Undergraduate Program

This course is intended to provide students with a basic understanding of electronic synthesizers, digital samplers and drum machines and their use in the creation of music such as Hip Hop/Rap, Pop, EDM, and Hybrid music production, while gaining practical, hands-on experience with their functionality and design.

Demonstrations and hands-on experience in the new state of the art Synthesizer Lab housing over (25) synthesizers will enable each student to gain a strong working knowledge of these instruments.

Students will develop sound creation techniques and critical listening skills to enable informed analysis of their own projects and projects made by others. Student competencies will be demonstrated in projects using both hardware and software throughout the semester.

Location

(MW 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

This course covers the fundamentals of manipulating and encoding sound in a digital format. Mathematical representations of digital signals are introduced and the effects of simple filters are analyzed in the context of audio. This course further provides students with an introduction to programming in Matlab through a series of assignments exploring sound synthesis algorithms and audio effects processing.    

Location

(MW 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

This course covers the fundamentals of manipulating and encoding sound in a digital format. Mathematical representations of digital signals are introduced and the effects of simple filters are analyzed in the context of audio. This course further provides students with an introduction to programming in Matlab through a series of assignments exploring sound synthesis algorithms and audio effects processing.    

Location

(F 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

This course covers the fundamentals in becoming an audio engineer. Topics covered include: Acoustics, Psychoacoustics, Microphones, Signal Processing, Tape Recording, Digital Audio Theory, Signal Flow, Studio Etiquette, Digital Audio Workstations, Music Business, Recording Audio, and Mixing Audio. You do not need any previous experience in recording, however some familiarity with music and how it is created is needed.
There are four group recording projects that make up the bulk of the course, each with their own guidelines and challenges. This course requires considerable time to be spent on projects outside of the lecture and lab times. The labs are required to take this course.
First-year non-AME Major students are ineligible to take this course.
Prerequisites: None
INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION ONLY.

Location

(TR 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This course covers the fundamentals in becoming an audio engineer. Topics covered include: Acoustics, Psychoacoustics, Microphones, Signal Processing, Tape Recording, Digital Audio Theory, Signal Flow, Studio Etiquette, Digital Audio Workstations, Music Business, Recording Audio, and Mixing Audio. You do not need any previous experience in recording, however some familiarity with music and how it is created is needed.
There are four group recording projects that make up the bulk of the course, each with their own guidelines and challenges. This course requires considerable time to be spent on projects outside of the lecture and lab times. The labs are required to take this course.
First-year non-AME Major students are ineligible to take this course.
Prerequisites: None
INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION ONLY.

Location

(T 4:50PM - 6:05PM)

This course covers the fundamentals in becoming an audio engineer. Topics covered include: Acoustics, Psychoacoustics, Microphones, Signal Processing, Tape Recording, Digital Audio Theory, Signal Flow, Studio Etiquette, Digital Audio Workstations, Music Business, Recording Audio, and Mixing Audio. You do not need any previous experience in recording, however some familiarity with music and how it is created is needed.
There are four group recording projects that make up the bulk of the course, each with their own guidelines and challenges. This course requires considerable time to be spent on projects outside of the lecture and lab times. The labs are required to take this course.
First-year non-AME Major students are ineligible to take this course.
Prerequisites: None
INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION ONLY.

Location

(T 6:15PM - 7:30PM)

This course covers the fundamentals in becoming an audio engineer. Topics covered include: Acoustics, Psychoacoustics, Microphones, Signal Processing, Tape Recording, Digital Audio Theory, Signal Flow, Studio Etiquette, Digital Audio Workstations, Music Business, Recording Audio, and Mixing Audio. You do not need any previous experience in recording, however some familiarity with music and how it is created is needed.
There are four group recording projects that make up the bulk of the course, each with their own guidelines and challenges. This course requires considerable time to be spent on projects outside of the lecture and lab times. The labs are required to take this course.
First-year non-AME Major students are ineligible to take this course.
Prerequisites: None
INSTRUCTOR PERMISSION ONLY.

Location

(T 7:40PM - 8:15PM)

The course is intended to provide students a basic understanding of SOUND DESIGN and working with sound for picture. The emphasis is on demonstrations and hands-on experience to enable students to gain a practical knowledge of sound and music production using computers.

Topics include synthesizers & samplers; recording and editing with Pro Tools and Logic Pro; sound effect creation; foley & automatic dialog replacement; basic soundtrack composition; and working to picture. Many techniques are explored, employing software and hardware-based sound creation tools throughout the course. Students will complete a major sound design project at the conclusion of the course.

Location

(TR 3:25PM - 4:40PM)

Hear UR is a history-oriented podcast that takes on a subject related to the environmental history of Rochester. Over the course of this semester, this class researches, develops, and produces one season of episodes for Hear UR. Students divide into teams of three, where they take on the roles of Producer, Lead Researcher, or Engineer. Together they develop the subject matter of the season and episodes; locate primary sources to interpret; identify a body of secondary literature; draft and re-draft podcast scripts; master the use of microphones, recording studios, and audio editing software; create a website to host each episode, where they post a written article on the same topic, provide primary source images, additional links, and script; finally they organize and execute a public roll out of the season, using social and traditional media platforms, local public radio and television, and University communications.

