3000 Level Sound Course Descriptions

SOUND 3000
Studio Techniques
This introduction to sound synthesis and studio production techniques covers multitrack recording, mixing, and the use of various signal processing devices. Basic principles of acoustics and their application within the sound studio are presented. An introduction to samplers and synthesizers as generators of compositional material is also included. Approaches to the use of synthesized and sampled sound within the studio context are explored through projects and selected listening. Prerequisite: SOUND 2001.

SOUND 3004
Selected Topics
This course focuses on conceptual rather than technological approaches to sonic art, with a different topicv each semester the course is offered. Sample topics include: Text Sound, which is concerned with issues of language use in audio art; Soundscape, which addresses the relationships between sound and environment; and Experimental Radio, exploring artistic strategies and gameworks in broadcasting. Prerequisite: SOUND 2001.

SOUND 3005
Introduction to Sound Composition
This course defines basic aspects of acoustical and musical patterns, not through traditional European music theory and notation, but through concepts taken from psychology and cognitive science. Ideas of grouping, closure, the psychological present, long- and short-term memory, and others are presented as types of constraints on intelligible patterns. Illustrative examples presented in class are drawn from the music of many cultures. Students use traditional or nontraditional instruments of their own choosing to complete weekly assignments which focus on specific compositional problems. This course does not carry studio access.