Austen Brown

This course will introduce students to basic techniques of working with sound as an artistic material. As a prerequisite for many of the department?s upper level offerings, the class is designed to familiarize the student with both the technology and the historical and aesthetic background relevant to our facilities and courses, to the field of ?sound art? and experimental music in general, and to the application of sound in other disciplines (video, film, performance, installations, etc.) Equipment covered will include microphones, mixers, analog and digital audio recorders, signal processors and analog synthesizers. Hard-disk based recording and editing (ProTools) is introduced, but the focus is on more traditional analog studio technology. The physics of sound will be a recurring subject.

Examples of music and sound art, created using similar technology to that in our studios, will be played or performed and discussed in class. The listening list will vary according to the instructors? preferences. Readings are similarly set according to the instructors? syllabus: some sections employ more or less reading than others, contact specific instructors for details.

Students are expected to use studio time to complete weekly assignments, which are designed to hone technical skills and, in most cases, foster artistic innovation. Some of these projects can incorporate outside resources (such as the student?s own computers and recordings), but the emphasis is on mastering the studio.

This course considers the building blocks of modular analog synthesis-


oscillators, amplifiers, and filters, using vintage and modern analog equipment. The course also considers various frequency and amplitude modulation techniques, including ring modulation and frequency shifting. These techniques are contextualized in a brief survey of the history of `classical' analog synthesis music, both European and American, with some analysis of classical studio technique in the work of composers such as Stockhausen, Berio, Koenig, Subotnik, Oliveros, Babbit, etc. Weekly compositional projects emphasize particular technical and aesthetic problems.

Students pursue individual projects which are critiqued in class, with occasional individual meetings as needed. Discussions include aesthetics and history of sonic arts as relevant to the work students bring in, concepts of critical listening, and technical issues speciHcally related to student projects (but this is not a course in general studio technique). Active participation in all critiques is expected. Students will be given access to only those studios that they have already used in previous sound courses. Open to students working with sound in other media (Hlm/video, installation, performance, etc.), as well as with ?pure sound?.

This class is an occasion for students with advanced sound skills to receive critique (and course credit) for their work. Examples of sound work by other artists, as well as readings, are brought in as prompted by issues in student work.

Students should expect to produce a body of work consisting of 3-5 finished pieces during the semester. In addition, the professor may assign a few compositional or technical exercises.

Taken every semester, the Graduate Projects courses allow students to focus in private sessions on the development of their work. Students register for 6 hours of Graduate Project credit in each semester of study.