87595 - Introduction to the Study of Music I

Learning outcomes

The educational aims of the teaching are the enhancement of music as a material and immaterial cultural heritage. At the end of the course the student has learnt the words of music, i.e. the technical terminology which allows him/her to speak about the fundamental concepts of the Western musical theory and practice. The student is able to manage the tools that allow him/her a conscious listening to the music, in particular the main genres of the repertoire of the Western art music and is able to contextualize them in the cultural history.

Course contents

The course is aimed at all students who wish to be introduced to musical heritage knowledge. The course is accessible to all students of the three-year degree in Conservation of Cultural Heritage (L-1), as it is intended as a preparatory course for any kind of musical knowledge and is therefore aimed at a mixed audience, made up of both those who have no knowledge of the language of music at all and those who wish to deepen their knowledge through the guided course in 'Musical Heritage'.

The educational purposes of the course concern the enhancement of the ethical, social and cultural function of listening and performing music for any person and for any society of past or contemporary age. The course will emphasize the cultural, social and ethic functions of music in any society.

The teaching objective is twofold, and it aims to contribute to forming an awareness towards the recognition of the musical heritage, both material and immaterial, in its cultural context. Special attention will be paid to the different types of sources, musical terminology and performance contexts.

Attending students can be followed in individual exercises.

Foreign students are required to ask for the program at least one month before the exams, writing to donatella.restani@unibo.it

The course will include two parts.

In the first one, students will be introduced to the concept of 'Musical heritage', to the practices to enhance the immaterial musical heritage by UNESCO, and to the study of material and immaterial musical heritage as a form of culture and knowledge of professions related to musical heritage.

In the second part, the concepts of sound event and soundscape, as they were defined in the second half of the 20th century and subsequent developments, will be addressed. In particular, sound events will be investigated concerning the natural and urban landscapes of ancient and medieval times.

The lessons will be accompanied by the seminars "The Words of Music", curated by Dr G. Casali, who will offer students short listening sessions and indications on the main types of sources and the methods with which to analyse them from a musicological perspective. Students will be guided to listen to some of the main forms and genres of European music and construct personal listening paths linked to enhancing the musical heritage. These paths will constitute the exercise for attending students.

Non-attending students are invited to supplement the preparation of what is indicated in the bibliography with the reading of the volume by F.A. Gallo, "OCI. Voci d'uccelli in testi medievali, Ravenna 2007.

Readings/Bibliography

All course materials will be available on the Virtuale platform, where the specific exam preparation methods are also available, for both attending and non-attending students.

R. Murray Schäfer, Il paesaggio sonoro. Un libro di storia, di musica, di ecologia, Casa Ricordi, 1985.

F. A. Gallo, Introduzione a Musica e storia tra Medio evo e Età Moderna, Bologna, 1986, pp. 9-29.

F. A. Gallo, Musica e storia da tre letture, "Musica e Storia", I, 1993, pp. 23-38.

R. Strohm, Panorama musicale di Bruges, in Musica e storia tra Medio evo e Età Moderna, Bologna, 1986, pp.183-198.

D. Stockmann, I bandi tedeschi: fonti storiche per la musica popolare, in Musica e storia tra Medio evo e Età Moderna, pp. 133-140.

The 'Words of Music' seminars include knowledge of:

F. Della Seta, Breve lessico musicale, Roma, Carocci, 2014 (II ed.).

Other bibliographical references will be proposed during the lessons and will be made available online.

For non-attending students it is suggested to integrate the previous program by reading the following text:

 Franco Alberto Gallo,"OCI". Voci d'uccelli in testi medievali, Ravenna 2007.

Teaching methods

Lessons are accompanied by audio-visual aids, computer aids, use of videos and, above all, listening.

The teaching includes both conferences and seminars with focus groups, as well as individual exercises that will be the subject of the first part of the assessment.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral interview, which, for attending students, will be introduced by the presentation of their individual exercises.

The examination will concern:

- first, the knowledge of the principal musical structures: monody and polyphony, intervals and chords, melody, rhythm, harmony, instruments and musical genres;

- secondly, the student will demonstrate his degree of competence in the use of appropriate terminology in the description of a musical text, from listening to the reading of the score;

- at last, it will be considered how active and critical listening to music complements knowledge of the historical and cultural context.

The final assessment will be expressed in the following ways:

- insufficient: lack of basic knowledge and incorrect or misleading interpretation of the topics;

- sufficient: basic knowledge; mainly correct interpretation but carried out with terminological imprecision and little autonomy;

- good: intermediate level knowledge; fully correct interpretation, but not always precise and autonomous;

- excellent grade: high level knowledge; interpretation of problems not only correct but conducted with autonomy and precision. Excellent oral expression skills.

Teaching tools

PC with video projector, sound reproduction instruments, video tools.

Students with DSA are requested to contact the Professor for the activation of adequate support tools provided for the exam.

Students can take 2 more CFU attending the DIDACTIC LABORATORY “MUSICAL EXPERIENCES IN TRAVELOGUES”.

Responsible: prof. Donatella Restani, in collaboration with Dott.ssa Alessia Zangrando (PhD 37th cycle).

Content: The didactic laboratory “Musical Experiences in Travelogues” proposes to look at travel literature as a source for the study of music between ancient and modern times in order to gather new data for the study of communities that have no written musical tradition and are considered “distant” in a geographical, chronological or cultural sense.

The aim is to valorise the material and immaterial aspects of these types of sources and to reflect on the need to look at a still little-known musical heritage with an interdisciplinary approach through the analysis of manuscripts, iconographic representations and musical notation. Students will also be encouraged to consider the problems related to the musical terminology used in the travelogues and the classification of the reported sound experiences. Finally, an Excel file will be populated with the collected data, which will feed into a relational database.

Max number of students: 10

Running period: April-May 2023

Laboratory teaching: there will be 4 meetings (one per month) of 2 hours each

CFU: 2

How to access: send an email to donatella.restani@unibo.it and in cc to alessia.zangrando2@unibo.it

Venue: Possible online and in presence teaching.

Links to further information

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/home

Office hours

See the website of Donatella Restani