Music and Technology Curriculum

This course empowers students with the written and oral communications skills essential for both university-level academic discourse as well as success outside Stevens in the professional world.  Tailored to the Stevens student, styles of writing and communications include technical writing, business proposals and reports, scientific reports, expository writing, promotional documents and advertising, PowerPoint presentations, and team presentations.  The course covers the strategies for formulating effective arguments and conveying them to a wider audience.  Special attention is given to the skills necessary for professional document structure, successful presentation techniques and grammatical/style considerations.

This course introduces students to all the humanistic disciplines offered by the College of Arts and Letters: history, literature, philosophy, the social sciences, art, and music. By studying seminal works and engaging in discussions and debates regarding the themes and ideas presented in them, students learn how to examine evidence in formulating ideas, how to subject opinions, both their own, as well those of others, to rational evaluation, and in the end, how to appreciate and respect a wide diversity of opinions and points of view.

This is a first course in computer programming for students with no prior experience. Students will learn the core process of programming: given a problem statement, how does one design an algorithm to solve that particular problem and then implement the algorithm in a computer program? The course will also introduce elementary programming concepts like basic control concepts (such as conditional statements and loops) and a few essential data types (e.g., integers and doubles). Exposure to programming will be through a self-contained user-friendly programming environment, widely used by the scientific and engineering communities, such as Matlab. The course will cover problems from all fields of science, engineering, and business.

This is an introduction to computer science with an emphasis on programming.  The topics include: design; algorithmic thinking; recursion; object-oriented programming; ethics in computer science; and some basics about computer systems: machine language, interpreters, compilers, and data representation.

Please contact the Registrar for more information.
Phone: (201)216-5555
Fax: (201)216-8030
E-mail: registrar@stevens.edu

With the presumption of no previous formal study, Music Theory I presents the fundamental materials and procedures of tonal music. The students are introduced to elements of music theory, including scales, key signatures, intervals, triads, seventh chords, Roman numeral and figured bass analysis, 4-part writing, and first species counterpoint. Aural skills are developed with the introduction to "fixed-do" solfege.

In order for students to acquire the most basic and fundamental piano techniques, students will undertake rudimentary exercises designed to facilitate the most common fingering techniques and hand positions. Students will be required to demonstrate the ability to play major scales, simple arpeggios, and develop muscle memory for basic intervals. By the end of the semester, students should be able to read 2 part treble and bass compositions.

This course introduces students to theoretical and practical experiences in interdisciplinary production technologies, with an emphasis on visual and aural design principles. Projects may include creating and editing digital images, music, sound, video, text, and motion graphics.  Students will work in teams to create projects. Not for general Humanities credit.

All Music and Technology majors are required to take four semesters of musical instrument instruction.  After choosing an instrument (subject to availability), the student will be assigned an instructor with whom weekly lessons are arranged.  Lessons are 1 hour/week with grade evaluations based on a combination of homework and in-class performance.  The first two semesters of lessons are taken under HMU 496, while the second two are under HMU 497 and require a recital/performance.                                                

This course empowers students with the written and oral communications skills essential for both university-level academic discourse as well as success outside Stevens in the professional world.  Tailored to the Stevens student, styles of writing and communications include technical writing, business proposals and reports, scientific reports, expository writing, promotional documents and advertising, PowerPoint presentations, and team presentations.  The course covers the strategies for formulating effective arguments and conveying them to a wider audience.  Special attention is given to the skills necessary for professional document structure, successful presentation techniques and grammatical/style considerations.

Please contact the Registrar for more information.
Phone: (201)216-5555
Fax: (201)216-8030
E-mail: registrar@stevens.edu

Music Theory II continues the presentation of the material and procedures of tonal music with the study of harmonic syntax as it pertains to tonal cadences, intermediary harmonies modulation and tonicization in major and minor, and fundamental concepts of diatonic sequences. Students continue their mastery of 4-part writing with Roman numeral and figured bass analysis and undertake writing assignments in second and third species counterpoint in two voices. Aural skills are developed with alto clef "fixed-do" solfege primarily in minor. 

Piano II is the second in a series of Piano Instruction for Beginner/Intermediate Music Technology Students and all students interested in learning how to play piano and/or keyboards. This class will focus on the Development of Functional Keyboard skills.

The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) revolutionized the production world of electronic music. This course will explore the fine details of the code, as well as the everyday studio and stage use of the protocol. The student will explore all types of synthesis techniques via keyboards, tone modules, and software plug-ins. There will also be an overview of traditional electronic music from the last century to the present. In the weekly lab, the student will explore the software and hardware interconnection process and create an artistic experiment in electronic music as a final project.

All Music and Technology majors are required to take four semesters of musical instrument instruction.  After choosing an instrument (subject to availability), the student will be assigned an instructor with whom weekly lessons are arranged.  Lessons are 1 hour/week with grade evaluations based on a combination of homework and in-class performance.  The first two semesters of lessons are taken under HMU 496, while the second two are under HMU 497 and require a recital/performance.                                                

Limits, the derivatives of functions of one variable, differentiation rules, and applications of the derivative.  Definite integrals for functions of one variable, antiderivatives, the Fundamental Theorem, integration techniques, and applications of the integral.

Limits, the derivatives of functions of one variable, differentiation rules, applications of the derivative.  This is a seven week course. 

Definite integrals of functions of one variable, antiderivatives, the Fundamental Theorem, integration techniques, improper integrals, applications.  This is a seven week course. 

Please contact the Registrar for more information.
Phone: (201)216-5555
Fax: (201)216-8030
E-mail: registrar@stevens.edu

During this course, we will review Western Medieval and Renaissance art music from the 2nd century B.C. to 1600 A.D. from several perspectives: as individual masterworks, as representatives of various composers, as examples of particular styles and forms, as analytic "problems," and as artworks derived from changing social circumstances. We will emphasize the development of skills in talking and writing "about" monophonic, liturgical and polyphonic music. The course will include lectures and class discussions, assigned readings, written assignments, and periodic examinations.

Music Theory III continues the presentation of the material and procedures of tonal music with the study of elements of melodic and rhythmic figuration, dissonance and chromaticism, modal mixture, and an advanced examination of applied chords and diatonic modulation. Students undertake writing assignments in 4th and 5th species counterpoint in two voices. Species counterpoint is incorporated into 4 part-writing exercises. Aural skills are developed with and chromatic alterations. 

This course is an exploration of traditional orchestral instruments. The student will learn fine details related to the characteristics of instruments in the orchestral family with classroom examples of masterpieces in the classical repertoire, as well as by experiencing either live demonstrations or sampled demonstrations by the instructor. The student will learn the basics of expanding a piano score to woodwind, brass, and string quartets.

Fundamentals of sound recording technology with focus on composer-operated tools to generate the art. Presents an understanding of the terms and basic skills needed to make quality recordings of the art on the "ProTools" non-linear based system. Microphone, Monitor, Mixer, Digital Signal Processing "Plug-Ins," Dynamics, and basic studio acoustics will be explored. Students will experience the producing and recording of a multi-track song project at the completion of the course.

All Music and Technology majors are required to take four semesters of musical instrument instruction.  After choosing an instrument (subject to availability), the student will be assigned an instructor with whom weekly lessons are arranged.  Lessons are 1 hour/week with grade evaluations based on a combination of homework and in-class performance.  The first two semesters of lessons are taken under HMU 496, while the second two are under HMU 497 and require a recital/performance.                                                

Please contact the Registrar for more information.
Phone: (201)216-5555
Fax: (201)216-8030
E-mail: registrar@stevens.edu

Lecture will be based around advanced implementation of recording techniques and procedures in the professional studio environment. Students will end the semester with; a thorough understanding of large frame in-line audio mixing consoles, additional advanced microphone placement techniques, and understanding of transducer experimentation. Synchronization between analog machines and digital audio workstations and MIDI interfaces will be explored. The student will gain the ability to troubleshoot and avoid externally generated noise in an audio system. Students will experience the entire engineering process that goes into integrating tracks from a live recording session with songs, from running the original recording session to producing the final mix. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.

