Music Production Technology. Monday/Thursday, 2-3:30

Transcription

1 Ramapo College of New Jersey School of Contemporary Arts MUSI 120 Music Production Technology Monday/Thursday, 2-3:30 SETH CLUETT Assistant Professor of Music Production Music Department A205 extension 7352 mailbox: BC-238 Office hours: Monday 4-5:30; Wednesday by appointment Discover the recipes you are using and abandon them -- Brian Eno, Oblique Strategies (1975) What has no conceivable, imaginable purpose may be the solution to problems that may not yet need solving. -- Laurie Spiegel, That was Then <=> This is Now (1995) This course is an introduction to the technologies that support the art of music recording. Students will begin to learn the basic principles of sound design, psychoacoustics, critical listening, and the effective use of the standard analog and digital equipment for music production and post-production. Essential studio techniques and foundational information will be introduced and no previous technical or musical experience is necessary for productive participation in the course. Each week, hands-on making will be paired with short readings and historical examples that will provide a context for the study of sound in contemporary concert and popular music, art practice, film making, ecology, as well as game and interaction design. GOALS - Develop an understanding of and fluency with technology for recorded sound - Understand the types and uses of industry standard microphones and recording formats - Understand how to capture sound according to your creative needs - Learn to speak clearly and communicate musical ideas to yourself and others - Develop robust troubleshooting skills through research and questioning 1

2 LEARNING OUTCOMES 1) Understand the methodologies and principles for recording sound, music and speech in order to communicate ideas effectively. 2) Develop the technical vocabulary and deep knowledge of concepts necessary to ask clear questions in the future as technology continues to develop and influence recorded sound. 3) Understand and critique the relationship between music and its mechanisms of distribution. 4) Identify, recognize, and correct for problems in music production and engineering. Outcomes Weekly Projects Midterm Project Quizzes CEC Class Discussion Outcome 1 x x x Outcome 2 x x Outcome 3 x x x Outcome 4 x x x x REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS - Readings provide online via PDF. - a storage device with a minimum of 8gb of free space is required. - The primary software for this course will be Audacity (free) and Reaper (60-day free trial), purchasing Reaper is not necessary but is recommended ($60) - In lieu of the textbook, I am requiring the purchase or presentation of a pair of overthe-ear headphones (we will talk about brands and requirements) for example: Around $100 : Sony MDR-7506, Sennheiser HD-280, AKG K-240 Around $50 : Sennheiser HD-203, Beyerdynamic DT 131, AKG K-77 Less than $50: Audio-technica ATH-M3X, Behringer HPX2000 See guitar center, or bhphotovideo.com COURSE REQUIREMENTS PROJECTS This course balances hands-on, projects-based work with in-depth technical skill and knowledge development. For roughly the first half of the semester, material will be assessed bi-weekly and will relate directly to the technical material we cover in class. After the mid-way point, the material will open up into projects that will demonstrate your ability to implement technical skills and apply critical thinking. CRITIERIA FOR EVALUATION Participation in class discussion and critiques, thoughtfulness about your working process, and a critical understanding of your own abilities inform your grade for the course in general and the assignments in particular. Your work is evaluated using criteria specific to each project, assignment, and quiz. Active participation in class discussion is expected, as is regular attendance and attention to the reading materials. The techniques and skills that we will be developing will be assessed according to your grasp of the concept and your ability to execute skills-based work in the manner appropriate for each technique. 2

3 CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL WORK AND CONCEPTS The techniques and skills that we will be developing will be assessed according to your mastery of the concept and your ability to execute skills-based work in the manner appropriate for each technique. Grading breakdown: 50% Weekly projects and midterm project 20% Final project 10% Class participation 20% Quizzes Grading Rubric (applies to assignments and the final course grade) A Outstanding; pushing the limits of both the student s creativity and the assignment B Thorough, thoughtful, and creative approach to the assignment C Average/adequate performance; handed in on time; project completed according to minimum requirements D Poor; does not meet minimum requirements Below 65 F Fail; failure to complete the assignment Final Project There is no sit-down final exam for this course. In its place, a final project will be due and PRESENTED complete on December 21 from 3pm-6pm. COURSE ENRICHMENT COMPONENT This course will include a minimum of five (5) hours of unmonitored appropriate experience outside of the classroom. For the course enrichment component you are required to attend and report on two events: 1. Faculty interview podcast breaking into groups of three, identify a faculty member or music producer/engineer to interview about their music listening habits as they transitioned out of high school into college/workforce. Ask them preliminary questions to determine interview questions. After the interview locate and use musical examples from your conversation. You will record, edit, mix, and upload your podcasts to soundcloud and present them to your peers for feedback. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability that has been documented with the Office of Specialized Services, please make an appointment to speak with me. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Students are expected to read and understand Ramapo College s Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found online in the College Catalog ( All members of the Ramapo community are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors. Since violations of academic integrity erode community confidence and undermine the pursuit of truth and knowledge at the College, academic dishonesty must be avoided. Students in this class are bound to the definitions of cheating, plagiarism, academic misconduct, and 3

