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Emory University

Introduction to Digital Sound Design

Emory University via Coursera

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Overview

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Sound has always been a significant part of human experience. It shapes and transforms our everyday world.  Sounds and music are embedded in almost every aspect of daily life, from communication and artistic expression to commerce, politics, and our social and cultural identities.

This course will provide an overview of the fundamental principles of sound and the factors that determine our audio perception. It will explore techniques of recording, mixing, processing, synthesis, sampling, analysis, and editing of digital audio using freely distributed audio production software for both PC and Mac. Students will also learn an array of sound design and editing techniques for use in film and web-based media, art installations, soundscape creations, or live and internet music performances.

Syllabus

Week 1: THE NATURE OF SOUND

Sound

  1. The Human Ear
  2. The Six Properties of Sound
    Pitch
    Loudness and Amplitude
    Timbre
    Perceived Duration
    Envelope and Articulation
    Spatial Location, Diffusion, Reverberant Environment
  3. Timbre and the Overtone Series
  4. Music and the Human Condition
  5. SOFTWARE Tutorial: Sonic Visualizer
  6. Music and the Environment
Week 2: MUSIC TECHNOLOGY - BASICS

Recording

  1. Microphones
  2. Mixer Basics
  3. Digital Audio File Formats
  4. Musical Instrument Digital Interface MIDI
  5. Digital Audio Effects
  6. SOFTWARE Tutorial: Audacity Audio Processing
Week 3: MUSIC TECHNOLOGY - SYNTHESIS
1. Synthesis:
     Oscillators
     Filters
     Envelope Generators
     Modulation with LFOs
     Amplitude Modulation
     Frequency Modulation
     Granular Synthesis
     Physical Modeling

MIDTERM EXAM

Week 4: TUNING AND TEMPERAMENT / SOUNDATION
  1. Soundation Web-based Digital Audio Workstation
  2. Sound Project Using Soundation
  3. Tuning and Temperament
Week 5: DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATIONS

  1. Logic Pro (Mac only)
  2. Avid ProTools
  3. Reaktor
  4. Kyma
  5. Hydrogen
  6. Mammut
Week 6: CREATIVE STRATEGIES
Sonification
Sound for Visual Media
Ableton Live
Max
Pure Data
Supercollider
Mobile Interactions

FINAL EXAM

Taught by

Steve Everett

Reviews

4.6 rating, based on 5 Class Central reviews

Start your review of Introduction to Digital Sound Design

  • Raymond Maxwell
    Great class. I completed it with a better understanding of the physics of sound, the mechanics of sound, and operational familiarity with programs like Audacity, Soundcloud, and Borderlands. It also helped my poetry writing (words are sounds, after all).
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    Mike Dextro
  • Yogimgurt

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