Brian K. Shepard Music Technologist Site Menu
Brian K. Shepard
Back before the big haircut!
Ever since childhood, I have been fascinated with the way things work. Combine that driving curiosity with my love of music, and music technology was a natural result. I first began to work with music technology in the 1980s when computers and synthesizers were just beginning to make a major impact on the music industry. Although technology now occupies a large part of my musical life, I have never lost sight of the fact that the music comes first. Technology, as good and valuable as it is, will always remain a tool for the creation, recreation, understanding, and teaching of music. One of my primary goals at the USC Thornton School of Music is to ensure that our faculty has access to, and understanding of, the pedagogical applications of technology in the teaching of music. Another goal is to prepare our students for the technological demands of life as a 21st century musician. It is no longer adequate to be merely a performer, composer, or teacher. Today's musicians are expected to be able to make their own recordings, create and edit video, use computers to compose and arrange music, as well as to network and promote themselves and their performances. My job is to help our students gain those vital skills while continuing to hone their musical talents.

Internet2 Activities

I was an early proponent of high-bandwidth videoconferencing for musical purposes, and in October 1999, I conducted the very first demonstration of a private music lesson over Internet2 with full-frequency, uncompressed audio and video. Since that time, my research into the musical capabilities and opportunities of high-performance networks has been ongoing, and in April 2006, Internet2 recognized my work with their inaugural IDEA Award. I have demonstrated and presented my research at numerous conferences and workshops around the world, and it is published in the National Association of Schools of Music's Proceedings (pdf). It has also been featured in a number of media outlets including CNN's Technology Week In Review and NPR's Morning Edition, as well as in The Christian Science Monitor, Discover, Symphony, EdTech, AV Technology magazines, and most recently, The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Because musical videoconferences require more responsive microphones and loudspeakers than those used in a typical videoconference, the sound produced by the loudspeakers is often picked up by the microphones and retransmitted back to the original site as an echo. In October 2009, after nearly 10 years of research into issues of audio quality and echo control for musical videoconferencing, I released my software ECHODamp to educational and performing arts institutions around the world. This breakthrough application allows participants to control echo in a videoconference without sacrificing audio quality, and musicians may now experience the sound of a full, uncompressed frequency spectrum, without echo, even after the audio has traveled thousands of miles. Recognizing the importance of quality echo control in the high-performance network environment, Internet2 honored me with a 2nd IDEA Award in 2010 for ECHODamp.

Interactive Learning Objects

In addition to my Internet2-based research, I have also focused a lot my energy and research on the design and creation of interactive learning objects for music students. My idea is to create easy-to-use and single-focus learning objects that students can run in a lab, or on their own computers, that teach or reinforce concepts from a variety of music courses. Because of the flexibility afforded with its free player software, these objects are all created in MaxMSP from Cycling '74. Feel free to download, use, and distribute these learning objects. I only ask that you don't remove the copyright information from the objects.
  • Sound Basics
    Demonstrates basic sound wave concepts like frequency, amplitude and wavelength
  • Equal Loudness Demonstration
    Helps reinforce the concepts of the equal loudness contour curves
  • Sound Wave Types
    Lets the student see and hear the four basic wave types: sine, triangle, sawtooth, and square
  • Sound Wave Interactions
    Shows how sound waves interact with each other. The student can both see and hear the result as they manipulate different frequency sound waves
  • Phase Cancellation Demonstration
    Take two identical sound waves and see what happens as they move out of phase with each other
  • Beat Frequency Demonstration
    Demonstrates the concept of beat frequencies in both an audible and visual manner
  • Harmonics Demonstration
    Manipulate the harmonic content above a fundamental frequency and hear—and see—the difference
  • Just Intonation Demonstration
    Experience the differences between Equal Temperament and Just Intonation in intervals, chords, and a Bach chorale excerpt
  • Tone Row Matrix Generator
    The perfect gift for the lazy serial composer who has everything except a new tone row
Invited and Peer-Reviewed Presentations
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