Music

This course offers a study of the fundamentals of the physics of sound, basics of the processes and tools of music production, use of a Digital Audio Workstation (D.A.W.), and the current software environment in which musical projects are carried out.

This course contextualizes London as a vibrant world center of popular music innovation. The inter-cultural dialogue between Britain and America is explored to examine the history of popular musical forms. To understand the impact of genres such as Blues, Jazz and Rock ‘n’ Roll, concepts such as the Black Atlantic will emphasize music as a medium of cultural exchange, and the importance of investigating the wider political and social dimensions in which music is made. Post-World War II revolutions in popular music made London and the UK a creative hub in global music culture because of the settlement of diasporic peoples. The course will therefore explain the cultural frameworks for the emergence of Pop, Punk, Ska, Reggae and Hip Hop. An examination of contemporary London’s dynamic musical effervescence is also investigated. This is an interdisciplinary course examining the historical, sociological, aesthetic, technological, and commercial elements of contemporary (mainly North American and British) popular music. Therefore, the course deals specifically with the origins and development of USA and UK popular music, particularly in the post-1945 era, and focuses upon topics including the relationship between style, subculture, and music, in addition to the impact of new technologies on music production and marketing. Audio–visual resources and a field trip are combined with lectures and in-class discussions.

This course leads students to understand the theater sound system and practical application methods, including: Acoustic concepts; basic sound system understanding and application; theater sound design concept, and understanding and application of digital arrangement software. The contents of this course are mainly for students from the Department of Art and Design. In order to ensure the quality of the class, the number of additional applicants is limited. International students are encouraged to conduct an interview in the first week of the course. 

This course examines the production, compositional and performance skills required to create electronic dance music including the aesthetics, fundamental and principals of production, arrangement, remixing and performance.

This course follows the discussions, the topics, and the paradigm changes concerning film music from a historical point of view. The course studies context and content of the most prominent functions of music within (most importantly) narrative feature film. At the same time, the course provides a historical tour d’horizon on technology, aesthetics, and implications of film sound and film music, using several theoretical approaches. A HISTORY OF FILM MUSIC by Mervyn Cooke provides the historical framework. Students of this class practice various theoretical approaches and coinciding audio-visual analyses in a series of weekly assignments. A weekly film viewing is part and parcel of the course. This course requires students to have intermediate to advanced knowledge of Western music history, and elementary to intermediate knowledge of music theory, as a prerequisite.

Issues and Topics in Music offers a broad introduction to some of the main areas of music. These include an introduction to a key selection of music and music history from the Middle Ages to the 21st century; and 2) an introduction to contemporary topics and methodologies, such as jazz studies, ethnomusicology, or sound studies. The course gives students a solid basis of information and methodologies, a platform from which they can enter into more specialized work.