carlos Guedes finished his PhD in composition at NYU
in 2005 and did research in interactive dance [2]. His
doctoral research has been presented in international
conferences including the previous SMC [3]. Between
2001 and 2004 he lived in the Netherlands where he did
PhD-related research at the Institute of Sonology in the
Hague. His compositional activity is oriented towards
interdisciplinary efforts in dance, film, theater, multimedia
interactive installations, and interactive performance.
Carlos Guedes was the head of the composition program
at the School of Music and Performing Arts in Porto
(ESMAE-IPP) between 2003 and 2006, and was the main
responsible for the creation of this study program, and
currently the program director.
Rui Dias finished his B.A. in composition at ESMAE
and has focused his activity in musical programming and
interactive audio-visual systems. Rui Dias is currently a
Masters’ candidate in the Multimedia Technology
Program at the School of Engineering of University of
Porto.
Gustavo Costa finished his B.A. in music technology
and did the course at the Institute of Sonology in the
Hague. His interests are experimental improvised music
performance and algorithmic composition. Gustavo Costa
is also a sound engineer and is responsible for the courses
in musical production and acoustics.
The other faculty members that collaborate with the
program either belong to other programs at the school or
to other schools of IPCB. Invited guests usually teach the
seminars.
C. Work done so far and work to be done
Since the creation of the program in Electronic Music
and Musical Production there has been a fair investment in
equipment and bibliography.
The facilities of the program include 2 classrooms
where all the courses related to electronic music are taught
and a MIDI/Digital audio studio. Each classroom has 5
iMac computers with several software related to electronic
music composition — Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ircam Forum
package (all groups), Max/MSP/Jitter, etc. The
MIDI/Digital audio studio has a Mac PPC G5 (2.33 Mhz
dual processor), a Pro Tools system with a Digi 002, and a
Kyma system. It has 4-track diffusion capabilities and is
used for elaborate electronic music work, for audio post-
production, and for simple sound capture projects. All the
students in the program have access to the equipment
without restrictions.
The school is currently building a recording studio that
can record up to a symphony orchestra. The school counts
with a large ensemble, symphony orchestra and several
chamber music ensembles. This studio will be used and
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maintained by the students from the electronic music
composition and musical production program, to record
and produce the local bands and record the school’s
orchestra, large ensemble and chamber ensembles. We
expect that the studio will open in September and will be
fully functional by the end of the year.
These past two years have therefore been dedicated to
the creation of the infrastructure of the program in
electronic music composition and musical production and
constitute the first phase in the program development. We
are currently passing to the second phase, which includes
three main areas of development:
1. Continued development of the infrastructure in
terms of equipment, bibliography, discography,
and hiring of new faculty members;
2. Establishing contracts with local companies
(media, computer-game developers, tv stations) to
provide internships for our recent graduates,
thereby giving the students a good first-
employment opportunity;
3. Establishing contacts with similar study programs
in public education institutions in Europe for
ERASMUS-SOCRATES bilateral agreements for
the exchange of students and faculty, and for the
development of European partnerships for 2nd cycle
study programs.
III. CONCLUSION
In this paper, we presented the program in Electronic
Music Composition and Musical Production at the School
of the Arts of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco.
The website for the school (in Portuguese language) is
http://www.esart.ipcb.pt.
With this studio report and presentation we hope to
establish sincere contacts with other European institutions
and people to help further develop this program by the
establishment of ERASMUS-SOCRATES bilateral
agreements, and for the eventual development of an
European partnership for a 2nd cycle study program in
electronic music and musical production.
REFERENCES
[1] Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco. International Students:
ECTS General Information. Instituto Politécnico de Castelo
Branco, Castelo Branco, 2005
[2] C. Guedes, Mapping Movement to Musical Rhythm: A Study in
Interactive Dance. Ph.D. Thesis, New York University, New
York, NY, 2005
[3] C. Guedes. “Extracting musically-relevant rhythmic information
from dance movement by applying pitch-tracking techniques to a
video signal.” Proceedings of the Sound and Music Computing
Conference SMC06, Marseille, France, 2006, pp. 25-33
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