Music 306 FALL 2003
Recording Techniques

Dr. Andrew Schloss
Office: A177 Local: 721-7931 or studio: 721-7929
Office hours: Weds 4:00-5:30 pm or by appointment (call to confirm)

Classes: MacLaurin B120 Tues, Fri 2:30 pm
Lab sessions: PTY Recital Hall, B008, Laboratory for Extended Media

TA: David Cecchetto
Office: TBA
Office hours: TBA

Text: Modern Recording Techniques, 5th Edition by Huber and Runstein (note new edition)
(in the bookstore and on reserve in the library)

Grading:
labs (3) 30%
mid-term exam 35%
final project 35%

SCHEDULE (subject to minor rescheduling):

Week 1 Introduction, goals. The recording chain. Analog vs digital signals.
Sept 5 Reading: Huber and Runstein 1

Week 2 Basic physics, sinusoids, waves and wave propagation.
Lab 1: Studio orientation, microphone comparison, placement. DUE OCT 3
Sept 10 Reading: Huber and Runstein 2

Week 3 Basic electronics, circuits, cables, Microphones
Sept 16 In-class mixing console/mik/cables/DAT how-to session
Sept 19 Video: Shaping your Sound Using Microphones

Week 4 Field Trip: University Centre Auditorium
Sept 24 Reading: Huber and Runstein 4
Lab 2: Digital recording and editing of audio (spoken word) using ProTools DUE OCT 28

Week 5
Video: Shaping Your Sound Using Mixing Consoles
Introduction: Sonic Solutions mastering system
Oct 7 Reading: Huber and Runstein 11

Week 6
Digitization, Nyquist theory
Oct 7 Reading: Huber and Runstein 6
Lab 3: Mastering on Sonic Solutions/edit guitar recording DUE NOV 11

Week 7 Digital recording ,DATs, ADATs, 96k/24 bit high-resolution standard
Time domain vs. frequency domain representations of sound.
Oct 14 Reading: Huber and Runstein 6 (cont'd)

Week 8 Hearing, the decibel, logs
Oct 21 Amplitude envelopes vs spectral envelopes, formants

Week 9 Hearing continued: cents, jnd, perceptual coding (mpX)
Oct 28 Reading: Huber and Runstein 12

Week 10 Introduction to MIDI recording, synthesizers vs. samplers
MIDTERM EXAM November 4 -- Sonic Solutions Glossary -- be familiar!

Week 11 MIDI sequencers, “virtual” multitrack recording vs. acoustic
multitracking, digital effects via Yamaha ProMix01
Final Project: Recording project of your choice
Nov 14 READING BREAK: Huber and Runstein 14

Week 12 Stereo miking techniques: M/S, ORTF, etc.
Recording the UVic orchestra
Nov 18 Reading: Huber and Runstein 15

Week 13 Room acoustics, sound reenforcement
Nov 25 Reading: Huber and Runstein 13

Week 14
Review
Dec 3 Reading: Huber and Runstein 16, 17

December 10: Final Project DUE


Note: for all lab assignments, you must
HAND IN A WRITTEN PAGE DESCRIBING YOUR WORK!
(Musical materials, tracks, problems (if any), strategy, etc.)

Demos:

Macintosh software: MAX/MSP, SoundEdit16, Pro Tools.
Microphone placement, in-class recording session, making audition tape (recital hall)
Microphone array techniques (7-channel recording) with portable direct-to-disk system
Standing waves
Phase reversal (spkr demo), interference and room nodes
Digital recording (DAT) editing, sampling and creating samples.
Video tutorials on studio techniques
Sound reinforcement: UVic Centre Auditorium
Spectral analysis using MSP, 512 band EQ for example