Course Hub
MUSC 174 - Course Hub
Applied Music I: Laptop | Fall 2026 | Sections 04 & 05
| Section | Schedule |
|---|---|
| 04 | M/W 2:00 – 3:20 PM |
| 05 | M/W 3:30 – 4:50 PM |
Location: 1014 S. Michigan Ave, Room 201 (Digital Music Lab)
Quick Links
Course Documents
- Syllabus
- Course Design: The 174 → 175 Year — the design document behind this semester
- Studio Session Guide · Feedback Session Guide · Sprint Guide · Final Project Guide
- Previous Semester: Fall 2025 — how the course ran before the redesign, and what changed
Curriculum Modules
Ten modules carry the six studio domains; each is a StemShare pathway of interactive articles with a review quiz, unlocked on the calendar below.
| Module | Weeks | Domain / sprint |
|---|---|---|
| M0 — Course & Setup | 1–2 | Course onboarding |
| M1 — Foundations | 1–2 | Fundamentals (public series) |
| M2 — Signal Flow & Sessions | 2–3 | Domain 1 · Instrument & signal flow |
| M3 — MIDI & Sequencing I | 3–4 | Domain 2 · Sprint 1 (collab) |
| M4 — MIDI & Sequencing II | 4 | Domain 2 · Sprint 1 finish |
| M5 — Recording & Audio | 6–7 | Domain 3 · Sprint 2 (solo) |
| M6 — Sound Creation: Synthesis | 9 | Domain 4 · Sprint 3 (collab) |
| M7 — Sound Creation: Sampling | 10 | Domain 4 · Sprint 3 finish |
| M8 — Arrangement & Structure | 12–13 | Domain 5 · Sprint 4 (solo) |
| M9 — Mixing & Finishing | 14–15 | Domain 6 · Final project |
External Resources
- Canvas LMS
- StemShare · Knowledge base: the public series
- Music Student Resource Center (SharePoint)
- Digital Music Lab Resources
- Discord Server
Fall 2026: The StemShare Semester
This is the semester MUSC 174 moves onto StemShare, the browser-based learning environment I am building for music technology courses: the lesson, the work, the conversation, and the documentation all live in one place, organized around the class and what the class is making. Sprint deliverables are posted there, peers respond with the same tools they used to make the work (a mix snapshot can be attached to a comment so a critique is heard rather than described), and each sprint’s requirements checklist computes a provisional specification grade that I finalize.
The course content itself is being authored as interactive guides with playable audio demos, published as it is written and free to read with no account. Four series are public so far:
- Foundations of Audio — the ground this course opens with: what sound is, how it is measured and visualized, how ears, microphones, and speakers work, digital audio, the anatomy of a computer, and good digital hygiene.
- Course & Setup — how MUSC 174 runs: First Steps, How This Class Works, and Your Toolkit.
- Class Reference Materials — The Laptop as Instrument, Your Toolkit — Going Deeper, The Sprint Deliverable Template, Giving & Receiving Feedback, Async Feedback on StemShare, and Live Feedback Sessions.
- Foundations of Synthesis — twenty articles written for MUSC 601, each technique as a live, math-first demo; the M6 module draws from it.
→ Browse the knowledge base on StemShare
Because the articles themselves live in StemShare, this site carries the plan around them: the design document, the four course guides, one page per curriculum module (purpose, calendar, article plan, sprint spec), and the Fall 2025 semester this design replaced.
How This Course Works
Assignments are delivered as two-week sprints in StemShare, graded with specification grading: every checklist item must be met for full credit, with one revise-and-resubmit window per course policy.
Weekly Structure:
- Monday: Lecture / demonstration (or in-class feedback on weeks 5, 8, 11, 14)
- Wednesday: Studio session — solo or collaborative, depending on the sprint
- Sunday: Sprint deliverable or check-in posted to StemShare (11:59 PM)
Sprint Cycle:
| Sprint | Mode | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Sprint 1 | Collaborative | Sunday, October 4 |
| Sprint 2 | Solo | Sunday, October 25 |
| Sprint 3 | Collaborative | Sunday, November 15 |
| Sprint 4 | Solo | Sunday, December 6 |
| Final Project | Solo — first complete track | Sunday, December 20 |
Course Calendar
| Week | Date | Type | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| Mon 9/7 | — | Labor Day — No Class | |
| Wed 9/9 | Studio | Opening Jam + Welcome | |
| Sun 9/13 | Deliverable | Intro Post | |
| 2 | |||
| Mon 9/14 | Lecture | Onboarding: Syllabus, Tools, Structure | |
| Wed 9/16 | Studio | Instrument & Signal Flow + First Studio | |
| Sun 9/20 | Deliverable | Warm-Up Post + Peer Comments | |
| 3 | |||
| Mon 9/21 | Lecture | MIDI & Sequencing I | |
| Wed 9/23 | Studio | Group Studio (Collab Sprint 1) | |
| Sun 9/27 | Deliverable | Sprint 1 Work in Progress | |
| 4 | |||
| Mon 9/28 | Lecture | MIDI & Sequencing II | |
| Wed 9/30 | Studio | Group Studio Finish | |
| Sun 10/4 | Deliverable | Sprint 1 Due | |
| 5 | |||
| Mon 10/5 | Feedback | In-Class Feedback #1 | |
| Wed 10/7 | Studio | Solo Sprint 2 Kickoff | |
| Sun 10/11 | Deliverable | Sprint 2 Plan | |
| 6 | |||
| Mon 10/12 | Lecture | Recording | |
| Wed 10/14 | Studio | Solo Studio | |
| Sun 10/18 | Deliverable | Sprint 2 Work in Progress | |
| 7 | |||
| Mon 10/19 | Lecture | Audio Editing | |
| Wed 10/21 | Studio | Solo Studio Finish | |
| Sun 10/25 | Deliverable | Sprint 2 Due | |
| 8 | |||
| Mon 10/26 | Feedback | In-Class Feedback #2 | |
| Wed 10/28 | Studio | Collab Sprint 3 Kickoff + Groups | |
| Sun 11/1 | Deliverable | Sprint 3 Group Plan | |
| 9 | |||
| Mon 11/2 | Lecture | Synthesis | |
| Wed 11/4 | Studio | Group Studio | |
| Sun 11/8 | Deliverable | Sprint 3 Work in Progress | |
| 10 | |||
| Mon 11/9 | Lecture | Sampling | |
| Wed 11/11 | Studio | Group Studio Finish | |
| Sun 11/15 | Deliverable | Sprint 3 Due | |
| 11 | |||
| Mon 11/16 | Feedback | In-Class Feedback #3 | |
| Wed 11/18 | Studio | Solo Sprint 4 Kickoff | |
| Sun 11/22 | Deliverable | Sprint 4 Plan | |
| 12 | |||
| Mon 11/23 | Lecture | Arrangement I | |
| Wed 11/25 | — | Thanksgiving Break — No Class | |
| Sun 11/29 | Deliverable | Sprint 4 Work Over Break | |
| 13 | |||
| Mon 11/30 | Lecture | Arrangement II | |
| Wed 12/2 | Studio | Solo Studio Finish | |
| Sun 12/6 | Deliverable | Sprint 4 Due | |
| 14 | |||
| Mon 12/7 | Feedback | In-Class Feedback #4 | |
| Wed 12/9 | Studio | Final Kickoff (Mixing) | |
| Sun 12/13 | Deliverable | Final Project Plan | |
| 15 | |||
| Mon 12/14 | Lecture | Mixing & Finishing | |
| Wed 12/16 | Studio | Closing Jam | |
| Sun 12/20 | Deliverable | Final Track Due |