← Music Technology syllabus

ScotlandMusic Technology

Area 1: Music Technology Skills

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do you use and programme effects and processors to shape a sound creatively and technically?

EQ, dynamics processing (compression, limiting, gating, expansion), time-based effects (reverb, delay) and modulation effects, plus the extensive programming of effect parameters in insert and send configurations.
An SQA Advanced Higher Music Technology answer on effects and signal processing, covering EQ types, compression and its controls, gating and expansion, reverb and delay, modulation effects, and how programming parameters in insert and send routing shapes a sound creatively and technically.
15 min answer →

How do you turn a multitrack recording into a balanced, three-dimensional mix?

Balance, panning and depth, automation, bus and group routing, gain staging through the mix, and using EQ and dynamics to seat each element in the frequency spectrum and stereo field.
An SQA Advanced Higher Music Technology answer on advanced mixing, covering level balance, panning and stereo width, front-to-back depth, automation, bus and group routing, gain staging through the mix, and how EQ and dynamics carve a place for every element.
15 min answer →

How do you capture clean, professional multitrack recordings using advanced microphone techniques?

Advanced microphone choice and placement, stereo and multitrack capture, gain staging at the input, and managing phase, bleed and room sound when recording acoustic and electronic sources.
An SQA Advanced Higher Music Technology answer on advanced recording, covering microphone types and polar patterns, close and ambient placement, stereo and multitrack techniques, the 3 to 1 rule and phase, and gain staging at the input so a production starts from clean, well captured audio.
15 min answer →

How do you design sounds from synthesis and use virtual instruments in a production?

Synthesis methods (subtractive, FM, wavetable and sampling), the synth signal path (oscillators, filters, envelopes and LFOs), and programming and sequencing virtual instruments with MIDI.
An SQA Advanced Higher Music Technology answer on synthesis and virtual instruments, covering subtractive, FM, wavetable and sample-based synthesis, the oscillator-filter-amplifier path with envelopes and LFOs, and how MIDI sequencing and virtual instruments are programmed in a production.
15 min answer →

How do you create and synchronise sound effects for film, animation and games?

Recording and creating Foley and sound effects, synchronising audio to picture, layering and processing designed sounds, and building atmospheres for film, animation and computer gaming.
An SQA Advanced Higher Music Technology answer on Foley and sound design, covering recording and performing Foley, designing effects by layering and processing, synchronising sound to picture, and building atmospheres for film, animation and computer gaming.
15 min answer →

How do you master a finished mix so it is balanced, loud and consistent across systems?

The mastering stage: working from a pre-master, applying corrective and tonal EQ, dynamics and limiting, controlling loudness, sequencing and preparing the final deliverable.
An SQA Advanced Higher Music Technology answer on mastering, covering the pre-master to master process, mastering EQ and dynamics, loudness and the role of the limiter, dithering and final deliverables, and how mastering makes a mix balanced, loud and consistent across playback systems.
14 min answer →