Download Music 321 Section A - Electro

Music 321 Section A - Electro-Acoustic Music Techniques I
Fall Semester, 2002
Professor Scott Wyatt
Wednesday, Aug. 28
Discussion of course content and requirements
Overview of Electro-Acoustic Music
Terminology handouts
Friday, Aug. 30
Some historical perspective - late 19th / early 20th century developments
Demonstration of a Theremin and a Steel-wire recorder
Wednesday, Sept. 4
A brief look at musical acoustics and pyschoacoustics: physical parameters vs.
perceptual attributes
Introduction to sound reproduction systems:
individual component function / concept of output/input
line level vs. mic level
Friday, Sept. 6
Continuation of sound reproduction systems:
consumer line level / professional line level
compatibility problems when integrating consumer and professional audio
components
connection of synthesizers to audio systems with their compatibility problems
and their solutions
Monday, Sept. 9
Continuation of sound reproduction systems
Discussion of balanced/unbalanced signals and their connectors
General review
[check yourself - exam #1]
Wednesday, Sept. 11
Microphone design, construction, function and usage
Polar patterns
Friday, Sept. 13
Spot miking vs. close miking vs. ambient miking
Analog recording - attributes and problems
General anatomy of analog reel-to-reel tape decks
Monday, Sept. 16
Discussion of track formats and the associated compatibility problems
Analog audio tape: backing, oxides, sizes, handling, storage, and accessories
[check yourself - exam #2]
Wednesday, Sept. 18
Introduction to Musique Concrete / Musique Abstract
Pierre Schaeffer's isolation and development of the Found Object/Sound Object
Pierre Schaeffer's development of the locked groove, speed variation, reverse playback,
and filtered sound
Pierre Schaeffer's Library, Primary, and Master disc concept
Listening session of early and recent Musique Concrete
Friday, Sept. 20 Introduction to Studio B and the studio operating guidelines
Patching connections - the concept of source to destination
Demonstration of the RS-1500 open reel 2 mm half track stereo tape decks - loading tape
on the HUB
Studio times assigned / studio cleaning assignments
Monday, Sept. 23
Wednesday, Sept. 25
Monitoring techniques
Set-up for close miking
VU meters and appropriate recording levels
Speed variation, sound reversal and extended speed variation demonstration
Assignment: due Monday, Sept. 30
[check yourself - exam #3]
Introduction to mixers and mixing
Use of echo sends for processing
Discussion of Reverb and the Yamaha REV7
Assignment: due Wednesday, Oct. 2
Friday, Sept. 27 Reverb and REV7 set-up review
Filters
Spatial location and sound movement techniques within a stereo field: 5 horizontal
locations + foreground, midground, and background
Brief introduction to Studio E
experiment with filters, reverb, and sound locations A-E
Monday, Sept. 30
Editing techniques: types of splices and their functions / use of leader tape / design and
use of loops
Basic digital recording concepts
Assignment: due Monday, Oct. 7
Wednesday, Oct. 2
Digital Audio Tape - its use and how it differs from analog
DAT tape ABS/ATC formatting & record order formatting protocol - Demonstration of
how to format a DAT
MD (MiniDisc) - how it differs from DAT
dB meter scaling vs. VU meters
format one or two DAT tapes
[check yourself - exam #4]
Friday, Oct. 4
Notation
Listening session
Discussion of Tape Study #1
Brief discussion of exam
Monday, Oct. 7
More on Musique Concrete
Listening session
Discussion of Tape Study #1
Assignment: Tape Study #1 due Monday, Oct. 28
Wednesday, Oct. 9
EXAM
Friday, Oct. 11
Mixer to DAT amplitude levels (gain staging)
More on Musique Concrete and the assembly process
Discussion of Tape Study #1
Listening session
Monday, Oct. 14
Introduction to the Classical Electronic Music Era (1950-1964)
Discussion of the music and composers at the Cologne, Warsaw, Milan, and Phillips
studios
Wednesday, Oct. 16