4 fabrication and violations will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. Students who are suspected of violating this policy will be required to meet with the instructor and will be reported to the Office of the Provost. Misunderstanding of the appropriate academic conduct will not be accepted as an excuse for academic dishonesty. If a student is in doubt about appropriate academic conduct in a particular situation, he or she should consult with the instructor in the course, the department chair/program director, or the academic dean in the appropriate division in order to maintain the highest standards of academic honesty. Additional policies and definitions may be found in the Student Handbook. ATTENDANCE Class attendance is required and your attendance will be necessary for successful completion of the course. You are allowed one unexcused absence. Reasonable excuses for missing class will be determined at the discretion of the instructor. Please try to inform me via whenever you know you will be absent. Two lates = one unexcused absence Two unexcused = -1 point off final course grade (if you re on the cusp, this could hurt) Three unexcused = -3 points off of final course grade Four unexcused = -5 points off of final course grade Five unexcused = -10 points off of final course grade Additionally, College policy states that students must notify faculty with the first three weeks of the semester if they anticipate missing any classes due to religious observance. LATE WORK Late work and late assignments will not be accepted unless approved by the instructor. Exceptions to this policy are at the discretion of the instructor. Approval must be sought no later than 5:00pm the day previous to the due date of the assignment by . COMPUTER FAILURES No allowance will be made for computer failure and/or network problems. Back your work up early and often to avoid problems. In addition to the local copy of your file(s) on the computer harddrive, an additional back-up should be made to your google docs space, a portable harddrive, or usb flash drive. ELECTRONIC FORMS OF COMMUNICATION In accordance with College Policy, I will use your Ramapo College address (@ramapo) to communicate with you about all course-related matters. You are responsible for checking your daily. COMPUTERS, ELECTRONIC DEVICES, AND WEB ACCESS IN CLASS The use of laptop computers in class is appropriate and encouraged. Electronic devices such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA), Cell Phones, and Portable Media Devices as well as the use of web-resources during class other than those expressly required for class work are not allowed. Use of such a devices during class time will be considered an absence and will count against the final grade (see the Class Attendance section above). 4

5 SYLLABUS SCHEDULE (preliminary schedule and readings subject to change) WEEK 1 INTRODUCTIONS and POLICIES Assigned Project #1 Re-learning your listening environment Read: Chapter 1 (Huber) BLOCK #1 WEEK 2 (RE)LEARNING TO LISTEN Undoing the internal editor Acoustics part 1, Frequency/Amplitude, Graphing soundwaves Due Project #1 Read: Chapter 2 (Huber) WEEK 3 Capturing what we hear Acoustics part 2, Decibels/Perception, Tape, Analog/Digital Read: Eno Studio as Compositional Tools (available via PDF on Moodle) Assigned Project #2 BLOCK #2 WEEK 4 THE STUDIO Part One - THE SIGNAL CHAIN Mixers, i/o, cables, and DAWs The signal chain, DAW software generally, Protools specifically Assigned Solitary Listening Report (compare and contrast three ten-minute sessions) WEEK 5 Pro Tools intensive Learning to hear in stereo, fabricating space/using reverb, panning, editing Read: Guerin, R., MIDI Power! The Comprehensive Guide, Cengage, Chapter 1 (available via PDF on Moodle) Due Solitary Listening Report BLOCK #3 WEEK 6 MICROPHONES Microphone Types and Uses Condenser, dynamic, and ribbon microphones (theory), polar patterns Assigned Project #3 Read: Hosken, D., An Introduction to Music Technology, Routledge, Chapter 3 (available via PDF on Moodle) 5

6 WEEK 7 Microphone Placement Positioning and selection of microphones for recording (application) Assigned Close Listening Through Technology BLOCK #4 WEEK 8 THE STUDIO Part Two THE TRACKING SESSION Practical Preparations Preamplifiers, Amplifiers, DIs, and Mixers (part2, in use) Due Project #3 Assigned Final project song proposal Due: Close Listening Through Technology WEEK 9 Session execution Recording session basics, forms, sheets, and keeping track Due Final Project feasibility proposal BLOCK #5 WEEK 10 BASIC MIXING Mix Lab Balancing, Stereo vs Mono, Imaging WEEK 11 Dynamics, Equalization, Delay, Reverberation not over-doing it. BLOCK #6 WEEK 12 WEEK 13 WEEK 14 WEEK 15 BASIC MASTERING Program Dynamics Playback on a range of systems, mastering for specific projects 1s & 0s, Format Compression, Dither Compression Algorithms, filetypes (continued) Final Project 80% Draft Final Project Workshop FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS - December 18 from 3pm-6pm 6