Welcome to Intermediate Electronic Music

This "green sheet" describes official course policies and expectations and is a contract between you and me. Other materials on this web site, such as those listed in the sidebar, are extensions of the greensheet and also reflect official course policies.

- Dan Mitchell

Description

This course focuses on intermediate level electronic music techniques including principles of digital and analog synthesizer sound design and editing; professional studio and computer music software including integrated audio/MIDI sequencing software, instrument editors, software synthesizers; basic audio/MIDI studio configuration; modular synthesis; basic digital audio recording and editing; basic audio signal processing; introduction to concepts of music notation software; historical and technological development of electronic music; roles of electronic music technology in twentieth-century music. Some prior music experience and/or concurrent enrollment in a baic level music course such as Fundamentals of Music, Beginning Keyboards or similar is recommended but not required.

Text and Materials

Text book - No text is required at the present time. Some course materials are available within the software that we use and other materials are available on the web.

Access to a computer with a printer, web browser, and Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may use the electronic music lab computers for course-related work during your assigned lab time. Free computer access is also available to registered students in the Internet Lab in Learning Center West, and you may use your own computer.

Some assignments must be downloaded from this web site and printed. You must download and print these materials at least 48 hours before they are due and you must contact the instructor immediately if technical problems interfere with this. Problems printing or accessing course materials at the last minute are not an excuse for missing deadlines.

Web site membership. All Electronic Music students must become "members" of this Electronic Music web site. Use the Join Now link in the sidebar to join. Be sure to include your first and last names when you fill out the form. You will need an email address in order to sign up. If you do not have an email account, sign up for a free web-based email account from a service like http://www.hotmail.com/ or http://www.yahoo.com/. (Note: Some students running Norton Personal Firewall or the equivalent on their Windows PCs occasionally are prevented from accessing parts of the class web site and will instead see an error message mentioning the "referer." Please see this web site for information on resolving this problem if you encounter it.)

Personal headphones with 1/8" stereo phone plug (a.k.a. "iPod headphones") or other headphones and appropriate adapter.

Optional: USB memory stick or similar device (e.g. - writable CD/DVD media, external USB drive, etc.) is strongly recommended but not required to back up your work and move files between computers. Capacity of 512Mb or larger is sufficient.

Optional: Electronic Music web site RSS feed. RSS is a method for publishing web site content updates. If you are familiar with RSS and have RSS reader software you may subscribe to this site's feed to receive updates when the home page is updated:

Highly Recommended. Students should read current electronic music and audio magazines such as Electronic Musician, Keyboard, and follow online news sources (for example, harmonycentral.com, etc.

Course Schedule

Music 8B meets two days per week at 12:30-2:10. In general, you should be able to do all of your lab work during the scheduled class meeting time. However, additional open lab time may be available after the start of the term. Information will be provided in class.

Studio Rules

All electronic music students are responsible for reading, understanding, and following the Studio Rules. This is absolutely critical so that we can maintain open studio access for all students enrolled in this class. Violations of the studio rules may lead to suspension of access to the studios and other serious consequences.

Grading

Projects - Several short projects (see Intermediate Electronic Music Assignments) will be assigned during the term. Projects count for 30% of the course grade.

Class Presentation - A 10-15 minute oral presentation on a relevant electronic music subject - due during the final 2-3 weeks of the term. This assignment is described further in the syllabus. The presentation counts for 20% of the course grade. Group projects are possible with instructor permission.

Final Project - This assignment is described further in the Intermediate Electronic Music Assignments section. It is due at the final exam session. The final project is weighted at 30% of the course grade - but failure to complete a final project may result in a failing grade for the course.

Quizzes - There will be between three and six quizzes, some of which may be take-home quizzes. Quizzes for 10% of the course grade.

Test - One written test will cover topics from the quizzes and additional topics as announced in class. The test is worth 10% of the course grade.

(Note: Alternatively, there is a possibility that no quizzes/test will be included during the current term, in which case the weight of other assignments will be readjusted to accommodate the "missing" 10%.

I use a weighted average system to determine your final course grade - not a point system. Assignment and course grades will use base letter grades A, B, C, D, and F and +/- symbols. (There are no C- course grades at De Anza College.)

Let the instructor know immediately if you think you have received an incorrect grade. Grades will not be changed if you wait more than 72 hours after an assignment is handed back or after grades are posted on the web to bring errors to the instructor's attention.

If an emergency interferes with completion of course work near the conclusion of the term you must contact the instructor immediately to discuss the situation, including the possibility being assigned an "incomplete" grade in the course if appropriate. If you "disappear" at the end of the course you are subject to receiving a failing grade in the course.

Attendance

Attendance will be taken at each class session. You are subject to being dropped from the class for excessive absences or tardies. However, there is no guarantee that you will automatically be dropped if you stop attending without notifying the instructor. You must contact the instructor immediately if you miss a class or if you decide to drop.

The actual number of missed or late classes that may cause you to be dropped varies depending upon how many days the class meets each week. For a two day per week class, you are subject to being dropped after your second unexcused absence. For a one day per week class you are subject to being dropped after one unexcused absence. Late arrival counts as half of an absence, so the threshold in a two day per week class is 4 late arrivals, and in a one day per week class it is two late arrivals.

It is your responsibility to be aware of drop deadlines and to make timely arrangements with me and the registrar if you decide to drop this class. The class schedule lists deadlines for dropping with no record or for dropping with a "W" grade. I cannot guarantee that you will be dropped nor that you will be dropped before official deadlines if you stop attending class.

