Course pages 2018–19
Digital Signal Processing with Computer Music
Assessment Overview
Assessment for this unit is based on three submitted pieces of work. For each of these, a preparation exercise can be submitted in advance. Feedback will be provided on the submitted preparation exercises, but they will not count toward the final grade.
- Assignment 1, for 30% of the overall grade. Write a detailed review of a research paper that addresses one of the topics covered in the course. Preparation: Select the research paper.
- Assignment 2, for 40% of the overall grade. Prepare a proposal for a future system or research project that combines two different elements of the course. Preparation: Define the objectives of the synthesis.
- Assignment 3, for 30% of the overall grade. This will involve a practical experiment in computer music, followed by a demonstration of the result to the class. Preparation: Propose the experiment purpose and design.
Submission Deadlines
Preparation exercises
Paper selection: 12 noon on 25-Jan-19
Synthesis goal: 12 noon on 01-Feb-19
Experiment concept: 12 noon on 15-Feb-19
Final submission deadlines
Assignment 1: 12 noon on 22-Feb-19
Assignment 2: 12 noon on 04-Mar-19
Assignment 3: 12 noon on 13-Mar-19
Public demonstration
The public performance session with demonstration of experiment results is provisionally scheduled for the final lecture on Thursday 12 March.
Assignment 1 (30%)
Write a detailed review of a research paper that addresses one of the topics covered in the course. Your review should consider:
- the advances that have been made in this piece of research, in each of three respects: technical contributions, ergonomic contributions, aesthetic contributions;
- the drawbacks of the approach taken in this paper, once again considering each of these three aspects;
- potential applications of the research or possible future extensions to the research; and
- any flaws that you may have noted in the argument that was presented in the paper.
Use the list of target papers suggested by the guest lecturers, from which one can be chosen. Review publications are not appropriate for this purpose, because a review of a review is relatively uninteresting. However, where review papers are included in the reading list, you may use the bibliography in the review paper to select a single more focused paper as the target of your own review. Students may also propose a paper related to their own interests, but this will only be agreed subject to approval from Prof. Blackwell.
The review should be presented in the style of a computer music research conference such as NIME, using the layout template for papers submitted to that conference. Academic conventions, including title, authors, abstract, citations and bibliography should be followed. The assignment must be no more than four pages in an ACM or IEEE template (including figures, but not including bibliography)
Preparation exercise
Provide full citation details, including abstract, of the target paper you propose. Write a short paragraph explaining why you think this paper will be interesting to review.
Assignment 2 (40%)
Prepare a proposal for a future system or research project that combines two different elements of the course (e.g. two of the guest lectures, or any one of the guest lectures together with any element of the DSP course). This proposal may be for a novel system, a novel algorithm or an original artwork. The assignment should provide a description of the relevant state of the art, introduce the novel idea, justify its feasibility, and describe the programme of work that would be involved in the research or realisation. Academic conventions, including title, authors, abstract, citations and bibliography should be followed. The assignment must be no more than four pages in an ACM or IEEE template (including figures, but not including bibliography)
Preparation exercise
State what the two elements are that you propose to combine. Explain what your intention, goal or objective is in combining them.
Assignment 3 (30%)
This will involve a practical experiment in computer music, followed by demonstration of the result to the class. An experimental report should be written, summarising what you did, and the results that were observed. You should provide your own estimate of the relative scale of achievement, in relation to technical, ergonomic, and aesthetic advances, with justification of these. Marking will be weighted in accordance with your own estimates (with aesthetic judgments made by a jury). The written report must be no more than four pages in an ACM or IEEE template
Preparation exercise
Give a provisional title for your experiment. Provide references with academic citation details to a few relevant publications. Explain the research question that your experiment will address. Specify any equipment, materials, human participants or other resources that you will be using. Describe the demonstration that you will make to the class. Summarise your plan for carrying out the experiment, giving key dates by which each stage of work will be completed.