This project is an HTML-based interactive learning guide for the channel strip of an analog audio console. A very important skill for students studying audio production, recording and engineering is to understand the signal flow of an audio console. Much of learning the entire console is understanding the function and signal flow of the mono channel strip. The channel strip is the first signal input of the console and handles many of the essential functions of signal processing while recording and mixing. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate how HTML, CSS and JavaScript can effectively be used to design functional interactive learning guides that can be used to supplement textbooks used in audio production classes and also act as reference material for students enrolled in those classes.

There are many facets that influence the quality of a musical theatre production. The visual appeal is created from the décor, costumes and lighting, whereas the plot, pace, and relationship a listener develops with the characters are fundamental to the performance quality. However, one often overlooked factor is the impact of sound quality. The perception of sound quality is subjective but is greatly impacted by the environment in which the listener finds themselves. If the projection of the music is underwhelming in depth and expression, or the balance of the dynamics and timbre are badly mixed, this can jeopardise the production’s success, regardless of the quality of the composition or the visual aspects. The production budget for a musical performance can be prohibitive. As a result, prerecorded music is often used as an alternative substitute to live musicians. However, the subjective authenticity of a musical may be jeopardized by the exclusion of live musicians and create additional challenges and performance limitations. One such challenge is the environment in which music will be played. Recorded music is usually created in a single format such as compact disc or for broadcasting, and the cost of recording be can just as expensive as a live performance, especially on large scale works. Time and budget constraints may impact the sound quality. In addition to this, the varying acoustic properties of potential venues may emphasise sonic gaps and flaws contributing to a listener’s negative perception of the sound quality, resulting in a compromised experience of the performance as a whole. This mixed method dissertation offers a systematic explanation to potentially resolve these challenges and limitations by conceptualising established knowledge of sound, audio and acoustics to formulate a framework for adaptive sound. These concepts are put into practice by creating a specifically designed audio recording that is experimented with in multiple theatre scenarios to successfully achieve optimal adaptation of the sound for the theatre environment. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

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The socio-musical practice of sampling is closely associated with the re-use of pre-existing sound recordings and the technological processes of looping. These practices, based on appropriation and repetition, have been particularly common within the genres of hip-hop and Electronic Dance Music (EDM). Yet early digital sampling instruments such as the Fairlight Computer Musical Instrument (CMI) were not designed for these purposes. The technologists at Fairlight Instruments in Australia were primarily interested in the use of digital synthesis to imitate the sounds of acoustic instruments; sampling was a secondary concern. In the first half of the thesis, I follow digital sampling instruments like the Fairlight CMI and the E-mu Emulator by drawing on interviews with their designers and users to trace how they were used to sample the sounds of everyday life, loop sequenced patterns of sampled sounds, and sample extracts from pre-existing sound recordings. The second half of the thesis consists of case studies that follow the users of digital sampling technologies across a range of socio-musical worlds to examine the diversity of contemporary sampling practices. Using concepts from the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS), this thesis focuses on the ‘user-technology nexus’ and continues a shift in the writing of histories of technologies from a focus on the designers of technologies towards the contexts of use and ‘the co-construction’ or ‘mutual shaping’ of technologies and their users. As an example of the ‘interpretative flexibility’ of music technologies, digital sampling technologies were used in ways unimagined by their designers and sampling became synonymous with re-appropriation. My argument is that a history of digital sampling technologies needs to be a history of both the designers and the users of digital sampling technologies.

The state of STEM education in America's high schools is currently in flux, with billions annually being poured into the NSF to increase national STEM literacy. Hands-on project-based learning interventions in the STEM classroom are ubiquitous but tend to focus on robotics or competition based curriculums. These curricula do not address musical creativity or cultural relevancy to reach under-represented or disinterested groups. By utilizing an analog synthesizer for STEM learning standards this research aims to engage students that may otherwise lack confidence in the field. By incorporating the Maker Movement, a STEAM architecture, and culturally relevant musical examples, this study’s goal to build both self-efficacy and literacy in STEM within under-represented groups through hands-on exercises with a Moog analog synthesizer, specifically the Moog Werkstatt. A quasi-experimental one-group pre-test/post-test design was crafted to determine study validity, and has been implemented in three separate studies. Several age demographics were selected across a variety of classroom models and teaching style. The purpose of this wide net was to explore where a tool like the Werkstatt and its accompanying curriculum would have the biggest impact. Results show that this curriculum and technique are largely ineffective in an inverted Music elective classroom. However, in the STEM classroom, literacy and confidence were built across genders, with females showing greater increases in engineering confidence and music technology interest than their male counterparts.

