Module Summaries

The Producer’s Role

This module explores the multi-faceted role of the Record Producer and the technological advancements and events which shaped the recording industry through detailed discussion and analysis of key producers and producer-musicians. Futurist Alan Kay once said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” With this in mind, the advent of the entrepreneurial producer and new and emerging business models will be examined alongside issues surrounding digital distribution and equitable remuneration of ‘rights’ holders.
Career planning and management, essential issues relating to the business of record production such as producer contracts, deal points, income streams, copyright and representation, will all form the key elements of the producer portfolio compiled upon completion. (More)

Capturing Sounds

Capturing sounds explores the tools, techniques, philosophies and beliefs of those engaged in the art of recording. Fundamental building blocks which combine to make-up a sound recording: space, acoustics, ambience, and the physiology of the instruments and recording devices will all be examined, as will the interplay between performer and technology. Key texts of scholarly work and playback sessions will be used to analyse and study methodologies, practices and positions on ‘realism’ (whereby the recording medium is often required to be transparent despite the frequent use of doctored, spliced, overdubbed and multi-tracked recordings). (More)

The Development of Audio Technology

This module will involve you in the study of recording technology and the people who have used it. This will involve a survey of how these things developed over time from the beginning of the 20th century and also of how these developments varied geographically, socially and culturally. Did, for example, the spread of new technology occur at the same time in India as it did in Argentina? How did the apartheid system in South Africa affect the production techniques used by black African artists compared to white artists? Why have there been and continue to be so few women producers? What kinds of methodologies should we use to study these things?
You will also investigate the debate over the difference between analogue and digital sound. Is the issue of analogue tape recording substantially different to the question of analogue pre-amps (or analogue compressors and limiters for that matter)? Is there such a thing as objective audio ‘quality’ or is this debate concerned purely with subjective matters such as perceived authenticity and aesthetics?
You will also study the issues of training, professional practice and communication in the recording process. What were the advantages and disadvantages of the apprentice based systems of training and work based learning in comparison with contemporary college and university education in the subject? How are power relationships between producer, technicians and artists negotiated in the studio? How can we use language to describe the sound of music?
Finally you will investigate the way that the design of the human / technology interface affects the creative and practical process of record production. Why do so many digital audio workstation interfaces look so similar? Why did linear faders and rotary potentiometers become the standard components in mixing desks and why are they copied in software? Can you mix with your eyes? (More)

Manipulating Sounds

Techniques for manipulation of audio have transformed the recording process from one of simple documentation to the point where the recording studio (or now a computer) can be considered as an “instrument” in its own right. Many contemporary forms of music owe their existence to the power of technology to edit, transform and recontextualise audio. This module involves both theoretical and practical considerations of manipulating audio, examining the history, social significance and psychoacoustics of manipulation in a wide variety of musical styles and contexts, from dub reggae to glitch; from groove and rhythmic structures in dance music to spectomorphology in electroacoustic music. A wide range of techniques will be studied, from the traditional - eq, dynamics, time domain, frequency domain and timbral effects - to advanced techniques such as vocoding, FFT, granulation, glitch and groove manipulation. (More)

Capturing Performances

This module takes as its starting point the idea that musical performance for a recorded output is very different to concert performance. The Record Producer not only has to be aware of what those differences are but also of what is required and how to achieve it. Alongside the technical issues of recording sound are all the psychological and interpersonal issues of creating the right atmosphere for the communal activity of creating recorded music to happen. How do these participants engage with one another? How are the critical evaluations arrived at? What kinds of methodologies and theoretical frameworks are available for studying these phenomena? (More)

Combining Sounds

This module explores the process of combining sounds, from simplistic mono tape recordings through to multi-tracked, multi-channeled environments. Genres of music will be deconstructed focusing on the working practices and methods applied when combining and mixing sounds.  Practical studio sessions will provide a forum for experimentation and analysis of sound construction and multi-layering techniques.  Distinctions and parallels will be evaluated as will the tactile and non-tactile differentials in methodologies.  Technical and non-technical intuitive approaches will be examined alongside the linear and non-linear mixing methods in both stereo and surround sound. (More)

Research Methods

As preparation for research this module will require you to undertake a number of tasks related to your discipline. These include a précis of an article, a critical commentary of two book reviews, your own book review, and a proposal for your dissertation with an annotated bibliography.  Seminars will take place weekly in the first semester, with one-to-one supervision for the dissertation following thereafter. (More)

Dissertation

The module comprises an extended piece of written work of approximately 10,000 words. The subject is chosen by you in consultation with a supervisor. Other areas relevant to your interests may also be approved. Supervision will take place at regular intervals between late October/early November and late June. (More)