Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module aims to provide the student with core skills in techniques of music production when using sound recording technology to record music. It aims to help the student build upon, or learn from scratch, studio approaches and techniques, and to ultimately cultivate a musically intelligent practice and a practical musical intelligence. Skills learned inform stage 2 and 3 modules in composition, analysis, and performance, as well as offering secure theoretical grounding for historical and cultural theory modules.

Outline Of Syllabus

Studio Production is delivered as a series of lectures which feed in to weekly small group workshops in which students learn microphone techniques, editing and mixing skills, audio perception, acoustics and psychoacoustics, and different artistic approaches to studio prodcution. Students will be separated into working groups based on which instruments they play early in semester 1 in order to achieve a balanced and fair skillset across groups. These groups will then rotate around workshop sessions with different tutors, covering a variety of aspects of modern studio recording and mixing

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

1. Understand and apply production techniques in artistically appropriate ways
2. Make convincingly structured mixes of recorded materials
3. Have attained sufficient skill to work with confidence and imagination in the music studio
environment.
4. Have an awareness and understanding of a range of recording techniques, including microphone placement, stereo recording and the recording of a variety of sound sources.

Intended Skill Outcomes

1. To demonstrate the core skills in using recording technologies and demonstrate safe working practices.
2. To analyse and assess the differences between analogue and digital audio skills.
3. To operate and appraise the use of microphone techniques.
4. To demonstrate competencies in the mastering of a studio composition such as panning, EQ setting, and final mix.
5. To examine and experiment with the demonstrated techniques to push the boundaries of creative recording practice.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Students will be taught in a mix of large and small group scheduled learning activities so that they have directed learning as a collective and then guided learning in smaller groups, each session then leads to a formative task so that the direction of learning travel is towards independent application of the skills shown during each week of teaching. This moving of the learning environment from large, to small group, to self is an important stage in the repeated building of competence and confidence of the student to explore the skills and operations needed to record music using a Digital Audio Workstation.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Students will work in groups to produce a recording (Sem 1) after which they will be required to mix individually (Sem 2). Submissions will be assessed on the skills demonstrated in the recording and mix. Each student is additionally required to write their own individual reflective technical log (Sem 1) or critically reflective commentary (Sem 2) for each submission, assessed on their understanding of the techniques and principles that have been explored throughout the module, and the justification of their creative/technical decision-making throughout the project.

General Notes

N/A