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with Bruno Ruvario

Intellectual Impropriety – Electronic Music Composition Workshop

Composing and recycling music: how far can sampling lead you? Can you be original through plagiarism?

The goal of this weekend intensive workshop is to give students a basic practical understanding of (mainly Open Source) tools and techniques for the composition of sample-based electronic music. Hands on labs are interleaved with critical discussion on various topics surrounding the practice of sample-based composition: notions of ownership in music; alternatives to copyright such as Creative Commons and Copyleft; and the constant presence of musical borrowing throughout music history. Sampling will be discussed in its widest possible musical definition, including how it may change the nature of musical creativity and how it is affecting a wider culture.

The workshop is of an experimental nature: departing from your own musical background, you will be encouraged to creatively question underlying musical assumptions and to explore original (!) ways of composing music through the use of existing music. This workshop is intended for: beginners to intermediate level students. You don't have to have any prior experience with the software mentioned above. No music theory background necessary. Please bring headphones. This workshop is designed for Mac or Linux users (unfortunately some applications used in this workshop are not available on Windows).

The schedule will consist of short lectures followed by lab sessions. Participants will work on their own laptops to complete hands-on assignments and exercises. By the end of the workshop you will have a basic practical understanding of the fundamental operations of Audacity (sound editor), Ardour (digital audio workstation), and Pd and/or MaxMSP (graphical programming languages), with particular emphasis on the technique of concatenative synthesis (CataRT and timbreID). You will use these programs to compose a very short miniature which will be presented in class at the end of the weekend. An e-mail with software installation links and instructions will be sent to students in advance, having applications installed and tested will leave more time for creativity!

 

Bruno Ruviaro

Bruno Tucunduva Ruviaro is a Brazilian composer and performer. In recent years, the following short biography has appeared in the program notes of his concerts: Bruno Ruviaro, composer and pianist from São Paulo, Brazil, was born in 1976, and has lived in 22 different places: Rua Theodureto Souto, Rua Cajati, Casa do Seu Demétrio, Rua São Borja, Rua James Adam, Alameda dos Uirapurus, Avenida Modesto Fernandes, Avenida Santa Izabel, Rua Nuno Álvares Pereira, Rua Prof. Djalma Bento, Rua Dr. Nestor Esteves Natividade, Rua Major Diogo, North Park Street, Jericho Street, Olmsted Road, Thoburn Court, Comstock Circle, Via Parma, Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville, Greenoaks Drive, Miramar Street, 26th Street. Concertgoers have since wondered what to make of this somewhat enigmatic self-presentation. One hypothesis is that this reflects a desire to de-emphasize the role of usual lists of ?notable accomplishments? (academic titles, prizes, and other socially accepted indicators of excellence that often populate program notes) as meaningful criteria for a priori categorizations of musical experience. It may also be read as an invitation for the listener to decide whether or not, and to what extent, this unusual snippet of biographic information is relevant to the music.