Music - Digital Music and Media Composition

Course details

The Online MA in Digital Music and Media Composition provides a thorough grounding in current digital music and media composition techniques. Students who complete the course will possess the ability to author and deliver digital creative content intended for screen (television, film, online content, games) and/or artistic aims (multimedia performance, installations, creative apps). The students will become fluent in the language of digital media artists and practitioners and have an ability to contextualize their work in a contemporary setting.

Course Details

The MA in Digital Music and Media Composition is an intensive online postgraduate course focused on the composition of digital art in many formats with music principals at their core.

Students take 90 Credits.  Modules taught include:

• Digital Music Composition and Orchestration I and II where core concepts of contemporary and popular music composition are paired with the challenges and exploration of digital music making. By the end of these modules, students will have gained skills in composing and orchestrating for the screen as well as digital audio editing, recording and mixing,
• Coding for Creatives will aim to provide a good understanding of computer programming using programming languages tailored to creative people looking to create time based art or prototypes. Students will mostly use the programming languages Processing and Max/MSP/Jitter as well as a myriad of open source tools. Online tutorials become an essential part of this fast paced module. A three day hardware-software Hack-a-thon/workshop at UCC is a part of this module.
• Digital Media Art in Performance explores issues surrounding real time performance practice with digital media art. Project based research is the focus of this module culminating in a performance at UCC.
• In Making Time-Based Digital Art students will gain an understanding of contemporary artists working in this field while developing essential skills in video and image creation and editing for multiple outputs. Project based collaborative research is an essential element of this module.
• Understanding Digital Media Art looks into the history of Digital Media Art and engages the student with research issues (documentation, grant writing, presenting work) surrounding a Digital Media Art practice.

After two semesters of coursework, students completing the MA will be expected to complete a portfolio consisting mainly of creative work worth 30 credits of the degree.  Students opting for a Postgraduate Diploma do not complete the portfolio requirements

Part I 

Year 1 - Semester One

• MU6007 Digital Music and Media Composition and Orchestration I (10 credits) 
• MU6009 Coding for Creatives (10 credits)

Year 1 - Semester Two

• MU6008 Digital Music and Media Composition and Orchestration II (10 credits)

Year 2 - Semester One

• MU6015 Making Time-based Digital Art (10 credits)

Year 2 - Semester Two

• MU6016 Understanding Digital Media Art (10 credits)
• MU6017 Digital Media Art in Performance (10 credits)

Part II 

Year Two -Semester One, Two and Three

• MU6024 Portfolio (30 credits)

Course Practicalities

The course will consist of online coursework combined with two face-to-face workshops (1 per year) as well as virtual meetings between peers and creative collaborators. The workload is typical of an MA programme, but given its interdiciplinary nature, students can expect to spend extra time developing skills in their areas of weakness.

Assessment

Assessment may include practice and performance based elements where appropriate. Assessment for each module may involve, written and digital scores, texts and multimedia files as well as elements of inpidual and team work.