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Music Informatics

Code: 100669
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Musicology OP 3
Musicology OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Jordi Roquer Gonzalez
Email :
jordi.roquer@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Carles Badal Pérez Alarcón

Group languages

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

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge, acquired from completing "Musical language I" and "Musical language II", is required. A good level of English is advisable.

Objectives

The primary objective of this course is to familiarise students with various technological applications related to musicology, both from the perspective of the digital humanities (digital archiving, databases, data analysis and visualisation) and from the field of music creation and production (DAWs, virtual instruments, plugins, and an introduction to studio recording).

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

  • Demonstrate a general understanding of the potential applications of technologies related to data analysis and visualisation.

  • Use basic vocabulary in the field of digital humanities and data management.

  • Demonstrate a general understanding of the potential applications of technologies related to music creation.

  • Operate fluently in a DAW environment with MIDI and audio capabilities.

  • Approach the arrangement and production of musically complex pieces.

  • Use practical vocabulary to better understand and describe any sonic phenomenon.

  • Possess a solid theoretical foundation in both the history of modern music production and its procedural and analytical tools.

Learning outcomes

  1. Solving problems autonomously.
  2. Carrying out a planning for the development of a subject-related work.
  3. Solve problems of a methodological nature in the area of musicology.
  4. Interpret the rules localized information on the websites of regulatory bodies on the Internet.
  5. Develop habits for transfer to the ambit of musical dissemination and information the musical training acquired.
  6. Use computer applications to edit scores.
  7. Use sound sequencers and editors at user level.
  8. Apply basic technological concepts linked to music.
  9. Be familiar with all the computer tools specific to musicollogy and know how to apply them correctly in projects.

Contents

THEORETICAL:


  • Digital Humanities: what and why.
  • Basic concepts in Digital Humanities.
  • Formats: data file types and uses.
  • History of recording: key formats and technologies.
  • History of music production (1950–2020).
  • Theoretical foundations and basic principles of sound.
  • Basic aspects of mixing and signal routing.
  • Equalisation.
  • Compression.
  • Basic principles of the MIDI protocol and digital audio.
  • Introduction to music production in a DAW environment.
  • Introduction to sampling and sample libraries.
  • Introduction to synthesis and electronic audio generation.
  • Analytical study of various audio production tools with corrective and/or creative capabilities.



PRACTICAL:


  • Gathering and downloading data online.
  • Designing and creating a custom database.
  • Creating a data visualisation from a text.
  • Creating a data visualisation from a dataset.
  • Aural recognition of the studied effects and creative processes.
  • MIDI recording of a harmonic backing.
  • Hands-on activities related to different methods of sound synthesis.
  • Remixing a professional multitrack file.
  • Mixing an orchestral arrangement from a MIDI file.
  • Composition, production and mixing of a musical background for a video game sequence in a DAW environment.
  • Composition, production and mixing of music for an advertisement in a DAW environment.



FINAL PROJECT:


  • Composition, arrangement, recording, editing and mixing of an original track in the recording studio.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Practical sessions 25 1 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Information search 15 0.6 2, 4, 9
Supervision 7 0.28 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Practical work and final project 50 2 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9
Teacher lectures 20 0.8 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

The course combines theoretical and practical sessions. Historical, theoretical and applied concepts are explained in the theoretical sessions. In the practical sessions, the students will train using the basic functionalities of the software used for the course. For the practical sessions, the student will have a guiding document to go step by step throughout each practice. The final project will be based on a study recording and the delivery of a final report.

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
Continuous evaluation 30% 3.5 0.14 1, 4, 8
Final project 30% 28 1.12 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Theory exam 40% 1.5 0.06 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

The assessment for this course consists of three activities. Continuous classroom assessment (online) accounts for 30% of the final grade. The final project accounts for 30% of the final grade, and the conceptual knowledge examination accounts for the remaining 40%.

Students who do not pass the course will be entitled to a resit examination covering the entire syllabus. Coursework assignments are not eligible for resit.

