Barry Truax: Special Topics course in Soundscape Composition

Barry Truax invites individuals who have access to an 8-channel sound system, along with teaching studios with the same format, to participate in his upcoming Special Topics course in Soundscape Composition this coming term, from January to April 2025.

The course will start Wednesday Jan. 8 and go through to April 2, with a weekly two and a half hour Zoom meeting starting at 10:30 Pacific time.. There will be a two week break in February (Feb. 12 and 19), so 11 meetings in total in which Truax will survey the theory, history and emerging practice of soundscape composition. There is no course fee.

The octophonic component can be regarded as essential to understanding the potential of studio-based soundscape composition, and although the webinars will feature many stereo examples, the intention is to play one or two 8-channel pieces each week.

Truax will also prepare a package of supplementary readings related to soundscape composition that can also be easily downloaded in advance. In addition, the full resources of the WSP Database will be made available.

In the case of participating studios, Truax will leave it entirely up to them as to who can take part in their studio, that is, whether they are treated as auditors or credit students and under what requirements. For individuals who have their own 8-channel access, they can join the Zoom meetings individually, and receive their own copies of the readings and soundfiles.Those individuals who do not have multi-channel access are probably best advised to wait for the next online Tutorial course starting in May that will depend only on stereo sound examples. However, those wanting to audit this course just in stereo will be welcomed. Those wanting academic credit for the course need to arrange this with your home institution.

Barry Truax, Professor Emeritus, SFU