Master Art of Sound

The technological developments are helping to drive a growing demand for creative professional specialists who can design content for these media. Technology is not only expanding the playing field for sound specialists, the possibilities it creates also call for new artistic insights. This means that the specialists we train must not only posses technical expertise, but above all top-class creative skills.

The Master Art of Sound is a tailor-made progamme based on three closely linked pillars: artistic development, research and professional integration. Each pillar arises from the same question: what position will I occupy in the professional field? Whereas the Bachelor’s programme in Art of Sound focuses on developing the skills required to make a start in professional practice, the Master’s programme is designed to further the student’s creative development and professional integration.

Master Project

The Master of Music programme provides a unique opportunity for you to develop a personal project geared to your future ambitions. This Master Project encompasses all three domains of our Master’s curriculum referred to earlier: artistic development, research and professional integration. In addition, during the course you will receive individual and group lessons in your main subject to aid you in your artistic development, conduct research on a topic of your own choice, and design and initiate your own activity in relation to professional integration. All of these elements and activities come together in the Master Project. To help in making the Master Project a success, you will receive guidance and support from the teacher of your main subject, your research supervisor and a professional integration coach. You will also join a peer group, in which you will able to discuss the project you’re working on. Designing your own Master Project gives you an opportunity to consider your future career and to experiment with establishing a professional practice of your own during your studies. While you are working on the Master Project, it is important to reflect on how it will help you to find your place in the professional practice once you have completed your studies. Finally, we encourage collaboration and you can therefore do a Master Project together with other students.

For more information, see the Master Project Plan Guidelines at the bottom of this page.

Semester projects

During the Master’s programme, projects involving all of the Master’s students are organised each semester. Every project is devoted to the latest developments in the audio industry. In the projects, you will use the new technologies to produce a creative end product. The semester projects are supervised by external professional specialists who are international experts in the relevant topics.

Experts who supervised recent semester projects have included:

• Lasse Nipkow (Silent Work, Zurich) - 3D recording in real acoustics
• David Merkl (MSM Studios, Munich) - Mixing immersive audio
• Thomas Aichinger (Scope Audio, Vienna) - Interactive audio and spatial audio design
• Tom Ammermann (New Audio Media, Hamburg) - Spatial audio and 3D mixing
• Thomas Görne (Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Hamburg) – Sound design for film

Profile

You have a Bachelor of Music degree with a Tonmeister / Music Recording specialisation, or the equivalent. You have a clear idea of the position that you wish to fill in the professional practice, but are looking to expand and deepen the knowledge you require to achieve your goal. You have a specific research question that follows directly from the ideas you have about your position in the professional practice. You are good at conducting research independently, but you need an expert to challenge and inspire you. You have a clear vision of what your graduation project should be and how it relates to your research question and your future position in the professional practice. You show initiative, possess organisational skills and are willing to work hard at irregular times.

Educational philosophy

The educational philosophy of the Master of Music at the Royal Conservatoire enables you to develop your individual artistic vision, personal growth, inquisitive attitude, entrepreneurship and independence, while broadening your cultural horizons, as well as developing your instrumental and technical skills to a high standard. We want our alumni to be excellent performers and composers, but also professionals who can reflect on their role in society, are willing to collaborate with others and are capable of navigating the complex realities of the music profession, now and in the future.

Overview of the Theory Teachers from Art of Sound