Competences developed in the course

General Competencies

CG5: Acquire knowledge of the technological resources relevant to the field of activity and their applications in music, while remaining prepared to incorporate future technological developments.

CG20: Understand the classification and the acoustic, historical, and anthropological characteristics of musical instruments.

Specific Competencies

SO1: Understand the musical structure of works from the various repertoires of the Western tradition and other musical cultures, demonstrating the ability to assess their expressive, morphological, syntactic, and sonic characteristics and to describe them accurately.

SO2: Develop listening skills that enable the recognition, memorization, and reproduction of a wide range of musical materials, as well as the critical analysis of the phenomena involved in listening and in the production of organized sound.

SO3: Apply technology to music creation, performance, and public dissemination, making use of technical resources for sound production and organization, as well as the different approaches, applications, and functionalities that underpin musical creation.

SO6: Acquire knowledge of the musical instruments of the Western tradition and other cultures, including their physical, acoustic, and musical characteristics, their timbral and expressive possibilities, and the application of technological resources to expand their capabilities or design virtual instruments.

SO7: Understand the techniques and procedures involved in musical, sonic, and audiovisual creation and in supporting creative processes.

SO10: Demonstrate the ability to integrate art, technology, and science, with sufficient flexibility to adapt to diverse and changing environments.

SO11: Understand the performance-related implications of professional activity and apply them effectively within the relevant professional context.

Learning outcomes (general objectives)

1. Expand knowledge of instrument families by incorporating those of other musical cultures.

2. Refine analytical skills and understanding of the acoustic characteristics of musical instruments.

3. Explain and develop different tuning systems.

4. Explore the construction of simple musical instruments, particularly instrumental interfaces and experimental musical instruments.

5. Describe and explain the fundamental biological and functional processes underlying auditory perception.

6. Relate the perceptual attributes of sound to their physical properties.

7. Develop sensitivity to psychophysical aspects of auditory perception and their influence on musical listening.

8. Explain and apply standard methods for the study of sound perception.

9. Apply the music theory required to interpret and analyze music from periods prior to the Classical era.

10. Demonstrate an understanding of the technical language and musical terminology found in historical treatises and contemporary historical musicology.

11. Distinguish between musical theories based on tonality and those based on modal systems characteristic of earlier periods.

12. Develop an approach to the study of musical works grounded in historical and analytical research.

13. Examine the various ways in which musical material has been organized in relation to the intellectual currents of each historical period and their contribution to musical practice.

14. Deepen awareness of musical performance and its variables from a historical perspective, considering communication with contemporary audiences.

15. Evaluate and apply the principal theories of historical performance practice and place them within their chronological context.

16. Become familiar with historical documentary sources concerning musical performance and analyze and apply them critically.

17. Develop personal communicative and interpretative abilities based on a solid theoretical foundation.

18. Apply historical and contemporary musicological and ethnomusicological research methodologies appropriately, particularly in relation to source studies, musical notation, and the understanding of music within its cultural and social context.

19. Evaluate and select the most appropriate research methodology according to the objectives of a given study, adopting a comprehensive and interdisciplinary perspective.

20. Relate musicological and ethnomusicological research methodologies to current approaches in the social sciences.

21. Relate the systems of Western musical notation and their historical evolution to the musical practices, theories, and concepts of their respective periods, evaluating them within their historical context.

22. Identify and interpret the principal Western systems of musical notation from the fifteenth century onward and read documents written using these notational systems.

23. Develop an overall understanding of the applications of technology in music and acquire proficiency in a range of music-related digital tools.

24. Operate the technical equipment involved in sound production.

25. Select, configure, and operate correctly the technical equipment used in sound production and develop the practical skills required to conduct a basic sound recording session.

Contents

Detailed study of selected musical instruments from an acoustical perspective. Physical principles underlying the construction of scales and tuning systems. Folk and non-Western musical instruments. Hyperinstruments and other experimental musical instruments. Conservation, documentation, and exhibition of musical instrument heritage.

Teaching methodology

The teaching and learning methodology includes lectures, seminar discussions, group work sessions, and student presentations.

Assessment systems