{"id":42,"date":"2016-07-05T15:53:42","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T14:53:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/school.chethams.com\/study\/music\/music-tech\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T16:15:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T16:15:28","slug":"music-technology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/study\/music\/music-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Technology"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Meet our Music Technology teacher\" width=\"570\" height=\"321\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/25VZQDuOZQ0?feature=oembed&#038;showinfo=0&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Music Technology is a fast-growing are within the School and we are fortunate to be have some first-rate studio facilities for our students including:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Two purpose-built Recording Studios with separate recording and control rooms. Both feature a Logic Pro X based DAW system with a Slate Raven Core Station Dual touch screen control surface and Apogee Ensemble audio interfaces.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 A third Logic Pro X based studio, acts as an additional mix suite \/ DI \/ overdub room.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 A suite of Apple computers running Logic Pro X DAW software.<\/p>\n<p>The A Level Music Technology course guides students through the theory, analysis, and evaluation of audio production techniques from the early 1900s to modern day. You will also develop practical skills involving the production of audio recordings and the creation of music using sequencing techniques, audio manipulation, creative audio effects and synthesis.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the areas covered include:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Understanding Sound<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022 Frequency and harmonics, and the mathematics behind them<br \/>\n\u2022 Amplitude and volume<br \/>\n\u2022 How sound waves interact with each other<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nHistory and development of recording technologies<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022 Analogue recording methods: phonographs, gramophones, and analogue tape<br \/>\n\u2022 Digital recording technology (Digital Tape \/ DASH &amp; Digital Audio Workstations)<br \/>\n\u2022 How the technology of the day actually shaped the sound of pop recordings<br \/>\n\u2022 How performers pushed the technology to extremes to make their own unique sounds<\/p>\n<p><strong>Microphones<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022 Different types of microphones<br \/>\n\u2022 How they work<br \/>\n\u2022 Placement<\/p>\n<p><strong>Audio Effects &amp; Processing<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022 How to identify the effects and processing aurally<br \/>\n\u2022 How the effects and processors work (originally and how we do it now)<br \/>\n\u2022 Their main control parameters<br \/>\n\u2022 Their use within the context of popular music<br \/>\n\u2022 How to use them within your own productions<br \/>\n\u2022 These include:<br \/>\no Time-based effects: including Delay &amp; Reverb,<br \/>\no Modulation effects: including Tremolo, Chorus, Flanging &amp; Phasing<br \/>\no Dynamic Processing: including Compression &amp; Limiting, Noise Gates &amp; DeEssers<br \/>\no EQ &amp; Filters<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nSynthesis<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022 Subtractive Synthesis:<br \/>\no How it works: Oscillators, Filters, Amplifiers, ADSR Envelopes, LFOs<br \/>\no Analysing synthesised sounds<br \/>\no Creating your own synthesised sounds<br \/>\n\u2022 Additive Synthesis<br \/>\n\u2022 FM Synthesis<\/p>\n<p><strong>Digital Audio Workstations<\/strong><br \/>\n\u2022 Sequencing<br \/>\n\u2022 Recording<br \/>\n\u2022 Audio Manipulation<br \/>\n\u2022 Editing and Mixing<br \/>\n\u2022 Automation<br \/>\n\u2022 Composition using technology<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nWho is the course for?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The A Level Music Technology course is an option for anyone in Y12\/Y13, although places may be limited depending on demand.<\/p>\n<p>As there is no GCSE in the subject, we do take on students with no prior subject experience, but it is vital that students have an interest in technology, sound recording and a willingness to practice and experiment. An affinity for computers and problem-solving is essential.<\/p>\n<p>Good Maths and Science GCSEs are particularly helpful in accessing the theoretical and technical elements of the course. There is a surprisingly large amount of maths involved in the subject (including the understanding of soundwaves, acoustics, time-based effects and digital audio to name a few), as well as some physics (including acoustics and electronics).<\/p>\n<p>Previous experience of creating music in a Digital Audio Workstation such as Logic Pro X, GarageBand, Cubase or Ableton would be of great benefit, though we will start with the basics for those who haven\u2019t.<br \/>\nThe course may also be of interest to our composition students who wish to experiment using technology within their composing work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Career Paths<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Studying Music Technology can be a starting point into a number of audio-based careers. Our alumni have gone on to further music technology related studies at institutes including Berklee School of Music, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Salford University, Leeds Conservatoire and London College of Music. This has led to careers including:<br \/>\n\u2022 Award winning Electronic Music Artist<br \/>\n\u2022 Recording Engineer<br \/>\n\u2022 Record Producer<br \/>\n\u2022 Sound Designer (Film + Video Games)<br \/>\n\u2022 Composer (Video Games)<br \/>\n\u2022 Dialogue Editor (Film)<br \/>\n\u2022 Post-production &amp; Audio Mastering specialist<br \/>\n\u2022 Dialogue and Audio Restoration<br \/>\n\u2022 Product Manager for audio effects and processing plug-in manufacturers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Music Technology is a fast-growing are within the School and we are fortunate to be have some first-rate studio facilities for our students including: \u2022 Two purpose-built Recording Studios with separate recording and control rooms. Both feature a Logic Pro X based DAW system with a Slate Raven Core Station Dual touch screen control surface [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":0,"parent":20,"menu_order":9,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-42","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97071,"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/42\/revisions\/97071"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chethamsschoolofmusic.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}