REQ: Kadenze Experimental Foundations for Sound Design (Columbia University)
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.
Session 1: Time And Structure - Planning Your Sound Composition
1. Introduction to Course
2. A “By Any Means Necessary” Approach
3. Foundations for Structuring Your Experiments
4. Going Over Audio Media Folder Hierarchies (Premium Exclusive)
5. Auditory Vantage Point Exercise
Session 2: Early Tape Studio Techniques
1. By Any Means Necessary
2. Musique Concète Theory
3. The Cut Bell
4. Experimenting with Cut Bell to Use
5. The Closed Loop
Session 3: The Studio As Instrument
1. Electronic Music Studio Instruments
2. Making a Sawtooth Wave from Scratch in Audacity
3. Subtractive Synthesis by Hand (Premium Exclusive)
4. Speed change, Reverse, and Doublings
5. Experimenting with Tape Techniques in Ableton Live (Premium Exclusive)
6. Assignment Prep
Session 4: Training Your Ear For Production Analysis
1. Self Analysis
2. Directed Listening
3. Ear Reset Techniques/ Recovering From Detail Fatigue (Premium Exclusive)
4. Graphing Form in Example Track
5. Markers to Delineate Form/Time
Session 5: Spectral Balance - Timbral Orchestration
1. Introduction
2. Frequency Range and Sound Spectrum
3. Masking and Precedence Effect (Premium Exclusive)
4. Equal Loudness Curves (Premium Exclusive)
5. Spectral Density
6. Coursework
Session 6: The Sound Field - Designing Space
1. Sound Stage
2. Panning (Premium Exclusive)
3. Acoustic Cues for Space
4. The Interaction Between Frequency, Reverberation, Delay, and Distance (Premium Exclusive)
5. Graphing Space
6. Producing Depth and Creating Distance pt. I
7. Producing Depth and Creating Distance pt. II (Premium Exclusive)
8. Conclusion
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.
Session 1: Time And Structure - Planning Your Sound Composition
1. Introduction to Course
2. A “By Any Means Necessary” Approach
3. Foundations for Structuring Your Experiments
4. Going Over Audio Media Folder Hierarchies (Premium Exclusive)
5. Auditory Vantage Point Exercise
Session 2: Early Tape Studio Techniques
1. By Any Means Necessary
2. Musique Concète Theory
3. The Cut Bell
4. Experimenting with Cut Bell to Use
5. The Closed Loop
Session 3: The Studio As Instrument
1. Electronic Music Studio Instruments
2. Making a Sawtooth Wave from Scratch in Audacity
3. Subtractive Synthesis by Hand (Premium Exclusive)
4. Speed change, Reverse, and Doublings
5. Experimenting with Tape Techniques in Ableton Live (Premium Exclusive)
6. Assignment Prep
Session 4: Training Your Ear For Production Analysis
1. Self Analysis
2. Directed Listening
3. Ear Reset Techniques/ Recovering From Detail Fatigue (Premium Exclusive)
4. Graphing Form in Example Track
5. Markers to Delineate Form/Time
Session 5: Spectral Balance - Timbral Orchestration
1. Introduction
2. Frequency Range and Sound Spectrum
3. Masking and Precedence Effect (Premium Exclusive)
4. Equal Loudness Curves (Premium Exclusive)
5. Spectral Density
6. Coursework
Session 6: The Sound Field - Designing Space
1. Sound Stage
2. Panning (Premium Exclusive)
3. Acoustic Cues for Space
4. The Interaction Between Frequency, Reverberation, Delay, and Distance (Premium Exclusive)
5. Graphing Space
6. Producing Depth and Creating Distance pt. I
7. Producing Depth and Creating Distance pt. II (Premium Exclusive)
8. Conclusion