INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRONIC MUSIC - MTC 362 001, Spring 2012.

Instructor: Herbert Midgley

Phone: Office 468-1197 or leave a message at 468-4602

Email : hmidgley@sfasu.edu (Please use this email not Blackboard or my gmail account)

Webpage: www.herbertmidgley.com Office Hours: MW 10&1 T TH  12 & 3:30

Office: Room 310 A Fine Arts Building., 3rd Floor inside the MIDI Lab

Class Time and Place :12:30 P.M.- 1:45 P.M. T(Lecture) TR (Lab and group work) - FA 310

Class Goals: The goal of this class is for you to learn how to enjoy music by composing your own music with the use of music technology.

Texts: No text is required. The best way to learn about music technology is to get hands on experience. All equipment manuals are available and you will learn through them while at a computer.

Journal Notebook: You will need to keep a notebook since technical explanations can be rather difficult to understand at first. You will also need the notebook to keep a record of the sounds you're using for your composition. The other purpose of Journal Notebook is so that you can keep a log of lab hours that you work each week.

Class Attendance: I expect you to be present, and on time at all class meetings. Three unexcused absences will cut your final grade by one letter, four by two letters, etc. This includes lab sessions. You are responsible for all notes, power point presentations, recordings, and films/videos presented in class. Due the size of this class, no talking, sleeping, eating, reading newspapers, text messaging or cell phone use during class will be tolerated. All of these activities disrupt the educational process. If these common courtesies are not observed, you will be invited to leave the class. NO CELL PHONES OUT DURING CLASS!

 

You can not make up missed Group work, Written Tests and Skill tests. (Come to Class!)

Materials:

1)  4 CD-Rs to turn in your projects on or to take home and listen to after a session and a DVD-R to burn your Music Video.

2) You will need one 2 gig or larger USB Thumb Drive to back up your data. These are available in the bookstore.

3) Journal Notebook

 

All Projects will be turn in CD and DVD format and papers in a folder.

 

Grading:                                                                                     Grading Scale:

Written Tests - 20%                                                           90-100=A

Mid-Term/paper -25%                                                     80-89 =B

Final Project/paper - 25%                                              70-79 =C

Group Projects/paper - 25%                                        60-69 =D

Class Participation - 5%                                                  00-59 =F

 

The Mid-Term project will be a 2-5 minute composition. It will be due the week of mid-term. The Final project will be a 3-10 minute composition will be due on the day of the final. These projects should be original, composed and produced by you. You may want to collaborate with somebody else on another project, but the mid-term and the final project should be only one person's work. Frequently, some of you will get together and help each other and that's O.K. But I want to know that each of you understands how to operate the computer, the RS-50 and the GarageBand sequencing program on the MAC. You may also use your own equipment to do your projects, but make sure you use it in conjunction with the equipment in the lab.


Written Tests will cover MIDI, audio recording, mixing, song writing and music production.

 

Attendance & Lab-time: You will need work on your music three hours of lab time per week. You will be using head phones while you work in the lab. They're very lightweight to help keep your neck from getting tired, but they're also quite fragile. I will generally be around to help you if you have any problems (and there will be quite a few at first) during your lab times. Don't hesitate to ask me for help.

Please don't re-route (unplug, re-plug, de-plug, etc.) any equipment in the midi lab or the class pianos.

 

YOU MUST WRITE ALL PAPERS COMPLETELY IN YOUR OWN WORDS.  Do not cut and paste from Wikipedia or the Internet, I will know.  Turning in any work that you did not do is plagiarism, you will receive an F in the course and be sent to your Dean for further academic discipline. There is no reason for me to grade any work that you did not do yourself whether it is an exam or paper.

This class may be repeated for credit.

Students with documented disabilities who need course adaptations or accommodations please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.

The syllabus may be amended at anytime due to the overall performance of the class.

Student/Learning Outcomes: What students should know or be able to do as a result of this course:

1) The student will demonstrate the skill of using midi software

2) The student will demonstrate basic knowledge about midi

3) The student will demonstrate the skill of composing their own songs using music technology software

4) Through group work, students will demonstrate the ability to create music with other students

5) Through group work, students will demonstrate the ability analyze and critic other students' compositions

6) The student will demonstrate basic computer skills

7) The student will be encouraged to develop the skill of time management by preparing for class during their lab hours

8) The student will be encouraged to develop the basic piano skills

9)  The student will be encouraged to develop an interest in diverse music genres

10) The student will be encouraged to develop basic skills to make audio CDs

Week

Topic

 

Date

1

Introduction to MIDI: internet Search on What is MIDI

 

