Module MUSI2331: ELECTROACOUSTIC STUDIES

Department: Music

MUSI2331: ELECTROACOUSTIC STUDIES

Prerequisites

• Contemporary Music (MUSI1201).

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To provide an introduction to the techniques of electroacoustic music composition, building upon the foundation skills acquired in the Preliminary Honours module 'Techniques of Composition'.

Content

• Introduction to the resources of the electroacoustic music studios.
• The operational principles of microphones, the studio mixing desk, hardware and software recording systems, synthesisers and signal processors.
• The study of the nature of musical sounds and their spectral and dynamic characteristics, and the significance of acoustical considerations in the generation and propagation of electroacoustic music.
• The construction of studies that apply these principles to demonstrate technical competence and musical creativity.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will acquire a practical knowledge of the electroacoustic resources available in the Department's studios and an understanding of the primary acoustical and technical characteristics that govern their use.
• This knowledge will embrace the key issues of technical quality and how this is achieved, and the choice and use of resources for the purposes of electroacoustic composition.
• On completion of the module students will be able to embark upon a major electroacoustic project at Level 3, following the degree pathway in Composition.

• Students will be able to demonstrate practical skills in the use of technology to analyse, synthesise, and manipulate sound material in a creative context.

• Students will be able to demonstrate advanced information technology skills, the ability to work independently and show critical self-awareness.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• The practical study of electroacoustic music demands the acquisition of considerable technical knowledge that is not normally encountered in purely instrumental composition.
• This knowledge is best taught in a 'hands on' environment, learning specific skills step by step through directed exercises which gradually progress from being purely instructive in nature to those of a more hybrid nature, where the use of the technology is increasingly driven by creative imperatives.
• This accumulation of knowledge requires a highly interactive teaching and learning environment with a significant degree of immediate group and one-to-one feedback through studio-based seminars and supporting tutorials.
• The balance between studio-based seminars and tutorials adjusts from a bias towards the former to a bias towards the latter during the year in order to reflect the transition from a predominantly instructive academic environment to a predominantly creative academic environment.
• This is reflected in the nature of the two major summative components over the first consisting of three task-directed assignments completed during the first two terms, and the second a self-contained compositional project completed during the third term.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Weekly feedback (Terms 1 and 2) in seminars on weekly practical assignments, plus tutorials on work in progress.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University