Digital Audio Technology Course Descriptions

DA100 Desktop Audio Production 3(2, 3)
Introduces the principles, methods, and essential tools of audio production in a desktop workstation environment. Topics include elements of music, basic psychoacoustics, basic digital audio concepts, MIDI sequencing and editing, digital audio recording and editing, audio file formats, and working with external controllers and devices. Students are introduced to techniques for expressing basic musical ideas in a digital environment.
Prerequisite: None

DA110 Sound Synthesis I 3(2, 3)
Introduces the methods and techniques of waveform synthesis and sampling. Topics include basic sampling and waveform theory, additive synthesis, subtractive synthesis, amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, sample capture and editing, and waveform processing. Students are introduced to techniques for exploring sound color.
Prerequisites: DA100, MA116

DA200 Audio Recording I 3(2, 3)
Introduces the principles and practices of studio recording. Topics include basic recording techniques, studio protocol, mixing consoles and patch bays, microphone selection and placement, multi-track recording, audio processing techniques, studio monitors, equalization, and mix down. Students are introduced to techniques for rendering musical ideas into audio tracks.
Prerequisite: none

DA215 Portfolio Preparation 3(2, 3)
Supervised project that introduces the concept-to-delivery pipeline. Students create a collection of music titles, post them to their own artist websites in streaming and downloadable formats along with artist info, and initiate their marketing plan in preparation for Portfolio I.
Prerequisites: DA100, CV242

DA240 Technology of MIDI 3(2, 3)
Comprehensive coverage of MIDI standards. Topics include MIDI 1.0 Standard, Standard MIDI Files, General MIDI, Downloadable Samples (DLS) I and II, MIDI Show Control, Extensible MIDI Files (XMF), MIDI Tuning Standard, Scalable Polyphony MIDI (SP-MIDI), MIDI diagnostics and troubleshooting, external MIDI devices and controllers, and MIDI programming. Students practice utilization of MIDI technologies.
Prerequisites: DA100, Programming language

DA270 Interactive Visual Audio Programming 3(2, 3)
Introduces visual programming in the audio workstation environment. Topics include patch layout and design, audio and MIDI capture, audio and MIDI processing functions, connection to external devices, flow of control, event timing, and program efficiency. Students practice custom audio programming in a visual programming environment.
Prerequisite: DA240

DA300 Audio Recording II 3(2, 3)
Application of studio recording to motion picture post-production. Topics include techniques of cueing and soundtrack synchronization, SMPTE, MTC, Foley, and automated dialog replacement (ADR). Students practice rendering musical ideas and sound cues into a coherent soundtrack.
Prerequisite: DA200

DA310 Sound Synthesis II 3(2,3)
Intermediate sound synthesis and sampling techniques. Advanced FM techniques, waveshaping, granular synthesis, introduction to physical modeling synthesis and modal synthesis. Sound FX production techniques. Advanced audio filtering and processing techniques. Soundbank design fundamentals: voicing, layering, and controller modulation.
Prerequisite: DA110

DA315 Physical Modeling Synthesis 3(2,3)
Comprehensive treatment of physical modeling and modal synthesis techniques. Karplus-Strong algorithm, digital delay lines, and digital waveguides. Software and hardware implementations. Applications in industry. Projects using physical modeling synthesis hardware and software.
Prerequisites: DA310, SC120, MA133

DA320 Principles of Digital Audio 3(3, 0)
Survey of digital audio technologies. Topics include disk and tape media and formats, network protocols, basic DSP, error detection and correction, subcodes, and data compression. Students apply knowledge of mathematics and physics to the understanding of digital audio systems.
Prerequisites: MA116, MU140, SC120

DA335 Foley/SFX/ADR 3(2,3)
Techniques of recording motion picture sound effects on a Foley stage, capturing and processing special audio effects, and automatic dialog replacement. Sound stage layout and outfitting, microphone selection and placement, safety considerations, and use of audio processing software.
Prerequisite: DA200

DA345 Game Audio 3(2,3)
Design and development of audio resources for real-time interactive systems. Consideration of audio formats, instrumentation, and mood and thematic content. Analysis of successful soundtrack designs from the game literature. Integration into a game build using an industry caliber audio SDK such as the Miles Sound System. Collaborative project required which successfully applies course concepts.
Prerequisites: MU230, Programming Language

DA401 Advanced Audio Recording 3(2, 3)
Studio recording for albums. Topics include session planning and project management, advanced mixing and 2-channel mastering, introduction to multi-channel mastering, and CD/DVD authoring. Students apply advanced audio production techniques to the audio mastering stage of the concept-to-delivery pipeline.
Prerequisites: DA300, Approved Portfolio

DA440 Digital Sound Design 3(2, 3)
Audio production for motion picture and video games. Topics include audio cueing and tracking, audio resource integration into linear and non-linear media, analysis of landmark sound design examples from motion pictures and video games, study and application of acoustic, and psychological and dramatic factors. Students cooperate on a large-scale project that demonstrates mastery of sound design, audio recording techniques and cueing.
Prerequisites: DA300, MU230, Approved Portfolio

