2021 Book PerspectivesOnMusicSoundAndMus

Current Research in Systematic Musicology
Luísa Correia Castilho

Rui Dias
José Francisco Pinho Editors
Perspectives
on Music,
Sound and
Musicology
Research, Education and Practice
Volume 10
Series Editors
Rolf Bader, Musikwissenschaftliches Institut, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg,
Germany
Marc Leman, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
Rolf-Inge Godoy, Blindern, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
The series covers recent research, hot topics, and trends in Systematic Musicology.
Following the highly interdisciplinary nature of the field, the publications connect
different views upon musical topics and problems with the field’s multiple
methodology, theoretical background, and models. It fuses experimental findings,
computational models, psychological and neurocognitive research, and ethnic and
urban field work into an understanding of music and its features. It also supports a
pro-active view on the field, suggesting hard- and software solutions, new musical
instruments and instrument controls, content systems, or patents in the field of
music. Its aim is to proceed in the over 100 years international and interdisciplinary
tradition of Systematic Musicology by presenting current research and new ideas
next to review papers and conceptual outlooks. It is open for thematic volumes,
monographs, and conference proceedings.
The series therefore covers the core of Systematic Musicology, - Musical Acous-
tics, which covers the whole range of instrument building and improvement, Musical
Signal Processing and Music Information Retrieval, models of acoustical systems,
Sound and Studio Production, Room Acoustics, Soundscapes and Sound Design,
Music Production software, and all aspects of music tone production. It also covers
applications like the design of synthesizers, tone, rhythm, or timbre models based
on sound, gaming, or streaming and distribution of music via global networks.
• Music Psychology, both in its psychoacoustic and neurocognitive as well as in
its performance and action sense, which also includes musical gesture research,
models and findings in music therapy, forensic music psychology as used in
legal cases, neurocognitive modeling and experimental investigations of the
auditory pathway, or synaesthetic and multimodal perception. It also covers
ideas and basic concepts of perception and music psychology and global models
of music and action.
• Music Ethnology in terms of Comparative Musicology, as the search for uni-
versals in music by comparing the music of ethnic groups and social structures,
including endemic music all over the world, popular music as distributed via
global media, art music of ethnic groups, or ethnographic findings in modern
urban spaces. Furthermore, the series covers all neighbouring topics of
Systematic Musicology.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11684

Luísa Correia Castilho · Rui Dias ·
José Francisco Pinho
Editors
Perspectives on Music,
Sound and Musicology
Research, Education and Practice
Editors
Luísa Correia Castilho Rui Dias
School of Applied Arts of the Polytechnic School of Applied Arts of the Polytechnic
Institute of Castelo Branco Institute of Castelo Branco
Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas
Castelo Branco, Portugal Castelo Branco, Portugal

School of Applied Arts of the Polytechnic
Institute of Castelo Branco
Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas
Castelo Branco, Portugal
ISSN 2196-6966 ISSN 2196-6974 (electronic)

ISBN 978-3-030-78450-8 ISBN 978-3-030-78451-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5
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Preface
The book Perspectives on Music, Sound and Musicology: Research, Education and
Practice is the result of an invitation addressed to authors who stood out for their
quality and relevance to the music research community, from their contributions at
EIMAD 2020—7th Research Meeting in Music, Arts and Design, held on May 14
and 15, 2020, and published in the book Advances in Design, Music and Arts (Raposo
et al, Springer, 2021, ISBN 978-3-030-55699-0).
The book consists of a collection of independent essays which contribute to knowl-
edge in the area of music and sound, providing new perspectives on research and
contributing to the advancement of scientific, academic and practical knowledge. It is
worth noting the richness and variety of perspectives of these contributions that make
this book appealing for musicians, researchers, educators and all who are interested
in the areas of music and sound in its multiple strands. As a result of the research,
of multiple methodologies and reflection, it was possible to identify a clearer and
broader view of the presence and role of music and sound in culture, education and
society.
The book’s chapters are organized into three parts:
1. Musicology
2. Music and Sound Creation and Technology
3. Music Education and Intersection Areas
The first part, Musicology, begins with a systematic study, featuring music for
the Semana Santa by Manuel de Tares, a seventeenth-century Portuguese composer.
There follows a proposal for a cross between musicology and practical music using
Fantasia No 2 à Travers sans Basse, by Telemann, as a proposal for interpretation and
analysis aiming at the arrangement and realization of the structural intentions of a
composer, reflected in the performance of the interpreter and mediated for the public.
The next three chapters are dedicated to studies of musical iconography. The first
presents a descriptive and interpretative analysis of the musical motives identified
in the panel of S. Rosendo, in the Church of São Vitorioso, Braga, in Portugal. The
question of what constituted and what reveals the nature of the portraits of male
and female musicians in Portuguese paintings from the eighteenth and nineteenth
v
vi Preface
centuries is what is proposed in the fourth chapter, in addition to the presentation of an

inventory with more than a hundred portraits of amateur and professional musicians,
painted by Portuguese painters. To conclude the part, the theme of the portrait is
revisited, but in less common representations (or genuinely improbable) due to the
support chosen or to the style of representation. Having as its motto the centenary
of the birth of Amália Rodrigues (1920–1999), the chapter aims to map some of
the most unlikely representations (sugar packages, in the streets, in metro stations)
of the fado singer over the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and proceed to its
iconographic and iconological analysis.
The second part, Music and Sound Creation and Technology, is composed of
eight chapters. The first three chapters are dedicated to music creation and the
following five chapters deal with music technology, sound analysis, acoustics and
psychoacoustics.
The sixth chapter begins with the presentation of MicroSonic Spaces, an interac-
tive multimedia installation in which visitors can interact with a generative sonic
and musical environment, created by an ecosystem of artificial creatures. The
seventh chapter describes “Plantorumori‚” an ongoing research project relating music
and plants and presenting several conceptual, technical and artistical concerns of
“musicking” with plants. In the next chapter, the author presents a reflection on
music composition paradigms and a perspective over different approaches that foster
a growing connection between music and the real world. Following, a thorough anal-
ysis of the acoustic and psychoacoustic factors that can influence loudness perception
in a musical context, relating physical properties and musical dynamics, as well as
regarding common perception and hearing problems associated with loudness. In the
tenth chapter, the authors present an in-depth review of computational methods for
the representation and similarity computation of musical rhythms, focusing on the
machine understating of rhythm, in the symbolic and sub-symbolic domains. The
next chapter describes a highly precise computational model for onset detection in the
performance of the Maracatu de Baque Solto, by incorporating explicit knowledge
of Maracatu playing to provide a more accurate annotation of note onset positions,
over manual annotation. The twelfth chapter presents a 3D scanning method for
the analysis and measurement of geometrical and acoustical features of Timbila
wooden xylophones, as well as a physical model for the synthetic reconstruction of
the Timbila sound that can be used in multimedia and virtual reality applications.
The last chapter of this part proposes the development of harmonious sound alarms
for healthcare spaces that were designed considering psychoacoustic and musical
knowledge.
The different topics dealt with in the third part, Music Education and Intersection
Areas, are presented in the eight chapters. The first five chapters are dedicated to
issues related to music and education; the next two chapters address issues in the
field of human health; and the part ends with a discussion on the relationships between
design and music. The fourteenth chapter presents a case study on the musical training
that General Primary Education teachers receive at Palencia’s Faculty of Education,
University of Valladolid (Spain). The author discusses some “tension points” on the
initial training of teachers. In the fifteenth chapter, the authors discuss the use of
Preface vii
music as a factor of personal and social transformation. And, they present two social
research projects that are currently being developed in two Spanish autonomous
communities. In the sixteenth chapter, the author points out that in the context of arts
education in Portugal music education is not accessed with equity by all children
and “remains in a peripheral position in the curricular structure.” In the seventeenth
chapter, the authors carry out a research to determine the relevance of implementing a
holistic approach in music teaching. They summarize that despite the weaknesses of
the research, the results obtained seem to reinforce the value of a holistic approach to
children music education. In the eighteenth chapter, the author focuses on analyzing
the ten letters published by Carl Czerny on the art of playing the piano. The letter
was a kind of innovative tool that helped the teaching and learning of practical
and theoretical musical elements, while underlining the importance of choosing the
right repertoire. The nineteenth chapter reviews the concept of transdisciplinarity
in the context of a complex world with increasing crisis. The author formulates a
central question: Why is music not massively used in health institutions if music
reaches so many dimensions of living things? In the twentieth chapter, the authors
present a process in order to develop a musical instrument that can be used in music
therapy. There are two starting points: Music therapy helps with various diseases
(and a musical instrument is an essential element), and it is still a lack of proper
instruments and solutions more focused on therapy. The last chapter aims to elucidate
the relationships between design and music, appealing to the conceptual metaphor
debate. The metaphor an artwork is an organism (discussed regarding the String
Quartet op. 7 composition process by Arnold Schoenberg) is the link among different
heterogeneous practices as design and music.
Castelo Branco, Portugal Luísa Correia Castilho

