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Proposal: Center for Computer Research in Acoustics and Music

From: John M. Chowning 

The Departments of Music  and Computer Science, ten years  ago, began
their  support of  computer music  at a  time when  many universities
considered such work to  be anti-humanistic and/or trivial.  Stanford
was the  first to  develop a  self-contained, interactive  system for
direct  digital  synthesis  using  computers  supported  by  powerful
synthesis  and composition  programs.    There are  two  particularly
visible  indicators which affirm  both the  initial foresight  of the
Department of Music and our success  at achieving what we set out  to
do; first, we have been supplying in recent years a growing number of
universities,   including   Columbia,   Princeton,   Carnegie-Mellon,
Michigan State,  Colgate, with  our programs  and special  knowledge;
second, we have been asked by Pierre Boulez, composer-conductor and a
major  international figure, to participate in  the planning for, and
research  within,   the  Institute  de   Recherche  et   Coordination
d'Acoustique  Musicale which  is being  built as  part of  the Centre
Beaubourg in Paris and  which Boulez will  direct beginning in  1975.
It is  significant that  in the plans  for this  institute and in  an
increasing  number of  universities, the  primary research  tools for
acoustics  and   composition  are   computers  rather   than   analog
synthesizers.

At the Stanford Artificial  Intelligence Laboratory we have developed
programs and techniques for the simulation of moving sound sources in
reverberant  spaces,  the  composition  of  music,   the  editing  of
manuscripts, and the analysis  and synthesis of complex signals, some
of which are startlingly simple in their implementation and novel  in
conception.  While the  progress of this research has  certainly been
enhanced  by the high  level of  technological expertise at  the A.I.
Lab., it  has  been  equally dependent  upon  the  cross-disciplinary
skills of the researchers themselves.   It is this inter-disciplinary
aspect  which has  given  our research  its particular  character and
which circumscribes our interests.

We have certainly benefited from our association with  the A.I. Lab.;
however, we are  a burden to that system.  It  is clear that in order
to continue our work on a  substantive basis we must become, to  some
extent, independent. Independence requires support  which requires an
idea - therefore, this proposal.

Organization

We  propose  that the  Department  of Music  continue  the  work with
computers by organizing a center for research in acoustics and music,
contingent  upon  our  success  at finding  support  outside  of  the
university.    For the  following  reasons  the center  would  have a
logical existence at Stanford:

	1. Our  work in  this  area is  already well-established  and
	   highly regarded,
	2. We  have the research momentum and  a staff which reflects
	   the inter-disciplinary nature of the research,
	3. Stanford's  balance  between  the  technological  and  the
	   humanistic  disciplines  would  provide  an ideal nutrient
	   environment for such a center.

The  center should be organized  in such a  way that it  has a direct
relationship to the academic program of the department, but should be
to some  degree automonous in  determining its research  projects and
staff.

Academic Contribution

	Teaching
		  Since  1966  the  department  has  included  in its
curriculum the 220 series, computer sound  synthesis and composition.
These  courses have  been necessarily  small because  of  the limited
computer time available to the students. The center could provide the
facilities  and teaching  staff  for expanding  this  program into  a
number of  courses and seminars for both  the general student and the
graduate  student  who  has  a  special  interest  in  acoustics  and
electronic music.   Within the  competence of the proposed  staff are
the following courses and seminars.

	 General Courses-
		 Musical Acoustics
		 Psychoacoustics
		 Electronic music (repertory and analysis)
	 Specialized Courses and Seminars-
		 Digital sound synthesis
		 Composing programs and algorithms
		 Digital Processing and pertinent mathematics

	Research
		  In addition to  the research projects  of the staff
(the outline of an  NSF proposal under preparation is  attached), the
center  should  support  research  projects of  specially  interested
graduate and undergraduate students from the university at large.  It
has  not  been  unusual   in  the  past,  for  students   from  other
departments,  e.g. computer science, psychology,  to make significant
contributions in  the field  and this  interaction  should surely  be
encouraged.

	Composition
		    One of the very real difficulties in the past has
been the  acquisition of sufficient computer time to compose works of
large proportions.  Here,  the new technology can certainly  help us.
As noted below (Equipment),  a special purpose processor can generate
in real-time,  complex muscical  works which  take tens  of hours  of
computation on the current PDP-10 system. The center would be an open
facility for composers in the Department of Music.

We would propose a program where major guest composers are invited to
work at the center for specific periods of time.  This  program would
not  only  aid the  dissemination  of  our  research results  to  the
outside,  but  would  contribute to  the  general  level  of artistic
activity on campus in the form of concerts and lectures.  Interest in
working at Stanford has already been expressed by Ligeti and Xenakis.

Staff

	L. Smith, Professor of Music, Faculty advisor

	1. J. Chowning Music
	2. L. Rush Music
	3. J. Grey Psychology
	4. J. Moorer Computer Science

Location

There  are advantages in  maintaining our  association with  the A.I.
Lab.

	1. There is no requirement for additional space
	2. We can buy a `piece' of a hardware engineer's time
	3. Our system can be an `invisible peripheral' to the  PDP-10
	   system
	4. We have available to our system the PDP-10 software
	5. We benefit from the high level of technology - ideas breed
	   ideas

We have discussed this matter with John McCarthy and he has agreed in
principle to our continued association, subject to the condition that
we pay  in proportion to  our use of the  system.  Any  proposals for
support  which  we  submit,  therefore,  must  first  be perused  and
approved by him.

Equipment

The department now owns some excellent audio equipment  which is kept
at the A.I. Lab.  Most  of this was bought from the license income of
the spatial processing invention.

	1. 4-channel Scully recorder value		 $4000.
	2. 4-channel Sony recorder			  1300.
	3. 4-channel Dolby noise suppressor		  1200.
	4. 4-channel amplifier speaker system             1000.
	5. 1/2 and 1/4 in. tape 			   500.
	6. reserve for equipment repair etc. 	1000.

There are two additional pieces of  equipment we need in order to  be
invisible to the PDP-10 system.

	1. PDP-11 45 mini-computer $35,000.
	2. Special purpose acoustical processor c. 20,000.

Budget

In order to continue our research and buy the above capital equipment
we are preparing a proposal for NSF to cover the costs for a two-year
period.    We   would  approach  foundations   as  well,  given   the
university's  approval.   M.V.  Mathews, Director  of the  Behavioral
Research  and Acoustics Laboratory,  Bell Telephone Laboratories, has
offered his  help  in finding  support for  the  research and/or  the
center.