Discussion of waveforms: partial content and the relationship to timbre
Concept of additive synthesis and waveform summation
Friday, Oct. 18
Listening session - classical electronic music
Introduction to the Roland waveform generators in Studio B
Monday, Oct. 21
Discussion of mixing your Tape Study #1
Aspects of sound design
Sound design techniques
Listening session
[check yourself - exam #5]
Reference tone explained
White and Pink Noise handouts
Additive synthesis techniques reviewed
Roland waveform generators in Studio B reviewed
Subtractive synthesis
Listening session
Wednesday, Oct. 23
Friday, Oct. 25
Introduction to Tape Music: composers: Vladimir Ussachevsky, Otto Luening and others
A comparison of the music and the aesthetic between European and North American
electro-acoustic music for 1950-1960
Discussion of Tape Study #2
Listening session
Monday, Oct. 28
Tape Study #1 due
Tape Study listening session
Assignment: Tape Study #2 due Wednesay, Nov. 13
Wednesday, Oct. 30
The development of Modular Voltage-Controlled Synthesizers
Basic synthesizer modules and their function
International symbols and block diagrams
Listening session
Friday, Nov. 1
no class - unless needed for catch-up
Monday, Nov. 4
Amplitude modulation concepts:
Carrier (audio signal) and modulator (control signal) concepts
Elementary single event amplitude modulation:
articulation
Elementary periodic amplitude modulation: tremolo
Complex amplitude modulation: sum and difference frequencies create timbre
Wednesday, Nov. 6
Frequency modulation concepts:
Carrier (audio signal) and modulator (control signal) concepts
Elementary single event frequency modulation: pitch shift within a note
Elementary periodic frequency modulation: glissandi / trills
Complex Frequency modulation: sideband frequencies create timbre
[check yourself - exam #6]
Friday, Nov. 8
MIDI defined
Definition of synthesizer, tone generator, sequencer, computer, microcomputer,
microprocessor, interface, MIDI interface
the MIDI ports
Transmission/reception concept
connecting and controlling two synthesizers
Daisy chain networking and Star networking via MIDI thru box
Demonstrations of AM and FM
Monday, Nov. 11
MIDI voice message information
MIDI channel modes:
concept of channel transmission and reception
Omni ON / Omni OFF / poly / mono
Appropriate application of channel mode information for realization of multi instrument
part music via computer and sequencer control of a synthesizer
Introduction to the Yamaha DX11 synthesizer
Operators and algorithms
Copy/store functions
Single Play/Edit Modes
[check yourself - exam #7]
Wednesday, Nov. 13
Tape Study #2 due - Study #2 listening session
further discussion of operators and algorithms
Friday, Nov. 15
AM and FM applications on the DX11 - read p 10-11 of DX11 manual
Use of the envelope generator - timing and level parameters - read p 12-13 of DX11
manual
Use of the LFO - waveform, frequency, amplitude output, modulation sensitivity
Use of the pitch envelope generator - timing and level parameters - p 13 of DX11 manual
AM and FM exercises
Monday, Nov. 18
Local ON/OFF on DX11
Introduction to Vision (sequencing program) read p3-30 of Vision MIDI reference
manual
How to record, playback, edit tempo, and use of click tracks
Replace/Overdub modes
sequencing exercise 1
Wednesday, Nov. 20
More on Vision - Step Replace/Step overdub modes - quantizing
Selecting regions for quantizing
Multi-track recording and playback
sequencing exercise 2
Friday, Nov. 22
Performance PLAY on the DX11
More on Vision - strip chart: velocity, pitch bend
Additive Synthesis exercises
Sequence Study Assignment due Wednesday, Dec. 11
Thanksgiving break
Monday, Dec. 2
More on Vision and sequencing
Discussion of Music 322
Discussion of exam
Wednesday, Dec. 4
More on Vision and sequencing
Discussion on Compact Disc Recording media
Friday, Dec. 6
no class
Monday, Dec. 9
EXAM
Wednesday, Dec. 11
Sequence Study listening session - NO CLASS on Friday, Dec. 13