Musical Texure

Learning Objective
This course should:

  1. raise an awareness of the textural domain of music, 
  2. provide tools for the analysis of musical texture, and 
  3. give students tools to compose using texture as a creative starting point.

Course Content
It is hard to imagine music without texture. However, it was only towards the twentieth century that the term ‘texture’ made its way into the musical vocabulary. Even today, now that many composers have explored texture as a musical parameter, a theoretical understanding of this phenomenon is still lacking. During the course, students will develop a deep understanding for musical texture and feed it back into their own musical practices, creatively and theoretically.
The course often takes the form of a lively discussion where we use our subjective experiences as a source for understanding. In this way, the learning process is intuitive and personal.

Course details

teacher Amit Gur
term September 2022-April 2023
method of instruction Weekly seminars of 2 hours. A series of assignments will be given during the course, both analytical and creative.
course materials Scores of Ravel, Daphnis and Chloé; Ligeti, Kammerkonzert, Clocks and Clouds; Ferneyhough, Études Transcendentales; Lutoslawski - Venetian games, and many more.
assessment Attendance, active participation in lessons, weekly assignments and the verbal presentation of an analysis.
credits 10
related electivesElectronic Music
  Instrumentation and Classical Arranging
  Technological Strategies in Performing and Composing
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