BA (Hons) Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering)

Bachelor's degree

In City of London

£ 9,250 + VAT

Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    City of london

  • Duration

    3 Years

Course summary
London College of Music's music technology course represents over two decades of development and experience. The flagship course has become the core on which our other music technology courses are based. It has an enviable resource base, making us one of the largest audio complexes in Europe.

You will develop advanced skills for combining sounds into a final mix and for the mastering of final mixes for commercial release. These will include tonal and spatial processing, envelope shaping of dynamics in both the mixing and mastering domain and the listening skills required to achieve this.
Other options available for BA (Hons) Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering)
Part time - September 2017, Ealing site

Facilities

Location

Start date

City of London (London)
See map
St Mary's Rd, W5 5RF

Start date

On request

About this course

Entry requirements
You must have:
112-128 UCAS tariff points at Level 3, which would normally include at least two relevant subject areas
GCSE English and maths at grade C or above.
If you do not have traditional qualifications for university study, we will consider your application on its merits.
International students need to meet our English language requirement at either IELTS at 6.0 or above and a minimum of 5.5 for each of the 4 individual components (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening).

In some countries where teaching is in English, we may accept local qualifications....

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Subjects

  • Staff
  • Listening Skills
  • Music Production
  • Music Technology
  • Design
  • Sound
  • Music Industry
  • Project
  • Technology
  • Industry
  • Media
  • Music
  • Musical
  • Production

Course programme

Course detail
The Mixing and Mastering pathway of the BA (Hons) Music Technology aims to build on your core recording and production skills, focusing on the presentation of the final musical product.

Modules
Year One (Level 4)
Contemporary Production Studies
Creative Music Technology
Music Industry Structures
Music for Media
Sound Practice
Sound Theory.
Year Two (Level 5)
Advanced DAW Practice
Creative Music Technology 2
Contemporary Production Studies 2
Remix Production
Working in the Music Business.
Plus one option from:
Acoustics
Advanced Recording Techniques
Live Electronics
Creative Sound and Music for Film and TV.
Year Three (Level 6)
Advanced Audio Processing
Advanced Mixing Techniques
Mastering
Mix Analysis
Major Project.
Module summaries

Year One (Level 4)

Contemporary Production Studies 1
This module works in parallel with Sound Theory and Sound Practice to provide level 4 students with a contextual understanding of popular music from the past century and the ways in which musicians and recordists have worked with recording and instrument technologies to shape the sound of this music during that period. The module runs over both semesters in level 4 and the content will be delivered by alternating, week by week, between a week of analytical and study and a week of ear training.

An understanding of the history of popular music is an essential component of a rounded education in music technology and you will view online lectures and engage with a program of set reading to prepare you for fortnightly, assessed seminar discussions about a range of topics. These will include discussions of musical styles, how they developed and how different technologies affected how they were produced and how they sound. These lectures and discussions will be informed by the research and professional experience of LCM’s outstanding lecturing staff.

In addition, on the alternate weeks, you will engage in ear training exercises that have been designed to coincide with and enhance the knowledge that you will be acquiring through your parallel studies in Sound Theory and Sound Practice. This unique program of ear training explores the musical meaning of various production techniques as well as more conventional ear training in musical features such as instrument recognition, musical form, scales and modes.

Creative Music Technology 1
Sequencing
Sampling
Synthesis.
These terms should excite any aspiring music technologist.

This module explores the rudiments of Music Technology in a creative manner, arming you with the tools and techniques to harness cutting edge hardware and software to sequence music, synthesis sound, and lay a foundation of knowledge and critical awareness in this ever developing field.

Music Industry Structures
This module provides the key provision on the roles of music industry professionals within your course.

Lectures will provide you with a foundation of the roles of music industry professionals within today's global music industry and feature examples of good working practice.

Each lecture in the module will focus on a specific issue or area relevant to today’s global music industry practitioners, along with an in-depth analysis of the knowledge and transferable skills required.

The module will also examine key practitioners from the industry of the past fifty years and the contribution they have made to the business and their continuing influence.

Music for Media
The module aims to give you an overview of the concepts and technologies involved in sound-design and music to picture and the fundamental principles that underpin this practice. You will develop your awareness of the creative potential of sound and music.

