Audio Arts and Acoustics, BA

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The major in Audio Arts and Acoustics is actually a collection of diverse programs or concentrations, all in the broad area of professional audio.

The curriculum consists of four levels of classes. Incoming freshman will start with introductory courses that expose students to the theory, craft, and aesthetic common to all the concentrations. These elements are developed throughout the core curriculum. Upon successful completion of the core, the student chooses a concentration, where the focus will narrow to a specific discipline within professional audio. At this level the student is expected to develop skills and begin to demonstrate the ability to function independently. The final level consists of a series of capstone courses in which the student is expected to demonstrate a high level of functioning, including a developed sense of aesthetic, a command of the theory, and the ability to function independent of the professor.

Students who successfully complete the program are prepared for entry-level employment in various areas of professional audio such as recording studios, acoustical consulting firms, the film and television industries, sound reinforcement companies, system contractors, and more.

The Audio Arts and Acoustics Department offers a post-baccalaureate certificate of major.

More Information about this Department

Concentrations

Acoustics Concentration

The Acoustics concentration prepares students for entry-level positions with consulting and engineering firms practicing in the areas of architectural acoustics and/or environmental acoustics. The program also provides graduates with the academic preparation for continued studies.

The main educational goal of the concentration is to offer students a holistic understanding of acoustics as a discipline by presenting all of its components—theory, practices, and aesthetics. Theoretical and applied elements of acoustics are introduced in Architectural Acoustics, Acoustics of Performance Spaces, Environmental Acoustics, Studies in Transducer Theory, and Engineered Acoustics, while courses like Acoustical Testing I, Acoustical Testing II, and Acoustical Modeling give students the opportunity to analyze and to solve real-world problems. The physiological and psychological aspects of sound perception and interpretation are introduced in Studies in Hearing and in Psychoacoustics, while the aesthetic element of the discipline is furthered in most of the other courses, through examples selected from the instructors’ professional portfolio and through discussions that address contemporary issues in acoustics.

Audio Design and Production Concentration

The aim of the Audio Design & Production Concentration is to prepare students for careers in music recording, audio post-production, audio for multi-media communications, and sound design.

With the increased availability of audio technology, most notably through the “desktop revolution,” former clients of recording studios now find themselves doing so much audio work day to day that it has become cost effective to build and maintain their own audio production facilities. Advertising agencies, corporate A/V departments, and commercial and popular music producers and musicians now have their own “in-house” recording facilities. Additionally, we have seen the birth of new media forms, in which audio production is an integral part. These would include Web design and authoring; real-time Web media; CD ROM publishing; and sound design for theater, broadcast, and multi-media. Sound as a stand alone artistic experience has also grown and matured as an independent means of expression. So-called “Audio Art” has become a distinct form of performance/creative art, which is practiced, exhibited, and distributed all over the world. These are all now potential clients and projects to the audio production specialist.

Students graduating in this concentration will be versed in the theory, aesthetics, and practices of recording, multi-track audio production, and post-production. They will be fully prepared to work in a variety of formats and environments from large-format recording studios to those smaller “desk-top” environments. We make sure that students recognize the ever-changing and increasingly diverse nature of these technology sensitive industries.

As students of a liberal arts program, they will develop communication skills in, and an aesthetic understanding of, the different industries they may serve. This will prepare them to interact more effectively with peers and clients.

Audio for Visual Media Concentration

The Audio for Visual Media concentration prepares students for audio careers in film, video, and related visual media. Students study the theory and practice of sound track design, recording, editing, and mixing sound in relationship to story structure. Students develop an understanding of aesthetic principles as well as communication and professional skills that allow them to effectively pursue their future goals. Audio for Visual Media is a collaboration between the Film and Video Department and the Audio Arts and Acoustics Department, requiring students to complete courses in each department.

Contracting Concentration

The purpose of this concentration is the enhancement of professional standards in the design, installation, and use of auditory communications systems in architecture. Forty years ago such systems were “engineered” as they were being installed. Current projects often require several years and cost several millions of dollars. Designers, project managers, and entrepreneurs in this field must work easily and effectively with architects, venue managements, institutional owners, building contractors, and event promoters. Developing this new cadre of trained professionals is the core goal of this program.

This curriculum is structured to include system concepts, engineering principles, and aesthetics of sound systems. In this program, students can expect a combination of lectures, laboratories, and field trips to observe professional installations.

Students who complete this program are in demand by electronic systems contractors for front-line positions in estimating, designing, project management, and company management. Companies in this industry are typically family-owned subchapter-S corporations, and successful employees with an entrepreneurial bent often begin their own companies.

Live Sound Reinforcement Concentration

The Live Sound concentration offers aesthetic and analytical tools presented within a live production construct. Students of Live Sound are exposed to the theory, methods, and aesthetic underpinnings of the live idiom, as well as to a strong grounding in analytical thinking and problem solving driven wholly by the aural aesthetic.

The curriculum presents classes in theoretical and operational production and offers advanced classes in all aspects of analog and digital equalization and system management. These sometimes opposing art forms are combined in actual production work inside and outside the formal curriculum, offering students the opportunity to produce events within the College and community.

Students can expect significant attention directed to the development of their hearing capability, and equal attention given to the technical and aesthetic knowledge that supports their ability to meet mandated production goals.

Live Sound program graduates who achieve the goals above have an extremely high success rate in the job world—at sound companies and venues, with bands, theaters, churches, and even the corporate world. Many Live Sound students spend their junior and senior years at Columbia working in the field—not as interns, but as paid staff. At the time of graduation they have significant professional résumés that further enhance their employability.