Rui Dias
Contents
Musicology
The Music for the Holy Week of Manuel de Tavares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Telemann’s Fantasia No 2 à Travers Sans Basse: Compositional
Intentions, Performance Characteristics and Audio Footprint
Signal Processing Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Sofia B. Dias and Leontios J. Hadjileontiadis
The Sounds of the Baroque Tiles. An Iconographic Itinerary of St.
Victor’s Church, Braga, Portugal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Elisa Lessa and Helena Brandão
Portraits of Male and Female Musicians in Portuguese Paintings
from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Sónia Duarte
Amália Rodrigues in 2020—Mapping Some Ingenuously
Improbable Portraits of the Fado Diva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Luzia Aurora Rocha
Music and Sound Creation and Technology

MicroSonic Spaces: Towards an Autonomous Ecosystem of Virtual
Sonic Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Rui Dias
Musicking with Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Filipe Lopes and Paulo M. Rodrigues
Composition as Artistic Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Diogo Alvim
Sound Intensity and Loudness of Musical Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Carlos dos Santos-Luiz
ix
x Contents
A Review of Musical Rhythm Representation and (Dis)similarity

in Symbolic and Audio Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Diogo Cocharro, Gilberto Bernardes, Gonçalo Bernardo, and Cláudio Lemos
On the Use of Automatic Onset Detection for the Analysis
of Maracatu de Baque Solto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
João Fonseca, Magdalena Fuentes, Filippo Bonini Baraldi,
and Matthew E. P. Davies
3D Modeling Techniques for the Characterization and Sound
Synthesis of Timbila Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Vincent Debut and Eduardo Oliveira
Reducing Annoyance of Healthcare Soundscapes with Harmonious
Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Frederico Pereira, Rui Marques, Joana Vieira, and Guilherme Campos
Music Education and Intersection Areas

The Music Training of General Primary Education Teachers:
A Case Study at a Spanish University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Yurima Blanco-García and Alicia Peñalba
Artistic Music Projects and Their Educational, Cultural and Social
Relevance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Alberto Cabedo-Mas, Noemy Berbel-Gómez, and Maravillas Díaz-Gómez
The Peripheral Curriculum: Music Education as a Way
of Transformation and Social Justice in Children’s Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Maria Helena Vieira
A Holistic and Multidisciplinary Approach to Children Music
Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
António João César and Luísa Correia Castilho
Teaching Piano Through Letters: An Innovative Educational Tool
by Carl Czerny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Giovanna Carugno
Transtherapy of Music as a Benefit Beyond Ears and Senses . . . . . . . . . . . 347
Hermes de Andrade Júnior and Tamar Prouse de Andrade
Development of a Musical Instrument to Apply to Music Therapy . . . . . . 361
Beatriz Nunes, Inês Rodrigues, and Adriano Pinho
Notes on the Relationships Between Design and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Washington Morales Maciel
Musicology
The Music for the Holy Week of Manuel
de Tavares
Abstract Manuel de Tavares (c. 1585–1638), was a Portuguese composer, born in

Portalegre, who accomplished his professional career as Chapel Master in several
Spanish cathedrals, Baeza (1609–1612), Murcia (1612–1631), Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria (1631–1638) and Cuenca (1638), left a legacy of 28 compositions. Almost
a third of his surviving work is for the Holy Week, which includes various music-
liturgical genres such as: Passion, Lesson, Improperia and Hymn. In this chapter, it is
proposed to characterize this set of compositions and carry out a study of their char-
acteristics according to the following parameters: description of sources, the musical
contents and their normative framework; analysis of the macro-formal structure,
counterpoint texture, types of writing, the use of the modality, metric punctuation
and clauses, thematic and motive materials and the expressive relationship between
text and music.
1 Manuel de Tavares’s Life
Manuel de Tavares was probably born in Portalegre, Portugal, in 1585, according to

musical historiography, although, as yet, no birth certificate was found to confirm the
date. He was supposedly a choir boy and disciple of António Ferro in the Cathedral
of Portalegre. As a choir boy, he must have been expected to own a good voice, know
how to read, and learn plainchant and polyphony, as he would have been required
to officiate in church during religious services, namely Mass and Office (Martins,
1997).1 Manuel de Tavares studied under António Ferro, who in turn had been a
disciple of the great master of the cloister of Évora, Manuel Mendes. Therefore,
L. Correia Castilho (B)

Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas, Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco, Castelo Branco,
Portugal
e-mail: luisa.correia@ipcb.pt
CESEM, Lisbon, Portugal
1As evidenced by the Regiment of the Church, Choir and Cathedral of Portalegre, from 1560, in
Martins (1997), p. 55.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 3
L. Correia Castilho et al. (eds.), Perspectives on Music, Sound and Musicology,
Current Research in Systematic Musicology 10,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_1
4 L. Correia Castilho
Antonio Ferro was presumably a good teacher of music education, who must have
provided the young Manuel de Tavares with the theoretical and practical foundations
he needed for his future craft as a composer, as well as for the prestigious positions
he was to achieve in Spain.
The first precise known date of his professional career is as a Chapel Master
in the Andalusian city of Baeza, Spain, in 1609. In that year he would have been
around 24 years of age, a probable age for his first job as the most important musical
employee of a church. He settled down in this city with other family members, also
dedicated to music, namely the organist Francisco de Tavares. Manuel de Tavares
was at the service of this cathedral at least from 1609 to 1612,2 when he moved to
Murcia Cathedral in Spain to occupy the same position as Chapel Master (Redondo,
2012). He resided in this city for almost twenty years, until he departed it in order
to occupy the same position in the Cathedral of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in the
Canary Islands, Spain. In these Cathedrals the main duties of the chapel master were
to compose for the various rubrics of the Office and Mass, teach choir boys, rehearse
singers and instrumentalists and direct all musicians (Cavallé, 1991; Redondo, 2012;
Torre, 1997). When he arrived in the Canary Islands in 1631, he was accompanied
by his family: his wife Ana Manuel and his son Nicolau Tavares, who he was raising
for the office of Chapel Master. According to Hernández (2002), Manuel de Tavares
was the master who consolidated the polychoral style in the cathedral of Las Palmas,
to which he made a great professional contribution. For a salary of 300 ducats a
year, he enrolled the help of his son Nicholau, thus opening up expectations for his
future regarding his succession when he passed away or retired. Thus, tasks that
were formerly entrusted to several people were taken over by Manuel de Tavares,
such as teaching plainchant and polyphony to the choir boys, composing, rehearsing
and assembling Vilancicos for Christmas, Twelfth Night and Corpus Christi, orga-
nizing dances and theatrical colloquiums at Corpus Christi celebrations, selecting
new members for the chapel, teaching singing to minor chaplains, and rehearsing
with instrumentalists.
In many of these tasks, Nicolau Tavares, who did not belong to the cathedral’s staff,
helped his father. This aroused envy and complaints from some of the musicians.
The dispute culminated in September 1633, when two singers, in the absence of the
Master, rose up against the master’s son and violently mistreated him with insults,
for which they were harshly reprimanded by Chapter (Torre, 1997). Since this was
one among many disputes, Nicolau decided that his future would not be among
that hostile group of musicians and, as he was already professionally trained and
old enough to take a position as Chapel Master, he began to look for work in the
Peninsula, until he managed to obtain a post in Cadiz, in the summer of 1637.
The economic stability of Nicolau having been established left Manuel de Tavares
at ease to return to the Peninsula from the Canaries, as he had always wished. He was
to be eventually hired by the Cathedral of Cuenca, after several months of negotiation.
This Cathedral had been searching in vain for a famous master since it had dismissed
2 Books of Autos Capitulares the Year 1611–1616, archives of the Cathedral of Baeza, Fol. 29.
The Music for the Holy Week of Manuel de Tavares 5
Vicente Garcia on the 6th of April 1634, and Manuel de Tavares took possession of
the position in September 1638 (Millán, 1988; Stevenson, 1982, 1992).
However, perhaps because of the change of airs or the trip itself, Manuel fell
seriously ill and died a few days later on the 13th October. Only a few days later, on
the 16th October, his wife Ana Manuel also died, leaving their son Nicolau in a very
delicate situation. He already had his own family, a wife and children. Now he had to
make room in his home for the other children of the couple, his brothers and sisters.
However, the Chapter hired Nicolau, while Chapel Master in Cádiz, to come and
take on the same position in Cuenca Cathedral, with a considerable salary, since he
was considered an exceptional master. One can thus sense that his father and teacher,
Manuel de Tavares, had also been a great pedagogue, in a distinct pedagogical line
started in the Cathedral of Évora by Manuel Mendes (Millán, 1988).3
2 Description of Sources
Almost one third of the music pieces by Manuel de Tavares that have survived is
destined for the Holy Week, which includes various musical-liturgical genres such as:
Passion, Lesson, Improperia and Hymn. His manuscripts are mainly in the cathedral
of Baeza, but also in that of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In the Cathedral of Baeza,
where he was in service at the beginning of his career (1609–1612), a series of his
compositions are to be found in a facistol book, with quota M 4, manuscript volume,
0.43 × 0.29 × 0.05 m, bound in cardboard and lined in metal-edged leather. It contains
112 folios, with ten pentagrams per page, front and back. Pentagrams, music and
lyrics are etched in brown. The manuscript, copied in the middle of the eighteenth
century, contains music pieces by several other composers linked to the Cathedral
of Baeza: Diego Fernández Garzón, Juan Fernández Garzón, Esteban Alvarez, Juan
Ruiz Ramírez and Mateo Núñez (Cavallé, 1991) (Table 1).
The music pieces are the following:
• Fol. 22v a 24r: Gloria, laus et honor, for 4 voices (S A T B4 );
• Fol. 24v a 26r: Israel es tu rex, for 4 voices (2S A T);
• [Fol. 26v a 37r: Dominica Palmarum, a quatro [Paixão segundo S. Mateus] for 4
voices + 2 voices (SATB + ST)]5 ;
• Fol. 44v a 53r: Lamentatio prima in secunda nocte [De Lamentatione Jeremias
Prophetas], for 5 voices (S A 2 T B);
• [Fol. 53v a 58r: Feria Sexta in paraceve, a quatro, [Paixão segundo S. João] for
4 voices + 2 voices (SATB + SA)]6 ;
• Fol. 58v a 59r: Popule meus, a quatro, for 4 voices (S A T B);
3 Actas Capitulares, Diocesan Archives of Cuenca, f. 43v e 117.

4 The abbreviations of the voices used in this text are the usual S (Soprano), A (Alto), T (Tenor), B
(Bass).
5 Sometimes the S and T make divisi.
6 Sometimes the S and A make divisi.
Table 1 Genre and title of

Genre Title
music pieces for the Holy
Week The Passion of the Christ Passion according to St. John at
4–6
Verse of St. John’s Passion: Jesus
Nazarenus a 4
Verse of St. John’s Passion: Partiti
sunt a 4
Verse of St. Lucas Passion: Sprevit
autem a 4
Passion According to Matthew at
4-64-6
Lesson De Lamentacione Jeremias
Prophetae a 5
Improperia (Reproaches) Popule meus a 4
Hagios o Theos a 8 (incomplete)
Hymn Gloria, laus et honor a 4
Vs 1 Israel es tu rex a 4
• Fol. 59v a 60r: Hagio, A 8, chorus 2º, for 4 voices (SATB) fo the 2nd choir.7
The composer’s remaining works for the Holy Week at Las Palmas de Gran
Canaria Cathedral are in a manuscript, bound in cardboard and lined in dark leather,
with quota B/XI-1, with dimensions of 0.43 × 0.29 × 0.04 m. It contains 55 folios,
with a variable number of pentagrams etched on each page, front and back, done in
several inks, the notation being also in several inks. The manuscript was copied at
the end of the seventeenth century by Diego Durón (Hernandez, 1978), Master of the
Chapel of Las Palmas Cathedral between 1676 and 1731. Between folios 13 and 55
there are four passions of Melchor Cabello. Tavares added three verses, with music
for four male voices (AATB): two of the verses for the Passion of St. John and one
for the Passion of St. Luke. The verse for St. Luke corresponds to the text “Sprevit
autem illum Herod… et remisit ad pilatum” and is in folios 45v-46r. The verses for
St. John’s Passion correspond to the inscription “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”,
found in folios 51v-52r, and “Partiti sunt vestienta… miserunt sortem” is to be found
in folios 53v and 54r. These last two verses have basso continuo, which according to
Hernandez (1978) was added by Diego Durón after the book was compiled. What is
certain is that the accompaniment appears under the Bass part, in a musical writing
of smaller dimensions.
Generally, in these two groups of music pieces for the Holy Week, authorship is
signalled at the top, at the beginning of each music piece, either on the left page or on
the right page and in different writing type: Mtro. Tavares, M. Tavarez, M. Tabares,
manuel de tabares, Manuel de Tavares, Tavares, Tabares. The vocal distribution being
7 Continuation of the previous work, however this second part is the eight voices and the first choir
is missing.
very varied, the following combinations appear in the four voices: SATB, SSAT,
AATB; five voices: SATTB; and six voices: SSAATB, SSATTB. For the precise
determination of the tessitura, the three clefs, G, C and F, are used in their common
presentations: G in the second line, C in the first, second, third and fourth lines, and
F in the third and fourth lines. For each of the voices there are two possibilities of
writing clefs, in the case of soprano, alto and tenor, or three possibilities in the case
of bass and accompaniment. The soprano can be found in the C Clef in the first line
or in the G-Clef in the second; the contralto in the C Clef in the second or third
lines; the tenor in the C Clef in the third or fourth lines; and finally the bass and the
accompaniment in the C Clef in the fourth line or F in the third and fourth lines. These
various possibilities of arrangement on the musical score are directly related to the
technique of writing in chiavette, used in polyphony in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries (Rubio, 1956). According to the practices of the time, there are two possible
combinations of clefs, one being the chiavi naturali (high clefs) and the other the
chiavi transportte (low clefs), both possibilities being found in the music of Manuel
de Tavares, with the following distribution:
o Low keys: C1, C3, C4 or F4
o High keys: G2, C2, C3 and C4 or F3.
Regarding the arrangement of voices in the facistol’s books, there is generally
the principle, current at the time, of alternating the voices between the two pages
of the open book, in descending order of their tessituras, but there are also some
exceptions to this rule. In the four-voiced compositions with the SATB arrangement,
the Soprano and the Contralto are placed at the top, the first on the left and the second
on the right (considering that the book is open), and the Tenor and the Bass are at the
bottom, respectively on the left and right, which corresponds to the most common
option; with the arrangement of the AATB voices, on the left page there are A1 and
T, respectively at the top and bottom, on the right page, A2 is at the top and B is
at the bottom; with the arrangement of the SSAT voices, S1 and S2 are at the top
respectively at the left and right, T is at the bottom of S1 on the left page and A is
on the right page under S2. The five voice compositions (SATTB) on the left page
are from top to bottom S, T1 and the first part of B, while on the right page there are
from top to bottom A, T2 and the second part of B. In the six voice compositions
(SSAATB) the Sopranos appear at the top, the Altos in the middle and the Tenor and
Bass in the lower part.
Arrangement of the voices:
4 S A A A S S
voices T B T B T A
5 S A 6 S S
voices T T voices A A
B (1/2) B (1/2) T B
The diatonic organisation characteristic of the modal system is respected, however

