Curriculum for Sonic Arts Degree

This course introduces students to the notion of creative work as knowledge work-unique ways of understanding the world through the arts, design, humanities, and media. Drawing on diverse creative work, including their own, students will explore the potential for varied creative practices and tools to make meaning and how systems-political, economic, cultural-influence what people can make and whether it holds value. Students will also learn to apply critical frameworks in examining the world of creative expression and cultural production.

In this course, students will examine how historical forces have influenced the emergence of creative technologies and cultural production. They will learn to apply critical frameworks, including theories, to explore how power structures have intersected with popular appeal to alternately foster and limit creative innovation and expression. Students will also explore the dynamic nature of global culture, investigating how aesthetic ideas and creative practices have developed, spread, and influenced artists and creative production over time.

The course provides students with opportunities to develop specialized projects in art, humanities, and media production. Students will apply critical frameworks, including theories, and use interdisciplinary methods to explore how culture is shaped by popular appeal, innovation, and mechanisms of power. Students will work individually and collaboratively to bring creative work-narratives, images, multimedia forms-and rigorous scholarship to complex challenges in varied contexts.

The recording and mixing of sound requires numerous aesthetic decisions that are technically realized. This hands-on class introduces students to the use of the Sound Studio for recording, mixing, and mastering audio. Through lectures and in-studio practice, students gain a comprehensive understanding and working knowledge of the professional recording environment. There will be recording and mixing projects as well technical evaluations, all done in the CCM Sound Studio.

This course will teach students the basics of music, and how to create music on the computer. Topics include rhythm, phrasing, harmony, melody, and song construction. This is an exciting opportunity, given the virtually unlimited power of today?s Digital Audio Workstations. Music can be assembled from pre-composed elements, played live into the computer, written as notes on an electronic score, or keyed in using a midi piano keyboard. Students will use these digital tools to capture their ideas or inspiration and turn them into music. Several projects will be required, in various styles, for a number of different purposes.

Students in this course will learn to read and write music using standard music notation. They will explore the basics of rhythm, harmony, and melody and understand their function within musical contexts. Musical examples will be analyzed and students will be able to articulate how these fundamentals elements of music are used in context. Students will also use these fundamental principles of music theory to compose original music.

After a brief history of the development of electronic synthesis, students will delve into creating sounds using current industry standard synthesizers. Types of synthesis will include virtual analog, frequency modulation and physical modeling. Digital audio workstations will be used to record and organize the sounds. The vast array of electronic effects in Logic will also be explored. Students will gain a functional knowledge of not only synthesis, but also powerful electronic effect and sequencing options.

The course starts with a critical look at interactive sound history,examining its cultural impacts, and analyzing the underlying theory of creating immersive sound environments. Following this, the course will look at techniques and design principles specific to interactivity as students begin to learn the fundamentals of the core technology. These include sound editing software for creation and editing as well as game software. The course culminates with the creating of a complete interactive audio package.

Students in this course will learn advanced techniques related to sound synthesis through an exploration of the history of electronic music. Topics include hardware synthesis, visual programming, and electronic music production.

This course will take students through the exciting process of creating music for visual media. First discussing the history of music in visual media, and the production process, the course will then dive into the actual process of writing cues for visual media, including spotting, syncing to picture, understanding visual sequences and dramatic intent. Students will be challenged to write cues for a variety of visual sequences in different tempos and moods.

Students will compile and finalize their sound portfolio work into a dynamic and marketable combination of materials. Students will create self-promotional materials such as a web site, resume, and cover letter, as well as research which jobs to which they are most suited