Course

Studio Setup and Maintenance I

Important Notice

This course is not active. Please contact Department Chair for more information.

Faculty
Language, Literature & Performing Arts
Department
Music
Course code
MUSC 3185
Credits
1.50
Semester length
15 weeks
Max class size
26
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Typically offered
Fall

Overview

Course description
Through lectures, demonstrations and hands-on studio work, students learn concepts in designing, setting up and maintaining a project recording studio. Topics include room acoustics and treatment, equipment choice and installation, wiring, and basic maintenance.
Course content
  1. Finding appropriate resources for designing and equipping a project studio
  2. Choosing the space: bedroom, basement, garage, classroom or new construction
  3. Basic acoustics: sound, decibels and hearing
  4. Sound isolation: reflexion, transmission and absorption
  5. Basic drawing programs: learning to produce simple studio designs
  6. Acoustical considerations: ceiling height, room volume, and ‘ideal’ proportions
  7. Subjective room appraisal: what makes a room sound ‘good’ or ‘bad’
  8. Equipment choice: computer platform, microphones, preamps, hardware versus software recording, mixing and effects
  9. Maintaining equipment: basic soldering and equipment care
 
Learning activities

Lecture/demonstration.

Students will work alongside the instructor in one of the Douglas College recording studios. Students will be expected to complete regular assignments and projects outside of class time. These can be done in the lab, the studio, or at home.

Means of assessment
Tests/Quizzes (minimum of 2) 30%
Midterm Project 30%
Final Project 40%
Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to setup and maintain a typical project studio. Specifically, students will be able to understand and apply the following:

  1. Internet resources
  2. Choosing the space
  3. Basic acoustics
  4. Sound isolation
  5. Basic drawing programs
  6. Acoustical considerations
  7. Subjective room appraisal
  8. Equipment choice
  9. Basic equipment maintenance
Textbook materials

F. Alton Everest, How to Build A Small Budget Recording Studio From Scratch: With 12 Tested Designs

Requisites

Prerequisites

Music Technology Certificate Program or permission of instructor

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for MUSC 3185
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Winter 2025