Course Design: The 174 → 175 Year
What this is: the design document behind MUSC 174 (Fall) and MUSC 175 (Spring) as one continuous 30-week Applied Music sequence for the laptop. It records the structural decisions, the reasoning, and what is still open. Written June–July 2026 ahead of the Fall 2026 rollout; the calendar, sprint specs, and grading model below are what the semester is running on.
The Year at a Glance
The two semesters are one continuous experience built on an identical structure, so students learn the rhythm once and then spend all their attention on the work. What changes is the goal:
| MUSC 174 (Fall) | MUSC 175 (Spring) | |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | Capability | Practice & Imitation |
| Goal | Learn the tools, make things, finish a first complete track | Build sustainable habits, learn from professionals, document growth |
| Mode | Learn by doing / making | Learn by studying pros + sustained practice |
| Final | First complete original track | Evidence Portfolio of habit growth |
Guiding line: 174 builds the capability; 175 builds the practice.
Shared Structural Model (both semesters)
Weekly rhythm
- Monday — Lecture / demonstration
- Wednesday — In-class studio work + collaboration
- Sunday — Submit work (11:59 PM)
Sprint cadence
- Work happens in four two-week sprints, alternating solo and collaborative.
- Each sprint is long enough to push a piece to “potentially finished.”
- 174 leads collab-first (Collab → Solo → Collab → Solo) to ride the momentum of the community-building opening.
- 175 leads solo-first (Solo → Collab → Solo → Collab) so students do a solo performance before a group one, and a solo production before co-production.
Feedback model
- Async by default, in StemShare. Each sprint, students post work to a thread; peers listen in the multitrack player and leave timestamped comments using the four-step feedback framework (What’s Working → Observations → Suggestions → Questions). Thread requirements track peer-comment quotas, on-time status, and articles read.
- Live feedback at the seams. One in-class feedback session sits between sprints (four per semester), held when everyone has just finished something. Same four-step framework, faster pace.
- The framework is introduced in Week 1 and reused all year, deepening from descriptive feedback (174) to reference-informed feedback (175). See the Feedback Session Guide.
- Canvas holds the official syllabus and gradebook. Creative work and peer feedback do not live in Canvas discussions.
Where the class lives
StemShare is the class app: groups (one per section), threads (assignments with a prompt and due date), posts (uploaded stems or mixes), comments (timestamped feedback in the player), curriculum modules (paced pathways of articles and quizzes), and a live requirements checklist on every post that computes a provisional grade for the instructor to finalize. The open knowledge base at /learn is always readable; curriculum paces attention without hiding published content.
The Jam ritual
Each semester opens and closes with a small-group collaboration jam — four jams across the year — used to feel and measure collective progress. Low-stakes and fun.
No live final presentations
With ~40 students across two sections, a single-day listening session doesn’t work. Final projects are submitted; the closing jam is the in-person capstone moment instead.
Content Architecture
The outcome: every student (laptop = primary instrument) leaves with foundational knowledge of using the laptop in studio and performance scenarios, plus community and people skills.
Three competency strands:
- Studio craft — making and shaping sound: DAW fluency, MIDI, recording, synthesis, sampling, arrangement, mixing.
- Performance craft — playing it live: session/live setups, controllerism, looping, real-time improvisation, set building, reliability.
- Musicianship & practice — the connective tissue: ear, patterns and styles, improvisation, deliberate practice, feedback, community.
Distribution — studio-first, performance-later.
174 — Studio Craft Fundamentals. A pure studio semester; both collab and solo sprints are studio production, and the jams are community-only. Six domains build in order, because you can’t arrange without sounds and can’t mix without an arrangement:
- Instrument & signal flow (laptop + DAW + interface + controller; sessions and file management)
- MIDI & sequencing (programming and playing parts in)
- Recording & audio (capturing sound)
- Sound creation (synthesis + sampling basics)
- Arrangement & structure (turning ideas into pieces)
- Mixing fundamentals (balance, EQ, dynamics, effects, export)
→ Final: first complete original track.
