Teaching
I teach at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I am a member of both the Sound department and the Art and Technology Studies Department. I mainly teach the things I do within my art and performing practices, with an emphasis on code-based composition and production, activated physical systems, and sound installation.
All of my classes have blog-based web pages - they can all be found at:
Some individual class descriptions, to wet your appetite:
Programming Sound (http://programmingsound.wordpress.com/)
This is the site for a set of classes: Programming Sound:Max/MSP offers the basic technique of programming for audio synthesis and processing and event creation and management using Cyling 74's Max/MSP language. Programming Sound:Synthesis uses Max/MSP to explore ideas behind audio synthesis by exploring basic acoustics, the history of analog and digital sound synthesis techniques and music/sound composition, as well as a number of current approaches. We recreate all the "classics" here, as well as do a great deal of creation of work, in class critiques, etc. Programming Sound:Performance takes the same approach with live performance, this time with the emphasis on interfaces, approaches to computer/performer/audience interaction and relationship, combining a review of "classics" and current work, and many in-class performances. This site, in addition to providing a syllabus, otherwise mainly contains support materials, downloadable tutorials, etc.
Digital Control: Micro (http://deckermicro.wordpress.com/)
This is the site for a class I teach in the Art and Technology Studies Dept. on using microcontrollers within artworks. This class covers a broad range of techniques and ideas related to embedded control of kinetic, light, and sound elements within sculptural and media works. The site contains many many tutorials on basic ideas using the arduino open-source electronics prototyping platform, all written in C. As I use this technology and techniques widely in my own work, this class is very much a reflection of my experience and ideas as an artist using these techniques for creative purposes.
Experimental Programming in Flash (http://deckerflash.wordpress.com/)
This website is for a Experimental programming class I teach for the Art and Technology Studies department. Given that my creative process is largely one based on simulation and the creation of process using programming, this course reflects a very broad approach to this creative process. Using actionscript, anow a high-level object-oriented programming language, allows the students in the class to incorporate a wide variety of image/video/sound/text related media within the one class. WHile there is certainly an emphasis on audio and video (given my own media work) the class ranges fairly broadly. The site contains a large number of custom tutorials designed to gently approach object-oriented programming as a creative process.