• Research

    The fundamental principle of IRCAM is to encourage productive interaction among scientific research, technological developments, and contemporary music production. Since its establishment in 1977, this initiative has provided the foundation for the institute’s activities. One of the major issues is the importance of contributing to the renewal of musical expression through science and technology. Conversely, sp…

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    IRCAM is an internationally recognized research center dedicated to creating new technologies for music. The institute offers a unique experimental environment where composers strive to enlarge their musical experience through the concepts expressed in new technologies.

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  • Research

    The fundamental principle of IRCAM is to encourage productive interaction among scientific research, technological developments, and contemporary music production. Since its establishment in 1977, this initiative has provided the foundation for the institute’s activities. One of the major issues is the importance of contributing to the renewal of musical expression through science and technology. Conversely, sp…

    • Research Topics
    • The STMS Lab
    • Research Teams
    • Sound Systems and Signals: Audio/Acoustics, InstruMents
    • Acoustic and Cognitive Spaces
    • Sound Perception and Design
    • Sound Analysis-Synthesis
    • Sound Music Movement Interaction
    • Musical Representations
    • Analysis of Musical Practices
    • Projects
    • Sound Workshop
    • The Musical Body
    • Creative Dynamics
    • Finished Projects
  • Creation

    IRCAM is an internationally recognized research center dedicated to creating new technologies for music. The institute offers a unique experimental environment where composers strive to enlarge their musical experience through the concepts expressed in new technologies.

    • Composers & Artists in Studio
    • Mauro Lanza in studio
    • Chloé Thévenin in studio
    • Oren Boneh in studio
    • Tristan Murail in studio
    • Martin Matalon in studio
    • Sébastien Gaxie in studio
    • Murcof in the studio
    • Vimala Pons in studio
    • Lucie Antunes in studio
    • Deena Abdelwahed in the studio
    • Music-Fictions
    • Artistic Research Residency
    • Artistic Residencies: The Blog
    • Rendez Vous 24.25
    • 2024-2025
    • Replay Concerts
    • Seasons from 1996 to present
    • ManiFeste-2024 Website
    • ManiFeste festival from 2012 to 2024
    • L’Étincelle, IRCAM’s journal of creation
  • Transmission

    In support of IRCAM's research and creation missions, the educational program seeks to shed light on the current and future meaning of the interactions among the arts, sciences, and technology as well as sharing its models of knowledge, know-how, and innovations with the widest possible audience.

    • Training Courses
    • Training Courses 2025.26
    • Max, Max for Live
    • Computer-Assisted Composition
    • ASAP & Partiels
    • Sound spatialization
    • Generative AI
    • Practical Information
    • Higher Education
    • Cursus Program on Composition and Computer Music
    • Master ATIAM
    • Sound Design Master's Program
    • Mixed-Music
    • AIMove Master
    • Discover Research at IRCAM
    • Cultural Outreach
    • Cultural Mediation at Middle School Students
    • Médiations culturelles au lycée
    • Digital Workshops
    • TACT
    • Images of a Work Collection
    • Group Tours
    • ManiFeste-2025 Festival Academy
    • 2025 ÉLAN award
    • Spatial Composition Workshop
    • In Situ Polytopes
    • ULYSSES Ensemble
    • Auditors
  • Innovations

    Engaged with societal and economic issues at the intersection of culture and IT, research at Ircam has forged a reputation for itself in the world of international research as an interdisciplinary benchmark in the science and technology of sound and music, constantly attentive to the new needs and uses in society.

    • The IRCAM Forum
    • Softwares
    • Ircam Amplify
    • Innovative art-science-technology processes
    • Forum Vertigo
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    Sound Design Master's Program

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    Sound Designer: A Profession that Marries Creation and Industrial Projects
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    The term "sound design" designates sound creation applied to any domain that necessitates sound. Sound design can be applied to any environment where sound can be imagined, created, and incorporated such as manufacturing, urbanism, architecture, multimedia, marketing, or the arts (e.g. film, performances, installations). The variety of domains where sound design is used raises a certain number of questions and defines the skills that the sound designer must master to perform their profession.

    How can performance, ease of use, accessibility of a manufactured object, or a man-machine interface be improved with sound? How can the space of a building or an urban complex be facilitated? How can a sound be designed taking into account its quality, function, and how it is perceived in an environment already saturated with information and communication media? What should the artistic dimension and role of sound be in different situations such as theater, public space, advertisement, artistic installations, and events? How can we compose a better sound environment in an age where the presence of physical objects is diminishing?

    These are just some of the challenges facing sound designers. Like other realms of design, sound design must take into consideration aspects of two processes: an artistic process with its demanding set of criteria regarding aesthetics and concepts and a more industrial process that brings together numerous difficulties related to function, techniques, budgets, the shape of objects, or the space or the service being considered. The designer uses a specific methodology for each project and is involved in constant dialogues with other professionals in businesses or public institutions that have commissioned the project and with specialists in other related disciplines (e.g. designers, engineers, acousticians, specialists in ergonomics, cognitive scientists).

    The École supérieure d'art et de design Tours Angers Le Mans has joined forces with IRCAM, ENSCI-les Ateliers (École nationale supérieure de création industrielle), and LAUM (Laboratoire d'acoustique de l'université du Maine) to create a two-year sound design degree program in Le Mans. Admittance to this new sound design program takes place through a competitive entry exam. Successful applicants integrate the 4th year of the École supérieure des Beaux-Arts' program and stay for two years. Upon completion of the program, students obtain a Master's level sound design diploma (Diplôme national supérieur expression plastique), accredited by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication.

    The training covers a range of scientific, methodological, and cultural domains necessary for sound designers. Students improve their artistic skills and learn to work as part of a team as well as autonomously on the creation of an industrial project. Over half of the program is dedicated to studio work, to personal projects, and professional meetings through project-classes, encounters with professional sound designers, and internships in companies or research labs.

    This program is open to students who meet the following criteria:

    • Bachelor's degree holders in Fine Arts from a university (or students enrolled in their last year of such a program at the time of the entrance exam)
    • Students who hold a Bachelor's degree level degree from an art school (e.g. Licence, DNAP, DNAT, or foreign equivalent)
    • Students who hold a Bachelor's degree level degree from a music school (e.g. Licence, DNSPM, or foreign equivalent)
    • Students who hold a high-school level diploma (e.g. D.E.M.) in composition or electro-acoustics from specialized musical schools with the condition that they also hold a Bachelor's level degree in science or the humanities.

    Information École supérieure d'art et de design Tours Angers Le Mans
    Secretary: 02 72 16 48 78 | contact-lemans (at) talm.fr

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