WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT CURRICULUM Music Technology COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Music Theory for Computer Musicians NO. OF DAYS: 10 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understanding musical sound. 2. Explain the musical alphabet and the importance of note names. 3. Understanding rhythm, tempo, and note lengths. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: What is music? Why is reading music an important skill to know? Why is music theory necessary as a computer musician? STANDARD National Standards: 5, 6, 7 PA Standards: 9.1, 9.3, 9.4 CONCEPTS Eligible Content & Skills Music versus sound Pitch (frequency) Intensity (amplitude) Tone Quality (wave form) Synthesis Note Names Pulse and Beat Tempo # OF DAYS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A = Acquisition ET = Extended Thinking What is music? What skills are needed to develop musical aptitude and aural acuity? How do composers convey purpose, meaning and expression in music? How are pitches organized? How are beats organized and notated? RESOURCES/ MATERIALS Music Theory for Computer Musicians Chapters 1, 2, 4 Essentials of Music Theory Book 1 and Software Auralia Software TIER 2 Music Sound Pitch Frequency Intensity Amplitude Tone Quality Note Names Pulse Rest TIER 3 Synthesis Beat Tempo Resolution Snap-to-Grid Quantization Note Durations Resolution, Snap to Grid, and Quantization What are the qualities of dissonance and consonance? What are the disadvantages of quantization?
COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Music Theory for Computer Musicians NO. OF DAYS: 10 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understanding musical sound. 2. Explain the musical alphabet and the importance of note names. 3. Understanding rhythm, tempo, and note lengths. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: What is music? Why is reading music an important skill to know? Why is music theory necessary as a computer musician? CONCEPT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES Musical Sound The Notes Rhythm, Tempo, and Note Lengths Student Reflections In Journals Questioning Web/Software Based Exercises In completing this unit students will be able to successfully complete three individual competency tests based on the unit concepts of Musical Sound, The Notes, and Rhythm, Tempo, and Note Length. (EXAMPLE ATTACHED) Student As Teacher Activities Facilitated Discussions Reflections Student Discovery Time In completing this unit students will be able to successfully complete a comprehensive unit exam.
WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT CURRICULUM Music Technology COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Getting Familiar with Pro Tools NO. OF DAYS: 18 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understand the connections on the computer/interface/midi keyboard and the internal settings for Pro Tools 2. Explain the four edit modes and the seven tools in Pro Tools. 3. Do basic editing of audio (cut/repeat/paste/fade). UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do you use Pro Tools for basic editing of audio? STANDARD National Standards: 4, 6, 7 PA Standards: 9.1, 9.3, 9.4 CONCEPTS Eligible Content & Skills Pro Tools screens/timelines Starting a session and saving data Checking audio settings Importing audio Edit modes, the seven tools, and making selections Editing audio basics Fades and crossfades Altering the volume levels of audio using automation Bouncing audio # OF DAYS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A = Acquisition ET = Extended Thinking What could be changed in the Pro Tools windows/screens to make editing/working easier? What steps should be taken to cut a region cleanly? Name and explain the five different types of tracks that can be created in Pro Tools? Why might you use markers in Pro Tools? Name some easy ways of making a copy of a region somewhere else in your track? What is the spot edit mode for? What does the Scrub tool do? RESOURCES/ MATERIALS Skills Acquisition Tutorial Videos 1-10 The Everything Guide to Digital Home Recording Chapters 1, 4, 5 Module One Jam Voiceover Audio Files Multitrack Session www.redhotjazz.com TIER 2 Session Importing Region Nondestructive Zoom Horizontal Vertical Sound wave Recording Phonograph Microphone Acoustic Analog Digital Binary Code Speaker Monitor TIER 3 Slip Mode Smart Tool Fades Crossfades Bouncing Automation Crossing Point Fidelity Synthesizer Amplifier Magnetic Tape Overdubbing Multitrack Monophonic Stereophonic MIDI Preproduction Postproduction Track levels Panning Equalization Effects Mix Down
COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Getting Familiar with Pro Tools NO. OF DAYS: 18 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understand the connections on the computer/interface/midi keyboard and the internal settings for Pro Tools. 2. Explain the four edit modes and the seven tools in Pro Tools. 3. Do basic editing of audio (cut/repeat/paste/fade) UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do you use Pro Tools for basic editing of audio? CONCEPT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES News Program/Radio Advertisement Project Presentation and Discussion In completing this unit the students will be able to edit speech for a news program or Peer Driven Activities (Critiques etc.) Inter-Group collaboration radio advertisement to get only the key Student As Teacher Activities topics/points of the speaker and remove Group Discussion any unnecessary dialogue. Facilitated Discussions Audio Extension Project Student Reflections In Journals Group Conferences Questioning In completing this unit the students will be able to extend the length of an existing multitrack song. In this producer-style assignment, students must extend a song (from Module 1 Jam ) to 3:00min. by carefully cutting and pasting the existing audio tracks. Reflections Tutorial Videos Student Discovery Time Audio Collage Project In completing this unit the students will be able to build their own auto biographical audio collage of famous speeches by editing and crossfading the audio pieces together.
WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT CURRICULUM Music Technology COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Editing Stereo Audio NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Explain the basics of digital recording history. 2. Understand the principals and practices of using EQ/reverb/compression. 3. Use the workspace window in Pro Tools. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do you use Pro Tools in the basic sonic manipulation of audio? How do you use Pro Tools to manipulate the timing aspects of audio? STANDARD National Standards: 3, 4, 6, 7 PA Standards: 9.1, 9.3, 9.4 CONCEPTS Eligible Content & Skills Introduction to digital recording principles Introduction to the signal path Basic EQ Basic compression Basic reverb Auditioning audio loops using the workspace window Time stretching/pitch stretching (TCE tool/various plug-ins) Elastic Audio (calculating/matching audio together) # OF DAYS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A = Acquisition ET = Extended Thinking What color is an audio track in Pro Tools? In the EQ screen in Pro Tools, what does the Q control do? If you ve inserted reverb on a track, how do you hear the track without reverb? What is hard-knee compression? How do you quantize the audio of a drum loop that you ve imported, using Elastic Time? How do you insert a tempo change in Pro Tools? What does Shuffle Edit mode do? RESOURCES/ MATERIALS TIER 2 Skills Acquisition Tutorial Videos 11-18 The Everything Guide to Digital Home Recording Chapters 15, 16 Composition for Computer Musicians Chapter 10 www.archive.org/details/audi o www.freeclassicaudiobooks.c om www.americanrhetoric.com/to p100speechesall.html http://librivox.org www.pdsounds.org Effects Frequency Hertz Delay Input Diffusion Decay Chorus TIER 3 EQ Compression Reverb Elastic Time Loops Signal Path Limiting Gating Expanders High Pass Low Pass High Shelf Low Shelf Parametric Notch Gain Algorithm Pre-delay HF Cut LP Filter
COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Editing Stereo Audio NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Explain the basics of digital recording history. 2. Understand the principals and practices of using EQ/reverb/compression. 3. Use the workspace window in Pro Tools. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do you use Pro Tools in the basic sonic manipulation of audio? How do you use Pro Tools to manipulate the timing aspects of audio? COMPETENCY: Adding Effects to Audio Project Elastic Time Project Elastic Pitch Project CONCEPT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES Adding Effects to Audio Project Presentation and Discussion In completing this unit the students will be Peer Driven Activities (Critiques etc.) able to clean up some audio and add Inter-Group collaboration effects (using insert effects like EQ, Student As Teacher Activities compression, and reverb from the Mixer Group Discussion window) so the audio can be exported out Facilitated Discussions of Pro Tools in a better sounding Student Reflections In Journals condition as a finished stereo file. Reflections Elastic Time Project Group Conferences Questioning In completing this unit the students will be able to create a finished song with several different loops all playing in time together, with a decent audio balance between each track. Additionally students will be able to bounce session to a stereo audio mix without the click playing. Tutorial Videos Student Discovery Time Elastic Pitch Project In completing this unit the students will be able to fix the tuning of a vocal performance. This is what might be termed Elastic Pitch, and is namely the ability to alter the pitch of audio without altering its speed.
WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT CURRICULUM Music Technology COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Introduction to MIDI and Instrument Tracks NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understand the history and basics of MIDI and MIDI data. 2. Create and edit MIDI data. 3. Understand the quantization of data. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do you use Pro Tools as a MIDI sequencer? What is MIDI? STANDARD National Standards: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 PA Standards: 9.1, 9.3, 9.4 CONCEPTS Eligible Content & Skills What is MIDI and how is it generated? MIDI signal path and virtual instruments Creating music in a MIDI track/instrument track Quantization of data/viewing and editing events Time, tempo, and event operations MIDI real-time controls (control change info) Using the Xpand2 and Structure interfaces Rendering MIDI data as audio # OF DAYS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A = Acquisition ET = Extended Thinking What happens when you open a MIDI file in Pro Tools, and how do you make it play back using the sounds inside Pro Tools? How do you create a click track inside Pro Tools, and why would you create one? Which edit mode is best to use when working with time-sensitive MIDI material? How many different subdivisions of a single quarter note are there in Pro Tools by default? What does quantization do? RESOURCES/ MATERIALS Skills Acquisition Tutorial Videos 19-27 Music Theory for Computer Musicians Chapters 3-5 Composition for Computer Musicians Chapters 7-9 Everything Guide to Digital Home Recording MIDI Chapter MIDI Files TIER 2 Rendering Velocity Duration Tempo Layering TIER 3 MIDI Signal Path Quantization MIDI In MIDI Out MIDI Thru Channel MIDI Interface Controllers Randomizing
Transferring MIDI data to other programs What are some specific examples of when you would quantize MIDI data and when you would not? Describe two main ways that you could make a MIDI or Instrument track get gradually louder/softer on playback. How do you change the title of your piece when you re in the notation view of a MIDI/Instrument track?
COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Introduction to MIDI and Instrument Tracks NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understand the history and basics of MIDI and MIDI data. 2. Create and edit MIDI data. 3. Understand the quantization of data. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How do you use Pro Tools as a MIDI sequencer? What is MIDI? CONCEPT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES MIDI Project Presentation and Discussion In completing this unit students will be able to create a song containing four or Peer Driven Activities (Critiques etc.) Inter-Group collaboration more instrument tracks. Students will choose a different timbre for each track, Student As Teacher Activities Group Discussion and at least one should have some effects added to it from inside the Xpand2 Facilitated Discussions Student Reflections In Journals window. Reflections Group Conferences Questioning Tutorial Videos Student Discovery Time
WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT CURRICULUM Music Technology COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Recording New Audio NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understanding different microphones and microphone placement. 2. Recording audio straight into Pro Tools. 3. Work with track compositing in Pro Tools. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How does microphone placement affect recording? What are the challenges of recording live audio? STANDARD National Standards: 6, 7 PA Standards: 9.3, 9.4 CONCEPTS Eligible Content & Skills Using microphones types of mics Microphone placement Signal levels/signal path/monitoring Overdubbing and dropping in/out Takes/creating a track from different takes (compositing) Engineering someone else s session # OF DAYS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A = Acquisition ET = Extended Thinking How would you mic a drum kit? If your audio interface only has two inputs for microphones, how do you record a band with multiple microphones (more than two)? What is proximity effect? Describe track compositing in Pro Tools and how it works. How do you make a session scroll as it plays in Pro Tools? What is sample rate and sample resolution? What are the pros and cons of recording at higher sample rates? RESOURCES/ MATERIALS Skills Acquisition Tutorial Videos 28-31 Everything Guide to Digital Home Recording Chapters 5, 6, 9 Relevant contemporary articles relating to sample rates, sample resolution, bit depth and the Nyquist Theorem. TIER 2 Balance Mixing Microphone Processor Ram USB TIER 3 Signal Level Signal Path Overdubbing Dropping In/Out Multi-Track Interface Latency
COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Recording New Audio NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Understanding different microphones and microphone placement. 2. Recording audio straight into Pro Tools. 3. Work with track compositing in Pro Tools. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: How does microphone placement affect recording? What are the challenges of recording live audio? CONCEPT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES Live Audio Project Presentation and Discussion Inter-Group collaboration Group Discussion Student Reflections In Journals Group Conferences Questioning In completing this unit students will be able, using live audio and a mixture of drum loops and instrument tracks, to create a multitrack session with at least four tracks in it, at least one of which must be recorded live by plugging an instrument into the audio interface or by using a microphone. The live recorded track will be edited and have effects added. The finished song should have several different instruments in it (for example, drums, bass, guitar, other instruments, and/or live vocals), and should be mixed/bounced to a stereo file. The song should be a maximum of 3 minutes in length. Peer Driven Activities (Critiques etc.) Student As Teacher Activities Facilitated Discussions Reflections Tutorial Videos Student Discovery Time
WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT CURRICULUM Music Technology COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Learning to Mix Working in a Multitrack Environment NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Perform global editing functions. 2. Create a final stereo mix that represents the song accurately. 3. Choose appropriate effects for a multitrack mix down. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Describe the art of mixing. What is the job of an audio engineer/producer? STANDARD National Standards: 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 PA Standards: 9.1, 9.3, 9.4, 9.2 CONCEPTS Eligible Content & Skills More about the signal path (creating an auxiliary return) Creating different mixes of the same song Grouping tracks Automating the mix down recording/drawing fader movements More of using EQ, compression, and reverb Using AudioSuite to render audio Using delay and more advanced techniques Adding a master fader Mastering the track as a stereo mix # OF DAYS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A = Acquisition ET = Extended Thinking When would you use AudioSuite in Pro Tools? Describe how to set up an auxiliary send for reverb and why you would do this. How would you ensure that several (not all) tracks in your final mix all faded out at the same time? What is normalization? Describe why you might create a master fader for mix down. If you were using delay as an effect on a Pro Tools session running at a speed of 120 bpm, what would be an obvious delay time to use (in milliseconds)? RESOURCES/ MATERIALS Skills Acquisition Tutorial Videos 32-38 Everything Guide to Digital Home Recording Chapter 10, 15-17 Composition for Computer Musicians Chapter 19 Various excerpts from the Classic Album Series documentaries exploring the making of groundbreaking albums TIER 2 Engineer Producer Mixing Mastering Foreground Background Depth Up & Down Side to Side TIER 3 Signal Path Delay Master Fader Buses Fader
COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Learning to Mix Working in a Multitrack Environment NO. OF DAYS: 28 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Perform global editing functions. 2. Create a final stereo mix that represents the song accurately. 3. Choose appropriate effects for a multitrack mix down. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Describe the art of mixing. What is the job of an audio engineer/producer? CONCEPT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES Mix down Project Presentation and Discussion In completing this unit students will be able to mix a multitrack session down to a Peer Driven Activities (Critiques etc.) Inter-Group collaboration final stereo mix. Students will work in pairs focusing on key effects (EQ, reverb, Student As Teacher Activities Group Discussion compression), delay, using AudioSuite and demonstrating knowledge of group Facilitated Discussions Student Reflections In Journals creation and the use of master fader. Students will also use automation in the Reflections Group Conferences final mix. Tutorial Videos Questioning Student Discovery Time
WAYNESBORO AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT CURRICULUM Music Technology COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Working with Video and Creating Film/TV Soundtracks NO. OF DAYS: 40 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Import a video and add marker points that match the action. 2. Write and record/edit a voiceover track. 3. Create a musical soundtrack for a video. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: What are the constituent parts that make up a TV program, documentary, or movie? How do you render a completed movie with its own soundtrack? STANDARD National Standards: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 PA Standards: 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4 CONCEPTS Eligible Content & Skills Finding videos and importing them Looking at hit points/time code Writing a voiceover script Recording/editing voiceover Strip Silence feature for voiceovers. Adding an audio soundtrack Creating sound effects using Xpand2 Mixing elements together Bouncing to a QuickTime movie # OF DAYS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A = Acquisition ET = Extended Thinking What video format is best to use with Pro Tools? How do you convert a YouTube video into something you could use with Pro Tools? In video, what is meant by the term codec, and what factors are involved in choosing a codec? Why is it a good idea to add markers to a session that contains videos? Which of the edit modes might be best to use when synchronizing sound to onscreen action in a video? If Pro Tools doesn t seem to play from where RESOURCES/ MATERIALS Skills Acquisition Tutorial Videos 39-41 Video footage of film composers talking about their craft and techniques. Composers such as Alf Clausen, Howard Shore, Danny Eflman, Thomas Newman, Scott Bradley, Carl Stalling, Henry Mancini, John Williams, Michael Kamen, Lalo Schifrin www.empiremovies.com/tr ailers www.movielist.com/classics-alpha.php www.archive.org www.handbrake.fr TIER 2 Audio Video Voiceover QuickTime Rendering Dialogue Balance TIER 3 MIDI Hit Points Time Code Strip Silence Marker Points Xpand2 Automation
Video codecs for posting on the internet/podcasts you have selected in a track, which icon or feature do you need to ensure is selected? Before bouncing your whole session to a QuickTime movie or disk, what things should you make sure you have done to your whole session first?
COURSE NAME: Music Technology UNIT: Working with Video and Creating Film/TV Soundtracks NO. OF DAYS: 40 KEY LEARNING(S): 1. Import a video and add marker points that match the action. 2. Write and record/edit a voiceover track. 3. Create a musical soundtrack for a video. UNIT ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: What are the constituent parts that make up a TV program, documentary, or movie? How do you render a completed movie with its own soundtrack? CONCEPT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES Final Project Part 1 Final Project Part 2 Presentation and Discussion Inter-Group collaboration Group Discussion Student Reflections In Journals Group Conferences Questioning In completing this unit students will create a nature documentary. Students will find or record a movie about a specific topic related to nature and import it into an empty Pro Tools session. Students will write a voiceover text and record/edit it on its own audio track, so there is a strong narrative, but allow space between for music to be added. Students will create any extra tracks needed and record a soundtrack using a mixture of audio (real instruments that have been recorded) and MIDI Instrument data (using Xpand2 or Structure). Render as a QuickTime movie. Peer Driven Activities (Critiques etc.) Student As Teacher Activities Facilitated Discussions Reflections Tutorial Videos Student Discovery Time In completing this unit students will create a new soundtrack for an existing movie trailer. Students will retain the voiceover (by carefully editing the audio track for the trailer), but remove any music, and add a new soundtrack that includes drum loops, music, and sound effects appropriate to what is happening on the screen.