Course Information
AAE 495 / AAE 695 — Special Topics in Architectural Design
Saturdays, 10:00 AM – 12:45 PM, ARC 152
Associate Professor Deborah Oakley
This elective course presumes little or no prior background in music or the ability to play an instrument!
Do you enjoy music? Do you enjoy architecture? Then this may be for you! This is elective class is intended to broaden the experience of architecture students into the allied arts of music and animation. Think of it as a playground for artistic explorations in the audio-visual realm.
Architecture and music share many concepts at their core. Elements of music including tone, tonal relationships (melody), tones together (harmony), harmony in sequence (progressions), progressions collected (music or songs), rhythm, repetition, dynamics, consonance, dissonance, etc. can each be seen as having counterparts in architecture. Indeed, the fundamental principles of design such as unity, balance, emphasis and focal point are common among all art forms. This class will explore these and other concepts in service to creative expression.
In this course, students who may have little or no musical background will learn the essentials of music theory presented from an essential and easily grasped perspective. Learn how to train your ear to hear the fundamental sounds in popular music and the structures hidden in the sounds you already know. If you already play an instrument (at any skill level) here’s a chance to deepen your understanding. If you don’t play an insturment, here’s a chance to learn guiding concepts that will open your ears to a deeper understanding of musical structures.
Graphically, participants will learn the fundamentals of the acclaimed open-source 3D computer animation software Blender to create animated visualizations. Targeted lessons will focus on the motion graphics capabiliteis of Blender. Collaborative class teams will create musically narrated animated audio-visual interpretations of architectural and structural principles embodied in the constructed and natural world.
Click here for the preliminary course syllabus. Have questions? Email Professor Oakley.
Here are some example of musically-expressed animations created in Blender. These types of animations and more will be explored in this class:
Blender animation for melody Retro, by Wayne Jones (2:05)
A meditative video-audio loop
Animation of the theme tones from the classic Stephen Spielberg movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, expressed as musical interval numbers. (Ask your parents!)
Another looping meditation
Visualizing musical notes as falling objects
Steel the Beats, Animusic-like by Amort Media using Blender (Original YouTube video here)
Come join me for an exciting, engaging and educational learning experience!
