Creative music technology and electronics in the unique environment of sonic space basel and Elektronisches Studio Basel. National and international collaborations in the context of more than 50 public performances each year guarantee innovation, artistic excellence and a high level of networking opportunities based on a modular, diverse and collaborative working structure.
Factsheet
- Degree
- Master of Arts FHNW in Komposition/Musiktheorie, Studienrichtung Audiodesign
- Study mode
- Full-time
- Learning environment
- Onsite
- ECTS points
- 120
- Duration
- 4 semesters
- Language
- Teaching language German, B1 level required
- Staying abroad
- Possible
- Application fee
- 200 CHF
- Semester fee
- 750 CHF (CH) | 1000 CHF (EU/EFTA) | 1250 CHF (Not-EU/Not-EFTA)
At a glance
- Students can choose from three focus areas
- Composition and interpretation of electroacoustic music
- Recording/production
- Audio design and software development
Why study this?
Future fields of work are wide-ranging and include the independent arts scene, theatre (drama, dance theatre, physical theatre), radio, TV and new media (layout/advertising), hard- and software development, teaching and further education.
The FHNW Master of Arts in Composition/Music Theory with an Audio Design Major is aimed at holders of a Bachelor degree in sound design, electronic music, composition or equivalent qualification.
What is the content of the Master in Audiodesign? What does studying at ESB mean?
Studying Audio Design at Electronic Studio Basel: Jaka Arh (Alumnus)
Structure and programme contents
The FHNW Master of Arts in Composition/Music Theory with an Audio Design Major offers students the possibility to specialise in one of three fields:
- electro-acoustic composition/ live performance / sound and media installation / performance of electroacoustic music
- recording/production
- audio design & software development
Specials
- Eduard Brunner Composition Aware:
Every year, one of our students is awarded a composition prize worth CHF 5,000 as part of an internal sonic space basel competition. - Annual artistic collaboration with a college/university outside Switzerland
Modules and Regulations
The BA and MA degree programmes at the Basel Academy of Music are based on modules.
The legally binding structure provides an initial guide to the content and weighting of the subjects on the degree programme.
The detailed content and modalities of the individual subjects can be found in the module descriptions.
The study regulations come into force together with the study and examination regulations of the Basel Academy of Music FHNW and form the legal framework.
Structure
Module descriptions
Below please find the link with all the information on the module descriptions of several FHNW universities.
- Switch the language settings to English.
- Filter by semester, Hochschule für Musik Basel FHNW, the desired degree programme or other criteria to display the relevant module information.
- Use the PDF button to call up a document from each overview and save it for yourself.
- Course registrations are made via the intranet.
Study Regulations
Lecturers
Volker Böhm
Svetlana Maraš
Audiodesign
Institut Klassik
Requirements, admission, entrance exam
In order to enter the FHNW Master of Arts in Composition/Music Theory programme with an Audio Design Major, applicants must be awarded a Bachelor in Audio Design or equivalent as well as they must have passed the entrance exam and were offered a free place at the Academy (limited places). Applicants who have submitted all the necessary registration documents in time will be invited to the online entrance exam by mail and online meeting.
For further information on the admission criteria, please see the Study regulation of the Master of Arts FHNW in Composition/Music Theory.
We expect students to have very good German language skills at the beginning of the studies. Students who are not German native speakers must present a B1 German language certificate according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) at the beginning of the studies.
This certificate must be complete, i.e. all modules (reading, listening, writing, speaking) have been tested separately and passed at least at level B1 overall. Only certificates that have been certified with the ALTE-Q-Mark seal of approval (e.g. the B1 certificate of the Goethe-Institut or the telc certificate) are accepted. The required certificate B1 must be submitted with the confirmation of admission but not later than 31 Mai.
Exceptions will be decided upon by the head of degree programme.
Entrance exam
The entrance exam is individual for each study programme direction.
Dates
Registration
You may apply between 15th December and 1st March.
Along with the registration, it is mandatory to submit the following documents:
- A curriculum vitae, a motivational letter, a short biography
- the school leaving qualification, the Bachelor Diploma and (if available) the Master Diploma
- A description of two projects to be realized during the Master`s programme
- Portfolio of projects realized so farsuch asrecordings, film soundtracks, sound installations, recordings of performances, documentation of development projects in the field of hardware/software, etc.
On-Site
The entrance exam by mail and on-site will take place at the end of April. The exact dates may be seen here.
Announcement of the results
The results will be communicated by mail in May.
Procedure
The entrance exam consists of several parts.
Procedure
Practical exam 1 (arrange a given assignment)
On the day before the entrance exam, the candidates receive an assignment by mail which they complete at their studio/at work and return the results after four hours (e.g. by Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc.).
Practical exam 2 (On-Site one day after Practical exam 1)
- Presentation of approx. ten minutes of a finalized project
- Interview with the assessment jury
Organisational matters
Hands-on Electronic Studio Basel (ESB)
This study programme is geared as closely as possible to practice and dovetails with the production and research activities of the Electronic Studio. From a very early stage, students are involved in the activities of the Electronic Studio and are also required to initiate and carry out their own projects.
About the Electronic Studio
The Electronic Studio of the School of Music (ESB), situated at the heart of Campus Basel Musik-Akademie, is both an educational institute and a research and production site. It offers a very well equipped recording, production and experimental studio. Furthermore, the ESB organises public concerts, festivals, symposia and workshops.
Besides several high-end recording spaces, the Electronic Studio also has a main control room, two multi-channel studios, a stereo editing station and an electronics workshop at its disposal.
A multitude of electronic instruments and controllers allow for interactive musical and transmedia work and experiments. A flexible, modern sound system enables the Studio to organize all kinds of concerts of electronic music as well as cognitive studies on acoustics and experiments in audio psychology. The Studio also owns several rare, historic electronic music instruments.
In collaboration with the Gare du Nord, the Bahnhof für Neue Musik, the Electronic Studio curates and hosts the NACHTSTROM concert series and also collaborates with other institutions in Switzerland and abroad in the planning and implementation of the most varied artistic productions.
The Studio thus attracts attention far beyond Basel itself. It creates valuable contacts between students and experienced guest composers who realize and discuss their work in the framework of seminars and workshops.
The central location of the Studio, in the heart of the Musik-Akademie, is a determining factor in its conceptual objectives. Its proximity to the instrumental tradition of the house means that it offers an open, stimulating and inclusive musical environment in which creativity can thrive. Electronic music is thus not a field for outsiders in an institute of its own, but an integral part of the culture and teaching activities.
sonic space basel
Elektronisches Studio Basel
sonic space basel
sonic space basel is a platform of Basel Academy of Music for Audio Design (BA and MA), Composition (BA and MA and MA SP), MA SP Creative Interpretation in New Music, Music Theory (BA and MA MP), MA SP New Music Theory, MA SP Open Creation, Continuing Education and Research.
We consider ourselves a laboratory, a communication tool and an information hub for contemporary music.
Projects / Ensembles
At Hochschule für Musik Basel, students have the opportunity to participate in various project and ensemble programmes.
To the overview of the recurring offers.
Quicklinks
Advising and information events
Contact
Student Administration Academy of Music, Klassik
- Phone
- +41 61 264 57 32 (Direct)
- klassik.hsm@fhnw.ch
Prof. Uli Fussenegger
- Phone
- +41 61 264 56 19
- uli.fussenegger@fhnw.ch
Information events
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Registration
The next registration window is open from 15th December to 1st March.