BA (Hons) Audio Engineering and Production

In this module, you’ll learn how to operate a selection of industry-standard audio software used in the recording and making of music, while experimenting with it creatively. Planning, managing and delivering an orderly and effectual digital audio workstation (DAW) session is a vital talent for any audio engineer. You’ll learn to do this – and many other practical skills – as you explore computer-based music production approaches and delve into the craft of audio editing. 

This module sees you delve into the core principles of audio theory, within the setting of a professional or personal music recording studio. You'll master the utilisation of industry-standard recording and production equipment, becoming adept at recording and engineering processes. With a focus on practical application, you'll gain proficiency in utilising various industry-standard production and recording tools, while applying essential principles of audio engineering to a project of your choosing. The methods you will acquire are geared towards flexible and professional recording and engineering practices, encompassing a spectrum from foundational basics to advanced professional studio techniques.

This practical module offers regular collaboration opportunities, as you familiarise yourself with industry-standard sound engineering techniques in the context of a live performance. Working in groups with your fellow students, you’ll engage in critical listening activities, give and receive feedback on original work, and complete weekly exercises and creative tasks. You’ll develop strong technical skills for live sound recording as you explore everything from mic placements and monitor positions to sound behaviours in a live environment. By the time you complete the module, you’ll be able to confidently perform a soundcheck for a live band, and successfully engineer a performance at a live ICMP event.  

To build a successful career in music, you first need a thorough understanding of the relationship between creative practice and business in the creative industries. In this module, you’ll explore the music business specifically from the point of view of an audio engineer and music producer. Using seminars, applied projects and case studies, you’ll study current industry models, practices and processes as you learn about revenue streams, music copyright and the role of trade bodies and professional organisations. By the module’s conclusion, you’ll understand how each sector of the industry interconnects and will use this wisdom to plan your future portfolio career. 

To stand out as an audio engineer or music producer, you need an exceptional knowledge of how sound behaves – understanding instinctively how it transmits, and how it is captured, perceived and heard. This module concentrates on the essentials of audio theory, while also ensuring plenty of practical opportunities to capture recordings with the cleanest and clearest signal possible. You’ll study the theory of sound and discover how sound engineering processes have evolved over time – from the first manual capture to modern-day DAW practices. You’ll become competent in arranging, mixing and mastering sound using a variety of professional recording equipment. 

Across this module, you’ll gain an understanding of the technologies and methodologies used for programming a range of different instruments. You’ll explore the software used in professional music-making environments, as you experiment with audio programming using digital audio workstations (DAWs). You’ll gain hands-on experience as you develop skills in articulation, quantisation, velocities and automation, and learn how to use sample libraries to answer real-world industry briefs. You’ll also expand your portfolio and technical know-how as you discover how to use audio programming to create authentic-sounding performances across a range of contexts. 

In this module, you’ll dive into technical and creative approaches to sound design and synthesis as you explore different types of synthesis, including subtractive, additive, FM and wavetable, and various synthesiser components such as oscillators, filters and envelopes. Developing a deep understanding of sound design will help you create your own synthesiser patches for various musical contexts across film, TV, video games and more. This applied module will see you develop a portfolio of sound design tasks, which you’ll share with your peers for analysis and feedback. 

PR, branding and marketing are essential for success in the music industry, no matter what area you specialise in. This module introduces you to the fundamental principles of marketing for the modern music industry, particularly from the viewpoint of the self-employed audio engineer/producer. It covers both traditional theory and contemporary approaches to marketing and branding, providing a robust understanding of how marketing has evolved and adapted to meet the changing needs of creative industry professionals and entrepreneurs. As you progress, you’ll explore consumer behaviour and will develop a marketing plan to help position yourself as a talented freelance audio engineer or producer. 

Building on the Level 4 ‘Live Sound Engineering’ programme, this module extends on your previously studied concepts and techniques. With emphasis on more complex live performance and sound environments, you’ll put your skills and knowledge into practice as you run your own live sound gig as part of the module’s assessment. You’ll cover live mixing, recording, stage organisation and soundchecks, as you gain a good idea of what to expect when you work as a live sound engineer at gigs, corporate events, music festivals, theatre shows and other live scenarios. 

In this module, you’ll build upon your first-year learnings to produce professional, clear and exciting mixes using industry-standard hardware and software such as Pro Tools. You’ll study a variety of mixing techniques, learning how to adapt and experiment with these to develop your sonic signature. You’ll consider different mixing approaches and workflows as you operate across a variety of genres to meet real-world client briefs. Upon completion of the module, you’ll be confidently making informed technical and aesthetic decisions as you skillfully mix a prepared multi-track recording. 

You’ll continue to build your abilities in using industry-standard recording and production equipment in this module. You’ll advance your editing and sound production processes as you explore the fundamental principles of audio recording theory in a studio environment context. Demonstrating a clear knowledge of how microphones and recording techniques affect the outcome of music productions, you’ll also learn to adapt and respond quickly in live recording scenarios. You’ll grow your skills as you work on your creative technical assessment – employing a range of engineering techniques to affect and capture various audio sources.   

This module explores the art of audio editing and post-production – a truly vital part of the creative process. Once sounds have been captured and created, preparing them for the mixing process is an important role that requires attention to detail and an equal balance of technical and creative musical know-how. Here you’ll experiment with functions such as comping, editing, timing, tuning, audio restoration, mix prep and more. As you extend your skills, you’ll learn to select the process best suited to the particular types of material, styles or genres you’re working on. 

This advanced module, taught at ICMP’s brand-new music production facilities, will help you evolve the skills and knowledge needed to successfully run a professional recording session. You’ll consolidate your abilities from previous years while adding new studio engineering techniques and elevating your technical capabilities. With practical workshops, studio-based experimentation, masterclasses and peer-review sessions, this module will push you to achieve a commercial standard with your work. You’ll undertake an in-depth study of commercial tracks, so you’re aware of the high levels of quality required within the professional audio world. 

In this advanced final-year module, you’ll develop your skills and knowledge of mastering – the crucial last step in producing recorded music. Mastering has changed enormously over the years, and it’s now increasingly important for industry professionals to have strong capabilities in this area. Through the module content and assessment programme, your learning will focus on real-world industry projects and scenarios, and you’ll gain valuable practical experience in mastering both single tracks and longer album projects.  

Throughout this year-long module, you’ll bring together your technical experience, creativity and transferable business skills to develop a professional project of your choice. You’ll manage, plan and realise a music-related project that links together the craft of audio engineering and the business side of the music industry. This project offers a great way to connect to real-life opportunities – either through community or charitable work or by launching your project and brand to the world. As you progress, you’ll regularly develop, test and refine your ideas thanks to ongoing peer and tutor feedback. You’ll graduate with a substantial piece you can showcase to the industry, having cemented your communication, negotiation, analysis, project planning and project management skills along the way. 

This year-long self-directed creative audio engineering project provides a focus for all the skills you've developed in previous modules while allowing you to undertake exploratory creative work which makes use of advanced, contemporary and experimental music-making techniques. Using a combination of research methods, practice-as-research, project planning and management, you'll develop a significant body of audio engineering creative work of your choice – such as an album, live performance, multi-media composition, podcast or installation. You’ll document your project online in the form of a contextualising blog post, which you can use to demonstrate your unique voice as an engineer–producer when launching your music industry career.