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Musical Semiology

Code: 100667
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Musicology OP 3
Musicology OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Aurelia Pessarrodona Pérez
Email :
aurelia.pessarrodona@uab.cat

Group languages

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

Prerequisites

Students are recommended to have previously completed the courses Musical Language I, Musical Language II, and Musical Analysis. A good reading knowledge of English is also recommended, as part of the course bibliography is published in this language.

Objectives

The course introduces the main theoretical approaches to musical signification and examines music's capacity to generate and communicate meaning from an interdisciplinary perspective. Drawing on the concepts of sign, signification, and musical communication, it explores the principal contributions of musical semiology and semiotics, as well as hermeneutic, embodied, and cognitive approaches to the interpretation of musical meaning.

In addition to providing the theoretical foundations of the discipline, the course equips students with analytical tools for the study and interpretation of musical meaning through a range of approaches, including musical rhetoric, topic theory, and narrativity. The aim is to enable students to apply these approaches critically in the analysis of musical works.

Learning outcomes

  1. Summarising acquired knowledge about the origin and transformations experienced in its several fields of study.
  2. Produce correct, precise and clear argumental and terminological writing of knowledge acquired, both in the area of musical specialisation and dissemination.
  3. Integrate knowledge acquired in the production of clear and concise appropriate to the academic and specialist communication.
  4. Understand the propedeutic use of musical analysis, especially in its semiological appraoch.
  5. Draw hermaneutic conclusions from the analysis of scores, applying different analytical methods.
  6. Use the appropriate terminology in the construction of an academic text.
  7. Solving problems autonomously.
  8. Apply the conceptualisation of philosophy, history, literature and anthropology to musical research.
  9. Define the foundations of semiotic analysis using the models of Peirce and Greimas.
  10. Make correct use of the concept of the musical symbol and sign.
  11. Correctly apply the analytical method of tripartition.
  12. Discern and apply theories of inferencegeneration in its application to musical language.
  13. "Correctly apply the concept of the musical ""gesture""."
  14. Use analytical methodology setting out from the establishment of the musical topos.
  15. Correctly apply the concept of the process of communication and signification.
  16. Define the concept of narratology in music and its different modes of application to music.
  17. Correctly relate procedures of semiology with theories of musical rhetoric.
  18. Identify the social pracitces of music and its interpretation from a semiological standpoint.
  19. Make correct application of the methodology of semiotic analysis to interrelate music with other artistic languages (painting, sculpture and others).

Contents

Block I. Theoretical Foundations of Musical Signification

  • Topic 1. Semiotics, Musical Signification, and Musical Communication.
  • Topic 2. Hermeneutics and Interpretation.
  • Topic 3. Embodiment, Cognition, and New Approaches to Musical Signification.

Block II. Analysis and Interpretation of Musical Meaning

  • Topic 4. Tools for the Analysis of Musical Signification.
  • Topic 5. Musical Rhetoric.
  • Topic 6. Musical Topics.
  • Topic 7. Music and Narrativity.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Discussion of assigned readings and participatory classroom activities (Wooclap or similar tools) 20 0.8 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Study of course content and preparation of the assigned readings 20 0.8 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Supervision and guidance of the group project and analytical and interpretative activities 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Lectures on the theoretical foundations of the course 30 1.2 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Preparation of the group project and examinations 40 1.6 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Guided analysis and interpretation of musical works 25 1 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

The course combines lectures with active learning methodologies aimed at developing students' skills in the analysis and interpretation of musical meaning. Class sessions integrate the presentation of the discipline's main theoretical approaches with guided analysis of musical works, discussion of selected scholarly readings, and participatory classroom activities using interactive digital tools (such as Wooclap).

Students will be provided with the materials required to prepare the assigned readings independently and consolidate the concepts covered in class. Throughout the semester, they will complete a group project related to the course content, developed in several stages and supported by ongoing guidance from the instructor. The project may include an audiovisual presentation of the analytical results, with the aim of fostering interaction among students and encouraging critical discussion of the work produced.

Should face-to-face teaching not be possible, classes and learning activities will be conducted online.

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
Written test 1 30 % 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18
Written test 2 30 % 1.5 0.06 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19
In-class continuous assessment activities 15 % 0 0 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
Group assignment 25% 2 0.08 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

The course includes two written examinations, one held midway through the semester and the other at the end. Each examination accounts for 30% of the final grade.

