This CD-ROM contains an audio editor and sound materials aimed at senior post-primary music students for the purpose of composing a musique concrète piece. The aim is to reach a better understanding of 'electroacoustic music', a term that embraces electronic music as well as musique concrète. Although the students will be working only with recorded sounds, it has been found that the notion of synthesis is easily grasped once they have had experience of transforming existing sounds.

You may wish to explore the Resources section before you begin. It is aimed at the teacher rather than the student. There are short extracts from the repertoire, links to composers' websites and addresses for other audio editors. There is also an essay on electroacoustic music which places composers and their methods in context. Download Cool Edit Pro onto the hard drive of the students' computers to save time later.

It is recommended that the students work in pairs. Follow the plan as laid out on the CD:

1. Go through the origins of Musique Concrète and how it differs from electronic music.
2. Do not skimp on the time you spend exploring the audio editor as this will prevent problems with file management when the students are working on sound transformation later. They have difficulty with the practical process of saving their chosen files.
3. Next, explore sound. The CD deals with five main areas of sound transformation.
4. Remind the student that the performing space is important, even though there are no performers. In their compositions, sound can travel from speaker to speaker. Reverb and other effects can also add depth to their work.
5. When they have familiarised themselves with the available sound sources and their transforming possibilities, the students will learn how to organize them into a coherent work. The CD presents five important devices for structuring their ideas.
6. The section on structure gives fundamental guidlines for the students' future listening. These are the elements they will actively try to find in other composers' work.
7. Be careful that their compositions do not over-emphasise a sequential story-line. You may need to discuss the idea of programmatic and non-programmatic music with the students using the examples mentioned here.
8. For the task, ask each pair of students to compose a sixty second piece, with one person 'in charge of' and ultimately responsible for one piece. The other person offers feedback.
9. It is possible to compose a piece using only one or two sound sources. However they may use more, as you see fit.
10. The audio editor on this CD works with wav files only. There is a link to a website where a free converter may be downloaded, should the students wish to use any of the mp3 examples in their own piece.

This project is not all about composing. The main idea is that the students will become better and more able listeners as a result of having experienced the process of composing.

Symbols
	Short tasks undertaken to build up skills in manipulating and organizing sound
	Screen recording used for tutorial purposes and to focus attention on certain visual aspects of waveforms
	Indicates the user's present location
	Directions: the recommended 'next move'

Anna-Marie Higgins: amhiggins@ireland.com