BSc (Hons) Audio and Music Technology

AMT4001
Interactive Sound 20 credits

This module introduces learners to visual programming which they will use to build an interactive system. Through hands-on workshops, students will learn to develop systems using visual programming environments. Students will learn how to use the computer both as a tool for working with sound and music but also as an intelligent creative collaborator. The module is delivered through a series of hands-on workshops that aim to stimulate curiosity around contemporary practices in Computer Music.

AMT4002
Acoustics and Psychoacoustics 20 credits

This module provides students with the knowledge required to understand and work with sound and music in the digital and acoustic domains. Sessions will introduce learners to the science of sound, and sound perception from the perspective of computing, audio, and music technology. The module will begin training students to relate subjective and objective measures of audio to inform their methods.

AMT4003
Sound Synthesis and Sampling 20 credits

Students will learn the art of sound synthesis and sampling. Sessions will develop learners' understanding of digital representations of sound, sound compression, and methods to program computers to synthesise sounds for both creative and industrial applications. Students will learn sampling and effects processing techniques for audible design. The syllabus will be explored through hands-on workshops.

AMT4004
Introduction to Audio Programming 20 credits

This module provides a hands-on introduction to computer programming for the music and audio technologist. Students will learn fundamental computing concepts, understand the basics of digital signal processing and apply these to develop some basic audio software.

AMT4005
Music and Audio Fundamentals 20 credits

This module provides students with the core knowledge in the science and theory underlying the basics of sound transmission in air and in audio systems. The role and operation of key elements of audio systems are covered, with practical applications. Sessions will introduce learners to music theory, digital audio encoding and sampling approaches from the perspective of audio and music technology.

AMT4006
Audio Engineering 20 credits

This module introduces students to the fundamental skills and techniques they need to become an effective audio engineer. Students will learn how to relate subjective and objective measures of sound to inform their practice. Taught sessions will explore topics such as digital and analogue recording consoles, signal flow, microphone concepts and positioning, and advanced use of professional software platforms. Students will also collaborate with performance students in recording sessions.

AMT5001
Audio Technology Design and Build 20 credits

In this practical module, students will spend the first few weeks understanding core audio technology and how existing audio products work and will then spend the rest of the semester building their own prototype, applying their knowledge of audio equipment to build a real working system. Students will then evaluate and critically analyse their prototype in comparison to a professionally constructed product. Examples of what students can build: speaker cone; speaker cabinet; ribbon microphone; binaural head; hardware reverb (plate or spring).

AMT5002
Live Sound 20 credits

In this module, students will collaborate with learn about the specific challenges of live sound production. They will work with performers use live sound systems in a multitude of different environments, from theatre to live music setting. Students will learn about sound system design, production engineering, live sound mixing, and theatrical sound design.

AMT5003
Audio Signal Processing 20 credits

This module will provide students with a systematic understanding of audio signal processing. Practical sessions will equip learners with the ability to process, manipulate/effect, and analyse audio data. The module will also cover creative uses of audio signal processing. These skills will augment each student's existing programming abilities to ensure they are competent at developing audio software.

AMT5004
Music Technology Research Project 20 credits

This module introduces students to research methods and techniques for surveying the state of the art to gain an awareness of the trends and challenges of the field. Students will be encouraged to negotiate a programme of study and assessment mode related to an audio and music technology topic of interest. There is scope in this module for students to put an emphasis on practical and/or theoretical engagement with the chosen topic.

AMT5005MX
Programming in Python 20 credits

This module introduces computer programming in the python language. Learners will gain experience in the core theory and practice of computer programming and will learn core programming concepts from the ground up. Sessions will equip students with program implementation methodologies along with design and problem-solving techniques.

AMT5006MX
Physical Computing: Creative and Interactive Systems 20 credits

Physical computing is all about designing and creating objects that use a range of sensors, actuators, and software to interact with the world around them. Students will learn to develop their own systems using programming environments, electronic components, and microcontroller boards. Most of the module will be organised around practical, hands-on design-and-build exercises.

SSC500
Stage 2 Professional Development, Placement Preparation and Identifying Opportunities 0 credits

This module is for students in the School of Society and Culture who are interested in undertaking an optional placement in the third year of their programme. It supports students in their search, application, and preparation for the placement, including developing interview techniques and effective application materials (e.g. CVs , portfolios, and cover letters).

PER5008MX
Play and Games for Performance 20 credits

This module will introduce students to practical methods for designing games and play structures for participatory performances that invite audiences to become actively involved in the work. In addition to learning new tools for designing and facilitating play, students will be prompted to consider playfulness from a theoretical perspective, recognising the connection between the play of mimesis and theatrical performance.

CRM5003MX
Harm in the 21st Century 20 credits

This module explores the global challenges of harmful behaviours and activities in contemporary society by considering specific areas of concern for criminologists. By drawing on real-world examples in everyday life, the module examines how social problems and issues have arisen due to processes of globalisation that have changed the social, political and economic landscape of the 21st century.

CRM5009MX
Crime, Harm and Culture 20 credits

The module aims to provide students with a critical appreciation of harm and crime by exploring relevant issues from film, television, music, fiction literature and art. By applying a criminological lens to different forms of popular culture, students will be able to examine a variety of media forms in terms of its content and its contemporary political, social and economic context using different theories and concepts.

