Computing News: Computers & Music

The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription required) has a great article about computer scientists researching in the field of music at Georgia Tech.

A glove that helps you learn to play piano, a robotic marimba player that can jam with your band, a program to turn your cellphone into a portable music mixer, and an aquarium that musically accompanies the fish.

You are unlikely to encounter any of those devices at a typical music school or even an elite conservatory. But they all exist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, which opened the Center for Music Technology in November. There, composers, computer programmers, and engineers are collaborating on projects to change how performers and audiences use technology to make and experience music — and perhaps to give new music a greater attraction for classically oriented ears.

The center's goal is to foster as significant a shift in music composition and performance as happened when the piano replaced the more limited harpsichord in the 18th century. "An endeavor of this sort in our time demands an interdisciplinary technological approach, cutting across such fields as engineering, computation, material science, design, and music, all the while keeping a sharp focus on aesthetics," the center's Web site says.
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Others at Georgia Tech are developing technologies that could change the way musicians learn. Kevin Huang, studying for a master's degree in computer science, has created a prototype glove outfitted with standard cellphone buzzers that can be programmed to signal, with vibrations, which fingers to use while playing a piano piece. The device could even be used to help build muscle memory while a player is away from the keyboard. And it has potential as a tool for physical rehabilitation, says his instructor, Ellen Yi-Luen Do, an associate professor of human-centered computing.
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In addition to working on musical innovations, the center is also meant to inspire the university's engineers and programmers to be more creative in all of their work. "We really want to solve real-world problems," Mr. Weinberg says.