MUT-10004 - Sound Recording
Coordinator: Manuella Blackburn Tel: +44 1782 7 33298
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 4
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Yes

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

Open to students who can demonstrate previous experience with sound recording procedures and/or sound mixing of live-events


Barred Combinations

None


Description for 2020/21

'The essence of music is the sound of it' [DG].
What happens in a recording studio? Why do songwriters, arrangers, musicians, sound engineers, producers make certain choices in a recording studio? How do these choices impact the music, and the sound of it, which emerges from the mix? In this module you will address these questions through a combination of technical understanding and (especially) practical work in a sound recording project.
You will be required to organise a portfolio of music projects; this includes decisions on what track(s) to record, crafting an arrangement, finding the musicians to play the various parts, plan, organise and carry out the recording sessions, crafting the mix. You will carry out part of the project work in small groups (typically pre-production and production), whilst you will conduct post-production and reporting on your own, individually. As music producers you will face fascinating challenges: understanding the music, understanding the studio setup, managing the project, social interactions with your team and artists, turn your `vision' of the final music mix into reality using the available human and technological resources. You must be able and willing to quickly and efficiently network with friends and peers to achieve these ends, especially network with session musicians inside and outside the University.
In this module you will study: the music production process; microphone technologies and techniques; editing, technical improvement and message re-enforcement; recording studio technologies and techniques; basic mixing techniques.
You will find this module particularly useful to progress from your previous experience in sound recording and/or live PA equipment and/or mixing desks. If you do not have such experience you should contact the module leader to discuss admission to the module. You are also expected to possess, at least a basic working knowledge of LogicPro (we currently use version X), with regards to multi-track recording and mixing. If you do not, you will familiarise yourself with LogicPro through self-study using video tutorials, guided tasks and interaction with your tutors. Please, note that the number of students admitted to this module may be capped by studio resources availability. Please note that you may be required to finish certain parts of the studio works early in the semester to avoid congestion of the facilities nearer the deadlines.

Aims
To provide students with an opportunity to develop their technical skills as music production engineers. To establish practical foundation for the use of sound recording techniques to be developed in future optional modules or project options at level 2 and 3. To engage with technical and aesthetic concerns related to sound quality in mixes

Intended Learning Outcomes

analyse, appraise and critique the main sonic features of music mixes and their individual music parts;
will be achieved by assessments: 01
plan, organise and coordinate a collaborative music production project;
will be achieved by assessments: 01, 02
demonstrate knowledge of empirical methods to carry out small-scale sound recording and mixing tasks in a music studio;

will be achieved by assessments: 01, 02
illustrate concepts, rationale and working practices, relating them to the facts and theories covered during the semester. will be achieved by assessments: 02

Study hours

12 hours of lectures
10 hours of small group workshops and project supervision (with or without computer mediated methods of interaction with the assigned tutors)
2 hours to prepare, discuss, write and finalise the project proposal.
24 hours of reflection, revision and consolidation of lecture, workshop and individual supervision content, research through bibliographical and computer mediated sources through individual or group study work
20 hours of analytical listening (recommended works from the repertoire), reflection and revision of aural, aesthetic and technical aspects based on lecture content, bibliographical and computer mediated sources
24 hours of practical work in the sound recording studios and mixing workstations to conduct preliminary studio tasks, familiarise with the equipment, experiment with relevant techniques.
54 hours to plan and carry out the music production project, including the write up of the project report.
4 hours to prepare and package the material for submission.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Project weighted 70%
Music production project
Music recording/mixing project. The studio sound recording will be carried out in small groups. The mixing will be carried out individually. Minimum requirements: three separate musical parts recorded via microphones entirely by the candidates, with a total duration of minimum six minutes of microphone recordings.

2: Report weighted 30%
Project report
The report will be individual and will involve explanations on the planning and realization of the recoding project. In the report you will also demonstrate recollection and understanding of facts and concepts covered during the lectures and tutorials, answering a few questions in the fashion of a mini-take-away-test (usually 24-36 hours time).