Bachelor's degree

In Bath

Price on request

Description

  • Type

    Bachelor's degree

  • Location

    Bath

  • Duration

    3 Years

This course aims primarily to develop creative and technically skilled graduates for employment within the composition, recording, entertainment and new media industries. Suitable for: Intended primarily for aspiring creative users of these audio technologies, this programme is ear-led and values creative ability and achievement above traditional musicianship.

Facilities

Location

Start date

Bath (Somerset)
See map
Newton St Loe, BA2 9BN

Start date

On request

About this course

220-260 UCAS Tariff points (eg BCD; BB+AS c) including A-level Music Technology at grade B or equivalent award in Music Technology or a closely related subject. Alternative qualifications welcome.

You will be asked to submit an audio portfolio (on CD) demonstrating your technical understanding and creative flair, and then may be invited to interview.

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Course programme

Course structure

Year 1

Year 1 introduces, explores and measures ideas and skills considered fundamental to the programme. It is intended that each student develops the ability to articulate their own creative output and is able to recognise its relationships to the work of others. You will develop workstation-based skills in Synthesis and Sampling using 'open ended' software. The Digital Audio Recording module ensures that the principles of digital audio are clearly understood and underpin your creative work. You will have ample opportunities to create music and sound to picture in Introduction to Sound Design and Film Sound. The two Core Skills modules will involve you in a wide range of listening and critical analysis of historically relevant 20th and 21st century music. Discussion and seminars furnish you with research, writing and presentation skills and experience.

Year 2

Digital Audio Techniques builds on existing knowledge to engage in a deeper level of inquiry that will inform your creative use of a range of audio applications. Audio Effects Programming introduces more advanced concepts and invites you to build original objects to manipulate digital audio. Creative Portfolio offers a framework in which to broaden and contextualise compositional ideas. Multimedia Production gives you the opportunity to engage creatively with visual as well as sonic media in the development of an interactive CD-ROM. Sonic Art, primarily a rich series of lectures and discussion, focuses on the way in which technology has influenced, and become a tool for, composition. The Professional Development module provides views of the vocational opportunities that may be available, and guidance towards approaching them effectively.

Year 3

Year 3 is advanced level work and offers students the opportunity to engage in study and creative work that may explore the most recent technologies and ideas - many towards the edge of our discipline. You are increasingly expected to direct your own studies, and to make intelligent choices reflecting your interests and strengths.

Many of the modules allow for a wide range of activities and outcomes - and at this level module choice is available. Multimedia Studio will furnish you with the skills you need to create and publish high quality audio and visual media on the Web and other formats. Interactive Audio requires you to engage in the design and building of plug- ins using a variety of applications. Digital Media in Dance engages with the use of technology in image and sound in the context of Dance. Sonic Performance offers students the opportunity to explore and develop collaborative creative work in a range of territories extending beyond recorded audio. Interactive Audio looks at how you can creatively apply advanced software to create and build audio tools. Production Techniques will engage with high level studio and recording techniques. The Major Creative Project represents the culmination of the creative strand of the programme, and allows you to research, propose and make a substantial piece of work in an area of your own choosing, across the whole teaching year. Composer Project promotes in depth study and analysis of selected areas of the music technology repertoire and discussion of creative principles and compositional strategy at a personal and case study level. Composition for Broadcast Media develops a clear creative and pragmatic approach to delivering sound to media briefs. The technical module that supports this industry sector is Audio Post for Moving Image. Students who wish to develop high level knowledge of specialist audio/sound design/composition issues within computer/video games may select Game Audio as an option.

Teaching Methods and Resources


In all three years the programme delivery combines lectures, music lab based workshops, seminars and directed study. The majority of staff/student contact is workshop based, within which each student has individual access to his/her own workstation. The timetable allows for access to the required equipment for students to complete work and undertake directed study. At Newton Park the School of Music and Performing Arts runs three networked labs offering 40 Macintosh based workstations. There is a full range of hardware and software to support the curriculum content including Pro Tools, Logic Audio Pro, MAX/MSP, GRM Tools, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Jitter and a full range of multimedia authoring packages.

An additional lab runs a ProTools HD system with Pro Control and surround capability. We have five fully equipped recording studios for those projects that may require them.

In March 2006 we opened three additional fully equipped ProTools HD studios and large live room.

Assessment Methods

Assessment is largely through coursework. Portfolios of creative and practical work supported by some written evaluation are common. Some modules will also assess through timed or multiple choice examination techniques.

Creative Music Technology

Price on request