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PAT 204/504: Creative Coding (Fall 2025)

[Gradescope] [Last year’s course website]

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Description

An introduction to principles and practices of computer programming for musical applications. Students learn visual, procedural, and object-oriented programming in general-purpose and music-specific languages. Projects address important musical programming concepts including algorithmic composition, real-time interaction, and audio buffer processing. Emphasis is on creative and artistic uses of code.

This course counts as a Flexible Technical Elective for CS-Eng and DS-Eng programs.

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Objectives

• Gain an understanding of programming for music and multimedia
• Learn to use programming languages commonly used in artistic projects
• Gain hands-on experience through implementing audiovisual systems using creative coding
• Gain a critical comprehension of common concepts and theories employed in creative coding practices

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Schedule

All slides are licensed under CC BY 4.0 .

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Assignments

• All assignments must be completed on your own. You are welcome to exchange ideas with your peers, but this should be in the form of concepts and discussion, not in the form of writing and code.
• Provide proper citations/references for any external resources you use in your writing and code.
• Submit your work to Gradescope.
• All assignments are due at 11:59pm ET on the date specified.
• Late submissions will be accepted for up to a week with 1 point deducted per day.

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Project

• Instructions can be found here.
• Individual project is expected.
• Provide proper citations/references for any external resources you use in your writing and code.
• Submit your work to Gradescope.
• All deliverables are due at 11:59pm ET on the date specified.
• No late submissions! Submit your work early and update it later.

Milestone	Due
Presentation	Dec 1
Report	Dec 15

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Grading

All grading and regrade requests will be handled on Gradescope.

• Homework (40%)
• Midterm assignment (20%)
• Project (40%)
  • Presentation (20%)
  • Report (20%)

The final grading scale is as follows.

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Resources

• Processing is free to download here. Processing documentation can be found here. See also the official tutorials and examples.
• Max is a licensed software which has a 30-day free trial and a monthly license, which is available here. Max documentation can be found here.
• Both Processing and Max are available at the Music Tech Lab.

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Optional Reading

• “Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists“ by Casey Raes and Ben Fry
• “The Nature of Code“ by Daniel Shiffman
• “Electronic Music and Sound Design: Theory and Practice with Max/MSP“ by Alessandro Cipriani and Maurizio Giri
• “The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music“ by Miller Puckette

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Policies

Attendance & Course Recordings

• On-time attendance to class is expected.
• Course lectures will be recorded and made available on the course website. If you do not wish to be recorded, please contact me to discuss alternative arrangements.
• Please attend in-person for the midterm assignment showcase and project presentation.

Generative AI Usage

• Feel free to use GenAI tools (U-M GPT, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, GitHub Copilot, DALLE, Midjourney, Stable Diffusion, Firefly, etc.) in your workflow. However, you must disclose your usage of GenAI services in your write-ups.
• You take full responsibility for AI-generated materials as if you had produced them yourself: ideas should be attributed and facts should be true.

Plagiarism & Academic Misconduct

• Plagiarism and cheating violate SMTD’s Academic Code of Conduct. All plagiarism, cheating and other academic misconduct cases will be reported to SMTD’s Office of Academic and Student Affairs.
• All assignments must be completed on your own. You are welcome to exchange ideas with your peers, but this should be in the form of concepts and discussion, not in the form of writing and code.
• You must provide proper citations/references for any external resources you use in your writing and code.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities/Disability Statement

The University of Michigan recognizes disability as an integral part of diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable educational environment for students with disabilities. Students who are experiencing a disability-related barrier should contact Services for Students with Disabilities ((734) 763-3000 or ssdoffice@umich.edu). For students who are connected with SSD, accommodation requests can be made in Accommodate. If you have any questions or concerns please contact your SSD Coordinator or visit SSD’s Current Student webpage. SSD considers aspects of the course design, course learning objects and the individual academic and course barriers experienced by the student. Further conversation with SSD, instructors, and the student may be warranted to ensure an accessible course experience.

Sexual Misconduct Policy

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, which includes sexual misconduct — including harassment, domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. We understand that sexual violence can undermine students’ academic success and we encourage anyone dealing with sexual misconduct to talk to someone about their experience, so they can get the support they need. Confidential support and academic advocacy can be found with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) on their 24-hour crisis line at (734) 936-3333. Alleged violations can be non-confidentially reported to the Office for Institutional Equity (OIE).

Mental Health and Well-Being

Students may experience stressors that can impact both their academic experience and their personal well-being. These may include academic pressure and challenges associated with relationships, mental health, alcohol or other drugs, identities, finances, etc. If you are experiencing concerns, seeking help is a courageous thing to do for yourself and those who care about you. If the source of your stressors is academic, please contact me so that we can find solutions together. For personal concerns, U-M offers many resources, some of which are listed at Resources for Students on the Well-being Collective website. You can also search for additional resources on that website.

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