MUS 3930.04
MUS 3930.05
Spring 2003
last updated
4.14.2003

fall 2002




J Bryan Pittard
Class Hours:
T,R 10:00-11:15am
T,R 2:00-3:15pm

Class Room: CNH 126
 http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~jpittard/musictech		 Office Phone: 407.380.4790
Office Hours: by appointment
jpittard@cs.ucf.edu

Course Objective: Students will receive an overview of electronic music history, theory, and techniques along with learning how to use a few Mac-based applications of music technology.

Class: Instruction will consist of listening, lectures, demonstrations, and student presentations on selected topics. Grading will consist of several homework assignments, periodic quizzes, a midterm, a final, and a paper/presentation on a topic pertaining to electronic music. 

Text: Modern Recording Techniques by David Miles Huber, Robert E. Runstein
Focal Press; ISBN: 0240804562; 5th edition (June 2001)

Topics: Basics of music theory, acoustics, psychoacoustics, history of electronic music, Macintosh/MIDI basics, sequencers, digital audio, digital notation, sound formats, music online

Grading: Grades will be determined by the following (subject to change):

1) Homework   15 points
2) Quizzes   15 points
3) Project   20 points
4) Midterm Exam   20 points
5) Final Exam   30 points

Total

 100 points

Standard 10pt Grading Scale (A is 90-100, B is 80-89, etc.)

Homework: Each homework assignment is out of 100 possible points.  95 of these 100 will be given if the assignment meets all requirements and is on time.  The remaining 5 points will be given for at least one instance of creative effort (ie. going beyond the requirements).  Late assignments will lose 5 points per day late, and all projects will be posted online.

  • HW1 - Write 3-5 paragraphs on your website about an electronic musician, citing at least 3 sources and including at least one relevant picture.
  • HW2 - Using ProTools (or similar audio software), create your own edit of an existing piece of music that has the following:
    • at least one verse (or segment) removed
    • some audio processing (pitch shift, filtering, flange, echo, chorus, etc.)
  • HW3a - Pretend that you are a producer or music supervisor for a project (whether its a game, movie, commercial, website, etc.). Describe the music that you need for your production by citing musical influences (you want your music to sound like the music from Tron), general characteristics (loud, fast, simple, slow), or perhaps mood-inducing (calm, angry, sad, happy).
  • HW3b - Pair up with a producer in the class and sequence the music for their project in Performer (or similar midi software). Before writing the entire thing, you should meet with your producer and audition a few musical ideas. Based on their continued feedback, write the complete sequence and present it to the class. The total length of the piece should not exceed 2 minutes.
  • HW4 - Choose from one of the following
    • Input a piece of music into Finale
    • Make a sequence with Reason
    • Make another sequence with Performer, FruityLoops, etc.
    • Write a website for a synthesizer (same requirements as HW1)

Project: Each student will prepare a 3-5 page paper/website and 7 minute presentation/demo of a topic pertaining to electronic music. The projects are intended to allow each student to further explore and teach about a facet of music technology not otherwise covered during the course. 10% of the grade will be taken from a prompt topic selection, 40% from the in-class demo, 25% from the paper, and 25% from the website. Each student is expected to plan out there demonstration needs at least a week in advance with the instructor. If a demonstration cannot be accomplished due to a last-minute lack of equipment, points will be deducted from the demo portion of the grade.

Schedule (also subject to change):
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