Curriculum

Class 1 (Cube)  - Introduction to Spatial Audio (1 hour 15 minutes)

Introduce the concept of spatial sound. Demonstrate that even a “mono” sound becomes spatial once projected into a room. Demonstrate the same audio clip played in mono, stereo, 5.1, octophonic, and full Cube (140 loudspeakers). Demonstrate and explain early stereo recording techniques and their application to present spatial audio, e.g., Mid-Side, Blumlein pair, etc. Demonstrate recording in mono for encoding for spatialization. Recordings will be used for future classes.

Cless 2 (Cube) - Fundamentals of Sound Reproduction for Multichannel Configurations (1 hour 15 minutes)

Discussion on basics of room acoustics, loudspeaker configurations, and general concepts for multichannel sound reproduction.  Discussions on high density loudspeaker array design including how many loudspeakers, where to position them, and how to connect them. Going deeper with digital signal processing for correction and scenarios for appropriate applications.

Class 3 (Perform) - Ambisonics I (1 hour 15 minutes)

Introduce basic concept of Ambisonics, and demonstrate proto-Ambisonics and Ambisonics recording and playback, with 

1. mid-side omni & figure-8 

2. mid-side 2x cardioids

3. Double mid-side with 2x figure-8 mics and an omnidirectional mic (2D first order Ambisonics recording)

4. [optional] 3D first order recording with 3x figure-8 mics and an omni

5. 4-capsule directional mics (H3-VR Zoom recorder)

6. Ambeo and other mics comparison 

7. History – analog encode/decode from the 70s

Decode each recording to loudspeakers and audition.

Class 4 (Cube) - Ambisonics II (1 hour 15 minutes)

Introduce concept of higher order ambisonics (HOA), spherical harmonics, basic equations. Implementation formats: FuMa & AmbiX (ACN/SN3D). Demonstrate practical spatialization from 3rd up to 7th order using ZKM ICST tools in Reaper. Demonstrate encoding/decoding with rendering to HOA files. Also show possibility for decoding to a variety of loudspeaker configurations, discussing the tradeoffs.

Class 5 (Cube) - Listening Session I  (1 hour )

Audition Ambisonics pieces. Higher order Ambisonics (HOA) works played back on a high-density loudspeaker array.  

Class 1 - Point source mixing (1 hour 15 minutes)

Introduction to concepts of point sources and using software such as Reaper and SuperCollider to produce object-based spatial audio mixes. Specific topics include multichannel panning and multichannel reverb.

Class 2 - Spectral spatialization (1 hour 15 minutes)

Eric Lyon’s Max spatialization objects, SPEAR and ATS for partial tracking and spatial deployment.

LUNCH (1 hour)

Class 3 - Practical mixing for HDLAs I (1 hour 15 minutes)

Demonstrate different approaches for site-specific mixing and code-based algorithmic mixing. Multiple realizations from the same set of materials providing different need-based outcomes. Multi-modal spatial mixing, e.g., ambisonics and point source

Class 4 - Practical mixing for HDLAs II (1 hour 15 minutes)

How to package work to transport to other places and playback systems. Dry and wet recording methods are explored. Post-production processing documented works. Works for online streaming services such as YouTube.

Class 5 - Listening Session II (1 hour)

Audition non-Ambisonics spatial compositions for HDLAs.

Class 1 - Live control of spatialization (1 hour 15 minutes)

Demonstrating live control of spatialization with external interfaces such as MIDI controllers, motion capture, and non-traditional control devices.

Class 2 - Mutlichannel Deployment Scenarios for Sonification and Auralization (1 hour 15 minutes)

Using multichannel workflows to generate immersive audio.  Data driven workflows to drive audio generating devices such as synthesizers and VST plug ins.

LUNCH (1 hour)

Class 3 - How to build a Tesseract (1 hour 15 minutes)

Discussion on concepts of making a modular, portable spatial audio system. Identification of possible hardware and software options for creating a system that can be relocated with minimal setup times. Discussion on calibration and signal presentations.

Class 4 – Mixed Modality Spatial Audio (1 hour 15 minutes)

Spatialization and mixed modality auditory displays. Focusing on Bone Conduction (BC) headphones combined with loudspeaker arrays. Discussion on challenges of creating content and engineering issues.

Class 5 (1 hour)

Open Discussion about the future of spatial audio with all participants.