The course is designed to introduce students to basic research techniques in social science and music studies. It exposes students to qualitative and quantitative research paradigms and helps them to engage in research studies that employ the two paradigms.
The course focuses on the social history of African popular music styles such as Highlife, Jùjú, Soukous, Chimurenga, and Taraab, among others. It looks at the origin and growth of diverse popular, mass-mediated music styles throughout the continent and examines the social, cultural as well as technological factors that contributed to their development.
This course is an introduction to the science of sound for musicians. Topics include the physical basis of timbre, spectral analysis and harmonic series, the physical basis for scales and intervals, vibrations and resonance. The course also covers the science behind musical instruments, the human voice, hearing perception and concert hall acoustics. Digital sound editing will be introduced as a tool for understanding waveforms and spectral analysis (overtones). The course will consist of lecture, laboratory assignments and research projects.
This course enhances students’ music technology skills by introducing them to digital music production software such as Logic, Cubase, and ProTools. Students will also learn about basic production procedures and the hardware used in sound recording. In addition to studio recording and production, the course also covers live sound reinforcement and mixing.
This course introduces students to the use of professional Music Notation Software such as Sibelius and Finale. Students will learn to create musical scores, extract performance parts for single or multiple voices, create graphics, as well as MIDI files.
This course introduces students’ to the various procedures in analysing music in relation to moving images. Students are exposed to key musical terms through which to examine film scores and will study the soundtracks of a number of classic productions in the history of film music.
This course traces the evolution of film music through early film to present day cinema, examining both African films as well as International and Hollywood films and film composers. Students will learn how sound is used in animation, trailers, horror films, among others, and the key relationships between directors and composers.
This course continues to expose students to the styles, aesthetics and cultural relevance of art music from the Romantic period to the present. The development of African art music during this time period will be discussed. Students will deepen their analytical skills as pieces by both Western and African composers are scrutinised.
The course exposes students to the styles, aesthetics and cultural relevance of art music as practiced mainly in Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the Classical period. It sharpens students’ skills in the analysis of selected pieces from those periods.
