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MUM 2600 L – Sound recording lab

Professor Calle

Office: Room 8213-2

E-mail: ecalle@mdc.edu

Website: http://www.professorcalle.com/MUM2600.htm

Phone: (305) 237-0593

WebCT: WebCT
Angel: Angel

Required textbooks:

Runstein, M., & Huber, M. (2005). Modern Recording Techniques (6th Ed.).

ISBN 0-240-80625-5

The Billboard Guide to Home Recording by Ray Baragary

ISBN 0=8230-8300-4

Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies by Jeff Strong

ISBN 0-7645-1634-5

The Musician’s Guide to Home Recording by P. McIan & L. Wichman

ISBN 0-8256-1378-7

Requirements: One pair of stereo headphones with 1/8” and 1/4” connectors, a valid E-mail account, access to the World Wide Web, a writing instrument, the textbook, and a notebook. Students are strongly advised to purchase a portable hard drive and store all class work on the drive. The instructor and lab assistants are not responsible for the safety or storage of student content.

Office hours: The professor is available through E-mail, telephone, and during office hours. Note that the professor is working on college-required duties during campus hours and is not available to students during posted campus hours.

IMPORTANT ATTENDANCE NOTE: THERE WILL BE ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE-UPS OFFERED FOR MISSED EXAMS, QUIZES, PROJECTS OR ASSIGNMENTS DUE TO AN UNEXCUSED ABSENCE. IF YOU MISS AN EXAM, QUIZ, OR ASSIGNMENT, YOU WILL EARN A ZERO.

DAY	Hours
Monday	12:45 PM – 1:15 PM
Tuesday	7:15 AM – 8:15 AM 9:50 AM – 12:30 PM 5:10 PM – 6:50 PM
Wednesday	12:45 PM – 1:15 PM
Thursday	7:15 AM – 8:15 AM 9:50 AM – 12:30 PM

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. At least 75% of the material comes from class lectures. You will earn 5 points for every class attended. Tardy students will earn 2 points. Students missing class or leaving early will earn ZERO (0) points.

Class writing: Students will be required to communicate via e-mail and discussion boards in addition to submitting written assignments. All written work must be typed and display correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Any assignment submitted that violates these rules will be returned and receive a failing grade until the student resubmits an assignment fulfilling the specified requirements. Written works submitted using “internet language” that lacks correct syntax and punctuation, includes undefined acronyms and symbols, and slang will be discarded. You are college students and are required to demonstrate college level writing skills in every MDC course and in the future.

Class participation: Students are responsible for setting up and striking all equipment used during in-class recordings. Students failing to actively participate and perform required tasks will receive an F for the class and be excluded from subsequent hands-on situations. In other words, your professor is not going to setup your equipment for you - EVER.

Tests: You will take at least 4 tests and a final exam. Each test will be worth between 100 and 200 points. There are absolutely no make-ups for late or missed assignments and/or tests due to unexcused absences. All written work must be prepared on a word processor or typewriter. No hand written work will be accepted.
Because the subject matter can be challenging and real-world situations allow any of us involved in the production process to review material that may have been forgotten, the instructor reserves the right to allow students access to their notes during some tests. Additionally, students will be allowed to retake tests earning low marks. The professor’s goal in this course is to help you learn how to record and manipulate audio. Thus, the professor will do everything possible to help you achieve this objective. We are here to learn. We are not here to fail.

Behaviors: Students are expected to behave in a professional manner. Cellular phones, pagers, text messengers, and any other electronic communication devices are to be turned off during class. Students using these devices during class will be asked to leave the class and will earn an F for the day. If you step outside to answer a phone call, please do not re-enter the classroom. In such case, the student will be marked absent.

Assignments and Projects: You will have at least 3 assignments or projects due. Each project will be worth 100 points. You will engineer your own projects. You will not be assisted by anyone else unless instructed by Professor Calle.

Logs: Students are required to keep a log of your hours at the labs. The log must be signed by a lab assistant and turned in periodically during the semester. The professor will check student projects stored on the lab stations. Please remember that all session folders are dated by the computer and therefore easily verifiable. Students are required to complete 15 lab hours in addition to the 15 hours for your projects. A log template is available at www.professorcalle.com/mum2600.htm.