175 — Imitation: deepen studio, study performance. The imitation framework (Listen → Analyze → Recreate → Reflect) is applied to both strands. Early sprints deepen studio craft (recreate a pro’s sound, mix, or arrangement); later sprints study performance craft (live setups, real-time control, looping, improvisation) as exposure, not a graded capstone. Two semester-long habits formalize the practice strand and become the Evidence Portfolio.
Spiral curriculum. Each domain is hit twice: fundamentals in fall, imitation and advanced work in spring — intro synthesis → recreate a pro patch; gain staging and EQ → deconstruct a pro mix; sampling basics → sample flip. Fall’s finished sprint pieces become the baseline evidence for the spring portfolio.
DAW policy — agnostic, concepts first. Universal concepts (signal flow, MIDI, synthesis, mixing) are taught portably and demonstrated across two or three DAWs (Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Reaper); performance is taught as portable concepts (clip-based vs. linear, controller mapping, looping, improvisation).
MUSC 174 — Sprint Content & Lecture Sequence
| Phase | Type | Domain focus | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opening (Wk 1–2) | — | 1. Instrument & signal flow | Session set up, first sound out |
| 1 (Wk 3–4) | Collab | 2. MIDI & sequencing | Group groove/loop — parts divided across the group |
| 2 (Wk 6–7) | Solo | 3. Recording & audio | Solo sketch incorporating your own recorded audio |
| 3 (Wk 9–10) | Collab | 4. Sound creation (synthesis + sampling) | Group piece built only from the team’s own designed sounds |
| 4 (Wk 12–13) | Solo | 5. Arrangement & structure | Solo arranged short track (full short form) |
| Final (Wk 14–15) | — | 6. Mixing & finishing | Mix and finish your strongest piece → first complete track |
| Wk | Monday lecture |
|---|---|
| 1 | (Opening jam — no lecture; Labor Day Monday) |
| 2 | The laptop as instrument: signal flow & session basics |
| 3 | MIDI & sequencing I: piano roll, drums, note entry |
| 4 | MIDI & sequencing II: quantization, velocity, groove, instruments |
| 5 | (In-class Feedback #1) |
| 6 | Recording: interfaces, mic/DI, gain, monitoring |
| 7 | Audio editing: comping, warp/flex, fades |
| 8 | (In-class Feedback #2) |
| 9 | Synthesis fundamentals: oscillators, filters, envelopes, LFOs |
| 10 | Sampling basics: chopping, resampling, samplers |
| 11 | (In-class Feedback #3) |
| 12 | Arrangement I: sections, energy, transitions |
| 13 | Arrangement II: building a full short form |
| 14 | (In-class Feedback #4) |
| 15 | Mixing & finishing: balance, EQ, dynamics, “when is it done?” |
The dated calendar (Labor Day and Thanksgiving handled) is on the Course Hub and in the syllabus. The curriculum modules that carry each domain are listed on the course page.
Judgment calls (easy to flip):
- Mixing is intentionally light in 174 — basics plus finishing on the final track, plus the levels set in every sprint. Deep mixing is 175’s “deconstruct a pro mix” sprint.
- Sound creation = collab, arrangement = solo (could swap).
- Synthesis + sampling share one sprint (one lecture each) at a basics level.
Sprint Deliverable Specs & Grading
Grading model — specification grading via StemShare
Sprint deliverables use specification grading: every checklist item must be met for full credit, with one revise-and-resubmit window (~1 week) if not. Sprint final threads are pass/fail; students see a live checklist and a provisional numeric grade on each post, and the instructor finalizes. An optional ✦ Exceeds mark at finalize is recognition only — it never changes the numeric grade. In collab sprints, artifact checks resolve against the team’s shared post; individual checks (peer comments, on-time, articles read) stay per member. Sprints map to the Assignments (40%) bucket in Canvas.
