Composition Workshop (340-0-1)

Topic

Field Work and Imaginary Soundscapes

Instructors

Jay Alan Yim
847/467-2030
jaymar@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: By appointment

Meeting Info

RCMA Lower Level 113: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Making audio recordings in the field, as opposed to the recording studio. Field recordings might be made at outdoor locations (environmental) or indoor locations (architectural). These source recordings will then be made into sound works—typically using a DAW—and manifested as fixed media pieces or installations.

Registration Requirements

Students must have taken MUS_TECH 300: Foundations of Music Technology or equivalent experience as determined by the instructor.

Learning Objectives

Students will gain experience making recordings outside of the studio for use in creating pieces that can range from Art to Music.

Teaching Method

Fundamentally, in this workshop course students will go on field trips to record original audio as a crucial step in developing a creative praxis of making Sound Art. Other in-class activies will involve iteratively working with Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software to compositionally assemble these original audio clips and files into examples of Sound Art or Music. The iterative process will incorporate students presenting works-in-progress at several points during the quarter. These presentations will take place during class sessions for immediate feedback and notes. Selected readings will provide aesthetic/critical theoretical underpinnings for student project development.

Evaluation Method

Assignments will consist of students making recordings with specified parameters, such as "in the midst of trees", "at a noteworthy time of day", "at a social occasion", "in the presence of an interesting___________, etcetera. Recordings must be of excellent-to-good quality in order to receive credit towards the final grade. The manifested sound works will be judged on the basis of technical achievement/accuracy, creativity/originality of perspective, and work ethic.

Class Materials (Required)

Smartphone. Laptop computer equipped with DAW software of choice (Logic, Reaper, Ableton Live, ProTools, etcetera). Spreadsheet software of choice (Excel, Numbers, Sheets, etcetera).

Class Materials (Suggested)

TBD