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MUS-20090 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Business, Law, Humanities & Social Sciences

For academic year: 2026/27 Last Updated: 17 March 2026

MUS-20090 - Sound Design
Coordinator: Miroslav Spasov Room: CKF06 Tel: +44 1782 7 33298
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 30
Study Hours: 300
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2026/27

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

none

Description for 2026/27

Have you ever thought about the sound wizardry involved in action films, videogames, TV? Well, you will prepare something sonically magical in this module – beautiful sounds never heard before – and use them creatively. You will dive into the marvels of advanced software and develop your sound-design skills using a variety of spectral and time domain techniques. We will discuss technical and aesthetic aspects of the uses of sound design, providing skills for creative project work in your third year.

Aims
To establish practical foundation for students' use of sound design in modules at Level 6.
To enable students to engage with technical and aesthetic concerns arising when working creatively with digital audio technologies.
To allow students to acquire an understanding of audio processing and virtual studio technology, and appreciate their technical and aesthetic impact in the practice of sound design.
To provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the creative potential of the main techniques used in the creation of industry- related works (sound logos, ads, audio tracks for games, TV/Web streaming media, etc) employing digital sound.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate knowledge of basic empirical methods and evaluate the properties and manipulation of sound using software applications in a studio lab: 1
Recognise and describe selected techniques of sound synthesis and processing in its various forms, including their application in multimedia: 2
Describe the sound design, sampling, mixing, and post-production practices: 2
Apply and evaluate a range of analytical skills and strategies to a variety of music production genres: 2
Employ digital time-domain and frequency-domain techniques in order to process digitised sound: 1,2
Engage with complex processes for audio processing and sound treatment using specialised software: 1,2

Study hours

48 hours of contact time, to include: 28 hours lectures and workshops
20 hours small group tutorials
Independent study:
72 hours of preparation for workshops and tutorials
180 hours of preparation for the summative assessment

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Exercise weighted 30%
Exercises – production of short audio tracks
Students will create a collection of eight 10-15 second-long audio files using the particular sound design techniques taught during the classes. The submission will include both the original and the processed sound file. In addition to the practical work students will submit a written component (800 words) explaining how the above practical work used techniques and concepts acquired.

2: Project weighted 70%
Sound design project
Students can do one or more from the following: creation of a sound track for video including sound sculptures; collection of sound ‘idents’ or branding logos (a short advertisement type of sound forms) for an overall duration between 90-120 seconds using sound design software tools; music track, foley effects, a soundtrack for a computer game, or creation of a sound effects library. Depending on content, the total duration of the produced material should be between 10-12 minutes. The project must include written documentation of about 1200 words explaining both the sound design techniques and the aesthetics employed.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 17 March 2026