Shared deliverable template (every sprint)
- ☐ Audio posted (stems or mix)
- ☐ Work → Notes — process + reflection
- ☐ Tools used — DAW credited
- ☐ Contributors — collab sprints: who did what
- ☐ WIP posted by the sprint midpoint
- ☐ Structured comments (four-step framework) on ≥2 peers
Each sprint adds the artifact spec below — the skill in focus.
174 sprint specs
Sprint 1 · Collab · MIDI & sequencing — “Collaborative Groove.” Build an 8–16 bar looping groove with drums, bass, and a harmonic/melodic part; divide the parts, assemble one section.
- ☐ 8–16 bar groove that loops cleanly
- ☐ Drums + bass + harmonic/melodic part, all via MIDI instruments
- ☐ Intentional quantization/velocity choices shown
- ☐ Each member contributed ≥1 part (note who did what)
- ✦ Exceeds: dynamic/groove variation, fills, or a B-section
Sprint 2 · Solo · Recording & audio — “Recorded Sketch.” A short solo sketch built around your own recorded audio.
- ☐ Sketch ≥30 sec incorporating your own recorded audio (instrument, voice, or found sound)
- ☐ ≥1 cleanly recorded/comped audio track (good levels, no clipping)
- ☐ Recorded audio combined with MIDI/other elements
- ☐ Basic edits applied (trim, fades, timing)
- ✦ Exceeds: comped takes, creative re-amping/processing
Sprint 3 · Collab · Sound creation — “Built-From-Scratch Piece.” A short group piece using only sounds the team designed.
- ☐ Short piece using only team-designed sounds (no factory presets used as-is)
- ☐ ≥1 original synth patch and ≥1 sampled/processed sound, documented
- ☐ Parts divided (note who designed what)
- ✦ Exceeds: a cohesive shared sound palette with a clear sonic identity
Sprint 4 · Solo · Arrangement & structure — “Arranged Short Track.” Arrange a solo short track with a clear full form.
- ☐ ≥3 distinct sections in a clear short form (e.g., intro → main → contrast → outro)
- ☐ Intentional transitions between sections
- ☐ Energy/arrangement choices (elements added/removed across sections)
- ✦ Exceeds: smooth transitions, automation, a memorable structural moment
Final — “First Complete Track.” Pick your strongest sprint piece, mix it, and finish it. Graded as the Final Project (20%). See the Final Project Guide.
Decisions Locked
- Habits live in 175 only; 174 has no formal habit system.
- Most feedback is asynchronous; a few in-class feedback days are kept at sprint seams.
- 174 leads collab-first; 175 leads solo-first.
- No in-class final presentations; finals are submitted, the closing jam is the in-person bookend.
- A front-loaded two-week community/onboarding opening in 174.
- Laptop = primary instrument; dual outcome of studio + performance competence.
- Studio-first, performance-later: 174 is pure studio; performance is introduced and studied in 175, and is studied rather than performed for a grade.
- DAW-agnostic, concepts-first teaching across both semesters.
- Sprint deliverables use specification grading — pass/fail checklist on sprint finals, optional ✦ Exceeds, one revise-and-resubmit window.
- StemShare is the primary course platform; Canvas holds the syllabus and gradebook.
Reflection & Revisions in Progress
- Week 2 onboarding was over-built. The Course & Setup module went live in StemShare on September 12 and was trimmed the same night: the reading list was far too much for a first week. The required path is now a checklist → the first two sections of How This Class Works → a short Your Toolkit → a five-question review. Giving & Receiving Feedback and The Laptop as Instrument stay published as optional reading; the sprint/grading material moves to the first sprint; the deeper gear material became Your Toolkit — Going Deeper. The lesson generalizes to every module: assign the minimum that unlocks Wednesday, and let the library be there for the curious.
- 175 reconciliation. When 175 is reworked onto this skeleton, its existing Course Hub and Syllabus calendars (which disagree on Weeks 5–9) must be consolidated, and its imitation topics folded into the four sprint themes.
- Content is being written in phases as the semester runs: Foundations and Signal Flow before the first studio; MIDI before Sprint 1; Recording through Arrangement across the fall; Mixing and the first spring modules over the winter.