- Lecture: 2 hours/week
- Lab: 2 hours/week
Lectures, demonstrations, and practical, hands-on group work.
Equipment Set Up
- FOH mixer, power amplifiers specification (e.g. power rating, impedance; matching with loudspeakers), speaker systems (including line arrays), monitor sends, wedges, balanced and unbalanced cables
- Decibel and signal levels, voltage and current, signal levels and impedance, balanced and unbalanced connections, grounding, transformers, electrical safety, power requirements
- Speaker alignment and placement, feedback elimination, monitor positioning, amplifier levels
Microphones
- Mic technique for different instruments, mic characteristics
- Direct Input (D/I)
Acoustics
- Room acoustics, standing waves, phase summation and cancellation, absorption, reverberation, critical distance, inverse square law
- Room modes and tuning
- The effect of audience on acoustics, seated and non-seated events, sound pressure levels and feedback
Space Assessment
- Loudness requirements, feedback and potential system gain, acoustic/amplified hybrid situations, frequency response, time delay, speech intelligibility, critical distance, health and safety
Equipment Operation
- Dedicated scene creation on a digital console
- The difference between a FOH mix and a monitor mix and how to support each
- Computer connection for recording and playback purposes
- Live soundmixing
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Identify and set up equipment appropriate to an amplified band rehearsal or small venue;
- Specify a sound system appropriate to a range of small to large venue applications;
- Understand the basic signal flow of a Front of House (FOH) system and stage monitors;
- Follow professional health and safety protocols - Sound Pressure Level (SPL), lifting, electricity, and crowd safety;
- Quickly identify and troubleshoot technical issues;
- Operate digital and analog consoles to create viable sound reinforcement;
- Run a sound check, communicating effectively with performers;
- Mix for FOH and stage monitors using common audio processing tools, as required;
- Set up, tear down, and pack away in a timely manner.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. This is a graded course.
Example Evaluation Scheme
Research Assignment (minimum of 2) (20%)
Midterm Practical Exam (20%)
Final Practical Exam (10%)
Practical Mix Assignment (20%)
Attendance (10%)
Participation and Professionalism (20%)
Total 100%
Students' record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course forms part of the student’s graded performance. Expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.
None
None