Coursework (50% of total assessment)

For the Electronics Practicals component: a total of two reports (one from each semester) must be submitted.  One from Experiments 2 – 4, and a choice of either Experiments 5, 6 or 7.  Marks will be given for your performance during the practical sessions as well as for the quality of the submitted reports.  Within this part of this module, the weighting of the marks will be 10% for preparation, 20% for performance during the laboratory sessions, 10% for the quality of your log book, 30% for the first report, and 30% for the second report.

This module is in two parts.  One part is a set of Electronics Laboratory experiments which complements the Electronics module.  The other part is a set of Operational Practicals, which combines areas of practical work which you will need in your first year, and contains three components; Recording Practicals, Technical Ear Training and Operational Recording Experience.

Each student attends the Electronics Laboratory sessions in alternate weeks, and either an operational practical session or a Technical Ear Training session in the intervening week.  A rota for this module is included in the Electronics Practicals Handbook.

At the end of the Electronics Practicals component you should be able to:

·        identify electronic components (resistors, capacitors, etc.)

·        use an oscilloscope and digital multimeter to make AC and DC measurements on simple electronic circuits

·        use an oscilloscope to make level and frequency response measurements on square and sinusoidal signals

·        use simple test equipment to measure the time- and frequency-domain response of a RC circuit

·        draw Bode plots for the simple RC circuit

·        measure the electrical characteristics of a simple Silicon diode and a Zener diode

·        without soldering, use op-amps to construct simple inverting, non-inverting, and summing audio amplifiers, measure the frequency response and gain of each, and investigate the effects of changing the feedback components.

At the end of the Recording Practicals component you should be able to:

·        select suitable commercial microphones for a classical piano session

·        plan and rig a classical piano recording session

·        align a DAT recorder to agreed Departmental standards

·        record the level of "live" microphones to acceptable artistic and technical levels

·        critically asses the subjective quality of a "Classical" piano recording

·        compare the relative advantages and disadvantages of close and distant microphones

·        use a Neve V Series desk to mix down a pre-recorded "Pop" session tape

·        control the levels of individual sources to acceptable artistic and technical levels

·        select aesthetically suitable frequency and reverberation effects processing

·        describe how to "mic-up" a drum kit

·        mix down a drum kit to acceptable artistic standards.

At the end of the Technical Ear Training component you should be able to identify and describe:

·        the subjective effects of selected frequency domain features in reproduced sound

·        the subjective effects of selected forms of distortion, noise and interference in reproduced sound

·        the subjective effects of selected basic features of recorded balance

·        selected spatial features of reproduced sound

·        the subjective effects of selected digital audio sampling and quantisation artefacts.

At the end of the Operational Recording Experience component you should be able to:

·        work in a small team to make an acceptable recording of a live concert

·        behave in a professional manner during a recording session

·        rig and derig the microphones and other facilities under direction

·        account for equipment borrowed from the Departmental Technical Stores

·        move or change microphones under live concert conditions

·        react appropriately, under direction, to a recording emergency during a live concert

·        operate a professional sound desk such as that installed in Studio 1

·        align a DAT recorder to agreed Departmental standards

·        keep a log of a recording session

·        transfer a master tape to cassette to Departmental standards.

Electronics Practicals (one two-hour practical every 2 weeks).

Operational Recording Experience (distributed throughout the year according to the recording rota published separately as TOI1),

Recording Practicals (once every 4 weeks), and

Technical Ear Training (once every 4 weeks).

29.9.2010