Failure to submit both compulsory coursework assignments will result in the course being graded as Not Assessable.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as literature and information searches, text proofreading, translation, and other similar uses expressly authorised by the teaching staff. For any written assignment, students must clearly identify which parts have been prepared with the assistance of AI and specify the tools used. Failure to disclose the use of AI in an assessed activity will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or full penalty in the assessment of that activity.

Exchange students wishing to take an examination before the scheduled date must provide the instructor with an official written document from their home institution justifying their request.

This course does not offer the single assessment system.


In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.

Bibliography

BLANQUEZ, Javier y MORERA, Omar (2002): Loops, una historia de la música electrónica. Barcelona: Resevoir Books.

BROMHAM Gary; Moore, Austin (2023). Distortion in Music Production: The Soul of Sonics. Routledge.

BURDICK Anne, Johanna Drucker, Peter Lunenfeld, Todd Presner, i Jeffrey Schnapp. Digital_humanities. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012. https://archive.org/details/DigitalHumanities_201701

CLARKE, Eric i COOK, Nicholas, ed. Empirical Musicology: Aims, Methods, Prospects. Oxford University Press, 2004.

COX, Cristoph & WARNER, Daniel (Eds.). (2004). Audio culture: Readings in modern music. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.

CUNNINGHAM, Mark (1996): Good Vibrations. Londres: Sanctuary Productions.

HEPWORTH‑Sawyer, Russ; HODGSON, Jay; MARRINGTON, Mark (2019). Producing Music. Routledge.

FRITH, Simon; ZAGORGKI-THOMAS, Simon (eds.). (2012).The Art of Record Production: An Introductory Reader for a New Academic Field. Farnham: Ashgate.

GIBSON, David (2019). The art of mixing: a visual guide to recording, engineering, and production. Routledge.

KATZ, Mark. (2004): Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music. Berkeley: University of California Press.

MARTIN, George (1979): All you need is ears. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.

______________(1997): Summer of love. The making of Sgt. Peppers. Londres: Macmillan

MILES, Huber David (2007): The MIDI Manual. Abingdon: Focal Press.

MOYLAN, William; Burns, Lori; Alleyne, Mike (2022). Analyzing Recorded Music: Collected Perspectives on Popular Music Tracks. Routledge

LEVITIN, Daniel (2007). \"How recordings are made: analog and digital tape-based recording\". Dins: Audio Anecdotes III (pp. 3-14). AK Peters/CRC Press.

_____________(2014): Modern Recording Techniques. Abingdon: Focal Press.

RUDOLPH, Tom (1996): Teaching Music With Technology. Chicago: GIA Publications.

RUDOLPH, Tom; RICHMOND, Floyd; MASH, David and WILLIAMS, David (2002): The Technology Strategies for Music Education. Londres: Hal Leonard Publishing.

SAWYER, Russ Hepworth; HODGSON, Jay; MARRINGTON, Mark (2019): Producing Music.Routledge.

SIMONS, Dave (2004). Studio Stories: How the Great New York Records Were Made: From Miles to Madonna, Sinatra to the Ramones. Hal Leonard Corporation.

THEBÉRGE, Paul (1997): Any Sound You Can Imagine: Making Music/Consuming Technology. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press.

TRYNKA, Paul (Ed)(1996): Rock hardware: 40 years of rock instrumentation. London: Balafon Books.

WACHOLTZ, Larry E. (1996): Star tracks. Principles for success in the music and entertainment business. Nashville: Thumbs up Publishing.

WARNER, Timothy (2003): Pop music, tecgnology and creativity. London: Asgate.

Software

AUDACITY

Free, open-source, cross-platform audio software

https://www.audacityteam.org

PALLADIO

Free and open-source tool for visualizing historical data.

https://hdlab.stanford.edu/palladio/

REAPER

Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Cross-platform audio software

https://www.reaper.fm

VOYANT

Free and open-source software for text analysis and visualisation

https://voyant-tools.org/

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