abstract: This study examines the experiences of participants enrolled in an online community college jazz history course. I surveyed the participants before the course began and observed them in the online space through the duration of the course. Six students also participated in interviews during and after the course. Coded data from the interviews, surveys, and recorded discussion posts and journal entries provided evidence about the nature of interaction and engagement in learning in an online environment. I looked for evidence either supporting or detracting from a democratic online learning environment, concentrating on the categories of student engagement, freedom of expression, and accessibility. The data suggested that the participants' behaviors in and abilities to navigate the online class were influenced by their pre-existing native media habits. Participants' reasons for enrolling in the online course, which included convenience and schedule flexibility, informed their actions and behaviors in the class. Analysis revealed that perceived positive student engagement did not contribute to a democratic learning environment but rather to an easy, convenient experience in the online class. Finally, the data indicated that participants' behaviors in their future lives would not be affected by the online class in that their learning experiences were not potent enough to alter or inform their behavior in society. As online classes gain popularity, the ability of these classes to provide meaningful learning experiences must be questioned. Students in this online jazz history class presented, at times, a façade of participation and community building but demonstrated a lack of sincerity and interest in the course. The learning environment supported accessibility and freedom of expression to an extent, but students' engagement with their peers was limited. Overall, this study found a need for more research into the quality of online classes as learning platforms that support democracy, student-to-student interaction, and community building. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music Education 2011

There is a lot of research connecting musical expression with well-being, motivation and meaningfulness, especially when introduced in early years. Children should have the opportunity to express themselves through music regardless of motor disability. There is research targeting children with motor disabilities and musical expression but when the projects ends the children are left without the technology. There is a gap in research exploring technologies accessible in terms of availability to buy and use for the children. This thesis take advantage of the evolution of music production technologies where standard digital audio workstations are highly customizable and therefore an option to use as tools to democratize musical expression among children with motor disabilities. Democratize in this context means to make the children able to participate in a musical performance and express themselves in a similar way as fully abled children. To explore the use of music production technologies to promote musical expression among children with motor disabilities a proposed solution of digital audio workstation Ableton Live and beat matched functionalities coupled with various tangible controllers was explored during 3 sessions at a school in Malmö. Four children at the age of 10 with motor disabilities participated together with their music teacher. The result indicates that the proposed solution has great potential to democratize musical expression among the children using available music production technology. The key component in the proposed prototype was the use of beat matched loops and effects which were synchronized to the songs tempo and made it possible for the children to express themselves musically.  The result also show that an important aspect of gaining well-being, motivation and meaningfulness among the children was connected to the proposed prototype ability to generate a musical outcome matching the children's expectations and personal preferences.

Solos for euphonium with electronic media present the unique challenge of incorporating an active, physical involvement in the live accompaniment through sound-altering technology such as guitar pedals or digital processors. Instructions for this solo genre are often vague and demand a general knowledge of how to use non-traditional devices. Due to the lack of information available on newly-composed pieces for this medium, students and professionals easily overlook the artistic merit of electroacoustic music. This dissertation provides a comprehensive performance guide that aids in the set-up and operation of advanced technology and presents a methodical approach to performing common musical and technical challenges found in modern euphonium repertoire with electronic media. Included in this dissertation are tables of common audio vocabulary and images of connectors, safety precautions, equipment recommendations with performance settings, a list of required connectors, adapters, cables, speakers, and amplifiers, performance set up diagrams, background information, and analyses of both the technical and musical aspects of each piece. In the appendices are signal flow charts, visual illustrations of polar recording patterns, and an updated catalog of published and unpublished original, adapted, and arranged euphonium solos with live electronics and electronic media accompaniment between 1970 and 2017.

Le regard de la société sur les avancées technologiques a été la cible de multiples remises en question. Des premiers synthétiseurs aux allures monstrueuses et presque grotesques aux instruments virtuels, les compositeurs de musique de film ont souvent port. un regard curieux sur cet instrument énigmatique, aussi singulier que versatile. Un synthétiseur est un appareil musical électronique ou un logiciel utilisé pour générer et combiner des signaux audio par des processus analogiques ou numériques . (traduit de Devine, 2013). Par un processus d’expérimentation, certains compositeurs ont relevé le défi musical d’utiliser le synthétiseur dans la musique de film. Avec le temps, ils ont trouvé en lui un outil irremplaçable. / Society's view of technological advances has been the target of many questionings. From the first monstrous and almost grotesque looking synthesizers to virtual instruments, composers of film music have often taken a curious look at this enigmatic instrument, as singular as it is versatile. A synthesizer is an "electronic musical device or software used to generate and combine audio signals through analog or digital processes" (translated from Devine, 2013). Through a process of experimentation, some composers have taken on the musical challenge of using the synthesizer in film music. Over time, they have found in it an irreplaceable tool.