This course introduces you to the technical and creative aspects of making music in the electronic medium and—through that introduction—provokes you to question, examine, and explore the nature of music and musical experience. We will learn what others have done in the electronic medium throughout its history, work in an electronic music studio to discover what’s possible now, and discuss both the benefits and potential pitfalls of working as musicians in this rich and flexible but easily abused medium. Topics include: music and the electronic medium; the science of sound; transducers; electrical signals and connections; tape recorders; multi-track recording techniques; mixing techniques; sound processing; digital recording and editing; digital sound processing; composition and the electronic medium. Since much of the discovery process in this course must take place “hands-on”, you are required to spend six hours in the Electronic Music Studios (EMS) in addition to two regular class meetings and reading assignments each week. This course is open to students of all academic interests; non-majors are encouraged to enroll. This course is offered in the fall semester.
Open only to sophomores and above or by permission of the instructor.
