FOIA on Martin Luther King

wide'tour. Working with Professor Vercoe on the project are Richard J. Steiger, a graduate student, and Stephen Haflich, a recent M.I.T. graduate.

## COMPOSING BY COMPUTER AT ISU

Information Service Iowa State University of Science and Technology Ames, Iowa 50010

Music composers at Iowa State University may turn from their piano keyboards and hand-written scores to a more efficient instrument for composing music a computer. ISU faculty members are building a computerized electronic music studio a system that will technologically simplify composing electronic music. The studio is being designed and built by an interdisciplinary group from Iowa State's music, computer science, and electrical engineering departments, under the direction of Stefan Silverston, assistant professor of computer science, Terry Smay, professor of electrical engineering, and Gary White, associate professor of music.

Electronic music is produced by purely electronic means and the Iowa State Computerized Music System (ISMUS) will be doing just that - generating music with computer equipment. A composer will sit at the computer and write a musical composition using an electronic keyboard.

The new system, which was expected to be operable this fall, should be an easier method of modifying and editing a musical piece. The normal hand operations of changing notations on a printed score or splicing tapes of recorded music are "more time-consuming and inaccurate" processes for correcting a composition, according to Gary White.

The computer composing process begins when the composer inserts introductory instructions into a teletype machine. On an electronic keyboard he then begins to compose his piece. The computer records all musical instructions which are transformed through a digital-to-analog sound converter and loudspeaker into sound. This immediate feedback system enables the composer to hear what he is composing simultaneously. The computer also allows the composer to automatically play back and edit what he has written simply by striking another key.

The musician has now completed one "layer" of music. If he wants to add further musical instructions to the composition, he repeats the entire process again. All layers merge together to obtain the product - a completed electronic composition.

The music instructions which the composer inserts into the system are a special electronic music notation a "computer language." The English words it uses can be compared to musical notation found on a conventional score treble and bass clefs, notes, rests, and the like.

Electronic music has been used in commercial recordings, and as background music for television, radio and film. The Iowa State system will be sophisticated enough for use in serious compositional study, the production of background music for various media, and for the demonstration of sound properties.

The ISMUS presently being built is a prototype of a full-scale model. If the "test-system" proves satisfactory, "we will look for funding to build a full-scale model," says White. The project is presently supported by a $1,170 grant from Western Electric and a National Science Foundation institutional grant of $8,698. The prototype employs a mini-computer that is owned by Iowa State.

The studio will be used as a teaching tool for the ISU music program. Computer software, the programs (sequences of operations to be performed by the computer) written for the system, will be developed so a composer can use the studio equipment without having prior knowledge of computer programming. Students will be able to learn basic acoustical concepts and principles of electronic music synthesis and to develop sensitivity to timbre with the ISMUS. Also contributing to introductory computer science courses, the system will be a novel example of computer application in a non-scientific field.

## STUDENT PROGRAMS COMPUTER FOR REMEDIAL INSTRUCTION

Edward J. Canty Digital Equipment Corp. Maynard, Mass. 01754

Using programs developed by a local high school student, School District 91 in Idaho Falls, has put its newly-acquired computer to work as a "super tutor" in remedial studies for disadvantaged children in this southeastern Idaho community. Designed to improve the arithmetic and language arts skills of children in grades 2 through 6, the project was introduced by director of curriculum Dr. Wallace Manning with federal Title I aid during the district's 1973 summer session for children largely from rural farm families. According to John A. Christensen, computer sciences coordinator, the project proved so successful in its initial application that it has been continued in the fall semester.

The student programmer is Robert Huntsman, 18, a June graduate of Idaho Falls' Skyline High School. Using the district's PDP-11/20 timesharing computer system installed last December by Digital Equipment Corporation, Huntsman developed programs for arithmetic and language drill to serve between 40 and 50 pupils on each of two teletypewriter terminals situated in local elementary schools.

In a typical arithmetic routine, the computer types a problem and waits for the pupil's response ten seconds if the problem is a memory exercise longer if it involves several columns for addition or several digits for multiplication. If the student's answer is correct, Huntsman's program directs the terminal to ring a bell in congratulation; if incorrect, the computer supplies a hint on where the mistake occurred and encourages him to try again.

Answers to English and social studies workbook questions have been entered in the computer memory, allowing students to do their homework at a terminal and receive immediate response. The computer keeps score of right and wrong answers to produce reports for teacher guidance. Spelling-recognition exercises are also in use and Huntsman has undertaken development of an arithmetic program involving fractions

"One of the computer's major advantages is its ability to pay attention to individual children." Christensen said. "Every child enrolled in the regular summer session was able to get experience at a terminal and benefit from these interactive programs." He said high school laboratory assistants will continue to write instructional programs for elementary and junior high levels, expanding the library begun by Huntsman. For future summer ses-