Learning Basic Music Using the Computer

Course Description

Learning Basic Music Using the Computer is an introductory course teaching students to apply basic music software applications on computers. Students develop foundational knowledge of MIDI configuration and tools including music notation software and digital sequencing programs.

Within the SCNS taxonomy, MUS is the Music prefix. Daytona State publishes this as MUS2360 at 3 credits, offered fall. ⚠ The single term of offering is worth planning around.

⚠⚠ The queued number carries a C suffix that Daytona State does not

• The statewide inventory carries this as MUS2360C; Daytona State publishes MUS2360, without the suffix.
• ⚠⚠ The title differs as well. The statewide inventory carries this number as "Introduction to Technology in Music"; Daytona State titles it "Learning Basic Music Using the Computer". Read the description rather than either title when judging equivalency — the local title is the more specific of the two.
• ⚠ Under Rule 22 the C suffix is part of the course number, and equivalency does not cross it. MUS2360C and MUS2360 are distinct SCNS numbers.
• Two contact-hour figures therefore apply. Daytona State's unsuffixed course at 3 credits runs approximately 45 hours at its lecture convention; the C form is priced here at the combined convention of 20 contact hours per credit, giving 60. The offering institution's own catalog is authoritative.
• Confirm the credit value and structure with the institution you are enrolling at or transferring to.

The genuinely useful thing about learning music through software is that it removes the barrier that stops most adults ever learning music at all. Traditional instruction requires playing an instrument competently before you can hear what you wrote; a sequencer lets you enter an idea, hear it immediately, and change it — which turns music theory from something abstract into something you can experiment with. It is not a substitute for learning to play, and it is a legitimate and effective route into understanding how music works.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

• Describe MIDI and what it does and does not transmit.
• Configure MIDI hardware and software connections.
• Distinguish MIDI data from audio and describe the implications.
• Use a MIDI controller to enter musical material.
• Describe the components of a digital audio workstation.
• Record, edit, and quantise MIDI data.
• Describe quantisation and when not to use it.
• Use virtual instruments and manage sound selection.
• Arrange material across multiple tracks.
• Apply basic mixing, level, and panning decisions.
• Describe basic music notation and read a staff.
• Enter and edit music in notation software.
• Produce a readable and correctly formatted score.
• Produce parts from a score.
• Describe pitch, rhythm, metre, and key at an introductory level.
• Describe intervals, scales, and basic chord construction.
• Apply introductory theory to composing or arranging a short piece.
• Describe form and structure in a short work.
• Transpose and adapt material for different instruments.
• Describe instrument ranges and practical writing considerations.
• Export audio and notation in appropriate formats.
• Manage and back up project files.
• Describe copyright as it applies to composition and recording.
• Apply hearing conservation practice from the outset.

Optional Outcomes

• Describe audio recording alongside MIDI.
• Describe synthesis and sound design at an introductory level.
• Describe scoring to picture.
• Describe notation for specific ensembles.
• Describe music distribution and publishing.
• Describe accessibility of music technology.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• MIDI and what it transmits
• MIDI configuration
• MIDI versus audio
• Controller input
• The digital audio workstation
• Recording, editing, quantising
• Quantisation and its limits
• Virtual instruments
• Multi-track arranging
• Basic mixing
• Music notation and the staff
• Notation software entry and editing
• Score formatting
• Extracting parts
• Pitch, rhythm, metre, key
• Intervals, scales, chords
• Applied composition and arranging
• Form and structure
• Transposition
• Instrument ranges and practical writing
• Export formats
• File management and backup
• Copyright in composition and recording
• Hearing conservation

Optional Topics

• Audio recording alongside MIDI
• Synthesis and sound design
• Scoring to picture
• Notation for ensembles
• Distribution and publishing
• Accessibility of music technology

Resources & Tools

• A digital audio workstation you own and use daily — several are free or have free tiers, and the professional ones offer heavily discounted educational licences. Fluency comes from hours.
• MuseScore — free and capable notation software; genuinely sufficient for most of what this course requires.
• A basic MIDI keyboard controller — inexpensive, and it changes how quickly musical ideas can be captured.
• U.S. Copyright Office (copyright.gov) — free; its circulars on music copyright are short and readable.
• Custom musician's earplugs — from an audiologist; see the hearing note below.
• Finish and share short pieces — a completed thirty-second cue teaches more than an unfinished symphony, and it builds a portfolio.

