MUSC127

Description

Section information text: The Mediated Voice uses an exploration of technological mediations of the human voice as the context for an introduction to foundational electronic music concepts and techniques. The voice is often referred to as the first instrument, and indeed, it is the one with which we are arguably all most familiar. However, despite this extreme familiarity and technical facility, it is also the one that most defies classification, theorizing, and technological reproduction. Through handson creative projects, technical research, scholarly work, and class discussions, we will explore what it means to have, to generate, to wield, and to manipulate a voice in modern society. Topics covered will include sonic cognition, linguistics, vocal performance techniques, speech reproduction and synthesis technologies, machine learning and artificial intelligence, accessibility and prosthesis, virtual digital assistants, the media, democracy and representation, and questions of identity, agency, embodiment, and exploitation.