Aesthetics of Electronic and Computer Music
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| MUSI1014 | Music | 1 | 10 | Spring UK |
- Code
- MUSI1014
- School
- Music
- Level
- 1
- Credits
- 10
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
This course explores how the unprecedented development of electronic technology has impacted on how music is created, recorded, performed and listened to. From the gramophone, radio and tape, to the synthesizer, turntable and digital download, sound technologies have had a fundamental role in shaping the history of music across the twentieth century up to the present. We will explore how cultural changes and advances in technology have shaped existing genres and created new movements. We will also be asking whether society and its laws can adapt to the ongoing democratization of the creation and distribution of music that advances in technology have enabled.
Target Students
Available to all Year 1 students including Liberal Arts, exchange and subsidiary students.
Classes
- One 1-hour-30-minute seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 1-hour-30-minute lecture each week for 10 weeks
Please see module booklet for details. Breakdown of hours: classes 33 hours; individual study 167 hours. Two 2-hour drop-in slots will be scheduled for students to discuss coursework with the module convenor.
Assessment
- 80% Coursework 1: Research-based essay of 2000 words
- 20% Presentation 1: Class presentation 15 mins
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
In doing this course you will develop:• An understanding of how technology has impacted on how we perceive, listen to and perform music;• A critical awareness of the possibilities and limitations of interaction with electronic instruments;• An ability to analyse a diverse range of genres and identify how they have been shaped by the development of electronics and technology; • An understanding of the necessity and/or limitations of copyright and ownership;• An ability to assess how the development of software/computer hardware has affected the processes of composers and performers;• An appreciation of the sonic characteristics of various recording and delivery methods.Learning Outcomes
1. An understanding of the history of music and technology post-1900 to the present.
2. An development of a wide range of critical and analytical skills for the handling of diverse material.
3. A theoretical understanding of electronics, technology, musical mediation, sound and listening.