Final Multichannel Fixed Piece

5 minute read

Deadline

Due on November 21, 2025

Note: There are no late extensions offered here. You are given the maximum amount of available time to finish your piece before our December 2, 2025 concert, respecting university policies that prevent major deadlines during the week after Thanksgiving. Late submissions will result in a fail.

Introduction

The final project is a complete fixed-media composition (recommended: 6–8 minutes in duration) designed for 4-channel surround sound. It will be “performed” on a 4-channel system during our December 2, 2025 concert at 7:30 PM, and you may be asked to provide a program note describing your piece for this concert. As a reminder: your attendance at this concert is required.

You may choose to:

Expand upon your midterm sketch, which then serves as a miniature version of your final piece, or any original musical material from your previous assignments in this class, or
Create an entirely new piece drawing on the skills and materials you’ve accumulated this semester.

This project can represent the culmination of your work in field recording, mixing, micromontage, timbral design, synthesis, automation, spatialization, and compositional development.

Learning Objectives

By completing this assignment, students will be able to:

Organize and manage a large multitrack session for fixed media composition.
Apply advanced automation for shaping timbre, dynamics, and spatial movement.
Demonstrate effective use of SpatGRIS/ControlGRIS for 4-channel spatialization.
Integrate at least 4 diverse sound sources into a cohesive musical structure.
Evaluate tonal balance, clarity, and spatial imaging in a multichannel mix.
Produce a professional fixed-media work exported at 48 kHz / 24-bit, including a stereo binaural mixdown.

Assignment Criteria

Your final submission should meet the following requirements:

Length: Approximately 6–8 minutes in duration (slightly shorter is acceptable; not much longer).
Session Format: Prepare your project in Reaper or Ableton Live. Project folder must include all files (including exported audio) that your session relies on to run smoothly on any computer. Note: We will be running the concert using your expored audio files (stems), but you will still submit the full Reaper or Ableton Live session for grading and evaluation.
Originality: Must be your own creative work.
Sound Sources: Include at least 4 different recorded and/or synthesized sources.
Tracks: Use multiple tracks of source audio (recommended: 8 or more). You can conceive of this as a counterpoint of layers, for example.
Automation: Apply automation to track parameters and plugin devices.
Spatialization: Make extensive use of SpatGRIS and ControlGRIS for spatial movement within the 4-channel space.
Mixing: Achieve tonal balance using EQ and possibly compression, with attention to how spatialization affects the spectral blend.
Plugins: Incorporate plugin devices as appropriate.
Export: Deliver audio files at 48 kHz / 24-bit. Include both the multichannel version and a stereo binaural mixdown.

Submission Instructions

Submit your complete project folder (including all sound files).
Submit your exported 4-channel audio file and a stereo binaural mixdown.
Send via Etna, or by email via WeTransfer or a preferred cloud storage link.

Evaluation Criteria (Rubric)

Details in the boxes below may be filled in while grading and later provided as feedback at the end of the semester. Each of the grading components below will be weighed against the others for a total project grade. Scroll to the right to see the entire rubric.

Criteria	5 (exceptional)	4	3 (average)	2	1 (poor)
Organization of Project Folder & File Structure	Project folder is complete, clearly organized, all files included; easy to transfer and open on another system.	Mostly complete; minor issues with file organization or missing data.	Usable but requires troubleshooting; some files missing or confusingly labeled.	Project difficult to open or reproduce; disorganized structure.	Incomplete submission; missing essential files or exports.
Sound Sources & Materials	Creative and effective integration of at least 4 diverse sound sources (field recordings, synthesis, samples). Sources are transformed and integral to the piece.	Meets minimum source requirement with generally effective integration.	Limited variety of sources; not all of them feel woven into the piece.	Insufficient number of sources or no relation beteen them.	Fails to meet requirement; sources are missing or unoriginal.
Spatialization (SpatGRIS/ControlGRIS)	Highly effective, expressive use of sound choreography; movements feel intentional, complimenting the form of their corresponding sounds.	Spatialization is present and generally effective; occasional inconsistencies.	Use of spatialization is apparent; lacks clarity or purpose.	Minimal or ineffective use of spatialization tools.	No evidence of spatialization, or movement is incomprehensible.
Automation & Mixing	Skillful, nuanced automation of parameters; warm tonal balance and clarity are strong across multimix.	Automation used effectively with some variation; mix is generally clear.	Basic automation; mix is uneven but functional, some clipping.	Limited automation; tonal balance and clarity issues dominate.	No meaningful use of automation; mix is muddy or unbalanced.
Quality of Sound Design & Processing	Sounds are rich and carefully processed; synthesis/recordings preserve nuanced detail; processing enhances this work.	Generally strong sounds and processing; minor issues in detail or polish.	Questionable quality; underdeveloped sounds or poor processing.	Weak sound design; processing choices often obscure or degrade original material.	Poor quality; sounds are unrefined, distorted, improperly recorded or synthesized, or unprocessed.
Structure & Creativity	Piece demonstrates compelling, cohesive musical structure; highly original and inventive artistic statement.	Clear structure with creative elements; some moments are less coherent.	Apparent structure; uneven, lacking balance or consistency, possibly abandoned.	Weak or unclear structure; little sense of artistic direction.	Lacks structure, no trajectory or direction.
Scope of Project	Draws on broad palette of developed and transformed sounds. Ambitious, engages with multiple techniques from the semester.	Complete and coherent. Several sound sources are developed but not explored in much depth.	Minimum number of sources with limited variation or transformation. Structure is predictable.	Feels unfinished. Relies heavily on 1-2 underdeveloped sources. Limited or no attempt to apply spatialization or structural ideas from the course.	Incomplete, insubstantial, or fragmentary work showing little to no development, breadth, or ambition.