Dr. Ted Apel

Assistant Professor, Boise State University Teaching

Teaching Generative Game Music Creation to Undergraduate Video Game Majors

I would like to present my experiences teaching electronic music techniques to students who have little musical background but a strong desire to create music and sound effects for their video game projects.

I have found that by employing the tools they are already familiar with (the Unity game environment and computer programming), introducing basic music theory concepts without using traditional notation, and providing specific and restrictive guidelines for compositional techniques, students can create interactive and generative soundtracks and for their game projects. The presentation includes examples of video games with interactive music created by students in my classes.

BIO

Ted Apel received his M.A. in electroacoustic music at Dartmouth College studying with Jon Appleton, Larry Polansky, Kathryn Alexander, and Christian Wolff. He received his Ph.D. in computer music at the University of California, San Diego studying with Miller Puckette, Shlomo Dubnov, and F. Richard Moore. He has been a Lecturer in Sonic Arts and Electronic Music at The University of Wellington in New Zealand. He is currently a clinical assistant professor in the Games, Interactive Media, and Mobile Technology (GIMM) program at Boise State University.