Cursus: Academic and Artistic Framework

The objectives of this new two-year Cursus are to foster autonomy and professionalization among composers in the creation of a musical/performative work.

• Ability to independently create a multimedia and/or electroacoustic work
• Mastery of real-time environments
• Mastery of Computer-Assisted Composition (CAC)
• Skills in sound synthesis, signal processing, and spatialization
• Familiarity with AI applied to music
• Integration of field recording and spatialization into artistic practice
• Knowledge of professional aspects (production, rights management, artistic direction)
• Ability to integrate these tools into a personal artistic project

Working Environment

Participants have access to Mac computers and audio/MIDI equipment in dedicated studios.

Facilities

• One classroom equipped with an audio system and MIDI equipment.
• Three work studios equipped with audio and MIDI equipment, Apple Macintosh computers, and either 4- or 8-channel listening setups; two workstations equipped with audio and MIDI equipment, Apple Macintosh computers, and stereo listening setups.

Documentation

The IRCAM Multimedia library is open Tuesday through Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Over the course of a full year, from October to September, participants are trained in the software developed by IRCAM and used for musical composition (Max, OpenMusic, Modalys, ASAP, Partiel, Spat, etc.).

To validate the skills acquired throughout the year, participants present mini-projects at the end of each module. These presentations also serve as preparation for the final project, presented during the opening of IRCAM’s musical season in September.

Module 1: Introduction and Fundamentals

• Understand the framework and objectives of the program
• Acquire mathematical foundations applied to music
• Explore the field of Computer-Assisted Composition (CAC)
• Assess proficiency in Max/MSP
• Become familiar with IRCAM’s technical environment

Module 2: Multimedia Work

• Design and create a multimedia work combining instruments and electronics
• Introduction to score following and real-time synchronization
• Integrate signal processing, synthesis, and spatialization into a composition
• Develop autonomy in the production process

Module 3: Electroacoustics

• Master the fundamentals of audio editing and studio mixing

• Understand the principles of electroacoustic diffusion

• Produce professional-quality audio signals

Module 4: CAC (Computer-Assisted Composition)

• Master the CAC environments used at IRCAM
• Design algorithmic composition processes
• Integrate AI and machine learning tools into the compositional process
• Develop a personal approach to CAC

Module 5: Recording, Space, and Spatialization

• Carry out field recordings
• Understand the principles and techniques of sound spatialization
• Integrate spatial dimensions into composition

Module 6: Sound Synthesis and Composition

• Understand the historical development of different sound synthesis techniques
• Master spectral analysis and audio descriptors
• Use physical modeling and granular synthesis tools
• Explore contemporary approaches (concatenative synthesis, machine learning)

Module 7: Mapping and Sensors

• Understand the principles of gesture-to-sound mapping
• Connect sensors and interfaces to musical environments
• Explore the creative potential of sonification

Module 8: Introduction to Research and Humanities

• Define what constitutes research in music and sound
• Identify the main research teams, laboratories, and ongoing projects at IRCAM
• Situate one’s own compositional practice within broader aesthetic, historical, and theoretical frameworks
• Critically analyze musical works using methods drawn from musicology, aesthetics, and the humanities
• Understand how research outputs (software, publications, methods) inform the creative tools used throughout the Cursus
• Recognize that each technological tool encountered in the Cursus originates from a living research environment involving researchers and doctoral candidates

Module 9: Professional Practice

• Understand the different facets of the composer’s profession
• Define the issues related to production, rights management, and artistic direction
• Envision a professional career

Final Module: Final Project

Final Trimester (Intensive)

• Create a personal work implementing the skills acquired throughout the program
• Demonstrate artistic and technical autonomy
• Present one’s work publicly

Led by Eva Reiter and guest artists, these workshops explore related subjects while maintaining a close relationship between knowledge and practice.

• Building an instrument
• Improvisation
• Music as kinetic text
• Voice and electronics

Following the concert, participants commit to providing complete documentation of their final project (score, audio mix, organized patches) for archival purposes.

At the conclusion of the Cursus, participants receive a certificate of participation stating the objectives, nature, and duration of the program, along with an evaluation from the composer associated with the Cursus.