Musical Science and Technology Minor (B.Mus.) (18 credits)
Offered by: Music (Schulich School of Music)
Degree: Bachelor of Music
Program credit weight: 18
Program Description
This B.Mus.; Minor in Musical Science and Technology focuses on interdisciplinary topics in science and technology as applied to music.
Required Courses (12 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUMT 203 | Introduction to Digital Audio. | 3 |
Introduction to Digital Audio. Terms offered: Fall 2026 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. | ||
| MUMT 250 | Music Perception and Cognition. | 3 |
Music Perception and Cognition. Terms offered: Winter 2027 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. | ||
| MUMT 306 | Music and Audio Computing 1. | 3 |
Music and Audio Computing 1. Terms offered: Winter 2027 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. | ||
| MUMT 307 | Music and Audio Computing 2. | 3 |
Music and Audio Computing 2. Terms offered: Fall 2026 Theory and implementation of signal processing techniques for sound synthesis and audio effects processing using Matlab, C++, and Max/MSP. | ||
Complementary Courses (6 credits)
6 credits selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MUMT 501 | Digital Audio Signal Processing. | 3 |
Digital Audio Signal Processing. Terms offered: Winter 2027 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. | ||
| MUMT 502 | Senior Project: Music Technology. | 3 |
Senior Project: Music Technology. Terms offered: Fall 2026 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. | ||
| MUSR 200 | Audio Recording Essentials. | 3 |
Audio Recording Essentials. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A basic overview of audio recording. Topics include fundamentals of audio; a historical overview of recorded sound; analog and digital signal flow; listening environment design; listening and analysis; simple recording; connecting audio to a video camera; and audio on the web. | ||
| MUSR 232 | Introduction to Electronics. | 3 |
Introduction to Electronics. Terms offered: Fall 2026 Basics of electricity including: Ohm's law, electronic components, DC circuits, block diagram, amplifiers, filters, power supplies, electrical measurements (frequency levels, distortion). Emphasis will be placed on electronics applied to audio. | ||
| MUSR 300D1 | Introduction to Music Recording. 1 | 3 |
Introduction to Music Recording. Terms offered: Fall 2026 The theory and practice of music recording including a study of recording environments, equipment and studio techniques. The analysis of music scores and recordings with respect to the requirements and possibilities of the recording studio. Studio work will include recording sessions, recording of live concerts, editing, mixing and music p.a. | ||
| MUSR 300D2 | Introduction to Music Recording. 1 | 3 |
Introduction to Music Recording. Terms offered: Winter 2027 See MUSR 300D1 for description. | ||
| PHYS 224 | Physics of Music. | 3 |
Physics of Music. Terms offered: Fall 2026 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. | ||
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MUSR 300D1 Introduction to Music Recording. /MUSR 300D2 Introduction to Music Recording. has limited enrollment and should be selected together. This course is generally restricted to students in the Sound Recording Qualifying Year program. Students interested in taking this course should contact the Sound Recording Area Coordinator to seek permission to register.