Circuit Bending Exco - Experimentalists Anonymous



Circuit Bending Exco

Fall 2006

Instructor: Colin Raffel, 507-398-2646 colin.raffel@oberlin.edu

Course Description

Circuit bending will teach the basics of modifying circuits as well as the history and values behind the circuit bending community. For the first three weeks, students will learn about how circuit bending came about, its ideals, and its continual growth. The course will then switch topics to a “how-to” course, covering basic electronic principles used in circuit bending as well as various in-depth methods of circuit modification. First, students will practice their skills with a simple circuit bent object with no more than a few switches or “bends”, then continue onto a more advanced project such as a tone generator or more complex bends to their first project.

Class Objectives

By the end of the course, the student should have a practical knowledge of the circuit bending community as well as the basic electronics required for fairly in-depth circuit bending. The student should also be able to construct and modify various simple circuits.

Class Dynamics

The class will be split into two periods, one a one hour lecture, and the other a one and a half hour lab period. During the lecture, students will generally just take in information, including techniques, history, and various forms of media, while the lab period will allow students hands-on experience with messing around with circuits.

Requirements

- Attendance: Students will be required to attend both the 1 hour lecture period as well as the 1.5 hour lab each week.

- Readings: Short readings will be assigned on a weekly basis to emphasize the material taught in class.

- Exams: There will be two short exams during the course, one on the history of circuit bending and one on basic electronics. The exams will be in true/false, multiple choice, and short answer format.

- Projects: Each student is required to complete two projects: The first, a very simple circuit bent device, and the second, a slightly more complex circuit bend or circuit. Both projects will require the student to spend a small amount of money. I will be happy to supply and electronic parts necessary for little or no charge, and will be happy to find cheap devices to circuit bend for you for you, in turn, to buy from me. The parts will cost roughly $5. If you have any spare keyboards or children’s toys around, that will be the total cost, but without anything to bend expect to pay an extra $5-10.

Course Outline

Week 1:

Lecture - Introduction: What is circuit bending?

Lab – Introduction: Playing with a few circuits, lab basics

Reading:

Wikipedia on Reed Ghazala

Circuit Bending Chapter 2

Extra Reading:

Week 2:

Lecture – The early history of circuit bending: Electronic music and Reed Ghazala

No lab this week.

Reading – Look at







Extra reading:

Circuit Bending Chapter 1

Week 3:

Lecture – Modern circuit bending: Complex circuits, MIDI, complex DIY audio

No lab this week, but playing with your first device is a good idea.

Reading – Scan

Week 4:

Exam 1 – Circuit bending history: Atari to Ghazala

Lecture – The principles of modifying circuits: Poking and playing

Lab – Getting used to your first devices

Reading – Scan Circuit Bending chapters 8, 9, and 10

Extra reading:

Circuit Bending chapters 13-31

Week 5:

Lecture – Basic electronics for the bender: Switches, resistors, pots

Lab – Finding more simple bends in your first project

Reading – Circuit Bending Chapter 5, 6

Extra reading:

Week 6:

Lecture – Finishing your circuit bent device-: Soldering, drilling, and decorating

Lab – Probing your first circuit with more complex methods, start soldering

Circuit Bending chapter 11

Extra reading:

Week 7:

Lecture – Moving from bending to DIY audio

Lab – Finish up first project, start thinking about/poking around second project

Reading – Craig Anderton’s Electronic Projects for Musicians Introduction

Week 8:

Lecture – Basic electronics for the DIY noisist: Crash course in electrical engineering part 1, reading schematics, the water analogy, basic simple circuits in DIY audio

Lab – Work on second project

Reading – Look over , ,

Week 9:

Lecture – Basic electronics for the DIY Noisist: Crash course part 2, more circuits

Lab – More work on second project

No reading this week. Feel free to look over last week’s reading again or to scan the Internet for schematics. Try or or

Week 10:

Lecture – Basic electronics for the DIY Noisist: Complex electronics and circuit bending, vactrols, sequencing, electronic switches

Lab – More work on second project

No reading this week. See week 9.

Week 11:

Exam 2 – Basic electronics for the DIY Noisist

Lecture – Problems with project 2, specific questions and unclear topics

Lab – Finalizing work on second project (Special long lab if needed!)

No reading this week. See week 9.

Week 12:

Lecture – Show off your projects.

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