Music Technology course..?

im_not_edible

Hey, I was just wondering if anyone (current students?) can tell me anything about the Music Technology degree? Being a new course etc, it's been hard to get opinions on it... Is it more creative or technical? How many are on the course?
Any feedback appreciated!

Kitsune

For the Music Technology side of the degree, you do 5 modules in first year:
Introduction to Tonal Harmony for 1 semester (September to Christmas)
- 2 lectures a week
Discrete Structures for 1 semester (same)
- 2 lectures a week
Computer Music for the whole year
- 1 lecture a week
Sound Synthesis for 1 semester (January to June)
Acoustics of Music for 1 semester (likewise)

So basically you do 1 music module and one computer science module in each semester and a special computer music module for the entire year.
So far, we've just been doing a foundation music course in tonal harmony to get everyone up to speed on the theory side of things. It's easy enough if you've had experience of music in school. Discrete sturctures is a maths course for CompSci students that involves logic and sets. If you get it straight away it's easy.
Computer Music is the Music technology specific module where we use stuff like Cubase, Audacity and Pure Data. It's the most interesting of the modules. As far as I know assessment is by a final year composition/recording project. For the others, its a mix of assignments, class tests and end of semester exams.
We haven't really done too much work in the studio but it's very cool and we dont share it with that many other people. Theres the 40 in our course, some later years of music and some postgrads.

It's been fairly technical in focus so far but it will get more creative later as we get onto our projects. Ultimately you can choose between a few different aspects of music technology in 3rd year, depending on your preferences. (have a look at the prospectus)

Remember of course that Music Technology is only 1/3 of the first year degree programme. You do 2 arts subjectsas well, so you should look at the arts subjects on offer in maynooth before you make your choice. You'll have another 5-7 hours a week for each of the other subjects. It's basically an arts degree with one predetermined and exclusive subject.

Ok, hope that helps, most of it is off the top of my head. If theres anything that I left out or that's unclear, just ask.

Cool_CM

Kitsune wrote:

Discrete sturctures is a maths course for CompSci students that involves logic and sets. If you get it straight away it's easy.

I didn't, it's not, damn you tom!

im_not_edible

Cool, thanks for the info! It sounds pretty perfect, apart from the comp science bit... that's a bit scary. But I suppose one module of that can't hurt. And the creative side sound good! I'll go along to the open day anyway and talk to some more people, it's on the 25th Nov isn't it?
Cheers!

Teller

That course sounds brilliant! :eek:

Beau

It does sound cool but why bother with the Arts subjects?

Cool_CM

If you decide that you don't want to continue with music tech in 2nd year you can just drop it and continue on doing the two arts subjects as a normal arts degree. We drop an arts subject at the end of 1st anyway........byebye english!

Kitsune

I should probably mention that we've been told that the actual recording studio area of the music technology centre can't be booked by first years, we just get to use the computer lab across the hall. We dont get to use the studio until second year, contrary to what we'd previously been told

Teller

Isn't a lot of Music Tech like Computer Science. With all those logs and stuff? Looks very complicated, not what I thought it would be like at all.