Professional Certificate in Music for Film & Media
On-Campus and Low-Residency Options
PC Program Curriculum - Total Credits 56
All students, both on-campus and low-residency, take all classes together as one hybrid cohort.
FOUNDATIONAL COURSES
The Foundational Courses provide the music compositional skills that every student will need to complete the program and understand the roles and responsibilities of each team member responsible for successfully scoring a film or video game. (20 CEUs)
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FSPC501: Foundations in Film Scoring – 2 Credits
This course is an introduction to the aesthetics and technical aspects of film music, including the roles and functions of the members of the music team. The course focuses on understanding the process of composing music for film, the effect of music on images, and other aspects of film music as an integral part of film production.
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FSPC502: Applied Music Composition 1 – 3 Credits
This course covers advanced composition techniques applicable to the creation of scores that support particular dramatic effects – sadness, triumph, suspense, comedy, etc. Students will learn how to handle the unique compositional challenges presented by film, such as scoring under dialog and manipulating their compositions to fit a film’s nonmusical timing requirements while maintaining musical integrity.
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FSPC503: Applied Music Composition 2 – 3 Credits
This course continues where FS502 ended and introduces students to additional compositional techniques such as advanced harmonic concepts including Modulation, Chromatic Voice Leading progressions (CVL) and Constant Structure composition. Also covered are advanced melodic writing concepts including: phrase length manipulation and Out-of-Scale chromatics.
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FSPC504: Orchestration for the Studio Environment – 4 Credits
A study of instrumentation and orchestration for the studio environment. It covers information on instrument ranges and characteristics, and how to effectively combine them in various ensembles. Special attention is given to best practices for recording sessions.
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FSPC505: Music Business & Entrepreneurship – 2 Credits
This course covers the business, legal, and financial aspects of the film music industry. Topics covered include: intellectual property – how this is applied to film scores and who owns what; composer contracts - the kinds of contracts that are used in industry and the elements of these contracts; performing rights organizations - how they work and the path that performance royalties take; budgeting – elements to consider in creating a budget for a project. Students will also learn to create appropriate promotional material necessary to procure scoring assignments including creating demo presentations of the works recorded in the program. There will also be discussions on communicating with directors with little or no musical background and how to get your concepts across without musical vocabulary.
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FSPC506: Directed Study in Film Composition/Portfolio – 6 Credits
In this course, primarily private-lesson based, students compose the scores to six film projects and one final thesis composition. This class is the practical application of everything studied in the program.
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FSPC599: Comprehensive Exam – 1 Credit
Comprehensive exam covering elements of all the Foundational Courses.
SOFTWARE AND TECHNOLOGY COURSES
FSPC511: MIDI Sequencing: Digital Performer– 3 Credits
This course covers fundamentals of MIDI sequencing; thorough study of the software program Digital Performer’s capabilities; extensive in-depth study and use of Digital Performer’s film-scoring capabilities.
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FSPC512: MIDI Sequencing: Logic – 2 Credits
This course covers a thorough study of the software program Logic’s capabilities; extensive in-depth study and use of Logic’s film-scoring capabilities.
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FSPC513: MIDI Sequencing: Cubase – 1 Credit
This course covers a thorough study of the software program Cubase’s capabilities; extensive in-depth study and use of Cubase’s film-scoring capabilities.
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FSPC521: Notation: Dorico – 3 Credits
A thorough and in-depth study of Steinberg’s Dorico music notation program. It covers note-entry and layout, and best practices in how to prepare a score, and parts for a professional recording session. Also explores how to use Dorico in a workflow with DAWs and other music software.
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FSPC522: Notation: Sibelius – 2 Credits
A thorough and in-depth study of Avid’s Sibelius Ultimate music notation program. It covers note-entry and layout, and best practices in how to prepare a score and parts for a professional recording session. Also explores how to use Sibelius in a workflow with DAWs and other music software.
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FSPC531: Audio Production: Pro Tools– 4 Credits
This course covers fundamentals of audio production techniques pertaining to film scoring including recording, editing, mixing, MIDI and live session preparation. An extensive in-depth study and use of Pro Tools’ capabilities.
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FSPC532: Studio Technology – 3 Credits
This course covers fundamentals of technology used in modern studio recording and how to use that technology effectively.
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FSPC541: Synchronization & Timings – 1 Credit
This course covers how to use the timing tools built into DAWs to make the essential calculations of film-scoring effectively and how to generate click and streamer tracks for recording sessions.
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FSPC542: Advanced MIDI 1: Synthesis & Sampling – 2 Credits
This course covers the basic principles of subtractive synthesis and sampling, including concepts and terminology. It uses a variety of industry-standard virtual instruments including plug-ins from Native Instruments’ Komplete.
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FSPC543: Advanced MIDI 2: Virtual Instruments – 2 Credits
Often composers are required to demonstrate what a score will sound like before going ahead with an orchestral recording session. This course covers effective methods and techniques for creating realistic orchestral emulations or mockups.
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FSPC551: Intro to Mixing – 1 Credit
This course covers the fundamentals tools of mixing music in the digital domain; critical listening and ear training; using a DAW for mixing multitrack music elements to achieve a well-balanced result.
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FSPC552: Advanced Mixing – 2 Credits
This course explores in-depth tools and techniques for mixing audio in the digital domain; intermediate to advanced use of a DAW and plug-ins to create a versatile mixing enviro
PROFESSIONAL SKILLS COURSES
FSPC561: Studio Conducting – 2 Credits
This course covers the fundamentals of conducting, including conducting patterns and off-hand use to communicate your musical intentions. It also covers the rehearsal and podium techniques necessary to run an efficient professional recording session. Students will have the opportunity to conduct several recording sessions of various size ensembles (up to 52 musicians).
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FSPC562: Music & Audio for Games – 2 Credits
This course is a thorough investigation into how music and sound operate in the video-game environment, with an emphasis on adaptive, interactive, non-linear composition methods. Students will have the opportunity to write music that is designed to be adapted to game play by special, video-game oriented audio engines and will learn to use current software that controls music and audio in game play through hands-on experience.
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FSPC563: Songwriting for Film – 2 Credits
This course is an investigation of how structure, melody, and lyrics function together to create a well-written song. Students will also examine the ins and outs of writing songs for films, including how to tailor a song for a scene and what constitutes a successful End Credit song. Students will write a film-oriented song and receive instructor and peer feedback.
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FSPC564: Film Music History – 2 Credits
Students will analyze the styles and functions of music for film throughout film history, starting with silent-era films and covering scores up to the present day with a focus on approaches to particular film scoring challenges.
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FSPC565: Special Topics in Composition – 1 Credit
This class will cover additional subjects related to composition including but not limited to advanced orchestration, writing for voices, copying, and proofreading.