Interactive Learning Skills and Communication (ILSC) will help you to develop your academic, research, communication, and literacy skills in preparation for your undergraduate degree. ILSC covers reading, writing, speaking, and listening and will give you an understanding of institutional culture, practices, norms, and expectations of UK higher education. You will develop transferable skills such as effective communication to support ongoing study, career, and professional development skills.
View the full module definitionInteractive Learning Skills and Communication (ILSC) will help you to develop your academic, research, communication, and literacy skills in preparation for your undergraduate degree. ILSC covers reading, writing, speaking, and listening and will give you an understanding of institutional culture, practices, norms, and expectations of UK higher education. You will develop transferable skills such as effective communication to support ongoing study, career, and professional development skills.
In this module you’ll develop an understanding of the historical, social and cultural context for the study of music, and an ability to consider and identify a range of musical genres and styles, learning to engage with informed debates about issues in music. You’ll further develop your musical literacy and understanding of musical syntax in the analysis and composition of music, analysing musical genres and styles within their appropriate historical, cultural and aesthetic frameworks. You’ll also examine the factors that affect the development of music outside of issues of artistic expression, exploring the political and social aspects of the creative environment. In considering these issues, you’ll examine music from a range of periods and cultures, placing it within an appropriate historical, cultural and aesthetic framework. You’ll also have a chance to look at current trends and your own interests, to relate contextual issues to contemporary practice, and to develop research methodologies appropriate to the consideration of a range of musical issues and styles. This module will develop your awareness of the character of many musical forms, and help you to understand the nature of musical development.
View the full module definitionIn this introductory module you’ll explore electronic music making in the desktop computer environment using Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs), and focusing on these areas of creative production practice: MIDI sequencing – you’ll examine recording, editing and the creative manipulation of MIDI information in the DAW environment using standard and experimental methods; Synthesis – you’ll explore modes of sound synthesis and their potential for sound design in electronic music production; Audio – you’ll examine recording, editing and the creative manipulation of audio files in the DAW environment using standard and experimental methods; Sampling – you’ll explore modes of sampling and loop-based production; Effects – you’ll experiment with the creative manipulation of audio signals generated in the DAW environment. In electronic music-making since the early twentieth century, and particularly in the era of musique concrète in the 1940s and 50s, the manipulation of recorded sound has been central to music making activities in electronic music. The sampling, manipulation and transformation of pre-exisiting audio has moved from areas of avant-garde practice into popular music in the 1960s, and from the 1970s onwards, the use of existing recordings have been central to innovations in electronic popular music and dance music styles and genres - whether through turntablism, mixing or sampling techniques. Contemporary production practices combine pre-recorded, sampled and resampled audio materials with live recordings. While in module sessions you’ll explore techniques and creative practices primarily through Ableton Live and Logic, you’ll also be encouraged to imaginatively explore appropriate DAW or plug-in software of your choice when undertaking assessments.
View the full module definitionThis module will introduce you to sound recording, mixing, editing and production. No prior knowledge is assumed. The module starts with the system design and signal chain of a typical recording studio. Essential software and hardware is introduced and time will be devoted to critical listening skills. We will discuss the operation of recording/playback formats, dynamic and condenser microphones, analogue and digital mixing desks, dynamics processors, reverberation and other effects, and equalisation. We will also discuss studio monitors and room acoustics, especially mix spaces. You will be introduced to the workflow and technologies used in film audio, game audio and podcasting. The commercial music software packages used in this module are Apple Logic Pro and Pro Tools. Both are used in the music industry for songwriting and composition. In tutorial sessions you will look at MIDI sequencing, real and virtual instruments, audio recording and importation, and audio and MIDI processing and editing, while lectures will feature critical listening and demonstrations of music creation, recording, mixing and production. Tutorial sessions will allow you to discuss your coursework and get formative feedback. The module also introduces the theory of the devices found in recording studios, and the overall studio design. You will get hands-on experience using the software and hardware in the Audio and Music Technology studios to make a variety of recordings and learn the principles of mixer use and technology. You will be guided through a mixer’s components, including the use of equalization, and techniques for maximising sonic fidelity will be explained. You will discover the relevant electrical principles, including guidance on impedance and balanced and unbalanced connections, and consider the role of outboard equipment and monitoring systems. We will also review the most common types of effects, including dynamic processing and echo-based effects, and you will receive guidance on their applicability in different musical contexts, with theories backed up by practical experiments in recording.
