INT 574T Creative Recording Concepts for Musicians
Whether a musician is recording ideas into a smartphone or working in a multi-million dollar studio, recording is both utilitarian and inspirational. Musicians use recording technology constantly - recording lessons and practice, making audition demos, sketching out ideas for compositions, posting songs and videos online - but frequently are unaware of recording technology’s full potential to shape our work and access new creative opportunities. This course explores skills and models for maximizing the practical and creative role of recording in our work as performing musicians. Today our phones, tablets and computers contain advanced audio technology that far surpasses the possibilities of even professional studios from a few years ago. How can we use that potential to enhance our artistic practice and help our music reach audiences around the world? Technical and creative concepts are interwoven with style and genre, but how can musicians access the full range of possibilities regardless of their music’s idiom? Musicians have nearly unlimited opportunities to take advantage of this crucial tool. How can contemporary musicians use this freedom to maximize their creative potential? Lectures are grouped around examples from across the spectrum of recording technique, contemporary practice, and historical models; in-class demonstrations of technical concepts; and practical application. Over the course of the semester, students explore the vast options available to utilize the infinite potential of recording technology, and gain the skills and knowledge needed to use technology effectively both with the tools they already have and as it continues to develop into the future.