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Engineering aspects of acoustics. Review of oscillators, vibratory motion, the acoustic wave equation, reflection, transmission and absorption of sound, radiation and diffraction of acoustic waves. Resonators, hearing and speech, architectural and environmental acoustics.

Location

(TR 11:05AM - 12:20PM)

Engineering aspects of acoustics. Review of oscillators, vibratory motion, the acoustic wave equation, reflection, transmission and absorption of sound, radiation and diffraction of acoustic waves. Resonators, hearing and speech, architectural and environmental acoustics.

Location

(M 3:25PM - 4:15PM)

Engineering aspects of acoustics. Review of oscillators, vibratory motion, the acoustic wave equation, reflection, transmission and absorption of sound, radiation and diffraction of acoustic waves. Resonators, hearing and speech, architectural and environmental acoustics.

Location

(W 1:05PM - 1:55PM)

Revolutions in Sound: Artistic and Technical Evolution of Sound Recording provides a multifaceted account of the evolution of sound technologies, starting with Edison's invention of the phonograph in 1877 through the development of microphones, the radio, magnetic tape recording, vinyl records, multi-track recording, stereo, digital audio, surround sound, online music streaming, and 3D audio. We will discuss how technology has shaped the musical experience, and, conversely, how various genres of music have influenced the development of audio technologies. We will also delve into the secrets behind several legendary recordings, including those of Enrico Caruso, Bessie Smith, Les Paul, Louis Armstrong, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, ABBA, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, and Taylor Swift. Special topics include spatial audio for VR/AR, object-based audio, binaural recording, Ambisonics, K-pop, and artificial intelligence (AI) in music.

Location

(MW 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course is intended to provide students with a basic understanding of the process of creating Music for Picture. The emphasis is hands-on experience where students gain practical skills in scoring to picture using software and virtual instruments.

The course features guest lectures by industry leading professionals, sharing their insights on creating music for Advertising, TV Shows, Movies, and Gaming. Each presenter assigns a real-world project to challenge students and then gives insightful individual feedback.

Topics include compositional technique and approach, virtual instruments, and composing and editing using a digital audio workstation. Students will complete numerous musical projects to picture throughout the course, round tabling them with their fellow students to foster critical listening and constructive feedback skills.

Location

(MW 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Location

(TR 12:30PM - 1:45PM)

Location

(F 10:25AM - 11:40AM)

This course is a survey of audio digital signal processing fundamentals and applications. Topics include sampling and quantization, analog to digital converters, time and frequency domains, spectral analysis, vocoding, digital filters, audio effects, music audio analysis and synthesis, and other advanced topics in audio signal processing. Implementation of algorithms using Matlab and on dedicated DSP platforms is emphasized.

Location

(MW 2:00PM - 3:15PM)

This course is a survey of audio digital signal processing fundamentals and applications. Topics include sampling and quantization, analog to digital converters, time and frequency domains, spectral analysis, vocoding, digital filters, audio effects, music audio analysis and synthesis, and other advanced topics in audio signal processing. Implementation of algorithms using Matlab and on dedicated DSP platforms is emphasized.

Location

(F 2:15PM - 3:15PM)

This is a follow on course to AME233, Musical Acoustics. In this course students will complete a major project in acoustics, such as the acoustical characterization of an architectural space, design or re-design of an architectural or studio space, development of acoustical computer simulation tools, design or characterization of acoustic musical instruments, design and fabrication of loudspeakers, design and implementation of a live sound or sound reinforcement system, or any other project in acoustics with the agreement of the instructor. Weekly meetings and progress reports are required.

Location

(M 9:40AM - 10:55AM)

Audio amplification concepts and design techniques focused on the use of vacuum tubes.  Will cover some concepts related to MOSFET amplifiers as well.  A mixture of lab based projects and LTSpice simulation.  Shall cover concepts related to impedance matching, preamps, class A and class AB power amplifiers, power supplies and grounding techniques.

Location

(T 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Audio amplification concepts and design techniques focused on the use of vacuum tubes.  Will cover some concepts related to MOSFET amplifiers as well.  A mixture of lab based projects and LTSpice simulation.  Shall cover concepts related to impedance matching, preamps, class A and class AB power amplifiers, power supplies and grounding techniques.

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This is a follow on course to AME 223, Audio Electronics. In this course students will complete a major design/build project in the area of audio electronics. Examples include a solid state or tube-based instrument amplifier, audio power amplifier, audio effects processor, audio analog/digital interface or any other audio electronic project with the agreement of the instructor. Weekly meetings and progress reports are required.

Location

(W 9:00AM - 10:15AM)

Senior Design Project in Audio and Music Engineering. In the second semester of the year-long AME Senior Project course students will complete their projects including final system level designs, detailed sub-system designs, prototype building, testing, evaluation and final presentation to the customer.
 

Location

(W 2:00PM - 5:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.  Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed through the Independent Study Registration form (https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/forms/independent-study-form.php)

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.  Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed through the Independent Study Registration form (https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/forms/independent-study-form.php)​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.  Registration for Independent Study courses needs to be completed through the Independent Study Registration form (https://secure1.rochester.edu/registrar/forms/independent-study-form.php)​

Location

( 7:00PM - 7:00PM)