View the full module definitionOn this module you’ll develop your skills as a music producer, building on Studio Techniques in trimester 1. You’ll develop your skills using up to date computer software for processing, editing and sequencing sounds, and learn how to create both rough and final mixes of a musical track. You’ll learn fundamental techniques of music arranging and develop critical listening skills to help you gain an understanding of the role of EQ and stereo placement in a finished mix. You’ll learn about the history of music production and studio-based recording from the 1950s to the present day, finding out how influential producers working in a range of different musical styles defined their own sound through the techniques they used. By developing your understanding of these different production styles and developing your fluency with a range of production techniques you’ll build a solid foundation for working as a commercial music producer. During the module you’ll gradually assemble a portfolio of different production projects. In some of these projects you’ll work collaboratively with other students, recording each other to create a finished track. In other projects you’ll work on your own, giving you the opportunity to forge your own style and showcase your musical ideas. You may be asked to emulate a particular production style from the past or the present day; or to reflect critically on your work by comparing it with established music producers.
View the full module definitionRuskin Modules are designed to prepare our students for a complex, challenging and changing future. These interdisciplinary modules provide the opportunity to further broaden your perspectives, develop your intellectual flexibility and creativity. You will work with others from different disciplines to enable you to reflect critically on the limitations of a single discipline to solve wider societal concerns. You will be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines to apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, seek and maximise opportunities to realise your potential to give you a distinctive edge and enhance your success in the workplace.
This module will build on the knowledge and skills you gained in year one modules. You’ll learn how to use advanced high-quality processors to produce recordings of the very best possible sound quality. You’ll be encouraged to move beyond the native mixers / processors / plugins that are integral parts of the commercial DAW packages, used in year one, and learn how to use higher quality external processors, both analogue and digital, such as DSP-based plugins and analogue outboard. You’ll carry out some simple prescribed experiments on hardware and software devices to investigate things such as noise floor, harmonic distortion and intermodulation distortion, as well as advanced use of delays and reverberation effects to create a convincing sense of space and depth in recordings. These wide ranging practical exercises will acquaint you fully with the features, properties and applications of these complex devices, leading you to an appreciation of their limitations as well as their great value in processing sound recordings. Your lectures will focus on critical listening, where you’ll begin to appreciate the value of advanced processors, recording and mixing tools and techniques needed for a very high-quality production, and experiment design to effectively carry out quantitative and qualitative analysis of specific devices and processors.
View the full module definitionIn this module you’ll focus on a potential career pathway in an area of the music industries through a placement or internship opportunity, with an emphasis on the development and self-evaluation of your transferable and employability skills. With support from module tutors and the ARU Employability Service, you’ll identify an area of career interest and negotiate, generate and complete a placement opportunity. The duration of the placement should be the equivalent of 35 hours. The placement should be clearly located in and related to ideas and practices encountered in your course. This module will combine independent study with lecture sessions and tutorial support to guide you through the placement or internship, with the module’s Canvas page providing further support. You’ll also receive presentations from visitors who work in roles within the music industries. Alongside contributing to your module sessions, ARU Employability Service will provide additional guidance through drop-in support and CV Surgery sessions. You will also have access to a range of online employability information via the Careers and Employability Portal.
This module will develop your awareness of the skills needed to produce audio for film, and will give you the opportunity to work in groups, or collaborate with students on other courses within Cambridge School of Creative Industries. You will develop competence in production sound recording, sound effect creation, automated dialogue replacement, Foley art and music composition; cover the planning involved and the critical observational skills of seeing and listening; and discover and experiment with tools for film production and post-production. You will then develop a film soundtrack. You will gain a good working knowledge of the processes and skills sought by filmmakers, extending your future employability.
