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Music 109/209LA, MAT 276LA
Electronic music:
history, aesthetics, recording, mixing, signal processing
Fall 2007
University of California, Santa Barbara
Professor Curtis Roads, clang@create.ucsb.edu, 893.2932, office: Elings 2203
Teaching Assistant, Christopher Jette, christopherjette@gmail.com
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01 October, lecture 1
Orientation, scheduling, door codes
Lecture
The legend of electronic music I
Assignments
Read four aesthetics texts and compare two of them in a 3-4-page paper.
1. The art of noises - Luigi Russolo (1916)
2. The liberation of sound - Edgard Varèse (1936)
3. The future of music: credo - John Cage (1941)
4. Metamorphoses of musical form - Gyorgy Ligeti (1958)
* Due in class on 15 October
Prepare for quiz on mixer and patchbay in lab in two weeks
Laboratory
Introduction to MacOS and Studio Xenakis: Mackie mixer and patchbay.
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08 October, lecture 2
Lecture
The legend of electronic music II
Listening
Styles of electronic music, excerpts
W. Carlos - Scarlatti Sonatas in G Major and E Major
N. Barrett - Little Animals
H. Vaggione - Nodal
Lecture: Basics of cables, patchbays, and mixer
Assignments
Read Chapter 1 of The Computer Music Tutorial, "Digital Audio Concepts."
Read Peak User’s Guide, Chapters 3 and 4.
Exercise in basic audio recording and editing
Import audio from CD using Peak, save soundfile in your folder
Make acoustic recording w/ microphone, save soundfile in your folder
Edit the beginning and ending of both files to eliminate glitches (clicks)
and long silences. Normalize the files.
* Due in laboratory, the week of 15 October
Laboratory
Explain mixer and patchbay; Demonstration of Peak recording and editing software
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15 October, lecture 3
Students turn in aesthetics papers from 01 October assignment
Brief discussion of aesthetics issues
Lecture 1
Basics of computers
Lecture 2
Basics of acoustics and digital audio
Initial view of Pro Tools
Listening to musique concrète, a form of "organized sound"
Weekend (1936 Walter Ruttmann)
Quatermass (1964 Tod Dockstader) (track 12)
De Natura Sonorum (1975 Bernard Parmegiani)
Assignments
Read Chapter 1 of The Computer Music Tutorial, "Digital Audio Concepts." Quiz next week.
Read Pro Tools Reference Manual (online PDF), chapters on recording and editing
Realize a two-minute 4-track étude in Pro Tools using fade-ins and fade-outs
* Due in class 30 October
Laboratory
• Quiz on mixer and patchbay
Import audio from CD and record with Peak through mixer
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22 October, lecture 4 *Note : Prof. Roads in Denmark
• Quiz on digital audio, based on Chapter 1 of The Computer Music Tutorial
Lecture
Introduction to sound mixing and monitoring
Demonstration of Pro Tools multitrack recording and mixing software, including overdubbing
Assignments
Read Chapter 9 of The Computer Music Tutorial, "Sound Mixing."
Quiz next week
Listening:
Forbidden Planet (1956, Louis and Bebe Barron)
Poème Electronique - E. Varèse (1958) and Presque rien avec filles - L. Ferrari
Laboratory
Presentation of student recordings in Peak
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29 October lecture 5 Halfway point
• Quiz on sound mixing and monitoring
Presentation of 4-track mixes
Lecture
Introduction to musical signal processing
Demonstration of outboard effects processing, Lexicon reverberator
Listening
Classic electronic music
Fête des belles eaux (1937) by Olivier Messiaen
Song of the Youths (1956) by Karlheinz Stockhausen
Assignments
Read Chapter 5 of The Computer Music Tutorial, pages 184-197 on "Subtractive Synthesis," (filters).
Final project: Realize a 4-minute 16-track étude in Pro Tools w/ panning, volume changes, and effects.
* Due in class LAST WEEK OF CLASS
Laboratory
Effects processing in Pro Tools
Digital transfers to external effects unit and CD recorder
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05 November, lecture 6
• Quiz on filters
Lecture
Basics of microphones and stereo microphone techniques
Assignment
Read: "Microphones" by S. Alten and "Classical music recording techniques"
by R. Streicher. Quiz in two weeks.
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12 November, lecture 7
Lecture
The art of mixing and mastering
Listening
The evolution of recording,
1. Jimmie Lunceford 1933.
2. Ravel, Chicago Symphony 1956, high-frequency clarity, spatial depth.
3. Ry Cooder 1985 - hyperrealism, analog warmth.
4. Peter Gabriel 1983 - clarity in a live recording.
5. Jordi Savall 1991 - natural acoustics.
6. Stephane Roy 1994 - sophisticated montage of concrète and electronic sound.
Demonstration of Toast and Jam CD mastering software. (DVD-A burning)
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Thursday 15 November
CREATE concert, Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, Department of Music, UCSB
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19 November, lecture 8
• Quiz on microphone and stereo recording
Lecture
Sampling, advantages and limitations
Listening: Historic electronic music + sound design and sampling
Hop Ken - Carl Stone
Six Preludes for Magnetic Tape (1967) Ilhan Mimaroglu
Monde du Plankton (1994) Michel Pascal
Video
Electronic Odyssey: Theremin
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26 November, lecture 9
Lecture
Analysis of Kontakte (1960) by Karheinz Stockhausen
Video
Four criteria of electronic music. Lecture on film by Karlheinz Stockhausen
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03-07 December, Dead week
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10 December, Final examinations
Presentation of student projects in class.