Dr. Jennifer Burg

Department of Computer Science

Research Project for Undergraduates

The Science and Art of Digital Sound Production

Digital sound production – for example, recording music and editing it into a distributable form or creating sound backdrops for theatre plays – is an area where science and art must be combined. This summer project entails learning the science underlying digital sound production and applying this knowledge to hands-on projects. The student undertaking this project can choose to focus on either music or theatre production. In that context, that student will learn about analog to digital conversion, sampling, quantization, aliasing, quantization error, decibels, signal-to-noise-ratio, filtering, transforms, equalization, reverbation, comb filters, and other special effects. Sound production will be done in an experimental fashion. Students will report on the concepts they apply and the processes they use. They will use tools and both a high and low level of abstraction. High level tools could include Audition, Music Creator, Logic, Acid Pro, and Reason, for example. Low level tools could include MATLAB and MAX/MSP. For more information, see http://www.cs.wfu.edu/%7Eburg/nsf-due-0340969/textbased/Chapter4CS.pdf and http://www.cs.wfu.edu/%7Eburg/nsf-due-0340969/textbased/Chapter5CS.pdf.