View the full module definitionThis module requires appropriate sound engineering skills. The industry requires the ability to create unique sounds for unrealistic and otherworldly environments and scenarios. This includes writing music, creating unique sound effects and ambient effects, and recording dialogue, which requires producing non-linear, interactive experiences, not just one-off sound effects or loops. This means you will implement the audio in the game using middleware. You will then develop audio for a game. Where appropriate, you will work in groups, or collaborate with students on other courses within Cambridge School of Creative Industries, particularly Computer Games Development.
View the full module definitionOn this practical module, you’ll cover selected issues of composition and orchestration in depth. By the end, you’ll have produced a portfolio comprising original compositions of your own, as well as arrangements of existing works for orchestra. You’ll be introduced to the concepts and techniques of a wide range of compositional styles, with projects that might include exercises in contrapuntal writing, harmonisation techniques, vocal setting, arranging for small instrumental groups, or combining electronic and acoustic resources. You’ll develop the ability to convey personal expression and imagination in practical work, employing appropriate technical and interpretive means, and perform a variety of practical and creative roles while critically reflecting on the processes involved in undertaking compositional practice. You’ll attend individual and group tutorials, to help you maintain satisfactory progress. You’ll also develop your skills in instrumentation and scoring, learning to read orchestral scores, and demonstrating your understanding through practical work by creating proficient orchestrations presented to a professional standard. The orchestral scores you study – from Mozart to Stravinsky – will demonstrate the challenges and opportunities that composers face when writing for this medium. You’ll learn about the anatomy of orchestral instruments and instrumental colour, and how to translate from the pianistic idiom to the orchestral. By the end of the module, you’ll be able to create stylish orchestrations, preparing you for professional work in the film and game industries and many other settings.
View the full module definitionChords, Contours and Grooves is a follow-on module from Dots, Lines and Waves which will allow you to apply theoretical knowledge to specific musical examples in a more advanced critical manner. You’ll develop further understanding of the musical parameters of genre and style with a practice-based approach, with an emphasis on the analysis of harmony, melody and rhythm in various musical styles. You’ll also develop songwriting and arranging skills through composition assignments, which you’ll workshop using recorded audio demonstration and practical performance, with an emphasis on producing creative work in audio format, accompanied by clear scores and individual lead sheets/parts and reflective commentaries. You’ll focus particularly on the art of arranging, experimenting with different stylistic elements and techniques for variation. This level-5 module builds on your equivalent level-4 songwriting work, with a greater emphasis on arranging original material and developing your use of harmony, melody and rhythm. As well as concentrating on audio recordings, you’ll also produce scores, lead sheets and reflective commentaries to support the recording component of the assessments. You’ll develop a final portfolio submission of two substantial recorded compositions with corresponding scores and commentaries.
View the full module definitionThe Music Business module will allow you to develop and broaden your entrepreneurial skills within the music industry. You’ll be taught by professionals with extensive industry experience, and benefit from visiting speakers who will contribute specialist knowledge. Today’s music industry operates both locally and globally and is evolving rapidly in response to emerging digital technologies and consumer trends. In order to understand the present-day situation and anticipate future developments, you’ll be introduced to the history of the industry, with one business model gradually replacing another. You’ll learn about intellectual property in the digital age, music copyright, and the fundamentals of music law. You’ll learn about marketing and promotional campaigns, investigating how businesses launch and establish a brand, and how they rely on digital marketing data and analytics. You’ll also consider music journalism and promotional writing, learning how to tailor your writing to the markets and audiences you intend to reach. The management of live music events is at the heart of the music industry and brings with it a unique set of challenges, together with the management and development of new musical artists.
View the full module definitionOn this module you’ll gain an understanding and working knowledge of electronic music generation, processing and manipulation. Some familiarity with synthesisers or music studios is assumed. We’ll explore the architectures of early analogue synthesisers, principally examining the implementation of subtractive synthesis and techniques for sound processing. You’ll look at wavetable synthesis (sampling), giving consideration to interpolation schemes and the avoidance of aliasing, and consider practical schemes for multi-sampling of acoustic instruments. You’ll also examine Fourier synthesis (additive sine-wave synthesis), with details of practical implementation amplitude modulation including the resultant spectra, which are derived both experimentally and analytically. You’ll also examine and compare frequency modulation and phase modulation, applying the concept of the transfer function to a discussion of wave shaping and its role in synthesis. We’ll follow this with a discussion of algorithms for dynamic processing, including compression, expansion and companding. By considering the design of filters and echo-based effects, you’ll explore the principle of convolution. Finally, you’ll examine several other synthesis algorithms, including physical modelling and granular synthesis in the practical context of electronic sound design and performance.
