DAD 222
Audio Production I

Schedule

Opportunities in Digital Sound Design at DSU — DSU Live runs student concerts; the Sound Design Discord is where projects and program news get shared; and Student Research Initiatives funds undergraduate work.

113 items across 16 weeks · click a week to expand

Mon 8/24
TODAY
· Class introductions
  • What’s your name, major, and what is the last song you listened to?
· Introduction to the syllabus
slides Intro to Music Technology
homework
· Your favorite sound, submitted on D2L — due Friday 8/28
Wed 8/26
TODAY
slides Finish Intro to Music Technology
homework
· Your favorite song is due Friday
Fri 8/28
TODAY
due Your favorite sound — due tonight on D2L
slides Sound and hearing
Mon 8/31
TODAY
· Listen to a few of your songs — class playlist
slides Introduction to Reaper
Wed 9/2
TODAY
· Listen to a few more songs that we haven’t heard yet
slides Introduction to Reaper — continue with the intro
Fri 9/4
TODAY
slides Saving and exporting
project Introduce Project 1: Arranging Clips
  • Find loops and preview them on Looperman — show the different features of the site, including what its license lets you do with the loops
  • Find drums, percussion, chords, and a cappella vocals
lab Find and preview loops on Looperman
· Reminder: all projects are played out loud in class. Make sure you are comfortable sharing what you’ve created with the group.
homework
· Project 1: Arranging Clips — due Monday 9/14 by class
Mon 9/7
TODAY
off No class — Labor Day
  • Work on your loops project independently
Wed 9/9
TODAY
lab Walk through Working with loops in REAPER : timebase setup, Option-drag, and gluing clips
lab Show a basic version of the loops project
  • Find 7 clips from Looperman
  • Layer and rename tracks in Reaper
  • Build the arrangement
· Some layering and mixing of the project from Monday
slides Audio hardware - 25 minutes
Fri 9/11
TODAY
lab Finish the in-class project
  • Mixing and exporting
slides Finish Audio hardware - 25 minutes
Mon 9/14
TODAY
due Project 1: Arranging Clips — due today by class
· Listen to loops projects
Wed 9/16
TODAY
· Move to the studio
slides Reaper recording
  • One student dialogue demo
homework
project Project 2: Satirical PSA — have your script ready by Monday 9/21
Fri 9/18
TODAY
off No class
· Work through the Editing slides and bring questions Monday
· Each student should edit their own PSA and bring any questions to class Monday
Mon 9/21
TODAY
lab Another recording day for more practice, focusing on editing and mixing
  • have different students try recording to learn the process.
lab Gain staging drill — record the same line clipped, healthy, and too quiet, then normalize and compare (instructions )
Wed 9/23
TODAY
· Sound effects and music beds
  • In-class example: The Raven audiobook SFX design
  • Transition impacts or swooshes between character lines; some scripts need effects that illustrate locations or products, like chirping birds for outdoor settings
  • Add sound effects to separate tracks
slides Finding sound effects
· Make sure your music and dialogue work well together
· Mixing — background music should be much quieter than dialogue; around −30 dB is a good start
Fri 9/25
TODAY
lab FX Roulette game
Mon 9/28
TODAY
drill Ear training: frequency bands — 10 minutes
slides EQ
Wed 9/30
TODAY
· Listen to PSAs in class
· Discuss what worked well and what could be improved
lab EQ in-class assignment
due Project 2: Satirical PSA — due tonight by midnight
Fri 10/2
TODAY
lab Exploring EQ on a multitrack recording — instructions
Mon 10/5
TODAY
slides Dynamic effects
  • ReaComp , ReaXComp, ReaLimit, ReaGate
  • What elements in our mix are still not sitting correctly that could use compression?
Wed 10/7
TODAY
slides Time-based effects — delay, chorus, and flanger
Fri 10/9
TODAY
slides Reverb
Mon 10/12
TODAY
off No class — Native American Day
Wed 10/14
TODAY
· Putting together all we’ve learned to make a simple mix
slides The rough balance — faders, panning, and sends
lab Rough balance on the bluegrass multitrack — faders and pans only
homework
project Project 3: In-class mixing assignment — due by 10/23
Fri 10/16
TODAY
drill Ear training: compression — 10 minutes
lab Continue looking at Project 3: In-class mixing assignment
Mon 10/19
TODAY
guest BAD BEAT (Tino Gomez) visits class
  • Las Vegas techno and house producer and DJ, co-founder of the MNTRA collective and the Techno Taco Tuesday party
  • How a track gets built: drum machines, synths, and arranging for a dancefloor
  • How he uses compression, reverb, and delay in his own music, picking up the effects work we just finished
  • Running a collective and a recurring night: booking, promoting, and making a living in the scene
  • Come with a question. The session counts toward participation.
