1.Course Description
With the trends in music-related technology being blurred, this course distinguishes between the creative and technical processes of music-making and how human agency interacts with the development of new technologies. The course does not focus on the technical measurement of sound or its physical characteristics. It provides the student with an understanding of processor-based music systems to how the design of the graphic user interface has moved from the concept of the traditional mixing console and tape machine to new modes of function and application. The student will consider how the use of the digital audio work station (DAW) ranges from forensic and editing applications to performance, production and consumption. The DAW will be discussed as a principal tool for those working with sound and musical creativity, requiring efficient work streams and the reliable management of critical data. The course will be driven by discussion and academic commentary on the influence of this technology and its claimed 'homogenization' of popular music.
2.Rationale
Over the course of the last two decades the trends in music-related technology have increasingly blurred the distinction between the creative and technical process. The wide acceptance of the DAW, in all spheres of the creative industries and forms of musical interaction, has resulted in users interacting with increasingly complex software designs but often without understanding their design rational. The musician's world is therefore dominated by a wide range of complex processor based technologies and software interfaces through which composition, performance and production are achieved. It is therefore critical for new music practitioners to establish an understanding of technical specifications, design philosophy, new modes of application and the academic discussions that underpin these dramatic changes in the making and consumption of music.
1.Course Aims/Goals
The primary aim of the course is to introduce the student to the wide range of music and sound related tasks for which processor-based audio systems are designed. The students will acquire an understanding of the trends in software development and how musical creativity is increasingly directed by the algorithms associated with these technologies.