Immersive Audio Abroad: Technology, Practice, and Composition

MUSI 4180/6180: Special Topics in Composition & Technology

This course offers students the opportunity to study Immersive and 3D Audio technologies in a 3-week Maymester intensive as part of the Italy Music Study Abroad program at UGA. We will travel around Northern Italy collecting sounds —from the urban soundscapes of Milan, to the mountain ambiences of the Dolomites, the lapping water of Venice’s canals, to acoustic spaces of Northern Italy's historic architecture— using 3D sound field microphones and Ambisonics technology. 

Utilizing both mobile technology and studio spaces at partner institutions in Milan and Piacenza, we will collaborate to create immersive pieces of electroacoustic music that creatively use a variety of 3D audio technologies to be realized in immersive multi-speaker listening spaces and VR environments. We will also spend some time studying the fundamental concepts of acoustics and signal processing that make 3D audio possible and relevant in today's rapidly evolving field of music technology. Engaging with both musical performance and environmental sound, this course combines critical listening, recording, production, and experimental audio practices, we will experience both sonic immersion and sonic immersion. While some travel destinations will be specific to the Immersive Audio Tech group, much of our time will be alongside the Italy Music Study Abroad students in performance and history, creating space for collaboration. 

Interested students should have some prior coursework in music technology and be familiar with working in a DAW. No prior experience or knowledge of sound field technology or Ambisonics is required. This program is open to both UGA and non-UGA students at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Credits

While in the Study Abroad Program, students from other American institutions will be accepted as transient students at UGA and will receive transferable credits for courses taken. The process of acceptance can be found at the UGA International Education Site.

UGA International Education Site