In the morning, we had a library orientation and learned about how to use resources from the UCSD library from their website catalog. Our cluster spent the rest of the morning in the library. We explored Geisel Library’s eight floors and found a spot to work on our essays. In the afternoon, we dived further into using python to create music tracks in the Google Colab workspace by working on activity problems based on what we already covered on Tuesday. A few people shared what they came up with before we moved on to learning about meter. We learned about subdivisions in rhythm, tempos, and how to arrange overlapping beats before concluding class.

We then talked about representations of music scores and machine learning limitations as well as the process from utilizing data to train models. When we got back from lunch, we implemented Max for Live for Ableton and created a project on MIDI probability. We also added drum beats from a kit in Ableton to create a “house music” track. Finally, as a bonus, we designed our own polyphonic synthesizer.

The morning began with a discovery lecture by Professor Benjamin Smarr about using technology to see nature and help people. Then came a morning spent in the library, working on our ethics essays. After a (hopefully) productive work session, Cluster 9 headed to lunch, then returned to the classroom for a lecture by one of our TAs on computational algorithms. We learned all about formal grammar, Markov Chains, and probability, and practiced applying these concepts to music by generating melodies and chord progressions. At the end of class, we got to share our algorithmic creations by playing on the piano.