Grading: Tests, assignments, projects and attendance all count equally towards your grade. The total scores will be computed and divided by the number of assignments when calculating your grades. Students will receive progress reports with every assignment.

Grading scale:
90 -100 = A

80 – 89 = B

70 – 79 = C

60 – 69 = D

59 or lower = F

College facilities: Students working on Miami Dade College (MDC) Digital Audio Work Stations (DAWS) are expected to work on tasks as instructed. At no time may students surf the Internet and visit websites other than those instructed. Prohibited sites include MySpace.com, adult sites, Utube.com, fighting and gambling sites, or any other web portals not directly related to course objectives. Failure to adhere to these instructions will cause the immediate removal of the student form the class.

Studios and labs: Students may use the sound recording and MIDI labs during available lab hours. Studio M-107 is only available with the permission of the instructor and lab manager. During the term, students will be granted a maximum of three hours in Studio M when recording course assigned projects. If you enrolled in this course because you wanted to record your album using college facilities, please note that MDC studios and labs are to be used exclusively for school mandated projects. The studios are designed and maintained for educational purposes only. Personal or unauthorized commercial use constitutes a violation of departmental policy and abuses Miami-Dade County taxpayers. Students interested in recording a commercial recording should consult a professional recording studio or purchase their own recording equipment. Failure to adhere to these policies will result in the denial of access to studios and facilities.

The MDC academic calendar containing all official college dates is located at: http://www.mdc.edu/academic_calendar/calendar.pdf

The MDC final exam schedule located at: https://www.mdc.edu/finals/

Course Competencies

Sound Recording 1 Lab - MUM 2600L

Competency 1: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate a basic understanding of various responsibilities associated with an assistant engineer by:

Appropriately setting up and striking microphone stands for use when recording a variety of instruments and performers.
Appropriately setting up and striking available microphones.
Appropriately wrapping and unwrapping cables commonly used in a recording studio.
Appropriately placing and striking chairs, rugs, sound panels, music stands, stand lights, and other commonly used studio equipment used when recording various instruments and performers.
Appropriately setting up and striking headphone amplifiers and headphones.
Generating a log of all equipment used during a recording session.
Verifying that all equipment used during a recording session is accounted for and secured.

Competency 2: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate a basic understanding of commonly used studio microphones and their typical applications by:

Choosing, setting up, and acceptably placing microphones used during a recording session.
Recording sound using microphones placed in close, distant, accent, X/Y, M/S, and Decca Tree configurations.
Identifying and correctly using microphones described solely by manufacturer and model number.

Competency 3: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate a basic understanding of audio signal routing by:

Manipulating audio signals via a virtual or physical audio patchbay.
Using sends and busses to guide audio signals as instructed or required.
Correctly assigning monaural and stereo inputs and outputs.

Competency 4: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate a basic understanding of audio signal processing by:

Adjusting input and output levels, and the amount of signal processing in order to produce the instructed or desired results.

Applying in-line and side-chain signal processing to audio signals.
Manipulating the spatial positioning of sound within the audio field.

Competency 5: Upon successful completion of this course, the student will demonstrate a basic understanding of the recording process by:

Correctly preparing a digital audio workstation (DAW) for recording based on the session requirements.
Correctly identifying monaural and stereophonic sources when creating tracks and choosing microphones or inputs.
Creating and recording a click track.
Creating a tempo map.
Creating session markers.
Recording sound.
Sub-mixing various audio tracks onto a single mono or stereo track.
Importing a variety of files into a DAW session.
Creating a rough mix of the session.
Bouncing the recording to a disc in a variety of digital audio file formats including AIFF, .wav, and MP3.
Converting a variety of audio files into different formats using Apple iTunes software.

NOTE: ALL STUDENTS MUST BE ENROLLED IN MUM2600L AND MUST COMPLETE THAT COURSE. IF STUDENTS DROP MUM 2600L THEY WILL BE PROPPED FROM MUM2600.