View the full module definitionThis module will develop your skills in DJing, introducing you to a range of techniques used by contemporary DJs across a variety of genres, and an understanding of the technologies they use. You’ll also discover more recent innovations in performance technology, including DJ software, with an emphasis is on the creative application of such technologies in a live environment. You’ll also discuss the historical and cultural aspects of DJ performance.
View the full module definitionThis module will help you develop your performing skills through increasingly complex performance scenarios, encouraging your autonomy. You’ll use these scenarios to inform aspects of your own live work, giving you a coherent understanding of what it is to perform, and helping you work on material with independence and confidence. You’ll also analyse and consider popular music performance issues, extending your knowledge through experimental collaborative processes, and attending weekly performance workshops, masterclasses, and sessions on aspects of performing and critical analysis. In the weekly performance workshops, you’ll develop techniques in stagecraft appropriate the style of performance and genre. In analysis seminars, you’ll explore vocal and instrument techniques by genre, considering examples of group cohesion and interaction. These aspects of performance technique should then inform your own performance work, giving you scope to develop your own original interpretation of your material.
View the full module definitionThe individual Final Project module allows you to engage in a substantial piece of individual research that may inform creative practice or technological application. The project will be submitted either as a theory-based dissertation or as a practical project comprising a negotiated artefact or activity accompanied by a critical research-based component. The research subject must be drawn from creative/technological ideas, materials, subject matter, or approaches encountered in your individual course. The topic can reflect your specific interests but may also align with interests by ARU research groups or academics or previous/current collaborators of yours such as employers or organisations. The project topic will be negotiated with academic staff to ensure sufficient academic challenge and suitable supervision. The chosen topic will require you to identify problems and issues and formulate research questions to be studied, conduct literature reviews, evaluate and critically appraise information and data, adopt suitable methods of investigation, determine solutions, and present your findings in an appropriate scholarly and/or creative/technological format.
View the full module definitionYou will put into practice a collaborative music project working in a team or group. The module is devised to enable you to demonstrate your abilities to work collaboratively in performing a variety of practical and creative roles, and critically reflect upon the processes involved in undertaking professional, ethical and sustainable composition, performance, production, promotion and/or other responsibilities in a negotiated project. Through doing this, you will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of concepts of professionalism and entrepreneurialism. You will be expected to contribute effectively to group work, demonstrate adaptability in determining and achieving individual goals, including supporting or being proactive in leadership, and critically evaluate the roles you have carried out. The collaboration can involve students from across the courses at ARU. In putting your project into practice, a required outcome is that you take your work to an extra-university audience, and as such the collaboration may involve external individuals, agencies, or organisations. The nature of the creative musical collaborations will inevitably be diverse.
View the full module definitionThis is a practice-based module that enables you to produce a portfolio of audio/music-related work based on your specialism. Furthermore, you'll learn about and devise strategies to promote and disseminate your work. Taken together, this module provides you with the opportunity to complete your final year with a substantive body of work that demonstrates your skills to future employers, clients, or funding bodies, presented through accessible, engaging technical means. You have Trimesters 1 and 2 to produce and complete the portfolio’s “content”, that is, the body of music/audio-related work. You are expected to make progress independently under the guidance of the module tutor. Whereas classes in Trimester 2 will occur as individual/group tutorials, Trimester 1 additionally focuses on producing the portfolio’s “frame”, that is, devising suitable technological means for promotion and dissemination of your portfolio and setting up the technical infrastructure. Trimester 1 will therefore offer dedicated sessions on creating websites with embedded audio/video media, sourcing of visual artwork, using social media effectively, and presenting your biography and curriculum vitae (CV).
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