January 19

2

GarageBand I Basics - Planning a Song

 

January 24

3

GarageBand II Cut and Paste- Over Dub Recording

 

January 31

4

GarageBand III Looping

 

February 7

5

GarageBand IV Quantize- Midi Mixer

 

February 14

6

GarageBand V Editing- Notation

 

February 21

7

GarageBand VI Digital Audio Recording

 

February 28

8

Midterm- Burn CD Digital Recording: iTunes

 

March 6

9

GarageBand basics VII Digital Recording: Audacity I

 

March 20

10

Digital Recording: Audacity II

 

March 27

11

iMovie basics I - Planning a Music Video

 

April 3

12

iMovie basics I ­ Editing, Adding Music - Titles ­ Effects

 

April 10

13

iMovie basics I - Compression &

Music Video: Post on the Web

 

April 17

14

Promote your Music Video.  IDVD Part 1

 

April 24

15

iDVD I - Making a DVD Part 2

 

May 1

Final

Final Paper: How can you use this Class in your life? What did you learn from this Class?

 

Day of the Final

May 10

10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

 

Projects

 

 

Date Due

1

 

What is Midi Web Search (1 page Essay)

January 24

2

 

Song Review (1 page Essay)

January 31

3

 

History of your Favorite Musical Artist or Group/Band (1 page Essay)

February 7

4

 

CD Review 1 (1 page Essay)

February 14

5

10 %

Written Tests ­ MIDI - Test One

February 21

6

 

The History of your Favorite Musical Genre  (1 page Essay)

February 28

7

 

 

 

8

25%

Mid Term Project ­ (2 plus minutes long)

Paper on what did you learn from this project. (1 page Essay)

March 6

9

 

Music Video Review (1 page Essay)

March 20

10

 

Group Project ­ Songwriting (Group Song)

March 27

11

10 %

Written Tests- Audio Production/ Songwriting - Test Two

April 3

12

 

How the music industry has changed since 1999? (1 page Essay)

April 10

13

 

How to make your Music Video Viro. (1 page Essay)

April 17

14

 

Music Video Review (1 page Essay)

April 24

15

25%

Group Project - Music Video or EP CD

Make a Music Video or an EP CD with Cover.

A Paper on what did you learn from this project.

(We will watch all of the groupsą music videos and look at the EP CDs in class.)

May 1

16

25%

Final Project - (3 plus minutes long.)

Paper on what did you learn from this project (1 page Essay)

Day of the Final

May 10

10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

17

 

Final Paper: How can you use this Class in your life? What did you learn from this Class? (1 page Essay)

Day of the Final

May 10

10:30 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

18

Up to 10%

Extra Credit - CD reviews- papers- powerpoint- sequences, etc

Due day of Final

19

5%

Class Participation

All Semester

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Academic Integrity (A-9.1)

Academic integrity is a responsibility of all university faculty and students. Faculty members promote academic integrity in multiple ways including instruction on the components of academic honesty, as well as abiding by university policy on penalties for cheating and plagiarism.

 

Definition of Academic Dishonesty

Academic dishonesty includes both cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes but is not limited to (1) using or attempting to use unauthorized materials to aid in achieving a better grade on a component of a class; (2) the falsification or invention of any information, including citations, on an assigned exercise; and/or (3) helping or attempting to help another in an act of cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of another person as if they were your own. Examples of plagiarism are (1) submitting an assignment as if it were one's own work when, in fact, it is at least partly the work of another; (2) submitting a work that has been purchased or otherwise obtained from an Internet source or another source; and (3) incorporating the words or ideas of an author into one's paper without giving the author due credit.

Please read the complete policy at http://www.sfasu.edu/policies/academic_integrity.asp

Withheld Grades Semester Grades Policy (A-54)

Ordinarily, at the discretion of the instructor of record and with the approval of the academic chair/director, a grade of WH will be assigned only if the student cannot complete the course work because of unavoidable circumstances. Students must complete the work within one calendar year from the end of the semester in which they receive a WH, or the grade automatically becomes an F. If students register for the same course in future terms the WH will automatically become an F and will be counted as a repeated course for the purpose of computing the grade point average.

 

Students with Disabilities

To obtain disability related accommodations, alternate formats and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS), Human Services Building, and Room 325, 468-3004 / 468-1004 (TDD) as early as possible in the semester.  Once verified, ODS will notify the course instructor and outline the accommodation and/or auxiliary aids to be provided.  Failure to request services in a timely manner may delay your accommodations. For additional information, go to http://www.sfasu.edu/disabilityservices/.