Career Pathways

• Music directors and composers — SOC 27-2041.
• Sound engineering technicians — SOC 27-4014; see this repository's MUM guides.
• Audio and video technicians — SOC 27-4011; the largest and steadiest employment category in audio.
• Music teaching — K-12 with certification, or private studio instruction.
• Media composition — film, television, games, and advertising; notation and sequencing skill are both required.
• Music engraving and preparation — a genuine freelance niche for people who can produce clean scores.
• Theme park, cruise line, and live event audio — substantial Florida employers.
• Worship and community music technology roles — widespread and frequently the first paid work.
• Transfer to a bachelor's programme in music or music technology — ⚠ note that music degrees usually require an audition and theory placement, so plan for both.

Special Information

⚠⚠ Copyright in music is two rights — and this is where people get into trouble

• A recorded song contains two distinct copyrights: the composition (melody and lyrics) and the sound recording. They can be owned by different people, and using a recording generally requires clearing both.
• ⚠⚠ Sampling requires permission from both rights holders. There is no minimum duration that is automatically safe, "it is only two seconds" is not a defence, and altering it beyond recognition does not resolve it.
• ⚠ Credit is not a licence. Naming the source or saying "no copyright infringement intended" changes nothing — this is the single most common misunderstanding among students.
• Loops and sample libraries come with licences, and those licences have terms — read them before using content commercially.
• Agree splits in writing before the session, not after the piece works. Almost every serious dispute between collaborators is about ownership everyone assumed was obvious.
• Register your own work and keep dated records of creation, along with project files and exports.
• Performing others' music publicly requires a licence, normally held by the venue through a performing rights organisation — confirm rather than assume for events you organise yourself.
• ⚠ Rule 11 applies. Music licensing, streaming royalties, and the treatment of AI-generated material are all actively changing — verify before relying on anything commercially.

⚠⚠ Protect your hearing from the first session — the damage is permanent

• Noise-induced hearing loss does not heal, and in any audio or music career it is a slow, self-inflicted, entirely preventable end to your employability.
• ⚠ It accumulates and you will not notice it happening, because the loss begins in frequency ranges you do not use conversationally.
• ⚠⚠ Headphones are the specific risk here. Working in a computer music course means hours in headphones, where the source is against the eardrum and there is no room to tell you it is loud. Set a comfortable level and resist creeping it up as your ears fatigue.
• Take a break every hour. Ear fatigue degrades judgement long before it damages hearing — and most bad mix decisions are made in hour five.
• Mix at moderate levels. Loud monitoring is not more accurate, it is more flattering, and it produces work that falls apart quietly.
• ⚠ Get custom musician's earplugs for live events. Unlike foam plugs they attenuate evenly, so you can still hear accurately.
• Ringing or muffled hearing after a session is a warning, not a badge — repeated temporary shifts become permanent ones.
• Get a baseline hearing test now, while you are young; it is the only way to detect change early enough to act on it.

How Florida course levels affect transfer

The first digit of an SCNS number denotes the year of offering, not transferability. Courses at the 1000 and 2000 levels transfer transparently between Florida public institutions, and 3000 to 4000 is unproblematic since both are upper division. The boundary that actually matters is 2000 to 3000, where lower-division credit generally cannot satisfy an upper-division requirement.

MUS2360C is published by Daytona State as MUS2360 at 3 credits, offered fall only.

⚠ Both the suffix and the title differ from the statewide entry — see the note above. See also this repository's MUM1634 guide for the deeper digital audio workstation course.