ENG5002MX
Gothic Fictions: Villains, Virgins and Vampires 20 credits

This module looks at eighteenth- and nineteenth-century novels to trace the variety and scope of literary contributions to the Gothic. It begins by discussing the origins of the Gothic novel, then moves to the heyday of the genre in the revolutionary 1790s, on to authors writing in the early and mid-nineteenth century, through to the decadence of the 1890s.

ENG5013MX
‘Hurt Minds’: Madness and Mental Illness in Literature 20 credits

This module considers changing attitudes towards, and a variety of theories of, the mind, examining how different cultures have understood ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ mental states. It will look at how the experience and treatment of mental illness has been represented in fiction. The mind is at its most fascinating when it behaves outside of expected social norms. By considering a variety of literary texts over several centuries, this module explores shifts in the definition, understanding, evaluation, and management of exceptional mental states.

ENG5017MX
Writing Genre Fiction 20 credits

This module takes students into in-depth engagement with prose fiction writing in various genres, with possibilities including fantasy, science-fiction, period/historical, young adult fiction, horror, comedy, romance, crime, and thriller. The module is taught through lecture, seminars, and workshops where students are asked to submit and feedback to peers and tutors on a regular basis.

LAW5019MX
Law in Context: Commerce and Intellectual Property 20 credits

This module focuses on the work of commercial lawyers in practice in helping businesses to trade. It analyses a range of contractual agreements dealing with the manufacture, sale, supply and distribution of goods, assets and services in general and intellectual property in particular.

PIR5014MX
Voter Behaviour and Effective Election Campaigning 20 credits

This module undertakes an advanced examination of contemporary trends and developments in theories of electoral behaviour globally; then more specifically the relationship between electoral rules, electoral systems and election outcomes; the evolution of campaign techniques, and the role, mechanics, and accuracy of opinion polls in modern electoral politics. These global understandings are applied directly to the case of British politics.

MUS5003MX
Psychology of Music 20 credits

This module introduces students to concepts in psychoacoustics, psychology and music therapy within a musical context. Students will critically engage with related topics through a series of lectures and workshops, which place theory within musical and creative practice.

MUS5006MX
Recording Sound and Music 20 credits

Students will learn how to combine their technical recording abilities with their creative skills in music production. They will be introduced to a variety of recording contexts from a practical and theoretical perspective.

SSC600
School of Society and Culture Placement Year

Students have the opportunity to gain work experience that will set them apart in the job market when they graduate by undertaking an optional flexible placement year. The placement must be a minimum of 24-weeks (which can be split between a maximum of two different placement providers) and up to a maximum of 48-weeks over the course of the academic year. The placement is flexible and can be undertaken virtually, part or full time and either paid or voluntary. This year allows them to apply and hone the knowledge and skills acquired from the previous years of their programme in the real world.

AMT6002
Advanced Audio Production 20 credits

This module will introduce advanced concepts, theory, and practical use of a broad range of equipment used for recording, editing, and mixing sound. Practical experience of sound recording will be gained in analogue/digital recording, both in studios and on location. It aims to develop your ability to edit multitrack audio using advanced post-production techniques and develop the skills required to capture accurate stereo, multichannel, and 3D audio recordings.

AMT6003
Music Information Retrieval 20 credits

This module develops an opportunity for students to understand and critique approaches to computational music analysis and the field of Music Information Retrieval. Within this field, musical meaning and understanding is developed from raw audio signal analysis, and these approaches and concepts can tie together fundamental acoustic, psychoacoustic, and music theory into the core music technology that is on the forefront of academic research.

MUS6001
Negotiated Dissertation Project 40 credits

This module provides a structured learning environment in which to build on personal subject specific specialisms, culminating in either a practice-based portfolio with a substantial critical underpinning or a written dissertation.

AMT6001
Audio Software Development 20 credits

This module provides an overview of advanced programming techniques. It builds on prior programming knowledge and focuses on the principles of object-oriented programming using C++. This is covered within the context of creating audio plugins.

AMT6004MX
Data Science Ethics 20 credits

This module introduces allows student a hands-on experience in data science and the ethical considerations associated with our digital footprint. Learners will gain experience in writing code to clean, analyse and interrogate large dataset, understanding what meanings can be revealed from these datasets. Students will also investigate the ethical implications, assumptions and biases that are present in these techniques.

MUS6004
Electroacoustic and Electronic Music 20 credits

This module will introduce students to the history and repertoire of electroacoustic and electronic music. They will acquire the compositional skills to create music in these genres through practical workshops. The module will encourage students to combine their critical and creative skills to produce pieces in their chosen genre.

ENG6005MX
American Crime Writing 20 credits

This module considers the development of twentieth-century American crime fiction from hard-boiled detectives, to myths of the mafia, and postmodern reinventions of the genre. This module will explore the cultural contexts of American crime writing, prevailing conventions of the genre, as well as challenges to those conventions.

ENG6008MX
Features Journalism Workshop 20 credits

This module offers students an in-depth experience of professional writing. We will explore technique in features and literary journalism; music reviews, opinion columns and longer immersion features as well as other contemporary works of non-fiction feature writing, both short- and long-form, from sub-genres including profiles and interviews, autobiography and columns, travel writing, and reportage. We will learn to research and produce our own works of professional nonfiction and critically evaluate them.