a B flat can be used in the key signature to indicate a transposition to the lower fifth
of the original mode. There is a liberal use of changes, almost all corresponding to
the use of the sharps, in the notes F, C, and more rarely in G, and of the flat in the
notes B and E. There are several measurement signs used and the type of proportion
between the values of the figures can be ternary or binary, although the latter is
in greater quantity. The measurement signs which appear in the compositions are:
tempus imperfectum cum prolatione imperfecta, represented by “c” and its diminutio
simplex, represented by “Z”. The ligatures used are small in number and clearly
readable, which is in accordance with the conventions of the time in which it was
written. Apel (1953) thus refers to the episodic use of ligatures in musical texts: “In
the sixteenth century they gradually disappear and only a few of the simplest forms
survive until the middle of the seventeenth century” (p. 88).The text is sometimes
incorrectly written and its application to singing often suffers from some vagueness.
The usual signs of repetition of words or passages, such as.ij. or.y, are used. Often
only the first words of each section appear at the bass. Usually the first letter of the
text is carefully drawn with an illumination.
3 The Genres of Liturgical Music and the Description

of Musical Contents
Within the annual liturgical cycle, the Holy Week assumes a particular importance
in Christianity. In this period, and in parallel with the liturgical forms of the lessons
and their respective responsorial psalms, the improperia and processional songs, the
music of the Passion of the Christ has always played an important role. As such, the
narration of the Passion of the Christ represents the culmination of the liturgy of the
Holy Week (Cardoso, 2001). The text on which any Passion of the Christ is based is
the biblical story of the death and resurrection of the Christ, with its dramatic action:
a narrated part (Evangelist, Chronicler), the words and textual replies of individual
characters (such as Christ, Pilatus, St. Peter) and the shouting from the crowd (such
as Jews, soldiers).
From the eleventh to the twelfth centuries onwards, the four Gospels of Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John were linked to the calendar of the Passion. They were inte-
grated respectively into Palm Sunday Mass, Holy Tuesday Mass and Ash Wednesday
Mass, as well as in the syntax of Good Friday (Cardoso, 1998). According to
Cardoso (1998), the “Caeremoniale Episcoprum, mandado codificar por Clemente
VIII (1592–1605), no seguimento das normas litúrgicas do Concílio de Trento, apre-
senta uma versão da cerimónia da Paixão que se tornou modelo para a igreja univer-
sal”8 (p. 101). This genre of liturgical music is perhaps the one that offers more
8 Translation: Caeremoniale Episcoprum, which Pope Clement VIII (1592–1605) had codified,
following the liturgical norms of the Council of Trent, presents a version of the Passion of the
Christ ceremony that has become staple for the Church as a whole.
possibilities of musical dramatization, because of the differentiation between indi-

