Institute and Research Areas
The Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology brings together scientists and artists from various professional backgrounds: mathematics, engineering, audio engineering, psychoacoustics, computer science, generative art, media art, musicology, music theory, performance and composition. This rich mix encourages projects examining the relationship between technology and musical practice, exploring critically the tradition of contemporary and electroacoustic music using methods of both classical and artistic research.
In addition to research and teaching, other activities at ICST include musical creation made possible through artistic residencies, the realization of concerts, workshops, talks and other public events and an the documentation of electroacoustic music made publicly available in the ICST Archives. With the pre-PhD programme EARS, launched for the first time in spring 2022, the ICST is also active in promoting young researchers in the arts.
Research Areas
ICST’s research areas include 3D-Audio, Interfaces & Augmented Instruments, Audio Haptic, Auditory Perception, Telematic Performance, Performance Practice of Electroacoustic Music, Sound Design, Sound Moving Sources, Theory, Notation and Representation, Acoustic Ecology and Generative Art.
Results are presented in the form of software, hardware, publications, conference contributions as well as through compositions and artistic projects. The tools for the practical use of the surround technology Ambisonics developed at ICST have received international acclaim.
Research Focus in Technology and Music Practice
Our research in this area explores the interaction between music practice and technology, such as the manifold interrelations between sound as a natural phenomenon and human perception. We also develop the tools (including software, interfaces, instruments) needed for sound generation, transformation, diffusion, and design. Such work includes questions concerning the relationship between the conception, performance, and archiving of musical works. Doing so brings together practical disciplines (composition and performance), the natural sciences (including mathematics, engineering, audio-technology), and the humanities (cultural studies and musicology). The Research Focus in Technology and Music Practice is affiliated with the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology at the Department of Music.