A brand new, multidisciplinary MIT graduate program in music expertise and computation will function college, labs, and curricula from throughout the Institute.
This system is a collaboration between the Music and Theater Arts Part within the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS); Division of Electrical Engineering and Laptop Science (EECS) within the College of Engineering; and the MIT Schwarzman Faculty of Computing.
“The launch of a brand new graduate program in music expertise strikes me as each a crucial and a provocative gesture — an necessary leap in an period being quickly redefined by exponential progress in computation, synthetic intelligence, and human-computer interactions of each conceivable sort,” says Jay Scheib, head of the MIT Music and Theater Arts Part and the Class of 1949 Professor.
“Music performs a sublime function on the fore of a outstanding convergence of artwork and expertise,” provides Scheib. “It’s the precise time to launch this program and if not at MIT, then the place?”
MIT’s practitioners outline music expertise as the sphere of scientific inquiry the place they examine, uncover, and develop new computational approaches to music that embrace music data retrieval; synthetic intelligence; machine studying; generative algorithms; interplay and efficiency programs; digital instrument design; conceptual and perceptual modeling of music; acoustics; audio sign processing; and software program improvement for artistic expression and music purposes.
Eran Egozy, professor of the apply in music expertise and one of many program leads, says MIT’s focus is technical analysis in music expertise that at all times facilities the humanistic and inventive features of creating music.
“There are such a lot of MIT college students who’re fabulous musicians,” says Egozy. “We’ll strategy music expertise as laptop scientists, mathematicians, and musicians.”
With the launch of this new program — an providing alongside these obtainable in MIT’s Media Lab and elsewhere — Egozy sees MIT changing into the plain vacation spot for college kids inquisitive about music and computation examine, making ready high-impact graduates for roles in academia and trade, whereas additionally serving to mildew artistic, big-picture thinkers who can deal with massive challenges.
Investigating huge concepts
This system will embody two grasp’s levels and a PhD:
- The Grasp of Science (MS) is a two-semester, thesis-based program obtainable solely to MIT undergraduates. One semester of fellowship is robotically awarded to all admitted college students. The primary class will enroll in fall 2025.
- The Grasp of Utilized Science (MAS) is a two-semester, coursework-based program obtainable to all college students. One semester of fellowship funding is robotically awarded to all admitted college students. Purposes for this program will open in fall 2025.
- The PhD program is offered to all college students, who would apply to MIT’s College of Engineering.
Anna Huang, a brand new MIT assistant professor who holds a shared college place between the MIT Music and Theater Arts Part and the MIT Schwarzman Faculty of Computing, is collaborating with Egozy to develop and launch this system. Huang arrived at MIT this fall after spending eight years with Magenta at Google Mind and DeepMind, spearheading efforts in generative modeling, reinforcement studying, and human-computer interplay to assist human-AI partnerships in music-making.
“As a composer turned AI researcher who makes a speciality of generative music expertise, my long-term objective is to develop AI programs that may shed new mild on how we perceive, study, and create music, and to study from interactions between musicians with the intention to remodel how we strategy human-AI collaboration,” says Huang. “This new program will allow us to additional examine how musical purposes can illuminate issues in understanding neural networks, for instance.”
MIT’s new Edward and Joyce Linde Music Constructing, that includes enhanced music expertise areas, can even assist remodel music schooling with versatile efficiency venues and optimized rehearsal services.
A pure dwelling for music expertise
MIT’s world-class, top-ranked engineering program, mixed with its concentrate on computation and its conservatory-level music schooling choices, makes the Institute a pure dwelling for the continued growth of music expertise schooling.
The collaborative nature of the brand new program is the newest instance of interdisciplinary work occurring throughout the Institute.
“I’m thrilled that the College of Engineering is partnering with the MIT Music and Theater Arts Part on this necessary initiative, which represents the convergence of assorted engineering areas — similar to AI and design — with music,” says Anantha Chandrakasan, dean of the College of Engineering, chief innovation and technique officer, and the Vannevar Bush Professor of EECS. “I can’t wait to see the revolutionary tasks the scholars will create and the way they may drive this new subject ahead.”
“Everybody on campus is aware of that MIT is a good place to do music. However I need folks to return to MIT due to what we do in music,” says Agustin Rayo, the Kenan Sahin Dean of SHASS. “This excellent collaboration with the Schwarzman Faculty of Computing and the College of Engineering will make that dream a actuality, by bringing collectively the world’s finest engineers with our extraordinary musicians to create the following technology of music applied sciences.”
“The brand new grasp’s program gives college students an unparalleled alternative to discover the intersection of music and expertise,” says Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of the MIT Schwarzman Faculty of Computing and the Henry Ellis Warren Professor of EECS. “It equips them with a deep understanding of this confluence, making ready them to advance new approaches to computational fashions of music and be on the forefront of an evolving space.”
