Assessment Outline

For this assessment, you are required to write an analysis of a recorded DJ mix. (A link to the recording will be available on iLearn in Week 3.) An important aspect of DJing and remixing is the ability to listen critically. Therefore, this assessment task aims to develop the skill of analysing how music has been arranged, edited, or otherwise manipulated.

Requirements

The critique should be between 600 and 700 words, and should address the following aspects of the recording. The most important items are marked with an asterisk.

• What are the overall strengths and weakness of this mix?
• Compare at least one of the featured tracks with the original version of the track. Identify three aspects of the track which have been changed for the purposes of the mix.*
• Analyse one segue (that is: a transition from one track to the next). Which elements of the segue are gradual and which elements are abrupt?*
• Which elements of this recording do you think would encourage people to dance (or discourage them from dancing)?

Assessment Criteria

Your critique will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Ability to compare a track in its original form with its appearance in the mix.
• Ability to clearly and concisely describe salient aspects of the mix from a DJ/producer's perspective.
• Precision of analysis.
• Evidence of constructive feedback on your peers' work (noting the strengths of each task and making helpful suggestions for improvement).
• Level of prose, grammar, and syntax.

Submission Instructions

A hard copy draft of this task must be submitted within the first 15 minutes of your tutorial on Tuesday 16 September (Week 7). The drafts will be peer-reviewed in class. The final copy of the assignment is due on Turnitin by 5pm, Friday 19 September (Week 7).

Extensions and Late Penalties

Extensions will only be granted if you have submitted a Disruption to Studies form.

No late drafts are accepted because the drafts are necessary for the peer-review process. If you miss the deadline for the draft (i.e. the first 15 minutes of your Week 7 tutorial), you forfeit the marks for the draft. You are not permitted to attend a different tutorial than usual in order to submit your assignment.

Final versions up to one (1) week late will receive a 10% deduction of the total marks possible. Final versions up to two (2) weeks late will receive a 20% deduction of the total marks possible. Final versions submitted more than two (2) weeks late will not be accepted.

Assessment Outline

Worksheets will be distributed in a number of tutorials. The worksheets will give you the opportunity to practise the skills discussed in lectures, and will help you to begin preparing for your Live Performance assessment and your Ableton Arrangement Project. Some worksheets will require you to evaluate your peers' work. Worksheets are to be submitted at the end of your tutorial. If you need more time to complete the work, you may submit the worksheet by 5pm Friday in the week during which it was issued. Any worksheet received after the week in which it was issued will not be marked.

Requirements

• Worksheets should be completed and submitted by the end of the tutorial. If extra time is needed, you may submit the sheet by 5pm Friday in the week in which it is issued.
• The tasks on each worksheet must be completed to a satisfactory standard.
• Where worksheets involve peer evaluation, you must provide constructive feedback on your peers' work, following the guidelines which will be provided in class.

Assessment Criteria

The worksheets will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Evidence that all tasks have been completed.
• Evidence of constructive feedback on your peers' work (noting the strengths of each performance and making concrete suggestions for improvement).

Submission Instructions

All tasks specified on the worksheets should be posted on the 300-level Assignments Dropbox on the MMCCS server by the end of the tutorial.

Late Penalties

Students who fail to submit the tasks for any given worksheet by 5pm Friday in the week that the worksheet was issued will forfeit the marks for that worksheet.