rect speech, for the Chronicler, and direct speech for the individual and collective
characters.
There are several categories within the polyphonic Passion of the Christ:
• The Proemium which is a generic introductory phrase that applies to the four
versions of the Passion of the Christ, with the difference only of the name of the
respective Evangelist: Passio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi secundum [Mathaeum,
Marcum, Lucam, Johannem]Il illo tempore…
• Text of the Passion, to indicate the music corresponding to the narrative discourse,
commonly identified as the role of the Chronicler (C).
• Verses of the Passion, which focus on phrases taken from the liturgical song of
the Passion to be spoken by either the Chronicler (C) or the Christ (+).
– Sayings of the Christ, corresponding to the polyphonic verses spoken by the
Christ.
– Different sayings, corresponding to the polyphonic verses of narrative
discourse and of the Christ himself.
• Bradados of Passion, corresponding to the sayings of the Passion characters, with
the exception of those of the Christ, including the sayings of singular characters
and also the sayings of the crowd, or of a group of characters.
• Turbae a subspecies of the Bradados, which refers to the singing of phrases
attributed by the Evangelists to groups of people involved in the Passion of Christ,
such as the disciples, the Jews, the soldiers, etc. (Cardoso, 1998).
The Passion of the Christ texts provided polyphonic composers with powerful
recitation possibilities, given the texts’ profound emotional impact. However,
composers were strongly conditioned by the centuries-old conventions of Passion
Songs that were melodic and modal. These put a strong emphasis on adopting a
melodic model, in which the recitative note by the tenor had to correspond to the
repercussa of the accentus’ Psalm tone for each of the three traditional Passion singers
(the Christ, the Chronicler and singular or collective characters).
In the case of Spain there were two main traditions for this melodic model or
cantus passionis, one in Aragon (the north-western region of the Iberian Peninsula)
and the other in Castilla (the central region of the Peninsula). In the case of the region
of Castilla, which is the one under scrutiny, the tradition of the recitation of the cantus
passionis, also known as cantus toledano, can be followed through handwritten and
printed sources. There are two forms of musical fixation of the same version: the
Toledo manuscripts with the tenors e, g, c ; and the Escorial manuscripts with f/d,
a, c /d (Fischer, 2001; Gonzalez Valle, 1992; Turner, 2000). The latter is the one
Tavares uses in the two Passions of Baeza. This model was to influence polyphonic
interpretations of the Passion throughout the seventeenth century in the geographical
area of Castile.
Of Manuel de Tavares’ five music pieces, two are complete and three display
interpolations of new verses in Passions composed by Melchor Cabello. All fall into
the category of Turbae of the Passion of the Christ or parts relating to the crowd,
which from the sixteenth century began to be composed in polyphony. The form
of execution was usually the responsorial, in which there was alternation between
plainchant and polyphony.
The two Turbae of the Passion of the Christ coming from the Cathedral of Baeza,
one according to St. John (E-BAE M4 Fol. 53v-58r) and the other according to St.
Matthew (E-BAE M4 Fol. 26v-37r) present some interesting characteristic profiles:
• They present the same Polyphonic Proemium9 ;
• In addition to the recitations of the collective characters, the Passion of the Christ
according to St. Matthew includes parts of verses spoken by the Chronicler;
• There are no phrases spoken by individual characters (Bradados);
• Although they are for four voices, some verses are for five and for six voices;
• The first two verses, which have the same text as the Passion according to St. John
(Jesum Nazarenum), also contain the same music…
The fact that Manuel de Tavares includes spoken verses by the chronicler is in line
with the practice of his contemporaries. According to several scholars of the subject
it is a typically Spanish characteristic. Thus, according to Gonzales Valle (1992),
certain verses of the Passion of the Christ belonging to the Chronicler’s part already
stand out in monodic sources: either because only these passages are neumated, while
the others are not, or because when all the parts appear with neumes, they present
melismas. In the polyphonic tradition, it is precisely these verses that are included
in the polyphonic composition, while the others are not. This tendency to highlight
certain passages of the Passion of the Christ, may be accounted for as the desire to
keep alive the memory of the penitential character of the Mozarabic liturgy (Gonzales
Valle, 1992).
One of the new ways Manuel de Tavares explored in order to highlight these words
was to increase the texture of one or two voices, plus a soprano or plus a soprano and
a tenor. In the music pieces in which he made interpolations, these were originally
verses from the Turbae of the Passion of the Christ and some verses with sayings of
the Chronicler, to which he added more verses about what the Chronicler said.
The Passion of the Christ according to St. John, whose original title is Feria Sexta
in parasceve, is for four voices (SATB), with one or two more voices (SA) in certain
parts. The first sentence corresponds to the Proemium, the introductory elocution
of the liturgical passage of the Passion Song: Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christe
secundo Joannem. In illo tempore. All other sentences correspond to the collective
characters of the Gospel of the Passion according to St. John (Jn 18:1-40, and 19:1-
42) corresponding to the Turba. It is sung in the “Liturgical Action of the Passion”
of Good Friday, before the reading of the Gospel (Cardoso, 1998).
9 All polyphonic voices are similar, not just one. According to Cardoso (1998, p. 287), although
this may not be common, it also appears in examples where polyphony is used only in the Turbae
or even in Bradados.
The Passion according to St. Matthew, whose original title is Dominica Palmarum,
is for four voices (SATB) with one or two more voices (ST) in certain parts. The
first sentence corresponds to the Proem, the introductory elocution of the liturgical
passage of the Passion Song: Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christe secundo Matthaeum.
In illo tempore. All other phrases correspond to the collective characters of the Gospel
of the Passion according to St. Matthew (Mt. 26:1-75, and 27:1-66) corresponding
to the Turbas, except the phrases “Flevit amare”, “Voce magna dicens”, “Emisit
spiritum” and “Contra sepulcrum” which are verses spoken by the chronicler. They
are sung on Palm Sunday Mass before the Gospel reading (Cardoso, 1998).
Jesus Nazarenus and Partiti sunt are for four voices (AATB and Bass continuo,
being interpolations in a passion according to St. John by Melchor Cabello. The texts
correspond to verses spoken by the chronicler of the Gospel of the Passion according
to St. John. They are sung in the “Liturgical Action of the Passion” on Good Friday,
before the reading of the Gospel.
Sprevit autem is for four voices, and is also an interpolation in a musical piece by
Melchor Cabello of a Passion according to St. Luke. The text corresponds to a verse
said by the chronicler of the Gospel of the Passion according to St. Luke. It is sung
on Ash Wednesday Mass before the reading of the Gospel.
A Lesson is a formal reading of a text, taken from the Scriptures, in a liturgical
service. The most frequent cases of lessons for which Iberian Peninsula sixteenth-
century composers wrote music were those of the Office of the Dead and the Lamen-
tations of Holy Week. However, the way they treated each one of them was very
distinct (Rubio, 1983). The former, as in the improperia, generally adopted a homo-
phonic style, with some melodic ornamentation in cadential points or to highlight a
word when its content or intention required it. As to the composition of the Lamen-
tations, the imitative style was the dominant resource although sometimes there was
a combination of both. These are called the three readings of the first nocturne of the
Sacred Triduum Matins. They are based on the lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah,
who mourns the destruction of Jerusalem, which the Church applies metaphorically
to the death of Jesus. Each verse is preceded by letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which
the Latin tradition of the Vulgate maintained and then integrated into the liturgy. Since
the Middle Ages, the letters were more ornate than the texts of the verses. As in the
psalms, the original Gregorian themes, or in Spain’s case of the tonus lamentationis,
known as “tom toledano”, are latent in these pieces, but not always with the same
evidence (Sol, 2016; Torrente, 2016). A similar situation occurs in the Lamentation
of Manuel de Tavares, since it seems to engender a tonal type -G-c1. Jeremiah’s
Lamentation is for five voices (SATTB) and is part of the first lesson, of the first
nocturne, of the Good Friday Matins Morning Office.
The Popule meus is for four voices (SATB) and appears in the verse of the first
part of the Good Friday Adoration of the Cross Improperia, and also in the refrain
of the second part, alternating with the nine verses “Ego…”. Hagios o Theos is the
continuation of Popule meus. This is for four voices and it is complete; but when it
passes to the second part with eight voices, the first chorus is missing. The text is in the
Acclamations of the Trisagio (Sanctus), which consists of a triple deprecation, each
sentence with the Greek text Hagios, followed by the Latin equivalent, proclaimed
in the first part of the Improperia.
The Hymn is one of the oldest poetic forms. The term was used in ancient Greece
and Rome to designate a poem in honour of a God. At the beginning of the Christian
period the term was often used to refer to a song of praise or laud to God. As for the
Latin Hymn, it is a strophic composition, sung in the Divine Office, with a poetic
text and a predominantly syllabic melody. Hymns differ from psalms in that they
are organised in stanzas, whereas the latter are in non-metric verses (Reese, 1989).
From the middle of the sixteenth century, instead of composing for all the stanzas of
a hymn, it became customary to compose only for a few separate stanzas. When this
happened, the other stanzas were performed in plainchant alternating with polyphony.
The cantus firmus would be present in one of the voices, usually the tenor’s or the
soprano’s. Sometimes the same hymn composition would use different cantus firmus
for different stanzas (Nosow, 2001). This is the case of the hymn Gloria, laus et honor,
where the chorus is for SATB and is in mode I transposed to G, and its verse is for
SSAT and is in mode X transposed to D. The text is attributed to Theodulphus, bishop
of Orléans († 821) and is in the Processional Hymn Gloria, laus et honor Deo which
is performed before re-entry into the church during the Palm Procession.
4 Counterpoint Texture, Types of Writing,

and Macro-formal Structure
This group is mainly composed of musical pieces for four voices with three types
of textures: a first type of four equal voices (SATB) a cappella, and arranged for
voce piena10 ; another type that explores the upper ambitus of SSAT textures, and
a third type that favours a slightly deeper AATB scope. The a cappella vocal style
belongs to the archetype elaborated until the middle of the sixteenth century and it
will last through the seventeenth century, designated by the Italians as stile antico
(Bukofzer, 2002). In the plot of the musical counterpoint, the components of each of
the Soprano-Tenor (S-T) and Contralto-Bass (A-B) voice pairs report between the
corresponding ambits the distance of an octave approximately and the inputs of the
voices normally occur at the distance of a fifth interval. The corresponding four-voice
voices of texture seem at first to perform equivalent tasks in the presentation of the
thematic-motivic material and its counterpoint treatment, according to the respective
ecclesiastical mode. Normally it is the pair S and T that retains the preponderance in
the display of melodic themes and motifs, but the pair A and B perform an analogous
function, albeit in a thematically subservient arrangement. This modal hierarchy
fosters a certain structural symmetry of the whole. The voice of the bass reveals
a behaviour quite similar to that of the other voices with regard to the imitative
10 That is, four vocal lines, in which each voice corresponds to approximately one octave, whose
tessituras unfold and intersect in order to reach a range of approximately 2.5 octaves. Cf. (Meier,
1988, pp. 53–60).
counterpoint. However, a different behaviour from the other voices is repeatedly

recognised on the bass, as part of the logic of polyphonic construction, which gives
it a less intervening role at the counterpoint level, serving instead as the conduction of
the harmonic movement of the other voices, defining the progressions of the chords
involved. In the compositions with the SSAT texture, the Tenor has an identical role
to that of the Bass, sometimes more intervening at the contrapuntal level, sometimes
as a harmonic support, defining the progressions of the chords involved (Table 2).
In the music piece for five voices, Lamentation by Jeremiah, the texture SATB
is increased by another Tenor. Throughout the composition there are contrasts of
textures through the reduction of one of the voices, sometimes suppressing a Tenor,
or the Bass. In the case of a hymn, which is also for five voices, the situation is
different because it has to do with the characteristics and execution of the Hymns.
In the case of the Hymn Gloria, laus et honor the refrain is for SATB, but its verse
Israel es tu rex is already for SSAT. The two music pieces being for six voices, to the
texture SATB in one composition is added one more Soprano and one Alto, and to
the other one more Soprano and one Tenor. In fact, these compositions referring to
Table 2 Voices, clefs, modes, sections