Students will complete a compulsory group project consisting of the analysis and interpretation of a musical work, following the guidelines provided by the instructor. The project may include an audiovisual presentation of the analytical results. This activity accounts for 25% of the final grade.

In-class continuous assessment activities account for 15% of the final grade. These may include interactive quizzes, discussion of assigned readings, debates on musical works, and other participatory activities related to the course content.

To pass the course, students must obtain a minimum mark of 5/10 on the compulsory project and a minimum mark of 4/10 in each written examination, with an overall average of at least 5/10 across the two examinations.

At the time of each assessment activity, the instructor will inform students (via the Virtual Campus/Moodle) of the assessment review procedure and the date on which grades may be reviewed.

To be eligible for the resit examination, students must have submitted the compulsory project. Assessment activities not completed within the established deadlines cannot be resat.

A final grade of Not Assessable will only be awarded to students who have neither taken any of the written examinations nor submitted the compulsory project.

Any irregularity committed by a student that may lead to a significant alteration of the grade of an assessment activity will result in a mark of 0 for that activity, without prejudice to any disciplinary proceedings that may be initiated. Repeated irregularities in assessment activities for the same course will result in a final grade of 0.

Should assessment activities be unable to take place on campus, they will be adapted to the online teaching tools officially provided by the UAB, while maintaining the same assessment weighting.

Erasmus and exchange students who request to advance an exam must present a document from their home university justifying their request.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT

Single assessment consists of the following components:

  • Written examination covering the theoretical contents of the course and the semiotic analysis of a musical work: 40%.
  • Individual paper on a topic related to the course syllabus, following the academic criteria established for the group project, which may include a recorded audiovisual presentation: 30%.
  • Four critical reviews of videos from the ESMUC Amb Sentits Conference Series: 30%.

The examination and the submission of all assessment activities will take place on a single date specified in the course programme and published on the Virtual Campus.

The resit procedure for single assessment will follow the same criteria established for continuous assessment.

