Guide in PDF format
Logo

Musical Notation I

Code: 100654
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Musicology OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Maria Incoronata Colantuono Santoro
Email :
mariaincoronata.colantuono@uab.cat

Teaching staff (external to UAB)

Maria Incoronata Colantuono

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

It is recommended to have a good level of music theory.

Objectives

 

To provide students with the theoretical and practical knowledge necessary to read, transcribe, and interpret medieval music written in its main notational systems.

Learning outcomes

  1. Produce correct, precise and clear argumental and terminological writing of knowledge acquired, both in the area of musical specialisation and dissemination.
  2. Integrate knowledge acquired in the production of clear and concise appropriate to the academic and specialist communication.
  3. Use the appropriate terminology in the construction of an academic text.
  4. Write critical papers on musicology that are planned and organised efficiently.
  5. Identifying the context of the historical processes.
  6. Make historical distinctions between the different systems of musical notation.
  7. Identify the main systems of writing in Western music, both vocal and instrumental (10th to 17th centuries).
  8. Transcribe the main systems of Western music according to the modern conventions of notation and edition.
  9. Acquire fluency of sightreading to practical musical ends.
  10. Be familiar with editions of early music.
  11. Make condifent use of vocabulary relative to musical paleography.
  12. Discuss musical theory and praxis with musicians.
  13. Apply different models of musical notation in musical praxis.
  14. Propose new experience-based methods or alternative solutions.
  15. Assess the reliability of sources, select relevant data and contrast information.
  16. Identify and critically assemble the basic bibliography that has shaped the field of study.
  17. Analyse the sustainability indicators of the academic and professional activities in this field, integrating the social, economic and environmental dimensions.

Contents


  • Principles of Gregorian semiology


  • Neumatic notations


  • Early polyphonic notations


  • Modal notation


  • Fundamentals of mensural notation


  • Notation of the French Ars nova


  • Italian notation of the Trecento


  • Ars subtilior

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Reading of specific bibliography (books and articles) 7 0.28
Transcription excercices 62 2.48
Theoretical and practical face-to-face lessons 45 1.8
Personal study of the course material 32 1.28

The syllabus will be developed through practical classes based on the proposed manuscript musical excerpts, following an explanation of the theoretical and practical principles on which they are based.
All transcription exercises will be completed with the active participation of the students.

 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Test 1 25% 1 0.04 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 15
Final exam 50% 2 0.08 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
Test 2 25% 1 0.04 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15

Assessment

  • Completion of two midterm exams (20% each), one final exam (50%), and participation in classes and oral discussions (10%). The exams will consist of the transcription of one or more musical excerpts and a questionnaire with questions about the history of notation systems and the repertoires they convey.
  • Each test, if necessary, can be orally justified during group or individual tutoring sessions.

Clarifications

  • To calculate the final grade of the course, both midterm exams must be passed independently.
  • Failed or missed midterm exams for duly justified reasons will be reassessed during the make-up exam.
  • Under no circumstances may the course be passed with failed exams.
  • The make-up exam will only assess the failed content.
  • At the time each assessment activity is carried out, the lecturer will inform the students (via Moodle) of the procedure and the date for reviewing the grades.
  • Individual exams will not be scheduled outside the assigned date and time, except in duly justified cases of force majeure.
  • If a student commits any irregularity that may significantly affect the grade of an assessment, that assessment will be graded as zero, regardless of any disciplinary process that may be initiated. If multiple irregularities occur during the assessments of the same course, the final grade for the course will be zero.
  • If exams cannot be held in person, their format will be adapted (maintaining the weighting) according to the possibilities offered by UAB’s virtual tools. Homework, activities, and class participation will be conducted through forums, wikis, and/or exercise discussions via Teams, etc. The professor will ensure students can access these or will offer alternative means within their reach.
  • A student will be considered “non-evaluable” if they do not attend the midterm exams or the final exam.
  • Exchange students who request to bring an exam forward must submit to the lecturer a written document from their home university justifying their request.
  • USE OF AI
  • For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as bibliographic or information searches, text correction, or translations. Students must clearly identify which parts were generated using these technologies, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in this graded activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in partial or total loss of marks for the activity, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.
  • This course does not allow a single final evaluation system.

Bibliography

Apel, Willi, The Notation of Polyphonic Music 900-1600 (Cambridge, 1953/5ª ed)

Bradley, Catherine, Poliphony in Medieval Paris: the art of composing with plainchant (Cambridge University Press, 2020)

Caraci, Maria - Sabaino, Daniele - Aresi, Stefano, Le notazioni della polifonia vocale dei secoli IX-XVII (Pisa, 2007)

Colette, Marie Nöel. - Popin, Marielle - Vendrix, Philippe, Histoire de la notation du Moyen Âge à la Renaissance (Paris, 2003)

Cook, James - McDonald, Grantley - Whittaker, Adam, Manuscripts, Materiality, and Mobility Essays on Late Medieval Music in Memory of Peter Wright (Lucca 2024)

Deeming, Helen - Van der Heijden, Frieda, Medieval Poliphony and Song (Cambridge, 2023)

Epifani, Michele - Rocco Rossi, Francesco, Scrivere a più voci. Alla ricerca della notazione perfetta (Lucca, 2024)

Mangani, Marco, Ascoltare la scrittura. L’invenzione della notazione musicale (Lucca, 2023)

Hiley, David - Szendrei J., Notation, § III.1, Plainchant, in Groveonline

Kelly, Thomas F., Capturing Music. The Story of Notation (New York, 2014)

Schimd, Manfred Hermann, La notazione musicale. Scrittura e composizione tra il 900 e il 1900, a cura di A. Cecchi (Roma, 2017)


Software

There is no requiered software

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed