We had the opportunity last week to witness a new piece of music take shape at the M.I.T. Media Lab. Instead of flowing from the pen of a lone latter-day Mozart, this composition emerged on a computer screen from the collective efforts of two classrooms engaging in a composing charrette via a Skype connection. A cluster of middle schoolers from theĀ Armenian Sisters’ Academy in Lexington, MA, gathered in a corner of Tod Machover’s research space at the Media Lab, while a flat-screen delivered a stream from another group of teens living more than 8,700 kilometers away in the village of Gargar, Armenia. A facilitator on the Armenian side apologized that half the class had been unable to attend because blizzards had left many roads impassable.
Under Tod’s expert cajoling, Ā the teens launched into the project by humming some melodies, which were noted down using Hyperscore, a graphical software developed at the lab. The screen quickly filled up with melodic ideas, or ‘motifs’, and a percussion sequence. The kids then started assembling their composition. “Do you want the piece to start with a big explosion, or something quieter?” Tod asked. Something quieter, was the consensus. A motif was selected and “drawn” onto the digital canvas. A second pensive motif was introduced, and then it was time to bring in some livelier motifs to wake things up. The kids started piling on layers, made a motif swing high and swoop low… and they were out of time. In one hour, they had put together the first minute of their composition. They plan to meet a few more times to complete a short work, which will be premiered at the end of this month by the Armenian National Symphony. Talk about pressure!