homework
· WhoSampled write-up — due Friday 10/23 on D2L
  • Find three of your favorite sampling uses on WhoSampled . Why do you like them? Describe how the artist used the sample and what it was about the original recording that made them want to use it.
  • For one of the three, trace the rights side: who cleared it, who got paid, and who didn’t.
Wed 10/21
TODAY
drill Ear training: space — 10 minutes
· Questions about the mixing assignment?
slides Sampling history — the machines and records behind sampling, and the problem MIDI was invented to solve
  • The sample clearance section at the end sets up the rights part of your write-up
Fri 10/23
TODAY
due WhoSampled write-up — due tonight on D2L
lab How drum patterns work
  • Build a beat in Ableton Learning Music, then rebuild it in REAPER with Sitala
  • Make a two-bar pattern with a backbeat, subdivisions, velocity changes, and one variation
project Introduce Project 4: Drum Programming and Beatmaking at the end of the lesson; today’s exit pattern can become its drum track
due Project 3: In-class mixing assignment — due tonight by midnight
homework
project Project 4: Drum Programming and Beatmaking — due Monday 11/2
Mon 10/26
TODAY
drill Ear training: balance and image — 10 minutes
lab MIDI and Sitala in REAPER
lab Continue Project 4 with help available for setup and troubleshooting
Wed 10/28
TODAY
slides Synthesis and MIDI — electronic sound production
Fri 10/30
TODAY
· Install Vital Synth if you haven’t already
lab Vital Roulette game
Mon 11/2
TODAY
drill Ear training: one hidden difference — 10 minutes
· Play beatmaking projects in class
slides Vital Synth
due Project 4: Drum Programming and Beatmaking — due today
Wed 11/4
TODAY
slides Modulation — LFOs and mod envelopes
Fri 11/6
TODAY
slides Effects and post-processing
· Last day to withdraw from full-term courses
homework
project Project 5: Vital Synth — due Monday 11/23
Mon 11/9
TODAY
drill Ear training: synthesis ears — 10 minutes
slides Drum synthesis
· No class Wednesday or Friday — I’m at the ATMI conference. On Monday 11/16 we’ll have some volunteers share their patches from previous classes
Wed 11/11
TODAY
off No class — I’m at ATMI in Grand Rapids, MI (Nov 11–14)
homework
· Keep working on Project 5: Vital Synth — now due Monday 11/23
Fri 11/13
TODAY
off No class — I’m at ATMI in Grand Rapids, MI (Nov 11–14)
Mon 11/16
TODAY
slides Leads and keys
· Vital Synth patch sharing — students share a patch they made with the class
project Start final project discussions and brainstorming
  • Take a few minutes and write down some ideas. I’ll come around and chat with each of you individually.
homework
· Final project proposal — due Friday 11/20, presented in class
Wed 11/18
TODAY
slides Connecting influences to your creative voice
lab Recreate That Sound: synthesis ear training — reverse-engineer patches in Vital before Project 5 is due
Fri 11/20
TODAY
due Final project proposal — due today, presented in class
· Play in-progress Vital projects in class — last round of feedback before they’re due
· After you play your project, spend a few minutes presenting your final project proposal
Mon 11/23
TODAY
due Project 5: Vital Synth — due today
lab Final project studio day
  • Divide the class into two groups of four
  • Group A (22 minutes): tracking session in the studio. Choose a mic, set your input gain, build a cue mix, and record a few takes of a volunteer singing or playing. Keep everything; the takes can go straight into your final project.
  • Group B (22 minutes): independent work on laptops in the classroom, sourcing sounds and arranging
  • Groups switch halfway through — the spare minutes cover the swap and wrap-up
Wed 11/25
TODAY
off No class — Thanksgiving recess
Fri 11/27
TODAY
off No class — Thanksgiving recess
Mon 11/30
TODAY
lab Independent work day focused on final projects
· Instructor available throughout class for one-on-one help
Wed 12/2
TODAY
· Course evaluations
· Critique session, part 1
lab Each student presents for 8–10 minutes, sharing a rough mix, composition, or sound design in progress
  • Presenters explain their current stage in the process and outline their intended next steps
  • The class offers constructive feedback and suggestions
· Presentation order posted in class
Fri 12/4
TODAY
· Critique session, part 2
lab Continuation of project critiques, same format as Wednesday
· Presentation order posted in class
Mon 12/7
TODAY
· Final Q&A session
· One-on-one help if needed
Wed 12/9
TODAY
off Reading / study day — no class
Fri 12/11
TODAY
due Final project — due today, submitted on D2L
· Final project presentations — 8:00–10:00 AM, our scheduled final exam slot

Final exam presentation — Friday, December 11 · 8:00–10:00 AM