Module MUSI2641: Creative Music Technologies and Sound Design

Department: Music

MUSI2641: Creative Music Technologies and Sound Design

Prerequisites

• (MUSI1201 Contemporary Music) OR (MUSI1xx1 Approaches to Contemporary Composition)

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To acquire a critical understanding of the practical and creative characteristics of music technology, with a particular emphasis on the techniques of sound design, building upon the foundation skills acquired in the Level 1 module Approaches to Contemporary Composition.

Content

• Students will study key aspects of the following:
• The operational characteristics of recording, synthesis and signal processing technologies and their creative application in the contexts of sound design and electroacoustic composition. These studies extend to key aspects of working in multimedia contexts, including the techniques required to manipulate and integrate sound and vision in a digital environment, and the ways in which they have been creatively applied through a study of the repertory
• The nature of musical sounds, their spectral and dynamic characteristics, and the significance of acoustical considerations, provide the foundations for critical enquiry, extending to research-informed perspectives on the ways in which technologies shape and influence the processes of music creativity.
• Soundscape recording and sound diffusion.
• The use of sequencers for audio editing and mixing, plug-ins, MIDI and digital audio combinations.
• Real-time DSP (technology and performance) and the Digital Audio Workstation
• Video and multi-media applications.
• The research-based knowledge and experience thus acquired is applied and evaluated via a series of studies that directly engage with the practical and aesthetic challenges to be faced in these contexts.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will acquire a critical understanding of the scope and nature of music technology in sufficient breadth and depth to allow them to engage authoritatively and effectively with a range of applications. These include the creative use of the associated resources and techniques for the purposes of sound design and electroacoustic composition and also other areas of music research that require the use of audio- and video-based data, for example the analysis of music performance in both western and non-western contexts.

• Students will be able to demonstrate practical skills in the use of technology for sound and video capture, recording and editing, including the use of stereo and multichannel audio formats and video rendering, taking into account the principles of acoustics and digital data representation and also the creative application of these skills in the contexts identified above.

• Students will be able to demonstrate the used of advanced information technology skills, the ability to work independently in a research-led context, 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 music technology and sound design 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 that 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 feedback through studio-based seminars and supporting tutorials.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Fortnightly assignments terms 1 & 2 with feedback in tutorials

■ 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