Course detail

Club Music 1

FaVU-KLHU1Acad. year: 2024/2025

Club music of various genres is an area in which students and graduates of art and design schools are surprisingly often successful. The course offers an introduction to thinking about club music, its history, how its genres are shaped and transformed, what is "cool" and why, but it is primarily practical – focusing on students' own musical production and its development.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

MgA. Jiří Suchánek, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Audiovisual Technology (KAT)

Entry knowledge

None.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The following conditions are set for the award of credit:

active participation in class
preparation of a presentation on the chosen topic, practical output in the field of audio production.

Teaching takes place in the studio of the FFA Department of Audiovisual Technology in the hours determined by the schedule. Attendance is compulsory (2 unexcused absences allowed). Higher number of absences can be compensated by submitting an alternative assignment after agreement with the teachers.

Aims

The course is designed to help students find an individual starting point to perform and to further explore and develop their own language (expression) with an awareness of its context.

Students will become familiar with hardware and software tools aimed at live electronic music production with respect to self-direction and accessibility. They will also gain basic experience in DIY instrument making and a language apparatus for reading the language of electronic instruments. At the same time, they will gain a conceptual, ideational basis for further autonomous creative development.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

COLLINS, Nicolas; Handmade electronic music: the art of hardware hacking; 2006; Taylor & Francis (EN)
ROADS, Curtis; Composing electronic music, a new aesthetic; 2015; Oxford university press (EN)
ROSS, Alex; Zbývá jen hluk, naslouchání dvacátému století; 2011; Argo a Dokořán (CS)

Type of course unit

Lecture

6 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

MgA. Jiří Suchánek, Ph.D.

Syllabus

The outline marks an axis on which we can move freely, opening themes, leaving them and returning to them later as needed. It defines broader themes that serve as a starting point for practical exercises.

What are the genres of club music, its future and context. Fascination with the 20th century as a starting point and time loop.
Instruments and their focus in terms of use (samplers, synthesizers, drum machines, sequencers, processors, controllers, etc.).
Instruments in terms of availability. HW (low budget, DIY) and SW (open source, free).
Language of musical instruments – terminology, signal flow.
Sound construction – shaping, bending, colouring – envelope, LFO, filter, oscillator, modulation, effect.
Modular systems – field navigation, issues; practical exercises.

Practical class

18 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

BcA. Ondřej Merta