What you will study
Throughout history, musical instruments and musical performance have been influenced by the prevailing technology. The recent explosion in technological developments has profoundly affected both music making and the recording and manipulation of music.
This module is designed for anyone who is involved with, or has an interest in, music. No pre-requisites are required, but any knowledge of music and musical notation, and a basic familiarity with numbers and simple sums would be helpful. The module is particularly suitable if you are an amateur or professional musician, or a music teacher who wishes to be able to appreciate how musical instruments work and perhaps exploit the opportunities that modern technology offers in your music-making. It is also suitable if you have a technological background or perhaps work in the music industry.
A significant part of the module is allocated to practical activities that involve computer work, listening exercises, and video material.
In addition to learning about music and its associated technology, students will gain some important additional more general skills such as the ability to:
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listen to music critically from a technological viewpoint
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understand and follow basic music notation
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manipulate arithmetic expressions and insert values to obtain results
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use sound-editing programs, sequencers and other music-related computer programs, both specially written programs and commercial packages
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carry out a given project and prepare a report.
The module is divided into five blocks.
Block 1 contains mostly ‘levelling’ material which introduces you to some basic musical concepts and conventional music notation. It gets you to start to listen to music from a technological viewpoint and also gives you the arithmetic and technological skills necessary for a study of the technology of music.
Block 2 looks at the fundamentals of sound and their relationship to musical pitch, loudness, timbre, intervals, etc. This block also contains sections on hearing; listening and perceiving sounds and music; harmonics and harmonic series; attack and decay; reverberation; rhythm; duration; and accent.
Block 3 studies the construction, workings and sounds of musical instruments, in particular the main families of conventional orchestral instruments, electronic instruments, and the human voice.
Block 4 explains both the influence of technology on music and the current techniques that technology offers for the manipulation, storage and transmission of music. Topics covered here include recording, editing, mixing, storage systems, mastering, music printing, mechanical music and MIDI. The block ends with a short history, and a look at current and future trends, and contains a discussion of some of the commercial and legal issues that modern technology has created in the music industry.
Block 5 is designed as preparation for a project that forms the end-of-module assessment. The block first teaches you the skills necessary to prepare a report, then gives you further practice at some of the activities you will need to carry out during the project. There may be a choice of project or the project may be split into two or more separate parts.
See our website for more detailed information.
Study of this module provides you with the necessary prerequisite knowledge for Inside music (A224).
Entry
This is an OU level 2 module but you need no specific prior knowledge or qualification. Block 1 provides the musical concepts you will need. However, you may find it easier if you have some basic knowledge of music through playing an instrument or singing or if you just enjoy listening to music. The ability to read music is not a requirement. You should be able to carry out basic file management activities on your computer and be able to use it to execute programs, access online resources, play MIDI files, listen to music from sound files and view video clips (although you can use separate CD/DVD players for these latter two activities).
Block 1 also provides an introduction to the arithmetic and technological concepts you will need; however, you will be expected to be able to carry out simple calculations using a calculator when necessary.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the module, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
There is no specific preparatory work, but the following would be helpful:
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practise any of the tasks listed in the Entry section
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practise exercises with simple number manipulation, powers of 10, and the use of a calculator
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listen to a range of musical styles through a variety of media (CDs, radio, the internet).
If you have a disability
The practical work may be difficult to carry out, especially if you have hearing loss. Please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for further details.
The study materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and mathematical, scientific, and foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way.
Visually impaired students may need a certain amount of sighted help both with reading music notation in the printed materials and with carrying out some of the practical activities.
You will need to spend considerable amounts of time using your computer as well as some time using the internet.
Study materials
What's included
Books; other printed materials; software including commercial sound/music programs; sound and video clips; non-returnable home kit. The home kit will consist of a number of small items, including a descant recorder and headphones and a small microphone designed for use with your computer.
You will need
A fast internet connection (e.g. broadband) is highly recommended. You may also need a CD player and hi-fi system to listen to the audio materials if your computer does not have high quality speakers; you can use a DVD player and television to view the video material if you wish.
Please note that if you have an Apple Mac or Linux computer – you may be able to use it for some parts of this module but not all. For the remaining parts of the module you will need either to be running Windows using Boot Camp or a similar dual-boot system on your Apple Mac or Linux computer, or access to a desktop or laptop computer running Windows.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the study material and mark and comment on your assessment work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. A number of tutorials or day schools will be offered that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where your tutorials are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the module.
Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this module can be found in the facts box above.
You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper. The end-of-module assessment (EMA), which is a project, must also be submitted online.
Assessment is an essential part of the teaching, so you are expected to complete it all. You will be given more detailed information when you begin the module.