ECE402
ECE402 (Electronic Music Synthesis) is a 3-credit-hour course that satifies the Technical Electives requirements for ECE majors. It is offered in both the Fall and Spring semesters.
Content Covered
This course is a good technical elective. It is interesting and not an overwhelming workload. The course is mostly conceptual. There is some math, but it is not a primary part of the course. Throughout the class, you learn the history of electronic music. You learn about how the ear hears, and how you can create sounds and music using sine waves as building blocks. One thing you will not learn is how to make EDM type music.
Prerequisites
The official prerequisite for this class is ECE310. What you need for this class is the ability to read sheet music and a basic understanding of tempo, pitch, etc. You should take ECE120 first. And you need to be reasonably familiar with DSP basics to understand lectures, which means you will either need ECE310 or read up digital filters, transforms, and sampling related topics on your own.
When to Take it
The course is offered every semester. It is a good tech elective to take if you are interested in audio processing/engineering and enjoyed the content/applications of ECE310.
Course Structure
Homework consists of reading one article a week, two to ten pages, and writing a page of answers to qualitative questions, which all in all, takes about three hours, once a week. You also spend two hours per week in the lab with a partner, working with music synthesis software. The lab won't show up on your schedule; you sign up for a time during the first week of class. There are no lab write-ups, and no time required beyond the two hours spent in lab. Labs are fun, informative, and not tough. You spend the last four weeks of class on an open ended final project. Again, it's neat, but not overwhelming.
Instructors
The course is taught exclusively by Professor Zuofu Cheng, the ECE385 Professor.
Life After
Students who enjoy ECE402 may enjoy ECE418, Image and Video Processing. The job market for computer music engineers is primarily in the film/gaming industry, and is not overwhelmingly expansive, so for those who have an interest in working for the engineering side of the film industry, this course may be a good supplement/introduction to the industry. In the past, students have been introduced to internships with Lucasfilm.