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Go at your own pace
6 Sessions / 6 hours of work per session
Price
Premium membership $20/month (Preview session 1 free)
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Intermediate
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
DAW, Music Production, Recording Techniques, EQ, Reverb, Psychoacoustics

Not available for purchase in India

Open for Enrollment

Sound Design Course: Experimental Foundations

Open for Enrollment
You can also start immediately after joining!

Would you like to enroll?

Enrollment for this course has closed. But you can enroll in a future offering (please select)

Enrollment has closed

Go at your own pace
6 Sessions / 6 hours of work per session
Price
Premium membership $20/month (Preview session 1 free)
Included w/ premium membership ($20/month)
Skill Level
Intermediate
Video Transcripts
English
Topics
DAW, Music Production, Recording Techniques, EQ, Reverb, Psychoacoustics

Not available for purchase in India

Course Description

This course will focus on the application of historical and experimental analog electronic, recording, and studio techniques to deepen an understanding of the building blocks of sound creation. Presenting this course is instructor Seth Cluett, artist-in-residence at Nokia Bell Labs and instructor at Columbia University’s Computer Music Center.


By translating classic techniques ranging from Musique Concrete and Elektronische Musik to the studio experiments of Dub mixing and Les Paul into modern production platforms, composers, sound designers, sound editors, and independent filmmakers can expand their craft outside of their routine practices. Learners will create their own compositions using Ableton Live 10 and Audacity while drawing from the rich legacy of invention in electronic and experimental music. Session planning, score, and production analysis exercises will complement both small-scale sound creation and large-scale structural thinking for music production workflow.

Reviews
schedule

This course is in adaptive mode and is open for enrollment. Learn more about adaptive courses here.

Session 1: Time and Structure - Planning your Sound Composition (April 2, 2024)
In this session, we’ll talk about developing ideas through digital and paper sketching sessions and timelines for mapping the energy of a piece. We’ll also discuss pre-production workflows including sound file management, collecting, and versioning.
5 lessons
1. Introduction to Course
2. A “By Any Means Necessary” Approach
3. Foundations for Structuring Your Experiments
4. Going Over Audio Media Folder Hierarchies
5. Auditory Vantage Point Exercise
Session 2: Early Tape Studio Techniques (April 9, 2024)
In this session, we'll explore various techniques for developing non-musical field recordings into usable material for creative production. Techniques such as the cut bell, speed change, and sample stacking will be discussed in the context of shifting from the recording to processing stage.
5 lessons
1. By Any Means Necessary (Premium Exclusive)
2. Musique Concète Theory (Premium Exclusive)
3. The Cut Bell (Premium Exclusive)
4. Experimenting with Cut Bell to Use (Premium Exclusive)
5. The Closed Loop (Premium Exclusive)
Session 3: The Studio as Instrument (April 16, 2024)
In this session, we will discuss delay and reverberation, sound-on-sound, as well as creative use of phasing and flanging without using plugins. Performative recording techniques using the audio workstation as a mixing console to capture real-time effects manipulation will be demonstrated.
6 lessons
1. Electronic Music Studio Instruments (Premium Exclusive)
2. Making a Sawtooth Wave from Scratch in Audacity (Premium Exclusive)
3. Subtractive Synthesis by Hand (Premium Exclusive)
4. Speed change, Reverse, and Doublings (Premium Exclusive)
5. Experimenting with Tape Techniques in Ableton Live (Premium Exclusive)
6. Assignment Prep (Premium Exclusive)
Session 4: Training Your Ear for Production Analysis (April 23, 2024)
This session will be devoted to the development of advanced listening skills. Using a library of recordings, we'll identify studio techniques in familiar songs that might go unnoticed but are crucial to successful sound production.
5 lessons
1. Self Analysis (Premium Exclusive)
2. Directed Listening (Premium Exclusive)
3. Ear Reset Techniques/ Recovering From Detail Fatigue (Premium Exclusive)
4. Graphing Form in Example Track (Premium Exclusive)
5. Markers to Delineate Form/Time (Premium Exclusive)
Session 5: Spectral Balance - Timbral Orchestration (April 30, 2024)
This session will focus on large-scale layering of parts, distribution of instruments over the total frequency range of the mix, and EQ and compression as orchestration tools for production.
6 lessons
1. Introduction (Premium Exclusive)
2. Frequency Range and Sound Spectrum (Premium Exclusive)
3. Masking and Precedence Effect (Premium Exclusive)
4. Equal Loudness Curves (Premium Exclusive)
5. Spectral Density (Premium Exclusive)
6. Coursework (Premium Exclusive)
Session 6: The Sound Field - Designing Space (May 7, 2024)
In continuation of Session 5, this session will highlight techniques for designing and controlling the sense of space and immersion within the sound field of the work. Panning, amplitude, and EQ will be used in tandem with reverberation to create a compelling sound world for the listener.
8 lessons
1. Sound Stage (Premium Exclusive)
2. Panning (Premium Exclusive)
3. Acoustic Cues for Space (Premium Exclusive)
4. The Interaction Between Frequency, Reverberation, Delay, and Distance (Premium Exclusive)
5. Graphing Space (Premium Exclusive)
6. Producing Depth and Creating Distance pt. I (Premium Exclusive)
7. Producing Depth and Creating Distance pt. II (Premium Exclusive)
8. Conclusion (Premium Exclusive)
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Learning Outcomes

Below you will find an overview of the Learning Outcomes you will achieve as you complete this course.

Instructors And Guests
What You Need to Take This Course

Equipment: Midi controller with at least one knob and one fader + audio interface or computer with two input and two output channels.

Software: Ableton Live 9 (or 10) with Max for Live and Audacity. Prior experience with Ableton Live may be helpful in this course.

Additional Information

Please note: Taking part in a Kadenze course as a Premium Member, does not affirm that the student has been enrolled or accepted for enrollment by Columbia University.

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