Title Voices N.º Clef Key-sign Modes Sections Nr.º
VV Comp
Passion SATB+S2+A2 6 High b VIII 14 186
according to S. transposed
John into C
Vs St. John AATB+BC 4 Low – X 1 30
Passion: Jesus
Nazarenus
Vs St. John AATB+BC 4 Low – X 2 47
Passion: Partiti
sunt a
Vs St. Lucas AATB 4 Low – X 3 62
Passion:
Sprevit autem
Passion SATB+S2+T2 6 High b I transposed 25 420
according to S. into G
Matthew
De SATTB 5 Low b II 12 404
Lamentacione transposed
Jeremias into G
Prophetae
Popule meusa SATB 4 High – IX 1 39
Gloria, laus et SATB 4 High b I transposed 3 79
honor a into G
Vs 1 Israel es SSAT 4 High b X 2 65
tu rex transposed
into D
Fig. 1 Jeremiah’s Lamentation (c. 295–308)
the Passions are for four voices, in which in some sections one, or two voices make
divisi. Thus, throughout these two musical pieces there is a great contrast of textures
through the reduction or increase of voices, creating sections for three, four, five
and six voices. Thus, the plot of musical counterpoint in musical pieces for five and
six voices is identical to those for four voices. The following example shows what
was said about the behaviour of the bass voice. In the first part, its role is essentially
melodic-thematic, while in the second part it assumes a generalized reinforcement
of harmonic support of the texture (Fig. 1).
As for the counterpoint11 texture of these musical pieces, there is a great predom-
inance of the imitative counterpoint, representing 50.1% of the metric units, that
is, half of its average length, which corresponds to the situation inherited from the
Mannerist polyphonic tradition. Homophony, with 26% of the bars, and free coun-
terpoint, with 23.9% of the bars, occupy the remaining the other half. Thus, in the
music for the Holy Week of Manuel de Tavares, imitation constitutes the basis of the
polyphonic discourse, alternating with sections of homophony or free counterpoint,
aimed at obtaining effects of variation and contrast.
As for their macro-formal structure, the two Passions of Baeza stand out for the
structure of their rather extensive and complex liturgical texts. From the point of view
11The following assumptions were taken into account when classifying the various types of
counterpoint writing:
(a) Free counterpoint: textures that do not consist of imitation or homophony/homorhythm.
(b) Imitation: strict or canonical imitation, which consists of the presentation of a theme or motif
in several voices, either in real or tonal imitation; free imitation in which an incomplete or
unequal presentation of the theme or motif is given.
(c) Homophony: presupposes the equality of rhythmic values in all voices, but may include
situations in which there is some configuration, especially in cadential places. Homophony
can be free, or they can be in polychoral imitation.
of the principles of formal organisation, they make moderate use of the motet-form,12
constituting forms modelled on the liturgical structure of the texts. As far as their
external form is concerned, they are compositions of great dimensions, especially the
Passion according to St. Matthew, with 420 metric units, and that of St. John, with
186. As for the internal sectioning, the characteristics of the corresponding texts result
in a much higher number of sections than any of the author’s other compositions.
The Passion according to St. Matthew has 25 sections and the Passion according to
St. John has 14 sections. The other passions are interpolations in a work of another
composer, and it is only natural that their sectioning is limited to from one section,
in the case of Jesus Nazarenus, to three sections, in the Sprevit autem.
Jeremiah’s Lamentation, like the Passions, makes a moderate use of the motetic-
style,13 consisting of 404 metric units, in twelve sections. However, it presents a more
complex structure, as there is a recurring theme that appears throughout the piece.
Its formal structure is as follows:
A1 – A 2 – A 3 – B – A – C – D – E – A – F – G – H
Popule meus, which has only one section, uses the strophic form. The hymns resort
to the mototec-style. Gloria, laus et honor presents the text of the first two stanzas
treated in the scheme of a double motet or motet in two parts. The first stanza, written
in the mode I (authentic D transposed to G), has three sections; the second stanza,
Israel es tu rex, written in the mode X (A plagal transposed to D), has two sections.14
12 Polyphonic music was governed, above all, by one of the most predominant principles of formal
organization of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, which was called the formal motetic prin-
ciple or motetic style. This, according to Wolff (2001), emerged as a division of the ecclesias-
tical style and was categorised as a style of composition derived from the traditional polyphonic
language, especially Palestrina and its tradition, and was applied to genres other than Motet, such
as Mass, psalms, lessons, antiphons, hymns, songs, etc. Gonzalez Valle (1992) also refers to the
motor style in the following terms: “Las Pasiones polifónicas españolas han sido elaboradas de
diversos modos…Junto a estas encontramos otras, en las que esa técnica se entremezcla con la
del motete, es decir, donde el contrapunto simple, o nota contra nota, alterna con el compuesto
o imitativo” (p. 92). Further describes: “ Las pasiones de Guerrero tienden al estilo motético. No
me refiero aquí a la “Pasión-motete”, es decir, todo el texto compuesto como un motete, sino al
estilo técnico-compositivo “ (p. 105). Thus, it was characterised by the constant melodic flow of
the various voices, in an uninterrupted succession of the sound discourse, and the author went so
far as to state that there is nothing more opposed to true polyphonic art than a piece with a series of
passages limited by their respective cadence and separated from each other by a silence, even if it
is very brief. As such, the conduction of the voices must be such that, while some of them make a
cadence, the others continue their movement, that is, the entries of each of the voices and the ends
of the sentences must alternate. All this contributes to the formal balance of discourse at the level
of composition as a whole (Rubio, 1983; Torrente, 2016).
13 According to Massenkeil (2001) stylistically the Lamentations are similar to the motet.
14 We find this hymn treated in a similar way by several composers, for example in Francisco
Ximeno, Maestro of the Albarracin Chapel. CF. Obras de la Capilla de la Catedral de Albarracin
(Teruel) de los siglos XVII y XVIII, estudio y transcripción de Muneta (1986) «Polifonía Aragonesa»
(vol. III, p. 13) Zaragoza: Institución Fernando el Católico.
5 The Use of the Modality
Manuel de Tavares’ music naturally fits into the concept of the modal system of
the late Renaissance, as it extended into the sixteenth century and early seventeenth
century, but already taking into account the expansion of this system proposed by
Glareano.15 This aspect concerns the musical style of Tavares’s work, as the “new”
modes are widely used, in five of the eight musical pieces in this collection, corre-
sponding to a percentage of 62.5%. However, in modes other than A and C, there is
also modal hybridism, by introducing heterodox procedures, consequently extending
a series of rules underlying the theory of the modal counterpoint, which results in the
coexistence of elements linked to tradition with other more modernising ones. These
leaks affect particularly the voices’ ambitus, being often excessive, in the exploitation
of cadences foreign to the chosen mode and in the application of chromaticism.
The Passion according to St. Matthew is in Mode I transposed to G and the Passion
according to St. John is in Mode VIII transposed to C. Both have a surplus scope
in one or several voices. This is not surprising since these compositions are part
of the first decades of the seventeenth century, after a hot debate about the balance
of practice and theory. Practice was in favour of a more sensorial nature of music,
while theory viewed the conception of music as the result of rational rules and the
praxis/theory debate is present in the musical pieces. In this sense the mixing and co-
mixing of modes is used in both Passions, and there is even a curious case because,
as pointed above, they are in different modes. However, the Proem is exactly the
same. Thus, in the Passion according to St. John it begins in Mode I (Authentic D)
transposed to the G, as in St. Mark’s, and then takes the modality of its composition
which is in Mode VIII (Plagal G) transposed to C.
The musical piece in which co-mixing of modes is most evident is in the Hymn
Gloria, laus et Honor, which is in Mode I transposed to G. However, the verse Israel
es tu rex contrasts decisively with it, for it is in Mode X transposed to D. Thus
the same musical piece exhibits the use of “new” modes side by side with more
traditional ones.
This collection of musical pieces also evidences a predilection for so-called
“minor”16 modes, which probably is due to expressive intentions suggested by the
texts. Since these musical pieces are intended for periods of penance and mourning
in the context of the liturgical year, it is easier to understand this choice of so-called
“minor” modes. Zarlino found that the use of initial Minor Third was particularly well
suited to texts in which the content contained some references to ideas of humility or
15 It was with his musical piece composed in 1547, entitled Dodecachordon, that this theorist carried
out the definitive codification of modes, extending the eight traditional modes to twelve. Thus, the
new modes of A (aeolian) and C (Ionian) received their theoretical consecration, since they were
progressively adopted in polyphonic praxis, tending towards an evolutionary process, which would
ultimately lead to the prefiguration of the modern major and minor tonalities. The vulgarization of
these two modes would also lead to the effect of the gradual dissolution of the intervallic patterns
characteristic of the eight older ecclesiastical modes.
16 Minor modes are those whose first third is minor.
humiliation, of prostration or of veneration of a superior entity.17 It should be noted

