Program Requirements
This Minor focuses on interdisciplinary topics in science and technology as applied to music. The goal of the program is to help prepare students for commercial jobs in the audio technology sector and/or for subsequent graduate research study. This Minor is designed to serve students who already have a good background in the sciences and prior experience with Math and Computer Science courses.
Applications will only be considered for fall admission. Late applications will not be accepted and no students will be admitted to the Minor in January. Registration will be limited to available lab space. Selection is based on previous experience in math, computer programming, and related sciences, expressed interest in the program, and Cumulative Grade Point Average. To apply, submit an online application through the Music website: www.mcgill.ca/music/programs/minor/mst.
Advising for the Minor is available from the Area Chair for the Music Technology program. Further information on this program is available on the Music Technology website at: http://www.music.mcgill.ca/musictech/programmes_and_admissions.
Required Courses (15 credits)
15 credits, select all of the following:
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MUMT 203 Introduction to Digital Audio (3 credits)
Overview
Music Technology : An introduction to digital audio and the technologies involved in its practical realization and use in computer music. Topics will include audio signals and systems, sampling & quantization, signal encoding, compression, transmission and storage, filters, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, digital audio effects, sound sampling and synthesis techniques.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
3 hours
Restriction(s): Open only to students in the Music Technology MST Minor or by permission of the instructor.
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MUMT 250 Music Perception and Cognition (3 credits)
Overview
Music Technology : Basic processes by which the brain transforms sound waves into musical events, dimensions, systems and structures and the processes by which musicians imagine new musical sounds and structures and plan movements that produce music on instruments.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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MUMT 306 Music and Audio Computing 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Music Technology : Concepts, algorithms, data structures, and programming techniques for the development of music and audio software, ranging from musical instrument design to interactive music performance systems.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
3 hours
Prerequisite: Previous digital audio and object-oriented programming experience.
Restriction(s): Open only to students in the Music Technology MST Minor or by permission of the instructor.
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MUMT 307 Music and Audio Computing 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Music Technology : Theory and implementation of signal processing techniques for sound synthesis and audio effects processing using Matlab, C++, and Max/MSP.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
3 hours
Prerequisite: MUMT 306
Restriction(s): Open only to students in the Music Technology MST Minor or by permission of the instructor.
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MUMT 501 Digital Audio Signal Processing (3 credits)
Overview
Music Technology : Discrete-time signal processing concepts and techniques. Discrete-time fourier transform and series, linear time-invariant systems, digital filtering, spectral analysis of discrete-time signals, and the z-transform.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Complementary Courses (3 credits)
3 credits selected from:
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MUMT 502 Senior Project: Music Technology (3 credits)
Overview
Music Technology : Independent senior project in Music Technology. Students will design and implement a medium-scale project in consultation with their advisor. Evaluation will be based on concept, background research, implementation, reliability, and documentation.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
3 hours
Prerequisites: MUMT 307 and Honours standing in Music Technology
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PHYS 224 Physics of Music (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : An introduction to the physics of music. Properties of sound and their perception as pitch, loudness, and timbre. Dissonance, consonance, and musical intervals and tuning. Physics of sound propagation and reflection. Resonance. Acoustic properties of pipes, strings, bars, and membranes, and sound production in wind, string, and percussion instruments. The human voice. Room reverberation and acoustics. Directional characteristics of sound sources.
Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Fall
3 hours lectures
Designed for students in the Faculty of Music but suitable for students with an interest in music and its physical basis.
Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PHYS 225
