Students

MECO838 – The Art of Recording

2018 – S2 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Denis Crowdy
denis.crowdy@mq.edu.au
Contact via denis.crowdy@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
4
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MCrMedia or MCrInd or MFJ or MCreIndMFJ or MMedia or MCreIndMMedia
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit examines recorded sound and its relation to society. Areas of investigation include changes in technology and cultural context, expectations of fidelity, remote and field recording issues and practice, production values, media and distribution, recording ethics and relevant legal issues.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Critically evaluate the history of recorded sound and technology
  • Examine scholarship on recording and its relationship to society
  • Investigate changes in technology use in the field of sound recording
  • Acquire essential production skills to accompany theoretical exploration
  • Develop recording strategies to explore relationships between sound and society

General Assessment Information

Late Submissions

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (including weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Critical summaries and notes 30% No Continuous from week 3
Production analysis portfolio 45% No From week 8
Exegesis 25% No Week 13

Critical summaries and notes

Due: Continuous from week 3
Weighting: 30%

A series of readings are presented throughout the course, and students are to write critical summaries of a selection of these readings. These will be assessed starting in week 3 on an ongoing basis.

Submission via iLearn/Turnitin

Assessment criteria:

  • Ability to summarise effectively

  • Effectiveness of research and analysis skills

  • Clarity and quality of writing and understanding of appropriate style
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically evaluate the history of recorded sound and technology
  • Examine scholarship on recording and its relationship to society

Production analysis portfolio

Due: From week 8
Weighting: 45%

In consultation with the convenor/tutor, students will research three selected areas of recorded music production, and explore these through guided recordings. Each component is to be presented to the class from week 8, guided by notes from the accompanying exegesis assessment. The final portfolio is to be handed in at the end of week 13.

Submission via iLearn and ISIS file server (for large audio projects)

Assessment criteria:

  • Depth of conceptual and practical engagement with production analysis

  • Adherence to technical and audio quality requirements

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Examine scholarship on recording and its relationship to society
  • Investigate changes in technology use in the field of sound recording
  • Acquire essential production skills to accompany theoretical exploration
  • Develop recording strategies to explore relationships between sound and society

Exegesis

Due: Week 13
Weighting: 25%

Students are to describe and analyse the selection of and processes involved in recordings created for the production analysis portfolio. This will be used to present each component of the production analysis portfolio starting in week 8.

Submission via iLearn/Turnitin

Assessment criteria:

 

  • Communication of production process and problems encountered

  • Clarity and quality of writing and appropriateness of style

  • Evidence of engagement with core concepts

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Examine scholarship on recording and its relationship to society
  • Investigate changes in technology use in the field of sound recording
  • Develop recording strategies to explore relationships between sound and society

Delivery and Resources

Start of Classes

There will be a lecture in week 1, and workshops commencing week 2

Recommended Readings (digital access via MultiSearch)

Azenha, Gustavo S. “The Internet and the Decentralisation of the Popular Music Industry: Critical Reflections on Technology, Concentration and Diversification.” Radical Musicology 1 (2006).

Baade, Christina, and Paul Aitken. “Still ‘In the Mood’: The Nostalgia Aesthetic in a Digital World1.” Journal of Popular Music Studies 20, no. 4 (2008): 353–77. doi:10.1111/j.1533-1598.2008.00169.x.

Barbour, E. “The Cool Sound of Tubes [Vacuum Tube Musical Applications].” Spectrum, IEEE 35, no. 8 (1998): 24–35. doi:10.1109/6.708439.

Berger, Harris M., and Cornelia Fales. “‘Heaviness’ in the Perception of Heavy Metal Guitar Timbres: The Match of Perceptual and Acoustic Features over Time.” In Wired for Sound: Engineering and Technologies in Sonic Cultures, edited by Paul D. Greene and Thomas Porcello, 181–97. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 2005.

Bruns, Axel. “From Prosumer to Produser: Understanding User-Led Content Creation.” In Transforming Audiences 2009. London: ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation; Creative Industries Faculty; Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation; Journalism, Media & Communication, 2009. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/27370/.

Cole, Steven James. “The Prosumer and the Project Studio: The Battle for Distinction in the Field of Music Recording.” Sociology 45, no. 3 (June 1, 2011): 447–63. doi:10.1177/0038038511399627.

Crowdy, Denis. “Chasing an Aesthetic Tail: Latent Technological Imperialism in Mainstream Production.” In Redefining Mainstream Popular Music, edited by Sarah Baker, Andy Bennett, and Jodie Taylor, 150–61. Routledge, 2013.

———. “Studios at Home in the Solomon Islands: A Case Study of Homesound Studios, Honiara.” The World of Music v49n1 49, no. 1 (2007): 143–54.

Fales, Cornelia. “The Paradox of Timbre.” Ethnomusicology 46, no. 1 (January 1, 2002): 56–95. doi:10.2307/852808.

Frith, Simon. “Art versus Technology: The Strange Case of Popular Music.” Media, Culture & Society 8, no. 3 (July 1, 1986): 263–79. doi:10.1177/016344386008003002.

Glasgow, Joshua. “Hi-Fi Aesthetics.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 65, no. 2 (April 1, 2007): 163–74.