If meeting a deadline requires my signature or other action on my part, you must contact me during a scheduled class meeting or scheduled office hour before the deadline. I will not back-date drop requests submitted after deadlines.

Final Exam Session

Final projects are due at the scheduled final exam session. If you have something else scheduled at this time, you must make arrangements early in the quarter so that you can attend this session.

Attendance is required at the final exam session - no excuses!

Late Work

Assignments are late if they are not turned in at the time the class session begins. You are responsible for ensuring that you are on time on due dates - arrive early to make sure your work is not late. Better yet, turn your assignments in early.

Quizzes may not be made up, though one may be missed without lowering your grade.

Make-up tests may be possible for students who make prior arrangements with the instructor.

Other late assignments will be penalized 1 letter grade for each class session after the due date.

Contact the instructor immediately when you encounter technical problems while working on a project. If a technical problem interferes with your ability to complete a project by the due date, there will be no late penalty only if you contacted the instructor at the time the problem occurred.

Failure to turn in a final project may result in a grade of F for the course.

Copying and Cheating

Students who cheat or submit the work of others as their own work on papers, tests, or any other course assignments on which collaborative work is not specified are subject to serious consequences including an automatic failing grade in the course and a notation in their college records.

Cell Phones

Cell phone use during class is inappropriate and unacceptable. Turn off your cell phone and put it away before entering the classroom. I will ask you to leave if your phone goes off during class or if you use your phone during class.

Having your phone on during class is a distraction to you and others in the classroom. Under normal circumstances cell phones are to be turned off and put away. Setting your phone on "silent" or "vibrate" is not turning it off - "Turn it off" means turn it off.

There is one exception to the rule: If you have a real emergency (e.g. sick child, serious illness in your family, etc.) and you must be on standby so that you can immediately deal with this emergency situation and you would otherwise have to miss class, the following applies:

You must inform me of the emergency at the start of the period.
I'll ask you to sit where you can make a quick and quiet exit to answer the call outside the classroom.
Your phone must be on the silent setting.
When a call comes in you must leave the room before answering.

Bottom line: Unless you clear your legitimate emergency with me ahead of class you may not have your phone on during class and you may not answer calls or text during class. (You really can live without your phone for the duration of a class. Try it. You'll see. :-)

Office Hours

Visiting your instructor during an office hour can help you succeed at De Anza. Sometimes you may not be sure if you understand the course material; you may be confused about an assignment; or you may feel that the instructor did not grade your work correctly. It is much better to come in and talk about it and solve the problem than it is to leave your issue unresolved.

Perhaps more importantly, a visit helps the instructor get to know you as a person. Many of us have several hundred new students each term! When you take the time to make a personal contact it helps the teacher make the connection between you and the name on the roll sheet.

Please visit me during my office hours, call 408-864-8511, or send email to mitchelldan@deanza.edu any time you have a question or problem relating to the course. You do not need an appointment to see me during an office hour, but you can make one if you prefer. My office is in room A15 in the A1 building located in the Arts Quad. My office hours are:

I may meet some or all of my office hours in room A91 rather than in my office. I'll make an announcement in class.

Monday
11:30-12:20

Tuesday
11:30-12:20

Wednesday
11:30-12:20

Thursday
11:30-12:20

Friday
9:30-10:20

(Office hours are subject to change as announced in class and on my web sites.)

If you cannot visit during a scheduled office hour, I am available to meet at many other times by arrangement. Call me or send email to set up an alternate office visit. When I'm online you may be able to contact me at DeAnzaDan using Instant Messenger.

Course Calendar

Note: Because new course content and software is being introduced in the Intermediate Electronic Music course the calendar is subject to changes to be announced in class.

Week 1 9/21-9/25	First class meeting Administrative Issues, Intro to Software and Equipment, Logic Pro Review

Week 2 9/28-10/2	Introduction to Logic Pro 8 and Reason software. (During the 2008-09 year all students may be required to do the "Logic Review" assignment.) Assignment 1 (Logic Review) due.

Week 3 10/5-10/9	Reason software Electronic music history topic 1*.

Week 4 10/12-10/16	Reason software continued. Electronic music history topic quiz 1*.

Week 5 10/19-10/23	Advanced Logic Pro topics Electronic music history topic 2*.

Week 6 10/26-10/30	Advanced Logic Pro Topics Electronic music history topic quiz 2*. Introduction to the Class Presentation project.

Week 7 11/2-11/6	Software synthesis - Logic plugins Electronic music history topic 3*.

Week 8 11/9-11/12	Campus closed on Friday for Veterans Day Holiday. Software synthesis - Logic plugins and Reason Electronic music history topic 3 quiz*. Class Presentation proposals due on Tuesday.

Week 9 11/16-11/20	Overview of Protools LE Electronic Music history topic test. Intro to Final Project Possible start of class presentations.

Week 10 11/23-11/25	Other music software - e.g. notation software. Presentations - attendance required - Tuesday/Thursday @ 12:30-2:10

Week 11 11/30-12/4	Presentations - attendance required - Tuesday/Thursday @ 12:30-2:10 Work on Final Projects

Week 12 12/7-12/11	Final Exam Session: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 9. Attendance required.

(Page management: master list of calendar dates)

* The number of presentation sessions varies depending upon enrollment. Presentations may start either one or two weeks before final exams week. Note also that the quiz schedule may vary from what is shown here - announcements to be made in class.
The schedule is subject to change.