Music Production and Technology – BSc

Audio Electronics 1: Passive Audio is intended to present basic electrical principles as they apply to safety and the audio signal path from microphone to speaker with a focus on passive electronic components.

This module is intended to introduce students to instrument sound production and the fundamentals of recording.

This module aims to ensure the student has a confident working knowledge of fundamental elements of music such as pitch, rhythm, meter, melody and timbre. Students are encouraged through practical tasks to hear, play, read and write a variety of musical motifs which help them relate these concepts and their traditional notation to aspects of DAW architecture.

This module is intended to introduce the fundamentals skills required to successfully operate a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) in a music and audio production environment. This module employs a student-centred problem-based learning approach in which the students work individually and as part of a group to solve increasingly complex DAW tasks. The module content is structured around the recommended learning path required to become a certified DAW software user. A flipped classroom approach will be employed requiring students to engage with the content of the lab lecture before attending. Formative assessment will be used at the beginning of each teaching session to check student knowledge and identify common problem areas to revisit. Practical exercises will focus on reinforcing key concepts through the introduction of common DAW tasks and operations.

In this module, learners will become familiar with underlying acoustic theory and principles concerned with indoor and outdoor spaces. They will learn how to describe the physical attributes of acoustic waves, relate to how sound-waves are graphically represented, and understand the units-of-measurement employed to quantify and denote acoustic-signal parameters. Learners will also have the opportunity to creatively engage with the discipline of acoustics by exploring how everyday sounds may be used as a palette for constructing new and interesting sonic scenes or soundscapes.

This module will explore the properties, characteristics and musical potential of sounds.

Using hardware and software sound producing tools, learners will create and organise sounds into structures and investigate the emotional possibilities of the experience.

Audio Electronics 2: Active Audio is intended to introduce key electrical concepts like impedance and electrical loading as they apply along the audio signal path. The module also includes a greater focus on active components found in preamplifiers, filters and power amplifiers.

This module is intended to expand knowledge of the recording process in the studio.

This module will cover tonality and basic tonal harmony through a variety of aural, vocal and keyboard exercises requiring the student to interpret and realise musical ideas from various forms of notation such as staff notation, piano roll notation.

This module is intended to introduce a systematic approach to arranging and producing commercial music using a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). The project-based learning syllabus is derived from the process of producing a song, and students work collaboratively to experience the role of the producer in a popular music context. Exercises in the weekly Lab lectures and practicals focus on arranging and producing within a DAW. These exercises form the basis for the semester-long group project, and students will keep a reflective learning log to track their progress and further reinforce the arranging and production process employed.

In this module, learners will be introduced to a visual programming language specific to audio development. They will learn about the digitisation of acoustic signals, how these are structured and represented in computer systems, and how these signals may be manipulated using filters. Learners will become familiar with generating digital signals using a variety of synthesis techniques and with concepts such as signal flow. From the knowledge gained in Soundscape Design 1, learners will be accustomed to describing attributes of digital signals using equivalent units-of-measure. Learners will also have the opportunity to experiment with digital sound-assets for generating creative soundscapes.

This module will develop musical awareness through the creation of harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures. Learners will be required to synchronise and co-operate to develop and agree on approaches to musical material.

This module will review concepts covered in Music 1 & 2 in more detail and examine these concepts in the context of a series of case studies from a variety of eras and genres.

This module develops a range of contemporary interactive music performance skills to engage with live multimedia-based productions.

Experimental performance processes on traditional and electronic instruments, together with performative composition techniques such as timbre-based improvisation and free re-composition are exploited within genre-less collectives for the purposes of developing responsive audio-visual awareness skills when live-scoring for interactive installations.

This module will equip the learner with the knowledge and skills required to operate software designed for visual communication, manipulation and projection mapping. The student will create or select visual elements, these are manipulated (using industry standard software) in response to programmed changes or triggered events and mapped to a projection environment.

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to live sound reinforcement. The module will examine the various components of a small format public address system, including speakers, cables, mixing desks, microphones. Students will deploy these components in suitable environments and spend the semester becoming familiar with the setup procedures and associated considerations. Students will also examine roles within the live sound industry and industry best practice.

This module aims to develop the ability to produce competent mixes from multi-track audio sessions. A key theme will be the comparative analysis between the commercial product and the students’ own work to establish perspective and objective points of reference.

This module introduces students to the purpose and process of creating music for film that supports the onscreen storytelling. Students learn through the analysis of case studies, practical compositional exercises and assignments requiring composition and arrangement of music responding to moving image. The final assessment is a combined assessment with Digital Production 3 and Studio Production 4 in which students combine recorded dialogue, sound effects and musical arrangements in a complete soundtrack for a short piece of film.

This module is intended to introduce the skills associated with various professional roles in the audio post-production industry. The project-based learning syllabus is derived from the process of working with audio for film in which students experience the roles of sound recordist, SFX editor, dialogue editor, music editor, and sound supervisor. Exercises in the weekly Lab lectures and practicals focus on developing the key skills associated with each of these roles. These weekly exercises form the basis for the semester-long integrated project.

This module is intended to familiarise students with the processes and procedures involved in creating an event.

An interactive workshop-style module to assist students in developing their professional identity and to establish a portfolio of their professional practice. Students will have an opportunity to reflect on their strengths and skills, influences, and ambitions within their area of study. They will derive a portfolio representing their work within creative technologies, relevant to their professional identity.

This module focuses on research, information gathering, analysis, conclusion drawing, evaluation, presentation, and discussion of topics.

This module is intended to develop cognate event staging and management skills through the creation of a live event.

Live Sound 3: Front of House & Stage Monitoring is intended to address complex sound reinforcement principles, mixing, routeing and gain staging concepts and establish competence in the operation and installation of Public Address systems for live sound.

In this module, students are encouraged to focus on the roles various instruments play in ensembles, starting with a basic rock or pop band and exploring other additions to this, for example backing vocals, SATB choir or a string section. Analysis of case studies from modern rock and pop as well as some art music examples will be used to illustrate the nature of these roles and various notation formats will be examined (for instance, chord symbols, TAB, Grand staff, string quartet score) and used as appropriate to notate arrangements created in practical exercises and assignments. This module requires students are adept at skills covered in Music modules 1, 2, 3, and 4.

This module will focus on studio-based playing, paying particular attention to rhythmic accuracy, nuanced pitch control, dynamic articulated playing and expressive timbre modulation. Learners will create and record an arrangement of musical material.

This is a project-based module designed to explore the creation of an interactive AV environment. Students will explore the use of audio and visuals in an interactive installation, determine how differing technologies interact and interpret the expected experience of participants. In response students will modify/change interactions and design/curate media for their own installation project.

This module allows learners to produce a professional commercial production in the realm of media/music production.

This module is intended to introduce the fundamentals of game audio from a music and audio production context. The project-based learning syllabus is derived from the process of creating a sound design for a computer game. Students will work collaboratively produce a full sound design for a game. Exercises in the weekly Lab lectures and practicals focus on the fundamental skills required to work in the game audio industry. These exercises form the basis for the semester-long group project, and students will keep a reflective learning log to track their progress.