Grinnell, C. K. “From Consumer to Prosumer to Produser: Who Keeps Shifting My Paradigm? (We Do!).” Public Culture 21, no. 3 (October 7, 2009): 577–98. doi:10.1215/08992363-2009-009.

Hamm, Russell O. “Tubes Versus Transistors - Is There an Audible Difference?” Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 21, no. 4 (1973): 267–73.

Horning, Susan Schmidt. “Engineering the Performance: Recording Engineers, Tacit Knowledge and the Art of Controlling Sound.” Social Studies of Science 34, no. 5 (October 1, 2004): 703–31.

Jones, Steve. “Technology and the Future of Popular Music.” Popular Music and Society 14, no. 1 (1990): 19. doi:10.1080/03007769008591380.

Leyshon, A. “The Software Slump?: Digital Music, the Democratisation of Technology, and the Decline of the Recording Studio Sector within the Musical Economy.” Environment and Planning A 41, no. 6 (2009): 1309–1331.

Lockheart, Paula. “A History of Early Microphone Singing, 1925–1939: American Mainstream Popular Singing at the Advent of Electronic Microphone Amplification.” Popular Music and Society 26, no. 3 (2003): 367–85. doi:10.1080/0300776032000117003.

O’Connell, Joseph. “The Fine-Tuning of a Golden Ear: High-End Audio and the Evolutionary Model of Technology.” Technology and Culture 33, no. 1 (January 1, 1992): 1–37. doi:10.2307/3105807.

Perlman, Marc. “Golden Ears and Meter Readers: The Contest for Epistemic Authority in Audiophilia.” Social Studies of Science 34, no. 5 (October 1, 2004): 783–807.

Porcello, Thomas. “Speaking of Sound: Language and the Professionalization of Sound-Recording Engineers.” Social Studies of Science 34, no. 5 (October 1, 2004): 733–58.

———. “‘Tails Out’: Social Phenomenology and the Ethnographic Representation of Technology in Music-Making.” Ethnomusicology 42, no. 3 (October 1, 1998): 485–510. doi:10.2307/852851.

Raichel, Daniel R. “Recreational Noise Exposure - An Occupational Hazard for Audio Engineers.” Journal of the Audio Engineering Society 28, no. 12 (1980): 896–99.

Rothenbuhler, Eric W. “For-the-Record Aesthetics and Robert Johnson’s Blues Style as a Product of Recorded Culture.” Popular Music 26, no. 1 (2006): 65–81. doi:10.1017/S0261143007001134.

Thompson, Emily. “Machines, Music, and the Quest for Fidelity: Marketing the Edison Phonograph in America, 1877-1925.” The Musical Quarterly 79, no. 1 (April 1, 1995): 131–71.

Unit Schedule

See iLearn

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Additional information

MMCCS website https://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/faculties_and_departments/faculty_of_arts/department_of_media_music_communication_and_cultural_studies/

MMCCS Session Re-mark Application http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download/?id=167914

Information is correct at the time of publication

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Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

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Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

PG - Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative

Our postgraduates will demonstrate a high standard of discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgment. They will have the ability to make informed choices and decisions that reflect both the nature of their professional work and their personal perspectives.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Acquire essential production skills to accompany theoretical exploration

Assessment tasks

  • Critical summaries and notes
  • Production analysis portfolio

PG - Discipline Knowledge and Skills

Our postgraduates will be able to demonstrate a significantly enhanced depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content knowledge in their chosen fields.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Critically evaluate the history of recorded sound and technology
  • Investigate changes in technology use in the field of sound recording
  • Acquire essential production skills to accompany theoretical exploration
  • Develop recording strategies to explore relationships between sound and society

Assessment tasks

  • Critical summaries and notes
  • Production analysis portfolio
  • Exegesis

PG - Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Our postgraduates will be capable of utilising and reflecting on prior knowledge and experience, of applying higher level critical thinking skills, and of integrating and synthesising learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments. A characteristic of this form of thinking is the generation of new, professionally oriented knowledge through personal or group-based critique of practice and theory.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Examine scholarship on recording and its relationship to society
  • Investigate changes in technology use in the field of sound recording
  • Develop recording strategies to explore relationships between sound and society

Assessment tasks

  • Production analysis portfolio
  • Exegesis

PG - Research and Problem Solving Capability

Our postgraduates will be capable of systematic enquiry; able to use research skills to create new knowledge that can be applied to real world issues, or contribute to a field of study or practice to enhance society. They will be capable of creative questioning, problem finding and problem solving.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Critically evaluate the history of recorded sound and technology
  • Examine scholarship on recording and its relationship to society
  • Develop recording strategies to explore relationships between sound and society

Assessment tasks

  • Production analysis portfolio
  • Exegesis

PG - Effective Communication

Our postgraduates will be able to communicate effectively and convey their views to different social, cultural, and professional audiences. They will be able to use a variety of technologically supported media to communicate with empathy using a range of written, spoken or visual formats.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Examine scholarship on recording and its relationship to society
  • Acquire essential production skills to accompany theoretical exploration

Assessment tasks

  • Critical summaries and notes
  • Production analysis portfolio
  • Exegesis