Course Syllabus
Course: MUSC 4162
Division: Fine Arts, Comm, and New Media
Department: Music
Title: Advanced Audio Production
Semester Approved: Spring 2023
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2027
End Semester: Fall 2028
Catalog Description: This course continues a study of audio production through more advanced production techniques and projects further enhancing student’s skills as songwriters, producers, and audio engineers.
Semesters Offered: Fall
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 2; Lecture: 1; Lab: 1
Repeatable: Yes.
Prerequisites: MUSC 4700 Audio Production II
Justification: Students in the Production Track learn about Audio Fundamentals, Songwriting, Audio Production, Audio Recording, Mixing and Mastering; but they still need more experience producing projects to further develop those skills. This course covers advanced production techniques and gives students an opportunity to do projects that will exercise their production muscles and develop those skills needed to produce professional content.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Be knowledgeable of the history and role of producers in the Music Industry. Demonstrate knowledge of the history and role of producers in the Music Industry through objective written examinations.
Be knowledgeable of, and familiar with the roles of the various types of producers and remixers in the Music Industry. Demonstrate knowledge of the roles of the various types of producers and remixers in the Music Industry through objective written examinations.
Be familiar with different production techniques used for various circumstances. Demonstrate knowledge of different production techniques used for various circumstances through completion of various projects.
Be able to use a Digital Audio Workstation to produce an instrumental track underneath an existing vocal track. Demonstrate knowledge of producing an instrumental track underneath an existing vocal track through completion of various projects.
Be able to use a Digital Audio Workstation to produce a song or instrumental piece “in the style of” a reference example. Demonstrate knowledge of producing a song or instrumental piece “in the style of” a reference example through completion of various projects.
Be able to use a Digital Audio Workstation to re-produce and arrange a song from an existing multi-track project. Demonstrate knowledge of re-producing and arranging a song from an existing multi-track project through completion of various projects.
Be able to use a Digital Audio Workstation to produce a professional sounding production of a song or musical work performed by an artist, group or band. Demonstrate knowledge of producing a professional sounding production of a song or musical work performed by an artist, group or band through completion of various projects.
Content:
This course provides students with more opportunities to develop audio and music production skills by studying various regional and genre specific production styles, covering techniques used across all forms of production, and completing projects in new and diverse ways. The projects are variable in order to cater to the diverse backgrounds and musical tastes of students, but some projects will be presented to push students out of their comfort zones and into new and exotic styles and genres. • History of Production• Music Producer• Record Producer• Re-Mixer/DJ Producer• Producing for Songwriters• Producing for Bands• Vocal Production/Top Line• Music “in the style of” • Producing is Arranging • Production Techniques• Business of Producing
Key Performance Indicators:
Student performance will be assessed through the participation in labs, completion of projects, and scores on examinations.
Lab Participation 20 to 40%
Projects 40 to 60%
Examinations 20 to 40%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Moorefield, Virgil. The Producer as Composer: Shaping the Sounds of Popular Music.
The MIT Press. 2010.
ISBN-10: 0262514052
Owsinski, Bobby. The Music Producer’s Handbook. Hal Leonard, 2016 (Second Edition).
ISBN-10: 1495045226
Pedagogy Statement:
Students will attend a one hour lecture each week in a classroom/computer lab and subsequently a one hour lab each week in a recording studio facility that has a quiet and acoustically treated control room optimized for mixing and mastering. The instructor will assign reading or video preparation for students to supplement or prepare for lectures. Students will be engaged with hands on labs to experience the concepts covered in the lectures. Information for the course will be presented in multiple overlapping methods including lecture, video, online content and hands-on labs to accommodate various learning styles.
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture/Lab
Maximum Class Size: 12
Optimum Class Size: 10
