Music Technology

The Music Technology program at Virginia Tech blends traditional instruction in music recording, mixing, and production with hands-on experience in a professional studio environment. Students build a comprehensive foundation in critical areas, including acoustics, critical listening, microphone technique, studio and location recording, and audio mixing and mastering, alongside a pathway toward Avid Pro Tools User Certification. The program offers unique flexibility to align with diverse academic interests and career goals, effectively preparing graduates for immediate industry employment. As a core feature of the curriculum, all students engage in applied study of an instrument or voice. This requires an audition and mandates upper-level study.

Contact Michael Dunston for more information.

Designed for Future Audio Professionals

This intensive degree is designed for students seeking advanced technical competence and integrative artistic skills. It is the primary choice for those preparing for professional practice in the audio industry. Key features include:

Professional Readiness: Includes an internship or "Bridge Experience" to provide real-world experiential learning.
Comprehensive Theory: Advanced coursework in music theory, history, and literature to ensure a deep understanding of the musical craft.

All Music Technology applicants must complete an audition, either live (preferred) or pre-recorded (via YouTube).

Advanced Studio Facilities

The School of Performing Arts Recording Studio is a 4,500 square-foot music recording and production facility with acoustically isolated rooms designed to support academic instruction and hands-on experience in multitrack recording, audio mixing and mastering, ADR/dialog and Foley recording, audio for post, sound design, music arranging and composition, and more. The main studio is equipped with a 32-channel SSL Origin large-format analog console, combined with the Metric Halo 3d ULN-8 audio hardware and software platform, Aviom headphone distribution, and a 7.1.4 Genelec Smart Active Monitoring system for recording and mixing in stereo, surround, Dolby Atmos, MPEG-H, Ambisonics, and other immersive audio formats.

Additional rooms are configured as smaller studios with SSL UC1 and SSL UF8 hardware control surfaces for multitrack audio recording and mixing, dialog and Foley recording capabilities, and video editing and post production. The studio microphone collection includes a variety of large and small diaphragm condenser, tube, ribbon, and dynamic microphones from manufacturers such as DPA, Neumann, AKG, Earthworks, Peluso Labs, RØDE, Royer, Shure, Audix, Sennheiser, and Soundfield B-Format and ambisonics recording systems for three-dimensional recording of acoustical events for reproduction in traditional stereo, periphonic, and multichannel immersive audio environments.

Software available includes Avid Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Dolby Atmos, MPEG-H Audio, Final Cut Pro, Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve, Steinberg Wavelab, and a wealth of audio plugins from Metric Halo, Solid State Logic, iZotope, FabFilter, Audio Ease, LiquidSonics, and Exponential Audio. Studio instruments include a nine-foot Yamaha CF III concert grand piano, a 1976 Rhodes Suitcase 73 Mk I vintage electric piano, a Gretsch drum kit, and a variety of MIDI keyboards, synthesizers, samplers, and virtual instruments.

Community

Virginia Tech music students enjoy the advantages of being at a major research university while studying in a close-knit academic community with student-centered faculty. Students will find faculty and staff who push them to succeed, support their learning, and advocate for them throughout their careers, along with diverse peers and many opportunities for collaboration within Music, the School of Performing Arts, and across the university.