Bibliography

  • Agawu, Kofi (2012). La música como discurso: Aventuras semióticas en la música romántica. Buenos Aires: Eterna Cadencia Editora.
  • Allanbrook, Wye Jamison (1983). Rhythmic Gesture in Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Allanbrook, Wye Jamison (2014). The Secular Commedia: Comic Mimesis in Late Eighteenth-Century Music. Oakland: University of California Press.
  • Almén, Byron (2008). A Theory of Musical Narrative. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  • Altman, Rick (2008). A Theory of Narrative. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Bal, Mieke (2019). Teoría de la narrativa. Madrid: Cátedra.
  • Barbieri, Daniele; Marconi, Luca; Spampinato, Francesco (2008). L'ascolto musicale: condotte, pratiche, grammatiche. Lucca: LIM.
  • Barthes, Roland (1999). Mitologías. México D.F.: Siglo XXI.
  • Barthes, Roland et al. (1972). La Semiología. Buenos Aires: Tiempo Contemporáneo.
  • Barthes, Roland et al. (2016). Análisis estructural del relato. México D.F.: Coyoacán.
  • Cascudo, Teresa (ed.) (2015). Música y cuerpo. Estudios musicológicos. Logroño: Calanda.
  • Cook, Nicholas (1998). Analysing Musical Multimedia. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Cook, Nicholas (2001). "Theorizing Musical Meaning". Music Theory Spectrum, 23(2), 170–195.
  • Eco, Umberto (1977). Tratado de semiótica general. Barcelona: Lumen.
  • Eco, Umberto (1992). Obra abierta. Barcelona: Planeta.
  • Foucault, Michel (2015). El orden del discurso. Barcelona: Tusquets.
  • Godøy, Rolf Inge; Leman, Marc (2010). Musical Gestures: Sound, Movement and Meaning.
  • González Martínez, José María (2008). Semiótica de la música vocal. Murcia: Universidad de Murcia.
  • Grabócz, Márta (dir.) (2007). Sens et signification en musique. Paris: Hermann.
  • Grabócz, Márta (2009). Musique, narrative, signification. Paris: L'Harmattan.
  • Grabócz, Márta (dir.) (2021). Narratologie musicale. Topiques, théories et stratégies analytiques. Paris: Hermann.
  • Greimas, Algirdas Julien; Courtès, Joseph (1982). Semiótica. Diccionario razonado de la teoría del lenguaje. Madrid: Gredos.
  • Grimalt, Joan (2014). Música i sentits. Introducció a la significació musical. Barcelona: Dux.
  • Grimalt, Joan (2020). Mapping Musical Signification. Cham: Springer.
  • Grimalt, Joan (2025). Analysing Musical Signification: A Hermeneutic, Rhetorical Approach to Western Art Music. Charm: Springer.
  • Hatten, Robert S. (2004). Interpreting Musical Gestures, Topics and Tropes. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  • Hatten, Robert S. (2018). A Theory of Virtual Agency for Western Art Music, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  • Koozin, Timothy (2024). Embodied Expression in Popular Music: A Theory of Musical Gesture and Agency, Oxford University Press, 2024,
  • Kramer, Lawrence (2002). Musical Meaning: Toward a Critical History. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Kramer, Lawrence (2010). Interpreting Music. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Larson, Steve; Hatten, Robert S. (2012). Musical Forces: Motion, Metaphor, and Meaning in Music, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  • López Cano, Rubén (2012). Música y retórica en el barroco. Barcelona: Amalgama.
  • López Cano, Rubén (2020). La música cuenta. Retórica, narratividad, dramaturgia, cuerpo y afectos. Barcelona: ESMUC.
  • Martinelli, Dario (2025). Here Comes the Sign: The Semiotics of Popular Music, Charm: Springer.
  • Martínez, José Luis (2001). "Semiótica de la música: una teoría basada en Peirce". Signa. Revista de la Asociación Española de Semiótica, 10.
  • McClelland, Clive (2012). Ombra: Supernatural Music in the Eighteenth Century. Lanham: Lexington Books.
  • McClelland, Clive (2017). Tempesta: Stormy Music in the Eighteenth Century. Lanham: Lexington Books.
  • Meyer, Leonard B. (2001). Emoción y significado en la música. Madrid: Alianza.
  • Mirka, Danuta (ed.) (2008). Communication in Eighteenth-Century Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Mirka, Danuta; Agawu, Kofi (eds.) (2014). The Oxford Handbook of Topic Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1990). Music and Discourse: Toward a Semiology of Music. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Neumeyer, David (2015). Meaning and Interpretation of Music in Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  • Peirce, Charles Sanders (2007). La lógica considerada como semiótica. El índice del pensamiento peirceano. Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.
  • Saussure, Ferdinand de (1991). Curso de lingüística general. Madrid: Akal.
  • Sebeok, Thomas A. (1996). Signos: Una introducción a la semiótica. Barcelona: Paidós.
  • Sheinberg, Esti; Dougherty, William P. (eds.) (2020). The Routledge Handbook of Music Signification. London/New York: Routledge.
  • Spitzer, Michael (2020). A History of Emotion in Wester Music: A Thousand Years from Chant to Pop, Oxford University Press, 2020
  • Tagg, Philip (2013). Music's Meanings. New York: The Mass Media Music Scholars' Press.
  • Tarasti, Eero (1994). A Theory of Musical Semiotics. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  • Tarasti, Eero (2012). Semiotics of Classical Music: How Mozart, Brahms and Wagner Talk to Us.
  • Tarasti, Eero (2015). Sein und Schein: Explorations in Existential Semiotics. Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
  • Tarasti, Eero (dir.) (2023). Transcending Signs: Essays in Existential Semiotics. Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.


Software

No specific software is required to follow the course, although students are encouraged to use a laptop or tablet to facilitate access to the teaching materials, score analysis, and participation in interactive classroom activities (such as Wooclap).

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is permitted exclusively as support for literature and information searches, language revision, text translation, and other auxiliary tasks. Their use to generate, wholly or partially, assessed coursework, musical analyses, or critical commentaries is not permitted. Such work must reflect the student's own intellectual contribution.

Whenever AI tools are used, students must: (i) identify the sections in which they have been used; (ii) specify the AI tools employed; and (iii) include a brief critical reflection on their impact on both the working process and the final outcome.

Failure to disclose the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity and will result in the assessment activity being awarded a mark of 0, with no possibility of resubmission or resit, without prejudice to any additional sanctions established under UAB academic regulations.

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