DA470 Music Software Development 3(2,3)
Design and implementation of software applications for MIDI and digital audio. Subsystem architecture. Real-time MIDI playback and recording engines, audio streams, and audio capture. Sample processing and plugin design. Course project will include implementation of a real-time MIDI and digital audio application.
Prerequisite: SE310

DA491 Portfolio I 3(1,5)
Students work on a project that utilizes the concept-to-delivery pipeline. In addition to providing new music titles in streaming and downloadable formats, they apply for a barcode and develop their artist one-sheet.
Prerequisites: DA215, DA401 or DA440

DA492 Portfolio II 3(1, 5)
Students continue the work of DA491 by creating additional music titles, completing their marketing plan, registering their intellectual property, packaging their work in physical media (CD/DVD), and setting up transaction support with a merchant account and shopping cart.
Prerequisite: DA491

DA498 Special Project 1-6 credits
Individual or group research and development on a special area of interest in digital audio. Topics are developed in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Prerequisite: Permission of Department Chair

DA499 Special Topic 1-4 credits
Advanced course on a special topic in digital audio. May be used as a technical elective and repeated as topic changes.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and advisor

DA499 Internship 3-5 credits
Students will have the opportunity to work and learn in a “real-world” professional environment while earning credits towards their degree. The average requirement for a 3-credit internship is 10-15 hours per week during the 15-week trimester. Cogswell has local, national and international placement opportunities available to students. Students interested in pursuing an internship must start the application process the trimester before they intend to work.
Prerequisite: Junior Status

MU102 Comprehensive Musicianship I 3(2, 3)
Rudiments of music. Topics include the harmonic series, conventional music notation, rhythm and meter, major and minor scales, key signatures, simple and compound intervals, melodic modes, triads, seventh chords, and seven basic elements of music (pitch, rhythm, texture, form, dynamics, timbre, and spatialization). Introduction to harmony, solfege, and ear training. Rhythm and keyboard labs. Students are introduced to fundamental music concepts and musicianship skills.
Prerequisite: None

MU112 Comprehensive Musicianship II 3(2, 3)
Basics of harmony and musicianship. Topics include the circle of fifths, melody construction, basic chord progressions, bass-line construction, inner voices, non-harmonic tones, chord voicing and inversions, Roman numeral notation and basic analytical techniques. Practice of harmony, solfege, and ear training. Continuation of rhythm and keyboard labs. Students are introduced to the construction and analysis of multi-part music.
Prerequisite: MU102

MU140 Music Perception and Cognition 3(3,0)
Survey of research on perceptual and cognitive theories of sound and music. Topics include characteristics of sound, anatomy of ears, hearing function, cognitive skills related to music perception, memory in music, and the perception of musical time.
Prerequisite: EN100.

MU141 Ensemble 1(0, 2)
Music performance ensemble. Preparation and performance of musical selections in an ensemble setting. Open to any Cogswell student or employee by audition. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: none

MU202 Comprehensive Musicianship III 3(2, 3)
Intermediate harmony and musicianship. Topics include secondary dominants and tonicization, chromatic non-harmonic tones, extended chords, basic chromatic harmony, and basic jazz voicing. Practice of harmony, solfege, and ear training. Rhythm and keyboard labs. Students practice multi-part music construction and analysis in an expanded harmonic context.
Prerequisite: MU112

MU212 Comprehensive Musicianship IV 3(2, 3)
Advanced harmony and musicianship. Topics include chromatic harmony, modal systems, bitonality, atonality, basic serialization, and indeterminacy. Practice of harmony, solfege, and ear training. Rhythm and keyboard labs. Students practice advanced multi-part music construction and analysis in a 20th century harmonic context.
Prerequisite: MU202

MU230 Synthestration 3(2, 3)
Orchestration and arranging using synthesizers. Topics include use of pitch, rhythm, texture, dynamics, articulation, and timbre to create musical phrases and sections; structure of standard musical forms; application of procedural techniques to musical composition and arranging. Students apply their skill and understanding of harmony and multi-part music construction to orchestration and arranging in a digital environment.
Prerequisites: DA100, MU202

MU302 Style and Idea in Music 3(2, 3)
Concept development from initial idea to its realization in a musical style. Topics include developing marketable ideas, characteristics of diverse musical styles, steps in adapting ideas to styles, and hints on arranging. Students practice idea development and arranging.
Prerequisites: MU230

MU330 Composition for Soundtracks 3(2, 3)
Soundtrack creation for motion pictures and video games. Topics include survey and analysis of representative motion picture and video game soundtracks, 20th century compositional and orchestrational techniques, and dramatic and psychological factors. Students apply their skills in desktop audio production and multi-part music construction to the creation of emotionally engaging soundtracks.
Prerequisites: MU212, MU302

MU498 Special Project 1-6 credits
Individual or group research and development on a special area of interest in music. Topics are developed in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Prerequisite: Permission of Department Chair

MU499 Special Topic 1-4 credits
Advanced course on a special topic in music. May be used as a technical elective and repeated as topic changes.
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor and advisor