MUC4401/6444
Composition of Electroacoustic Music



Syllabus - Spring 2018 (preliminary)


Continuation of MUC4313, Introduction to Electroacoustic Music. Projects in electroacoustic music dealing with real-time, interactivity, live-electronic, and solo digital media.

Required Text:
Optional/Supportive Text:
Material Required:
Optional Material:
Grading:

Office: Office 221/Lab 147/Studio 340

Office Phone No.: (352) 273-3176

Office Hours: see schedule

Professor: Dr. James Paul Sain [email]

Graduate Assistant: Hooman Rafraf [email]

GA Office Hours: TBA

Studio/Lab Assistants: Garrett Hecker [email] & Rob Seaback [email]

Listserv (closed): ufemu-l@lists.ufl.edu

Policies:

1) All listening selections are from the Architecture and Fine Arts Library; please plan your time accordingly. A lack of planning on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on the part of our non-existent library support staff.

2) Late work is not accepted.

3) We are very fortunate to have a highly skilled graduate assistant (GA) serving this course (among numerous other duties). The GA will have regularly scheduled weekly office hours. Limited time may be available outside these office hours only at their discretion. Please contact the GA well in advance of your needs via email or in person after class (please respect the personal time of our GA). Come prepared with your materials well underway when working with the GA. As the assignments are designed to require you to apply the techniques demonstrated in class, the GA will only review the techniques and concepts outlined in the class lectures. Again, like the library staff, a lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on the part of our GA.

4) Attendance is required at all classes. Should a class be missed, it is the student's responsibility to see that the lecture notes from the missed class are obtained from a classmate and any work assigned is completed by their return (a class list will be supplied to help facilitate this policy). After three (3) class absences your grade will be lowered one grade increment for each absence after three (ie A to A-, or C to C-). Your grade will be lowered one grade increment for each UnBalanced Connection concert missed. Each missed concert or presentation will also result in a reduction in your grade by one increment.

5) The Electroacoustic Music Studio is available for use by each electroacoustic music student.

6) You must return the studio to the normal condition after each use or your use privileges will be removed.

7) Plan early for your final project...things have a way of happening at the last minute.

8) The requirements, emphasis, and timing of this course may be changed or adjusted to meet the specific needs of the class as determined by the instructor.

9) All students of The University of Florida are expected to conduct themselves in a reasonable and professional manner at all times as described in the Student Honor Code; please refer to The Code for specifics.

10) UF Software Copyright Policy: All faculty, staff and students of the University of Florida are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against the University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.

11) UF Counseling Services - Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals which interfere with their academic performance.

12) Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office in Peabody Hall. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.

13) My office door is always open; please feel free to drop by to discuss class issues as the need arises.

Assignments

(look here for assignment handouts as the semester progresses)

Course Outline

 

ELECTROACOUSTIC CONCERTS: All students are required to assist in the UnBalanced Connection concert (16 February 2018 during the FCMF). This includes both set-up (starting at about 2:00pm) and strike (ending around 10:30pm). Students are encouraged to have compositions presentable for performance on the UnBalCon concert. All students will be expected to set-up, attend, and tear-down for these concert. The concert is held in MUB 101. Please clear your schedules early to avoid a conflict.

LISTENING REPORTS (quantity 3): A written critique of compositions on each listening list. These reports, printed or type written, should contain ample and objective prose describing the works on the listening list. These descriptions should demonstrate an understanding of the techniques used to produce the work as well as the aesthetic of the composition.

COMPOSITIONS: Creative work to demonstrate understanding and application of principles discussed and experienced during the course of the semester as well as the aesthetics of contemporary electroacoustic art music. All compositions will be considered for performance. Those compositions not presented on an UnBalanced Connection concert will be presented during the final examination. These compositions will be retained/archived. Do not hand in your only copy.

SAFETY HINT: Always keep several back-up copies of your work on CD-R media, flash drives, or the cloud; if you have a personal computer you may wish to keep one copy on that hard-drive. Do not use the lab's/studio's hard-drives as personal storage devices. Doing so will most likely result in the loss of your work. All drives are regularly cleaned of all unauthorized software, files, and documents. Do not reorganize any software on the platforms in either the Computer Aided Music Instruction Lab (MUB 147) or the Electroacoustic Music Studio (MUB 340). Please sign in and out each time you use the studio or lab.

HEARING SAFETY: It is very important that the student of electroacoustic music be aware of the listening environment in which they are working. The studio environment can, if used improperly, subject the listeners ears to unhealthy sound pressure levels. For more information and links to web sites about hearing health click here .

- last update 7 January 2018 -