Through the assignments you will experience working with sound and music to deliver compositions, which are more than the sum of their parts. This process will also develop listening skills, which are essential for the proper analysis and application of music and sound production. You will develop your appreciation, analysis and critical appraisal of audio.

Sound Practice
Sound Practice runs in parallel with the Sound Theory module, through semesters one and two. It covers all aspects of the recording studio and the recording process. The module will extend the ear-training techniques and examine each component of the studio in detail. In addition, it will address the techniques of recording coupled to the technology, providing each student with a backbone of knowledge designed to help the recording demands of the second year.

Sound Practice is primarily concerned with gaining the skills necessary in the practical use of large-scale studio recording systems. The module assessment strategy will involve producing your first studio recordings. While it is not yet expected that you will be producing recordings of a fully professional standard, obviously, marks will reflect the quality of work and commitment involved.

Sound Theory
You will gain an appreciation of the physical aspects of sound, and how this relates to the practice of recording. You will also receive a grounding in the use of the multi-track studio and attendant equipment.

You will receive a course of practical demonstrations allowing for a greater understanding of audio, both in its recorded and natural states, and how transduction plays a critical role in associated routing procedures. Working closely with the Sound Practice module, you will be comprehensively briefed on fundamental routing procedure in an effort to support the more practical aspects of the music technology course.

Year Two (Level 5)

Advanced DAW Practice
The module aim is to build upon core DAW skills and to enable advanced operation of Pro Tools software to produce a computer-based, digital mix of music only projects to a professional standard.

With a strong emphasis on project analysis and problem solving you will become confident in taking on large mixes and challenging editing tasks.

On completing you will be able to speak the language of the DAW and collaborate with producers, engineers and musicians to realise their creative goals.

Creative Music Technology 2
This module builds upon the knowledge and skills acquired during the Creative Music Technology 1 module at Level 4. This module provides an in-depth exploration of sampled and synthesised sound and electronic music production and technique. You will further discover the historical and creative concerns regarding this broad topic. You will endeavour to break free from the preconceptions and stale narratives that plague modern electronic music production and forge your own relationship with creative music technology that will set the stage for the demands of the level 6 modules.

Contemporary Production Studies 2
This module will comprise lectures by members of the LCM staff and doctoral students with seminar discussions to explore the ideas and practices raised in them. Each fortnight a member of staff will give a lecture on their production practice or research. This will range from sequencing, sampling and synthesis techniques to orchestration and arranging for the recording studio; from experimental microphone techniques to the psychoacoustics of mixing audio. LCM staff range from Grammy winning producers to widely published researchers and these lectures will reflect their latest projects from the cutting edge of both professional and research activity.

The week after each lecture, you will participate in small group, seminar discussions exploring the ideas and practices raised in the lecture and informed by some set reading or viewing.

In addition, you will work on a practical production project of your own, negotiated with your module leader, which will demonstrate how you have synthesised knowledge from this broad range of lectures to expand your production ‘tool box’ and the ways in which you think about the production process. As part of this process, you will also create a short video explaining or demonstrating some aspect of what you have learnt from this module and how you have applied it in your production project.

Remix Production
This module examines remixing as a creative process, along with the diverse range of skills required in remixing, including audio editing, sequencing, sampling, synthesis, mixing and other production techniques. you will analyse examples of existing practice of remixing in the music industry, and explore the remixing process in two practical assignments.

Working in the Music Business
This module will introduce you to the fundamental business principles of the UK music industry.

The module will explore the range of legal and contractual responsibilities related to the music industry and examine the issues around setting up and operating a business within this field.

Each lecture will focus on key areas including the creation and protection of copyright and the legal framework of the music business. The module will also analyse the mechanics of promotion and income generation and identify the ways of communicating with key industry professionals.

Plus one option from:

Acoustics
This module will provide a detailed understanding of the principles of acoustics. The module will develop these principles in the context of studio and concert hall design, specifically focussing on the control of sound in a space to a required specification, and the prevention of interaction between isolated spaces.

The module will also introduce the principles of concert hall design, looking at the specific acoustic requirements for a range of concert and opera halls and also introduce the principles of reinforcement in these performance spaces.

