Online Undergraduate Degree Course

Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Capstone

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Course Code: OMPRD-495

Complete a professional capstone project that reflects your creative goals in electronic music and sound design. This culminating course in the program guides you through planning, producing, and refining a cohesive body of work, helping you showcase your skills with a polished, career-ready final project.

Level 4
Advanced
Modality
Online
Duration
12 Weeks
3-Credit Tuition
$1,575
Semester Starts
Apr 6
Accreditation
NECHE

Key Learning Outcomes

  • Design and execute a cohesive electronic music or sound design capstone project with clearly defined goals, scope, and creative direction
  • Develop a distinctive sonic identity by applying advanced recording, sequencing, processing, and sound design techniques
  • Manage the full production lifecycle of a professional project, from planning and asset organization through mixing, mastering, and delivery
  • Evaluate progress, adapt workflows, and apply feedback strategically to refine creative outcomes and solve production challenges
Overview Syllabus Requirements Instructors

Interested in this course?

This course can be taken as part of Bachelor of Arts in Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Degree Program
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Course Description

As the culminating experience of the Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Major, this course will guide you through the process of defining and executing a professional level project of your choosing. All of the core and elective courses in the major have focused on specific skills and competencies and many of the assignments have asked you to put these into practice. In this course, you will take stock of your creative and professional goals and create a body of work that will best showcase your abilities.

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The Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Major is purposely broad, giving you a wide range of overlapping skills that can be used in many fields. If your goal is to create electronic music, you’ll produce a collection of signature work. If you are interested in applying your skill to sound design for any type of visual or interactive media, the work you produce in this course will show your strengths in those areas.

In the course, you will learn how to establish goals to propose, plan, and execute a project. Central to the philosophy of the course is design. Everything you do will have a purpose that supports the goal of the project. By completing the course, you will learn about how you as an individual work best, and how you can successfully direct your efforts to a professional outcome.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify personal strengths and limitations across creative, technical, and production roles when working on a complex project
  • Determine appropriate recording strategies and signal flows based on the technical and artistic requirements of a project
  • Select and apply sound processing approaches that align with the aesthetic and functional goals of a production
  • Document creative decisions, workflow evolution, and technical development through an ongoing project journal
  • Identify the elements you should include in your demo, depending on the nature of your project
Read Less

Syllabus

Lesson 1: Project Proposal

  • Project Guidelines and Proposal
  • The Role of Creativity
  • Composition, Design, and Production
  • Personal Development

Lesson 2: The Design Process

  • Designing for Music or Visuals
  • Sound Categories
  • Project Management
  • Using Reference Models

Lesson 3: Developing Project Assets

  • Production Templates
  • Electronic Instruments and Audio Recordings
  • Production Library
  • Choosing Recording Strategies

Lesson 4: Sound Processing

  • Processing Strategies: Creative or Forensic?
  • Pre and Postproduction Processing
  • File-Based and Mixed Effects
  • Secret Weapons

Lesson 5: Developing a Demo

  • Proof of Concept
  • Creating a Project Template
  • Iteration
  • Documenting Your Work

Lesson 6: Producing a Demo

  • What Should You Include in a Demo?
  • Sequencing
  • Recording
  • Sound for Picture Production
  • Presentation Formats

Lesson 7: Midterm Assessment

  • Giving a Critique
  • Accepting Criticism
  • Responding to Criticism
  • Adapting the Production Schedule

Lesson 8: Revisions

  • Revising a Sound Design for Visual Media Project
  • Revising a Musical Arrangement
  • Problem Solving
  • Addressing Mix Issues

Lesson 9: Special Effects

  • Extra-Musical and Special Effects in Music Production
  • Audio Special Effects and Visual Impact
  • Automation in the Design Process
  • Rendering Effects

Lesson 10: Final Production

  • Making Decisions
  • Turning a Sketch into a Finished Production
  • Creating Variations
  • Knowing When to Stop

Lesson 11: Project Mixing

  • Using Mix References
  • Mix Strategies
  • Mixing Vocals or Dialogue
  • Alternate Mixes

Lesson 12: Mastering and Final Project Presentation

  • Final Delivery Formats
  • Mastering Music
  • Mastering Sound for Visuals
  • Establishing a Professional Profile

Requirements

Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements 

Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
As the capstone course for the Electronic Music Production and Sound Design degree, students must have completed no less than 60 credits of concentrate and specified elective courses. Must have completed all 15 credits of core music requirements. This includes successful completion of the following courses from the program:

Textbook(s)

Software

Hardware

  • One of the following studio monitoring options (both recommended):
  • Any additional hardware required to complete your project, such as audio interface, microphones, portable field recorder, amplifiers, instruments, effects, etc.
    • Note: Options for your project will be outlined in the course.

Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.

General Course Requirements

Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course. 

Mac Users

  • macOS Monterey 12.0 or later

PC Users

All Users

  • Latest version of Google Chrome
  • Zoom meeting software
  • Webcam
  • Speakers or headphones
  • External or internal microphone
  • Broadband Internet connection

Instructors

Brian Cass
Brian Cass

Instructor

Brian Cass is an electronic music producer, performer, and educator. Brian's past employers include API Audio, Native Instruments, Ableton, Puremagnetik, Pat Metheny, Jordan Rudess, and Nielsen/Billboard. Post-production clients include MBTA Boston, Museum of Natural History NYC, Toys R Us, Hilton Worldwide, and Comedy Central. He has been teaching private lessons and authoring online tutorials since 2002. Brian has been a Berklee College of Music faculty member since 2012. 

Questions?

Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.

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Available to Bachelor of Arts in Electronic Music Production and Sound Design Degree Majors Only

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