University of York Music Technology Group

Postgraduate Study in Music Technology

MA/MSc and Diploma in MUSIC TECHNOLOGY

Please note that this page has been retired. It refered to the original MA/Msc in Music Technology taught master's course, as taught up to September 2009 and is retained for historical reference only. The revised course, which is taught as an MA within the Department of Music (starting October 2009) is described on the Department of Music website. Please update your links.

Introduction

In 1968, the University of York established an Electronic Music Studio in the Department of Music which has been a highly-regarded composers' resource ever since. It has been the training ground for many of the country's foremost exponents of electroacoustic music, some of whom now direct studios of other institutions. Now, as personal computers have developed to the point where they match the power and speed of mainframe computers of a few years ago, there is an urgent need to train musicians in the new technological advances and to train electronic engineers in current musical thinking. The computer revolution in digital audio has created new possibilities for musical composition and research that were scarcely imaginable a decade ago. The coming-together of complementary disciplines, along with an understanding of acoustics, psychoacoustics, and computation, has been the inspiration behind this course. The learning process, based in the taught units, is enhanced by the bringing together of different fields of human understanding to generate new insights.

Purpose of Course

Electroacoustic music is one of the most demanding, rapidly developing and rewarding fields of work for the engineers and musicians of our time. The purpose of the course is to bring together musicians on the one hand, and hardware and software engineers on the other, to learn together about this new field and to make their own contribution to it. The course units are designed to give musicians a degree of technical appreciation, and engineers to a grasp of musical issues at an early stage. All students will take the same units, working together and contributing insights from the standpoint of their complementary disciplines. In the final stages of the course, students an individual research project. This can take the form of musical composition, development of hardware or software for musical applications, or research into any other topic related to the work of the Music Technology Group as a whole. A thorough training in the concepts, applications and practice of music technology will be given. The knowledge gained through the course is of the greatest relevance to the following careers:

Course Overview and Registration

During the first term students study five major concurrent course units, typically involving two sessions each per week, plus support courses, private study and laboratory work as required. During the second term the emphasis shifts to research with a module concerned with research preparation and a selection of Special Interest Groups designed to focus work into current research topics. Those applicants unable or not wishing to take the entire degree course may register for any modular unit on a non-degree basis.

Funding

There are several possible sources of funding for this course of study.

FACILITIES

Campus Computing Facilities :

The University of York provides an extensive network of computing facilities, including sophisticated multimedia systems, PC's, Apple Macintosh, word processing and printing facilities. Computer access rooms are distributed over campus, and the University is an active contributor to the World Wide Web network of computing resources.

The Music Technology Group also has its own dedicated facilities, for both computing, composition, recording and acoustic research. Further details of Music Technology Facilies can be found at http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/mustech/gsp/course_facilities.html

Course Staff and their interests.

The thread that runs through all the work of the Music Technology Group is that of musical composition and performance, particularly of electroacoustic music. The staff who teach on the course have interests either in composing or performing music, or in developing tools and technologies for composition and performance.

Ambrose Field, BA(York), PGCE, PhD(City).
Email: aef3@york.ac.uk
Electroacoustic composition and computer music; Music Technology, Music Education.
Tony Myatt, BA, MA, PhD(Keele)
Email: am12@york.ac.uk
Composition; Music Technology; electroacoustic and computer music.
Dave Malham, MPhil, MAES
Email: dgm2@york.ac.uk
Sound spatialisation; Ambisonics; computer and digital audio system design; recording techniques.
David Howard, BSc, PhD(London), FIOA, MBAAP
Email: dmh@ohm.york.ac.uk
Speech processing; speech synthesis; singing training aids; analysis of the singing voice; synthesis of the singing voice.
Andy Hunt, DPhil(York), MIEE, Chair, Music Technology Board of Studies
Email: adh@ohm.york.ac.uk
Electronic and computer performance instruments; human-computer interactionmusical instruments and software for people with disabilities.
Ross Kirk, BSc(Leeds), CEng, MIEE
Email: ross@ohm.york.ac.uk
Music synthesis techniques and instrument design; knowledge based systems; computer architecture; electronic systems for the disabled; laboratory instrumentation systems.
Damian Murphy BSc, MSc, DPhil (York)
Email: dtm3@ohm.york.ac.uk
Physical modelling techniques in musical and room acoustics, surround sound and reverberation; DSP applied to creative audio processing; use and promotion of music technology in education.
Tony Tew, BSc(Dunhelm), MEES, CEng, MIEE
Email: tew@ohm.york.ac.uk
Speech and audio signal processing; adaptive interference cancelling; binaural and monaural processing for sound enhancement; processing of interface signals for the disabled.

Course Structure

The MA/MSc Music Technology course has three major components: core taught courses, Special Interest Groups and an individual research project. These take place in the Autumn term, Spring term and for the remainder of the 12 month course respectively. Core taught courses form the basis of the first term's work, then the students choose to study three from a series of special interest groups (SIGs) in the Spring term.

A SIG consists of around seven taught sessions of 1.5 hours each over three weeks plus individual tutorials, then seminars and tutorials during the second half of term (usually 4 x 2 hour seminars during the second half of term).

Syllabus

TERM 1 (Autumn)
Introductory Research Project
 
Unassessed Unit : Studio Techniques and Technologies (optional)
 
Unit 1 : Signal Preservation
 
Unit 2 : Digital Audio Processing.
 
Unit 3 : Aesthetics.
 
Unit 4 : Human Perception of Sound.
 
Unit 5 : Electronic Musical Instruments.
 
Support Course 1: Programming.
 
Support Course 2: Circuits
 
TERM 2 (Spring)

All students do;

Unit 6: Research Preparation
 
and they also choose any 3 of the following Units 

Unit 7: Composition
 
Unit 8: Sound in Space
 
Unit 9: Studio Techniques
 
Unit 11: Advanced Synthesis Techniques
 

TERM 3 (Summer)
Project Focus Group
 
Final Project (MA/MSc only)
 
Dissertation (Diploma only)
 

Projects (MA/MSc)

This project, to be submitted at the start of September, is one proposed by the student and is likely to fall into one or more of the following areas:
1. A musical interfacing project: a piece of hardware designed, built and fully documented by the student.
 
2. A software package designed for musical purposes, written and implemented by the student with appropriate documentation.
 
3. A musical composition using any one or more of the applications covered during the course.
 

ASSESSMENT

During the first two terms MA/MSc students will be set assignments during each course unit. Such assignments will normally involve both written and practical work.

The student's solo project, forming the major work from Easter until the end of the course, carries 40% of the course marks. 

FEES

Applications forms and details of current fees may be obtained from: The Graduate Office,
University of York,
Heslington,
York YO1 5DD,
U.K.

For further information please contact:

Department of Music
University of York
Heslington
York Y01 5DD

Tel: (01904) 432446/432447
Fax: (01904) 432450
Email: music@york.ac.uk

Details are subject to continuous review and may change without notice. All items on the Music Technology Group Web pages are copyright, either of the Group, or of the individuals concerned. Please seek our permission before using any of the text, images or sounds contained herein.

All course or other enquires should go to the Departmental contact address given above.
This page is administered by Dave Malham. and was last updated on the 29th of October, 2009.

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