Music Technology Degree
The Music Technology area at Georgia Southern University offers forward-looking education and training to students interested in the intersection of music and technology. On the Statesboro campus, the Music Technology area offers a Master of Music degree and a Music Technology. Both undergraduate and graduate students gain a unique and sophisticated technological skill set.
Under the direction of Dr. John Thompson, the Music Technology program maintains several well-equipped studios and labs. Technical proficiency with the tools of the trade is balanced with an emphasis on creative exploration in the medium. Students are encouraged to delve beyond the surface of the common tools of music technology and into the depths of musical systems programming and interactive media. A variety of courses are offered in the Music Technology program including: Sound Design and Processing, Interactive Media, Digital Audio Montage, Recording Studio Techniques, Digital Audio Workstations, Electronic Ensemble, and Audiovisual Composition. In addition to technological expertise, these courses, together with the course Music, Technology, and Contemporary Culture, also investigate the historical foundations, theoretical underpinnings, and aesthetic ramifications of technology on music and of music technology upon society and culture, including legal and ethical principles, laws, and considerations.
EQUIPMENT AND SPACES:
The Music Technology Lab – A general purpose classroom environment for music technology. It hosts 16 individual student stations, each featuring a computer, a keyboard controller, and an audio interface. All stations are equipped with a variety of software packages. Also available are a host of sensors, arduinos, and analog components that are at the disposal of students interested in analog audio circuitry, new interface creation, and other creative hardware.
Recording Studio – A fully outfitted recording studio with live room and control room.
Studio A – Our studio for recording, mixing, and composing. The centerpiece of the studio is an SSL AWS 948 mixing console. There is an abundance of outboard processing equipment and mastering hardware. The studio also keeps an impressive variety of microphones at the ready. The Studio houses several analog synthesizers and processors, as well as a ¼” reel-to-reel tape machine. A wide variety of programs and software packages are utilized for musical creation.
Studio B – A studio for multichannel audio, production, and experimentation with new interfaces for musical expression. Studio B serves as our studio for advanced work in Spatialization (up to 10.1 surround) and Electroacoustic Composition.
Audio-visual Creativity Studio – A room that houses a virtual reality system and equipment for creating audio-visual compositions and productions. The audio-visual creativity studio meets the needs of those doing advanced work in audio-visual interactivity, especially in the context of virtual reality.
The Foy Music Building is connected to a dedicated set of networking switches for delivering audio. The recital hall, the percussion room, the choral room, Studio B, the Recording Studio, the Music Technology Lab, and even the recital hall lobby are all on this network. This allows any and all spaces to be connected to the Recording Studio or in novel configurations.
THE MASTER OF MUSIC DEGREE IN MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
The M. M. in Music Technology prepares students to enter one of the many potential career paths in the field or to begin doctoral work through technical proficiency and musical use of cutting-edge digital audio tools. While technology plays a major role, music and creativity remain the focus of the degree, and students also learn about the field’s historical, theoretical, cultural, and ethical underpinnings. The capstone experience is a final project developed and produced in consultation with a teacher/mentor.
GRADUATE ASSISTANTSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE IN THIS PROGRAM
The program currently offers two new graduate assistantship positions each year on a competitive that provide tuition remission and a stipend. In the first year, the graduate assistant helps in the classroom, manages the studios, or supervises a team of undergraduates who record departmental concerts. If work and progress toward degree completion are judged to be exceptional, these students become teaching assistants during their second year and, after pedagogical training, are instructors of record for undergraduate-level music technology courses.
Applicants interested in priority consideration for new assistantship slots should complete and submit their application to the M.M. program and the separate application for an assistantship by March 1 of each year for the following fall semester.
