Instrumental ensemble


Type: Compulsory (OB)

Area: Ensemble music, Instrumental extension, Complementary instrumental training

ECTS: 2

Total value in hours: 60
Classroom hours: 45
Hours for self-study and independent learning: 15

Department: Classical and montemporary music, Jazz, Flamenco, Popular and Traditional Catalan Music

Competences developed in the course

Cross-curricular competencies

CT7To use communication skills and constructive criticism in teamwork.
CT9To integrate appropriately into multidisciplinary teams and diverse cultural contexts.
CT13To strive for excellence and quality in their professional activity.

General competencies

CG1To understand the theoretical principles of music and have adequately developed skills for the recognition, comprehension, and memorisation of musical material.
CG2To demonstrate appropriate skills in reading, improvisation, creation, and recreation of music.
CG3To produce and correctly interpret the graphic notation of musical texts.
CG6To master one or more musical instruments at a level appropriate to their main field of activity.
CG7To demonstrate the ability to interact musically in different types of projects.
CG8To apply the most appropriate working methods to overcome challenges arising in both personal study and collective musical practice.
CG11To be familiar with a broad and up-to-date repertoire, focused on their specialisation but open to other traditions. To recognise the stylistic features that characterise this repertoire and be able to describe them clearly and in detail.
CG17To be familiar with different musical styles and practices that allow them to understand, within a broader cultural context, their own field of activity and enrich it.

Specific competencies

CO9To critically evaluate and understand the main trends in the field of performance across a broad repertoire from different periods and styles.
DI8 To be familiar with the most recent trends in musical creation, with the ability to assess them by delving into their notation and performance implications.
IN1 To perform significant repertoire from their area of specialisation, appropriately addressing the aspects that define it within its stylistic diversity.
IN2 To construct a coherent and personal interpretative approach.
IN3 To demonstrate the ability to interact musically in all types of collaborative musical projects, from duos to large ensembles.
IN4 To express themselves musically through their instrument/voice, based on knowledge and mastery of instrumental and bodily technique, as well as acoustic and organological characteristics and stylistic variations.
IN5To communicate, as performers, musical structures, ideas, and materials with rigour.
IN7 To develop skills in reading and improvising on musical material.
IN8To appropriately assume the various supporting, participatory, or leadership roles that may arise in a collective musical project.
IN9 To understand the processes and resources of orchestral and ensemble work, demonstrating adequate sight-reading skills, flexibility in response to the conductor’s instructions, and the ability to integrate into the group.
IN10 To understand the stage-related implications of their professional activity and be able to develop their practical applications.
MU4 To master one or more instruments appropriate to their main field of activity.
PE4 To acquire technical mastery and expressive capacity in the performance and direction of vocal and instrumental ensembles, as a basis for improvisation, creation, and experimentation with one’s own instrument, voice, and body in specific teaching/learning situations.
PG5 To master one or more instruments at a level appropriate to their possible area of specialisation and to become familiar with ensemble music practice, both in its artistic and organisational aspects.
PG6 To have a deep knowledge of the historical and more recent repertoire of various musical practices and styles, with special attention to recent trends in the fields of creation and performance.
SO1 To understand the musical structure of works from different repertoires of the Western tradition and other musical traditions, with the ability to assess their expressive, morphological, syntactic, and sonic aspects, and to describe their characteristics.
SO11 To understand the stage-related implications of their professional activity and be able to develop its practical applications in their working context.

Learning outcomes (general objectives)

Classical and Contemporary
  1. Develop the values and skills of ensemble performance — including sight-reading and ensemble control — in small or large groups, with or without a conductor, reaching a high level of professional competence.
  2. Demonstrate performance experience in a broad and varied repertoire of classical and contemporary music, including works originating in the local environment.
  3. Apply the most appropriate criteria to ensemble performance according to the genres and historical periods of the works, with a solid awareness of historical and stylistic practice.
  4. Assume responsibility for one’s own part within the ensemble and be able to control it, coordinating effectively with other group members and, where applicable, with the conductor.
  5. Master the mechanisms of collective work and apply them to rehearsal and performance.
Jazz and Modern Music
  1. Develop the values and skills that enable communication in ensemble performance, with or without a conductor, in a variety of representative formations.
  2. Apply in a coordinated and contextualised manner the elements that enable and optimise ensemble performance.
  3. Apply the correct criteria to ensemble performance, with a solid command of the group and listening control that ensure complete sonic and stylistic cohesion, taking on differentiated roles within the ensemble on one’s instrument.
  4. Maintain individual control within the ensemble, enabling the performer to take necessary initiatives and respond to those of other group members.
  5. Broaden and apply stylistic awareness to a wide and varied group repertoire.
  6. Apply, in a coordinated way, the most appropriate interpretative criteria for each style.
Traditional Music and Flamenco
  1. Develop the values and skills that enable communication in ensemble performance, with or without a conductor, in a variety of representative formations.
  2. Apply in a coordinated and contextualised manner the elements that enable and optimise ensemble performance.
  3. Apply the correct criteria to ensemble performance, with a solid command of the group and listening control that ensure complete sonic and stylistic cohesion, taking on differentiated roles within the ensemble on one’s instrument.
  4. Maintain individual control within the ensemble, enabling the performer to take necessary initiatives and follow those of other group members.
  5. Broaden and apply stylistic awareness to a wide and varied group repertoire.
  6. Apply, in a coordinated way, the most appropriate interpretative criteria for each style.

Contents

Classical and Contemporary

Elements that make ensemble communication possible and optimise it through collective performance. Elements of collective work. Constructive and critical discussion on ensemble rehearsal techniques and on performance practice. Coordination and auditory control of ensemble performance and of one’s own part within the group. Collective performance of works from the classical and contemporary concert repertoire, vocal, instrumental or mixed, including the most recent repertoire as well as free improvisation. Chamber music and ensemble performance. Development, improvement and adaptation of articulation and sound production techniques.

Jazz and Modern Music

Improvisation within ensemble performance. Standard groups. Characteristic roles of the different instruments and sections in each ensemble and style. Common repertoire. Diversity of repertoire. Elements for ensemble performance. Elements for communication through ensemble performance.

Group rehearsal techniques, both general and style-specific. Ensemble performance in varied and representative formations. Performance of both original and existing repertoire. Improvisation within group performance. Sonic and stylistic cohesion. Auditory control of ensemble performance and of one’s own role within the group. Adaptation to specific stylistic requirements. Sound reinforcement of the ensemble according to different parameters. Initiative and adaptation to collective work.

Traditional Music and Flamenco

Improvisation within ensemble performance. Standard groups. Characteristic roles of the different instruments and sections in each ensemble and style. Common repertoire. Diversity of repertoire. Elements for ensemble performance. Elements for communication through ensemble performance.

Group rehearsal techniques, both general and style-specific. Ensemble performance in varied and representative formations.

Performance of both original and existing repertoire. Improvisation within group performance. Sonic and stylistic cohesion. Auditory control of ensemble performance and of one’s own role within the group. Adaptation to specific stylistic requirements. Sound reinforcement of the ensemble according to different parameters. Initiative and adaptation to collective work.

Teaching methodology

The teaching-learning methodology in class involves ensemble music work, whether in small groups or large groups. Independent work includes the study and preparation of the pieces to be worked on in class, as well as rehearsals with the other members of the group.

Assessment systems

The assessment system is continuous assessment, based on a diagnostic evaluation and culminating in a summative assessment that determines the final grade. Continuous assessment is carried out through different evaluation records derived from specific assessment activities, such as progress in class and participation in auditions or concerts.