2024 - Fall

Introduction to Digital Audio Workstations

Course Number: JOUR-GA 1300.001

Day & Time: Fri | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Location: 20 Cooper Square, Room 750

This course offers a nuts-and-bolts technical foundation for audio production skills, rooted in the industry standards for audio journalism. Students across a broad range of technical capabilities and experiences will learn and improves their skills in the class, regardless of whether one enters the classroom with little or no audio production or is someone who is actively in production and may have several years of experience. Instruction will include introductions to Descript and Protools, including loading and bussing audio, the basics of equalization and compression, organizing large sessions, and recording techniques both in the studio and in the field. The class also includes overviews of programs including Reaper and Garage Band to acquire a basic understanding of the most-used tools in the larger audio journalism industry. Beyond the purely technical, in this class, students will study production team and workflow design.Throughout the class, students will work on hands-on, in-class exercises, engineer each other’s sessions, and participate in seminars with leading industry radio and podcast engineers.