4 minute read

Will be administered on: Friday, December 5, 2025, during our regular class.

Introduction

This is a comprehensive in‑class written exam. It assesses your understanding of our readings, in‑class discussions, listenings, guest visits, prior assignments, tutorial videos, slide decks, synthesis topics, and audio production concepts. Your own project work throughout the term has also prepared you.

You’re not going to be asked for empirical work that would require a calculator, but you might be asked to compare some of the types of music we’ve listened to, reflect on some the recording or synthesis ideas you encountered, etc. You may potentially be asked to identify something you hear: this could be a type of recorded sound or synthesizer, or you might be asked for your best guess as to what is “wrong” with a particular recording or use of a microphone. In these cases, a “precise” answer is not necessarily the goal but a guide; you might be asked for a broadly educated guess based on your the new kinds of listening habits you’ve formed this semester.

Format: Written exam on paper. Closed-book: No class notes, no electronic devices (…weird, I know, not to have use a computer).

Length: The exam period is 1-hour and begins at our regular class time. You’re welcome to leave once you’ve turned in your exam.

Question types: Multiple choice, matching, definitions, diagrams/labels, and short answers are all potential question types you may see.

What to Bring

  • pencils, erasers, or pens (blue/black ink preferred)
  • Your Bates ID

Readings, Listenings, & Materials

Be able to identify, contextualize, and discuss techniques, goals, and historical significance.

Go back to our Schedule page and be sure you’ve listened to the musical and electronic works at least once. Review readings or notes you may have taken. Expect questions that connect readings/listenings to electronic technique (e.g., envelopes, treatment choices, montage) and to context (historical, aesthetic, technical constraints).

Tutorials & Videos You Should Know

Know the key takeaways (not every button!). Know what the tool does, when you’d use it, and the vocabulary it introduces.

How to Prepare (Practical Tips)

  • Flashcards: be able to define each in a sentence.
  • Re-read the coures slides.
  • Label‑practice: print or sketch a mic diagram (patterns) or a DAW signal flow and label parts.
  • Study with a partner: quiz each other on definitions. Discuss your responses to the listening examples.

Sample Questions

  • Multiple Choice: Choose the best description of reduced listening.
  • Diagram: Draw a crossfade between two audio clips.
  • Short Answer (2–4 sentences): What is aliasing and how do you avoid it?
  • Listening ID: Does this sound like sampling or modular synthesis? Why?
  • Technique Rationale: Why use an X/Y microphone pair instead of a single microphone?

Policies & Make‑ups

  • If you require a testing accommodation, official documentation must be commuicated well in advance to the instructor in order to arrange an equitable setup.
  • Make‑ups are generally not possible and are considered only in rare circumstances with prompt communication and well-documented reasons per course policies.

List of Topics, Terms

The list below serves as the start of a study guide.

Note: This list may be adjusted up until the final week of class.

  • frequency
  • pitch
  • amplitude
  • period
  • harmonics
  • fundamental
  • overtones
  • sine wave
  • triangle wave
  • sawtooth wave
  • square wave
  • oscillation
  • mass–spring model
  • simple harmonic motion
  • psychoacoustics
  • dynamic microphone
  • condenser microphone
  • diaphragm
  • polar pattern
  • cardioid
  • omni
  • figure-8
  • XLR cable
  • balanced audio
  • unbalanced audio
  • cable coiling
  • audio interface
  • gain staging
  • clipping distortion
  • proximity effect
  • plosives
  • sibilance
  • DAW session workflow
  • file management
  • split
  • cut
  • glue
  • fade
  • crossfade
  • regions
  • markers
  • routing
  • tracks
  • buses
  • sends/returns
  • EQ
  • dynamics processing
  • time-based effects
  • musique concrète
  • synthesized sound
  • acousmatic listening
  • sound object
  • reduced listening
  • diffusion
  • treatments
  • MIDI
  • MIDI events
  • MIDI messages
  • MIDI pitch
  • MIDI velocity
  • Note-On
  • Note-Off
  • Control Change
  • Program Change
  • Pitch Bend
  • SysEx
  • status byte
  • data byte
  • .mid file
  • General MIDI
  • 5-pin DIN
  • MIDI IN
  • MIDI OUT
  • MIDI THRU
  • daisy chain
  • star configuration
  • MIDI interface
  • MIDI peripherals
  • sampling
  • recording samples
  • editing samples
  • indexing samples
  • naming conventions
  • key mapping
  • sampling
  • ReaSamplomatic 5000
  • single-sample playback
  • multisample
  • polyphony
  • sample rate
  • bit depth
  • Nyquist frequency
  • aliasing
  • headroom
  • metering
  • field recording
  • microphone placement
  • micromontage
  • selection
  • juxtaposition
  • continuity vs contrast
  • composite timbre
  • timbral change
  • filtering
  • envelopes
  • modulation
  • spectrogram analysis
  • fixed-media spatialization
  • interactive spatialization
  • multichannel monitoring
  • SpatGRIS
  • routing for spatialization
  • frequency-range roles
  • gain staging
  • buses
  • stems
  • reference tracks
  • critical listening
  • technical rider
  • signal flow matrix