Upon completion of the Recital requirement (HMU 497), Music and Technology majors must enroll in two additional semesters of Ensemble.  They may complete this requirement in one of two ways: 1) By becoming an active member of a Stevens sanctioned (student life) ensemble, or 2) by participating in a private Ensemble (consisting of at least three members, 66% of whom must be Music & Technology students).  In both cases, there must be faculty supervision and approval.

Music Composition is a one semester course that presents a detailed analysis of the techniques of music composition. The course will focus on Form and Structure, Stylistic Movements, and Compositional Techniques. Students will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of all concepts presented in class via a series of quizzes and two significant works they will compose during the course of the semester. Music Composition will deepen the students understanding and implementation of the various techniques of musical composition. Since all students will have completed HMU202 (formerly 302), HMU420 will allow for a stronger and more coherent understanding of the implementation of those concepts and will greatly enhance the students understanding of the concepts presented in HMU 303 & 304 & 405.

A working seminar in which students will become acquainted   with the various research methods and resources in the Humanities   disciplines, and with the modes of presentation characteristic of each discipline.   Special attention will be paid to clarity of expression and logical   structure of essays and research papers.

Please contact the Registrar for more information.
Phone: (201)216-5555
Fax: (201)216-8030
E-mail: registrar@stevens.edu

Upon completion of the Recital requirement (HMU 497), Music and Technology majors must enroll in two additional semesters of Ensemble.  They may complete this requirement in one of two ways: 1) By becoming an active member of a Stevens sanctioned (student life) ensemble, or 2) by participating in a private Ensemble (consisting of at least three members, 66% of whom must be Music & Technology students).  In both cases, there must be faculty supervision and approval.

As the final semester of Sound Recording Arts, students are expected to fully understand the basic principles of audio engineering and the studio environment as a workplace. This class is designed to specifically address digital audio production. Although many of the topics have been mentioned in previous classes, course work will require in depth analysis of the many elements of this production format. Additionally, we will be studying in depth, advanced audio techniques. Students will be required to bring an audio example every class to be evaluated and attempt to recreate using the studio as lab. By the end of the semester, students will understand advanced principals of digital recording and the practical application thereof. Additionally, students will have in depth experiential knowledge of recording practices and advanced production techniques. Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective

The student will complete a major research thesis in the area of concentration under the guidance of a faculty advisor.  Open to Bachelor of Arts students only.

Sound Design calls upon major technical elements from HMU 410-413 from psychoacoustics to sound wave manipulation within the digital to create soundscapes that enhance the art of story telling. The student will learn to create original sound effects, use and manipulate existing sound effect libraries, and identify the audio needs of a visual image. They will use the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), as instructed in the Sound Recording course series, to integrate audio and visual elements. They will also be able to create a stand-alone soundscape for radio or audio only internet applications. Via lab assignments, students will complete the course with the foundation for an audio portfolio - demo CD.

An individual program of study arranged between student and instructor.  A tutorial plan must be prepared (and presented to the Tutorial Committee of the Department of the Humanities) outlining the program and indicating the nature and scope of the project (generally a written paper).  Upon completion of the program, the student will receive a grade and credit for a humanities elective.

An introduction and survey of the art of sound synthesis, Electronic Music will focus on synthesizer programming utilizing subtractive synthesis, filter manipulation, voltage control amplifiers and ADSR generators. As well, a historical presentation will expose the student to the evolution of non-acoustic sounds. Weekly labs and assignments will allow the student to implement those synthesis techniques presented in class.  Does not fulfill general humanities requirements; may be taken as a free elective.