TheMagicalMusicMachine.com: Leveraging MIS Knowledge to Build a Song Creation Website
Open Access
Author:
Cummings, Shane
Area of Honors:
Management Information Systems
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Akhil Kumar, Thesis Supervisor John C Spychalski, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
MIS management information systems music website functional harmony SQL PHP JavaScript HTML CSS scripting coding database music theory
Abstract:
This undergraduate thesis documents the creation of a website utilizing skills gained through a four-year instruction in Management Information Systems. The website, known as themagicalmusicmachine.com, is intended to serve both as a chord dictionary and rudimentary music creation software. Users can input a tonic and a major modality, which are then used to calculate all diatonic chords corresponding to this mode selection. Users can also build progressions using these chords: these progressions can be saved to a SQL database and recalled later for editing.
The goals of this thesis were to (1) apply my MIS knowledge, more specifically the SQL skills acquired in MIS 431, outside of a classroom setting; (2) create a tool to help laymen construct music more easily; (3) to expand my knowledge of music theory and coding and create a tool that I could use to supplement my songwriting, and, most importantly, (4) create a tool that could be leveraged by amateur songwriters and music educators to better understand and explain functional harmony.
