SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS: DIVISION OF MUSIC
SYLLABUS: MUSIC 515 , COMPOSING FOR ELECTRONIC MEDIA (3 hours credit)

Group (9:35-10:50 A.M. TTh) or Private Studio (TBA)

PREREQUISITE: Mus415, prior experience with computer aided scoring
and sequencing--or graduate standing in music. Permission of
instructor.

NATURE OF COURSE: 
Option I:  a private lesson or group studio course in which students
receive individual critiques and assistance on their composition
projects.

Option II:  a cross-discipline group studio class populated by
composition, computer art and Broadcast Electronic Media students.

The course may be repeated for credit.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course emphasizes computer techniques used
to create sound tracks and scores for media productions. Students
meet in the instructor's studio, the digital music studio or the
computer media center to work on projects, share ideas and receive
critiques. Students are expected to make significant progress on
their projects between meetings. Students set their own goals and
work in styles of their own preference. Periodic goal setting
sessions will be held between each student and the instructor.

OBJECTIVES:
  1. to set goals with respect to style, composition techniques, 
     media and structure
  2. to develop computer aided music scoring and sequencing 
     technique
  3. to develop music synthesis and recording technique
  4. to explore composition for electronic media
  5. to define and set personal style
  6. to investigate and experiment with a wide range of
     compositional techniques related to electronic media
  7. to consolidate new compositional techniques in one's personal 
     vocabulary
  8. to extend one's sense of structure and demonstrate this 
     in one's work
  9. to use the Internet to discover resources and exchange ideas

APPROACH: 
Option I: Each student meets privately one hour weekly with the
instructor  according to a posted schedule.

Option II: Students meet according to the class schedule in the
computer media center. Course objectives will be realized by working
at computer stations, listening to and discussing other students'
work. Each student will develop a semester project to be presented
to the other students at the end of the term.

TEXT:  Software and manuals in the Computer Media Center. Students
will also seek and use network based sources, periodical and trade
journal references)

INSTRUCTOR: Kenneth R. Rumery,  Office PFA165,  phone. 3-3850  
e-mail:  Kenneth.Rumery@nau.edu, web site: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu~krr2
Office hours: by appointment

SEMESTER SCHEDULE: The student is expected to complete four projects
per semester. Time should be managed to enable completion of a
project or its equivalent roughly every three to four weeks. At this
level, a "project" will be the development of a finished multimedia
production. See Composer's Tools web site for ideas on materials and
techniques of composing.

*  First Quarter: learn how to use Opcode's Studio Vision Pro and
   Overture to record digitally to a hard drive, to edit the recorded
   samples and combine them in various sequences. During this period,
   learn to record video and sound to hard drive, integrate sound and
   video in Premier, Director and Quicktime and transfer the results to
   video tape and CD-ROM.
*  Second Quarter: Create the sound track for a short animation.
*  Third Quarter: Create a sound track for a longer, more
   sophistochated animation. Alternately, form a partnership with an
   animator or form a production team involving a second composer and
   artist. The team can be expanded, bringing in, for example, a
   writer to help create a story and script.
*  Fourth Quarter: Continue the collaboration to create the sound
   track for an additional animation and participate in post production
   techniques to create a broadcast quality video. The third quarter
   project may be continued provided significant additions and
   improvements are made.

Continue to build your composer's toolkit by visiting the Composer's
Tools web site and other sources of information about musical
patterns and devices. Scores and recordings are good sources for
composing and orchestration techniques.

The final exam is a public viewing of student production and a
portfolio of the work completed this semester.  All work will be
recorded a CD-ROM and a video tape.

GENERAL POLICIES

GRADING: Letter grades are assigned as follows; A = 90-100%, B =
80-89%, C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%, F = less than 60%. Attendance and
evidence of productivity are important elements of grading. A
quarterly assessment of individual progress will be made. Each
project is 25% of the grade.

LAB FEE

Composition requires frequent use of the Computer Media Center both
during and outside of class time. A lab fee of $25.00 is attached to
the tuition for this course. We recommend you have a MCEC account to
cover your printing charges  in CMC.