Overview
In this seminar, students collaboratively explore the design and implementation of digital music technology. The seminar builds a technical foundation in embedded systems and digital audio and adds challenges in system design, performance, and aesthetic practice. The final outcome is a public performance or public art installation.
On the technical side, the course covers fundamentals of audio synthesis, embedded audio processing, communication in embedded systems (with a focus on audio-related protocols such as MIDI), sampling of analog and digital sensors, and basic sensor design.
On the design side, students situate these technologies within broader questions of system design, performance design, and artistic practice.
Assessment
Students are evaluated individually on technical skills, as well as on the implementation and documentation of a public performance or music installation.
Phase 1
There will be three assignments where students need to develop small applications: Audio Synthesis, Sensors, and MIDI/Communication. These need to be submitted before the exam. The grade will be based on the exam. The exam will be designed in collaboration with the students, based on lecture and assignments.
Phase 2
Students are required to present an interactive audio installation or perform on an instrument of their design. As many things can go wrong during live demonstrations, the demonstration itself will not be graded; any serious attempt at conducting the live demonstration passes. A serious attempt also means that students presented progress continuously, sought out feedback, and acted on the feedback leading up to the presentation. The final submission will be all documentation of the project. This will be graded based on its completeness — that is, the extent to which the documentation enables others to easily recreate your work.
Learning outcomes
Students leave the course with:
- Practical skills relevant to music technology: embedded audio, synthesis, sensing, MIDI, and communication.
- A clearer understanding of the intersection of art and technology.
- A basis for future work in HCI, music technology, and related fields.
Schedule (2026)
Regular meetings are planned for Tuesdays and Fridays unless otherwise noted.
Preparatory Phase (06.04–19.04)
| Dates | Activity | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| 06.04–12.04 | Hardware pickup; driver & software installation | |
| 13.04–19.04 | Hardware pickup; driver & software installation | Laptops prepared for coursework |
Phase 1: Foundations (20.04–31.05)
| Dates | Tuesday Session | Friday Session | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20.04–26.04 | 21.04.2026 Course Overview, Structure and Objectives |
24.04.2026 Audio Synthesis (hands-on) |
|
| 27.04–03.05 | 28.04.2026 Analog & Digital Sensors (Pi Pico) |
Thursday Digital Audio Synthesis (Daisy) |
|
| 04.05–10.05 | 05.05.2026 Elevator Sound (tbc) 07.05.2026 Thu: Bart Hengeveld — Mapping input to sound |
08.05.2026 Feedback from Valentin |
|
| 11.05–17.05 | 12.05.2026 Prepare Synth Engine Demo |
15.05.2026 Human Input Demo + Communication |
Tue: Synth Engine + Q Fri: Human Input + Q |
| 18.05–24.05 | 19.05.2026 Interactive Synth Demo |
22.05.2026 Brainstorming |
Interactive System + Q |
| 25.05–31.05 | 26.05.2026 Exam Prep |
29.05.2026 Exam |
Exam |
Phase 2: Project Work (01.06–17.07)
| Dates | Tuesday Session | Friday Session | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01.06–07.06 | 02.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
05.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
|
| 08.06–14.06 | 09.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
12.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
|
| 15.06–21.06 | 16.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
19.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
|
| 22.06–28.06 | 23.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
26.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
|
| 29.06–05.07 | 30.06.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
03.07.2026 Project Work (self-directed) |
|
| 06.07–12.07 | 07.07.2026 Final Project Preparation |
10.07.2026 Final Project Preparation |
|
| 13.07–17.07 | 14.07.2026 Final Demo |
17.07.2026 Final Presentations |
Final Project |
Examples: Performances & Installations
Thumbnail links open in YouTube.
Final presentation & submission
Final demo (14.07.2026)
- Internal final demo and last technical check.
Final presentations (17.07.2026)
- Public demo or performance in Saarbrücken.
- Guests from academia and industry will be invited.
Final submission (17.07.2026)
- Demonstration video
- Images
- Code
- Schematics
- Design files