that for the Holy Week repertoire, Tavares uses the “minor” modes in 87.5% of the
works.
6 Metric Punctuation and Clauses
In the seventeenth century, metric punctuation was achieved through cadences.18

In counterpoint theory this process resulted from the formation and resolution of
dissonances in a nucleus of two melodic lines.19 There was a horizontal perspec-
tive in formation of the clause, in which the textures, consisting of overlapping
sentences, were structured in a melodic logic. In the horizontal conception of poly-
phonic discourse, melodic events result from the combination of two independent
parts of melodies. According to Meier (1988)20 the basic cadential morphology
is as follows: cantizans clausula, with the melodic movement I-VII-I or I-VII#-I;
tenorizans clausula, with the movement II-I or II-III; altizans clausula, with the
movement IV-III or IV-V; bassizans clause with the movement V-I. These clauses
may appear in any voice with the exception of bassizans.21
An analysis of the various clausulae in each of the polyphonic pieces of Tavares’s
work evidences a system that tends to incorporate the various types of clauses. In
addition to the counterpoint clauses, there are clauses whose principle of constitution
differs from the first ones, in particular because they assumed a vertical logic in which
the deepest part of the texture had a dominant function.
These clauses, of harmonic denomination, advance sound aggregates vertically,
independent of the formation and resolution of dissonances. Although these harmonic
clauses were not contemplated with any explicit formulation by the various theo-
retical treatises, the harmonic and vertical component of the cadential progressions
became more and more present and conscious in the musical praxis as the seventeenth
century progressed.22
17 Zarlino (1573). Intitvtioni Harmoniche (III Parte, Cap. 71, f. 341–342). Venetia: Francesco de i
Francschi Senefe.
18 The term clausula was used in most Iberian sources but also, according to Meier (1988), by
Germanic authors, although cadenza or cadenza was used in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
as a synonym, mainly by Italian authors.
19 Zarlino (1573). Intitvtioni Harmoniche (libro III, cap. 51, fol 148–149 [248-249]); Bermudo
(1555). Declaración de instrumentos musicales (libro V, cap. 7 a 29, fols 123–136). Osuna: Juan de
León. [Edición facsímil por Macario Santiago Kastner (Kassel, 1957)]; Santa María (1565). Libro
llamado Arte de tañer fantasia (pp. 62–67). Valladolid: Francisco Fernández de Córdoba.
20 Meier (1988): I parte, Cap. 4º, pp. 89–99.
21 In the case of some musical pieces by Tavares in which the Tenor is the deepest voice of texture,
the bassizans clause appears in this voice.

22 The typology adopted was that used by Lopes (1996). A Missa “Pro Defunctis” na Escola
de Manuel Mendes. Dissertação de Mestrado. Lisboa: Universidade Nova de Lisboa. CF. Castilho
(2009). As obras de Manuel de Tavares e o desenvolvimento da policoralidade portuguesa do século
The main types of clause are briefly explained below:

• Clausula Vera (II → I) is characterised by the counterpointing and convergent
movement of two voices, carried out by cantizans (I-VII-I) and tenorizans (II-I),
cantizans in a higher voice than tenorizans. Given the absence of the basizans
clause, it is often the case that the tenorizans clause appears in the Bass.
• Clausula Vera (V → I) includes a reinforcement of I granted by the deeper vocal
part of the texture, by means of a V-I movement, when this part is not itself holder
of II. That is, the one that combines the cantizans and tenorizans formulas with
a basizans clause, i.e. the I reinforcement granted by the deeper vocal part of
the texture, by means of the V-I movement. This clausula configuration gives a
greater resting effect and a greater conclusive force.
• Other possible configurations of the Vera clausula are: the inverted (VINV),
incomplete (VINC) and modified (VMOD) variant, all of which can be cumu-
lative. In the case of the inverted variant, the tenorizans clause (II-I) appears in a
higher voice than the cantizans clause (I-VII-I), which appears in a lower voice. In
the incomplete variant, one of the degrees VII or II resolves for another other than
I. In this sense, instead of the octave, another consonance, perfect or imperfect, is
reached. However, the most common configuration is the non-resolution to I of
the tenorizans formula (II-I). In this way, the replacement of movement II-I by
II-III is achieved, the conclusion instead of a perfect consonance is achieved by
an imperfect consonance. In a modified clausula Vera the dissonance between I
and II is omitted, through the joint articulation of VII and II, in the upper posi-
tion of the tactus, attesting to the propensity of the polyphonists for the vertical
articulation of musical writing components within the clauses.
• The Phrygia Clause, also known as the “clause in mi (E)”, is characterised by a
progression of half-tone in the penultimate and last notes of the tenorizans clause
(II-I), while at the same time forming the clause cantizans a one-tone interval
(I-VII-I).
• The Plagal Clause is generally characterized by the melodic movement IV-I, in
the deeper part of the texture, and can also, but less frequently, have the melodic
movement VII-I, at the same time as the formation and resolution of a dissonance
through the delay of the 3rd by the 4th degree. This delay is performed simul-
taneously with the deeper part of the texture and differs from its homonymous
harmonic because it has the same delay.
• The Harmonic clause is generally characterized by having homorhythmic move-
ments of chordal and vertical type in the last two phases of the clause, to the
detriment of a linear, horizontal movement. Thus, in these last two phases, the
cantizans formula (VII-I) and the tenorizans formula (II-I or II-III) are performed
simultaneously.
XVII. Tese de Doutoramento. Évora: Universidade de Évora; Castilho (2010). «A pontuação métrica
e semântica na música polifónica: cláusula e plano cadencial». Convergências, nº 5. Retrouved in
Internet: < http://convergencias.esart.ipcb.pt >.
• The extended harmonic clause has two fundamental characteristics: it expresses a