Advanced Recording Techniques
This module aims to provide you with an enhanced recording experience, exploring a range of advanced techniques that build on the level 4 recording module. The module concentrates on specific recording elements, focussing on drum, guitar, vocal and acoustic instrument recording, giving you a range of tools and then exploring the most appropriate of those tools for their recordings. The suitability of techniques will be assessed based on target musical sounds and staging, with the influence of the recording space fully considered.

Live Electronics
MaxMSP, Pure DATA, Ableton Live, Eurorack, MIDI & OSC, Arduino, ARM, and Pi are all technologies than can be harnessed for live electronic performance. This module creates systems for real-time musical expression using these technologies.

Creative Sound and Music for Film and TV
The module content will be delivered through lectures and tutorial work in progress sessions. Lectures will introduce sound design concepts and practice by analysing artefacts, professional examples and relevant media. You will also learn about processes and techniques, associated workflows and considerations by means of in focus on work in tutorials and development of your work in progress.

Year Three (Level 6)

Advanced Audio Processing
This module is very closely aligned with the Advanced Electronic Production Techniques module on the Electronic Music Production pathway and Advanced Recording Production Techniques on the Recording and Production pathway. In addition, all these modules are designed to work in parallel with the Analysis modules on these three pathways.

The Advanced Techniques modules study the same topics as the Analysis modules on a weekly basis, looking at specific aspects of production technology, its use and the theory behind it. The Advanced Electronic Music Production Techniques module covers some common ground with the other Advanced Techniques modules such as dynamic processing, frequency based processing, distortion, spatial and time based effects. In addition, it looks more specifically at the shaping of electronic sounds, timbre as a compositional tool, advanced sampling and advanced forms of synthesis.

In this module you will conduct a series of experiments utilising and exploring some of the techniques covered in the online lectures and the production workshops. You will also create a short video explaining or demonstrating some aspect of what you have learnt from this module and how you have applied it in your respective Techniques module.

Advanced Mixing Techniques
This module aims to offer you the chance to build a portfolio of mixed materials that builds on the previous module content with additional advanced mix techniques. You will incorporate the content of lecture and seminar material into your work, developing new mix techniques whilst refining existing approaches. The module will also encourage reflection in groups, with small group listening sessions and peer feedback contributing to the module delivery. The module will also continue to develop analytical and listening skills and further enhance the development of an analytical musical language.

Mastering
This module aims to give you an understanding of the processes and technologies employed in mastering and opportunities to apply these techniques to create a portfolio of mastered materials. You will work in seminars to develop the listening skills associated with mastering, listening holistically to musical material. Listening skills will be combined by advanced technical competency, resulting in a portfolio of mastered material.

Mix Analysis
This module aims to provide you with an overview of the technique and musical approaches to contemporary mixing. The module will focus on historical origins and approaches to mixing and will analyse the work of professional contemporary mix engineers. As well as analysing the musical direction of mix engineers, the technology and workflows employed by these engineers will be evaluated, exploring the impact of technology and workflow on the creative process of music mixing. A range of analytical approaches will be employed through the module, contributing to the development of an analytical language appropriate to evaluation of mix characteristics.

Major Project
The project module is an individually negotiated and self-managed undertaking and as such has little prescribed module content. However the generic characteristics such as the learning outcomes, the timetable and assessment strategies will largely remain the same for all.

The module will commence with a series of sessions focusing on key aspects necessary for success in the undertaking of the project namely, organisational skills, managing resources, planning research and engaging in professional practice.

You are encouraged to contact staff with whom you would like to work to act as your academic supervisor.

There are various stages of development that must be completed by set deadlines on this module, these will include:
a 'pitch' presentation to a panel,
development of a proposal
development and realisation of the agreed project
research and extended critical analysis of the artefact and the production process.
During the development of the project you must keep a record of all personal and professional development issues. This should include key critical decisions and the subsequent actions considered and taken following reflection. This document is intended to act as a record of events and occurrences. Consistent and dedicated documentation of your progress will act as an aide memoire when writing the critical evaluation of the finished artefact.

BA (Hons) Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering)

£ 9,250 + VAT