MUJS 5540, Composition for the Media

General Information
MUJS 5540 Composition for the Media (3 credits)
Professor: Richard DeRosa
Class Time – M 4:00 - 5:50, W 4:00 – 4:50 in room 322.

Offered only in Spring, Composition for the Media explores the styles, techniques, and business aspect of writing and producing music used to enhance drama. The student will create musical underscoring to timed narrative, a 30-second radio political ad, an audiobook, a theatrical scene, several cues for film.

Primarily for graduate jazz studies majors in the arranging track. Classical Composition majors who have some experience writing in a more commercial context are also welcomed but this is not mandatory. Other students who may be interested should consider carefully the weight of the course commitment and the considerable time it will take to complete the assignments.

Prerequisites:
1) Students must have a comfortable command with creating digital audio soundtracks primarily through any of the following applications – Logic, Digital Performer, ProTools, Cubase, or some other similar format. A lesser alternative would be Finale with a Garritan Sound library. All projects are generated via this digital format. Mixing is as important as musical creation.

2) Students outside of the Graduate Jazz Arranging track must present a digital audio representation of at least one music work for consideration to be accepted.

3) The student must be an accomplished writer who can produce music quickly and also at a high quality standard. The average workload is at least one minute of music per week (composed and produced). Assignments become more difficult and time-consuming as the semester progresses.

Suggested Text References: The Reel World - Scoring for Pictures by Jeff Rona
Creative Synthesizing Techniques for Music Production by Andrea Pejrolo
Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer by A. Pejrolo and R. DeRosa
Lessons From a Street-Wise Professor by Ramon Ricker

Grading: Determined from class participation and from the quality of the assigned projects.

Five projects will be written and recorded. Students' work will usually require at least one revision to attain an acceptable industry standard.