Making Music with Computers: Creative Programming in Python

This is an introduction to creative software development and music making in Python. This material is intended for CS0/CS1 courses and for courses at the intersection of computing and the arts. The workshop will introduce music making activities for teaching traditional CS1 topics, GUIs, event-driven programming, and connecting to external devices (e.g., smartphones, digital pianos) via MIDI and OSC (Open Sound Control). Participants will be introduced to Jython Music (http://jythonMusic.org), a library of Python modules for creative programming and music making, and will be making their own music artifacts a few minutes later. Intended audience: Computer science educators interested in teaching creative programming and computational thinking for CS0, CS1, introductory courses in the intersection of computing and the arts, and courses intended to attract and retain new CS majors. Each participant will receive a copy of (1) handouts to be used during the workshop, (2) sample student assignments and projects, (3) API documentation, (4) all required software, and (5) numerous sample programs. Laptop required (with Java JDK 7 or higher). All other software will be provided. Headphones are recommended.