Assessment Outline

In this assessment, you will perform a 10-minute DJ set demonstrating your ability to use Ableton Live and to interact with an audience. Students will be allocated a performance time slot by 5pm Friday 5 September (Week 5)

Requirements

• The live mix is to consist of a minimum and maximum duration of 10 minutes.
• Ableton Live's Session View must be used as the 'hub' for the set. Turntables, CDJs and/or other instruments may also be used as supplements.
• You will need to liaise with the people playing before and after you, to ensure that you can mix in or out of their set(s).
• All audio material used must be credited in the Set Tracklist. (Set Tracklist guidelines will be available on iLearn.) The Set Tracklist must be emailed to Adrian Renzo at least 24 hours prior to your performance.
• All tracks must be high-quality audio files. Lossless formats such as WAV and AIFF are preferred, although MP3s encoded at 320kbps may be acceptable. Music ripped from YouTube clips is not acceptable.
• If you choose to use your own laptop for the performance, you are responsible for ensuring that your hardware and software are in good working order.
• You may be required to attend a separate viva voce regarding this assignment, at the discretion of the convenor.

Assessment Criteria

Marks will be awarded according to the following criteria:

• Ability to apply concepts of music design and theory to DJ performance.
• Level of mixing techniques.
• Competence in the use of technologies.
• Creative adaptation of sound materials.
• Evidence of constructive feedback on your peers' work (noting the strengths of their performance and making helpful suggestions for improvement).

Submission Instructions

The Live Performances will take place in Weeks 9-11. The dates are: Friday 17 October; Friday 24 October; Friday 31 October. The Set Tracklist needs to be emailed to Adrian Renzo at least 24 hours prior to each performance.

Late Penalties

Students who fail to perform in their allocated time need to submit a Disruption to Studies application and contact Adrian Renzo immediately. 

Assessment Outline

Students are to construct a 15-20 minute pre-arranged set demonstrating their ability to design and record a complete mix using Ableton Live. The entire set must be prepared using the Ableton Live Arrangement View and clearly demonstrate proficiency with mix techniques and practices explored throughout the course.

Requirements

• This project must be designed in the Arrangement View.
• The arrangement should be between 15 and 20 minutes' duration.
• A full draft of the set needs to be submitted in the first 15 minutes of the Week 12 tutorial.
• The arrangement must demonstrate proficiency with the mixing techniques and practices explored throughout the course.
• All tracks must be high-quality audio files. Lossless formats such as WAV and AIFF are preferred, although MP3s encoded at 320kbps may be acceptable. Music ripped from YouTube clips is not acceptable.
• The submitted Live Set Project folder must include a Set Tracklist (see guidelines below) and a self-evaluation sheet (which will be provided on iLearn).
• You need to click 'Collect All and Save' in Ableton Live before submitting your work. If any audio files are missing, the assignment will be marked 'as is'. If the project contains no audio files, the assignment will receive zero marks.
• You may be required to attend a separate viva voce regarding this assignment, at the discretion of the convenor.

Assessment Criteria

Marks will be awarded according to the following criteria:

• Ability to apply concepts of music design and theory to a recorded set.
• Use of varied mixing techniques and effects.
• Creative adaptation of sonic material.
• Quality of self-assessment.
• Evidence of constructive feedback on your peers' work.

Submission Instructions

A full draft of the Arrangement Project must be submitted in class within the first 15 minutes of the Week 12 tutorial (4 November). Arrangement Projects will be peer-reviewed. The final version of the assignment is to be saved as an Ableton Live Project and uploaded to the 300-level Assignments Dropbox on the MMCCS server by 5pm 7 November. If you are unable to attend university on 7 November, you will need to submit your work early. The Set Tracklist component is to be saved as a text file and included within the Live Set Project Folder. The self-evaluation sheet (which will be available on iLearn) should also be included in the Live Set Project Folder.

Extensions and Late Penalties

Extensions will only be granted if you have submitted a Disruption to Studies form.

No late drafts are accepted because the drafts are necessary for the peer-review process. If you miss the deadline for the draft (i.e. the first 15 minutes of your Week 13 tutorial), you forfeit the marks for the draft. You are not permitted to attend a different tutorial than usual in order to submit your assignment.

Final versions up to one (1) week late will receive a 10% deduction of the total marks possible. Final versions up to two (2) weeks late will receive a 20% deduction of the total marks possible. Final versions submitted more than two (2) weeks late will not be accepted.