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CCOG for MUC 170C archive revision 201901

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Effective Term:
Winter 2019 through Spring 2024
Course Number:
MUC 170C
Course Title:
Intro to Ableton III: Record, Produce, Perform
Credit Hours:
1
Lecture Hours:
10
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Covers sample-based instruments as well as production and performance of full tracks. Includes found sounds, loops, and modular gear. Audit available.

Addendum to Course Description

Producers build custom sample-based instruments as well as produce full tracks to be performed. This final workshop includes an overview of of audio engineering principles, dives into the history of recording technology and studies artists inspired by Found Sound, Field Recordings and Loops. The science and culture of synthesis will be explored with hands-on exposure to analog, modular gear.


Introduces music technology for musicians and music majors. Recommended foundational knowledge of Mac computers and MUS 110. Audit available. 

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon completion of the course students will be able to:

  1. Produce original music using sample collection and editing techniques.
  2. Discuss artistic and aesthetic choices with regard to cultural and historical assumptions, associations, traditions, and conventions and to one's own voice, style and/or identity.
  3. Apply a basic understanding of electronic music history when utilizing current technology.
  4. Demonstrate an understanding of basic audio engineering principles and apply them to one's own compositions.

Course Activities and Design

  • Interactive, hand-on workshops with trending electronic music technology
  • Critical listening and discussions with peers
  • Embodied rhythm training
  • Building MIDI drum sequences and patterns
  • Evaluation of styles & techniques
  • Instructor demonstration of music technology and place it within historical and cultural contexts
  • Creation of original beats and melodies as an individual and a group

Outcome Assessment Strategies

Grades will be determined by measuring student competency in the related subject matter. Methods used to determine competency might include:

  • Practical Examinations
  • Quantitative/Qualitative Examinations
  • Individual Projects
  • Group Projects
  • Peer reviews/Evaluations

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

  • Intro to signal flow & Acoustic-Analog-Digital conversion
  • Interfaces & digital audio- the continual evolution
  • Origins of recording technology 
  • Found sound, field recording, looping art
  • Build your own sample drum kit and melodic instrument
  • Culture & science of synthesis - then and now
  • Overview of audio effects and filtering
  • Produce & perform a track utilizing all techniques learned