dissonance mechanism and the duration of the tactus is twice that of the vera coun-
terpoint clause. The auditory result of these clauses has an intense and conclusive
effect in that they prolong the resolution of the dissonance by delay. Thus, it is
the only category of harmonic clauses which can contain a structure of training
and resolution of dissonance.
• The plagal harmonic clause manifests itself by containing in the penultimate
and last notes the following characteristics: progression of homorhythmic chords,
absence of dissonance and, in the deeper part of the musical texture, movement
IV-I. In contrast to its homonymous counterpoint, the clause is carried out inde-
pendently of the formation and resolution of dissonance, so it does not present
the characteristic delay of the 3rd by the 4th degree (Table 3).
In Tavares’s work in general, the use of harmonic clauses is much higher, generally
around 60%, when compared to counterpoint clauses, with only 40%. In musical
pieces composed for the Holy Week, in clear contrast to other nuclei of musical pieces,
the counterpoint clauses have a much higher percentage, 62.5%, than the harmonic
clauses, which are left at 37.5%. This is perhaps because it was a time of penance when
there was no experimentation with new languages, and composers remained more
faithful to the legacies of tradition. Thus, in descending order of use of the clauses
in the musical pieces for the Holy Week: first there is the vera (41.7%), followed by
the harmonica (20.8%), the plagal (18.8%), the plagal harmonica (16.7%) and the
phrygian (2.1%), there being no phrygian harmonica clauses. However, with regard
to the counterpoint clauses, the proportion of the vera clause in general, independent
of its specific typologies, shows, as already mentioned, that Manuel de Tavares uses
it in 41.7% of the compositions, of which those using the II → I movement make up
18.3%, while those using the V → I movement make up 81.7%, which is more than
fourfold. The use of the V → I movement on the Bass gives a proto-harmonic effect
of conclusive leap.
The musical examples found in the compositions document an adjusted applica-
tion of the various cadence types described above, through arrangement in sections
of texts with different degrees of syntactic-grammatical punctuation. The composer
shows a great ability to handle a proliferation of diverse cadence types and to provide
Table 3 Type, number and

TYpe of clause Nr. %
percentage of clauses
Vera 60 41.7
Phrigia 3 2.1
Plagal 27 18.8
Harmonic 30 20.8
Plagal Harmonic 24 16.7
Total 144 100
Contrapuntal 90 62.5
Harmonic 54 37.5
Fig. 2 Para-cadence movements (Jesus Nazarenus, c. 15–21)
for them a greater or lesser range of music-textual articulation. While this mastery
constitutes a tribute to the Mannerist polyphonic tradition, it also expresses a musical
language that applies the cadence plan to the text’s semantic expression. This expres-
siveness is further emphasises by Manuel de Tavares through some specificities, as
presented below.
Para-cadence movements are characterised by an uneven articulation between the
melodic design of the clause and the text. Thus, the term of the sentence, of the
hemistich, or of the word, does not coincide with the term of the clause, giving rise
to the continuation of polyphonic discourse. In most cases these situations occur
mainly in the most melismatic syllables of the text, as can be seen from the example
below. The frequency with which it is used reveals the intention of the composer to
produce an expressive role by disconnecting himself from the formal plane of the
musical-textual articulation of discourse (Fig. 2).
In transgression to the tactus principle, Manuel de Tavares generates a cadential
complex with exceptionally short duration, creating an acceleration induced by the
figuration of the minimum clause, which refers the rhythmic organization to the
prolatio level. In this case the syncope is equal to half of the tactus and the resolution
equal to one quarter of the tactus, as shown in Fig. 3.
In Jeremiah’s Lamentation there is a very particular prolonged harmonic clause,
since the melodic voice cantizans, instead of following its normal course of I-VII-I,
do I-VII-III, provokes in turn a diminished fourth melodic, as can be seen in Fig. 4.
Another situation, also peculiar, is found in Passion according to St. Matthew,
where a plagal ornament is added to a vera clause, as in the example of Fig. 5. This
happens twice in this work, once in bar 54 and once in 104.
Fig. 3 St. John’s Passion -C. 139–144
Fig. 4 Jeremia´h’s
Lamentation (c. 17–20)
Fig. 5 Matheus Passion

(51–54)
7 Thematic and Motive Materials
Melody is one of the most relevant dimensions of polyphonic music, thus it is impor-
tant to explore its nature and outline in order to contribute to a better understanding of
Manuel de Tavares’ stylistic positioning. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
melodic invention was regulated by a series of factors and not by the composer’s
creativity alone. These factors could be aesthetic, liturgical or technical: one had
to take into account whether the functional and ceremonial characteristics of the
musical piece were those of a composition of religious or profane music; in the
case of liturgical music pre-existing melodies were often used; and according to the
stylistic conventions of the time the academic rules of counterpoint could be applied
more or less strictly (Ringer, 2001). As the basic pillar of the vocal polyphony of
that time, melody was achieved through the perfect balance and equivalence between
the voices, i.e. none predominated over the others. The musical discourse was char-
acterized by the predominance of the linear-horizontal matrix, that is, by the path
of the several simultaneous melodic lines, which were planned in the system of the
twelve ecclesiastical modes. The movement of voices and intervals was conditioned
by various restrictive rules which intended to illustrate the ecclesiastical mode that
governed music, while at the same time intending to ensure scrupulous control of
dissonance (Bukofzer, 2002). Many compositions by Manuel de Tavares display
melodic themes and motifs whose profile is clearly based on the modal scale of their
mode. One can cite, among other cases, Jeremiah’s Lamentation, in which in the
exordium the Tenor 2 configures a plagal theme, from Mode II (D plagal) transposed
to G (Fig. 6).
In other compositions or moments it happens that the melodic themes or motifs
leave a modal structure to penetrate a typically triadic and tonal cut. This is because at
the beginning of the seventeenth century the model of the modal polyphonic tradition
begins to incorporate an increasing number of deviations and irregularities in relation
to the rules of counterpoint. Treatment of the melodic-thematic materials started to be
based on other dimensions of the music, such as the harmonic relationship between
the Bass, which affirms the triadic-harmonic movement, and the voices with a more
prominent melodic role. This has implied deviations from traditional rules mainly
at the level of melodic movement and dissonance resolution. These deviations from
the modal structure are seen in the themes or motifs, which are characterized by
melodic motifs of scales, arpeggios, jumps, or chromaticisms, as for example in the
Lamentation by Jeremiah (Fig. 7).
Polyphonists often took themes for their musical compositions from the Gregorian
or other repertoires. It was with these themes, which they combined with personal
invention that they concocted their creations. The latter were no less original, nor
Fig. 6 Jeremiah’s Lamentation, c. 1–9

Fig. 7 Jeremiah’s Lamentation c. 175–180
Fig. 8 a Top: excerpt from the tonus passionis toledano (Turner, 2000); b bottom: excerpt from
Manuel de Tavares
Fig. 9 a Top: excerpt from the tonus passionis toledano (Turner, 2000); b bottom: excerpt from
Tavares
less expressive than those based on new invented material (Rubio, 1983). The five
Passions and Jeremiah’s Lamentation are based on some pre-existing thematic-
motive material, taken from the Toledan tonus passionis or the Toledan tonus lamen-
tationes. Sometimes this material is continuously and clearly evident, while atother
times the cantus firmus contains many notes strange to the model, and others in which
it is interrupted and melodically transformed. As an example, see two examples of
the Passion according to St. Matthew with different degrees of correlation (Figs. 8
and 9).
In the hymn Gloria, laus et honor the composer uses at least the first verse of
the universal melody for this hymn,23 but transposed a 4th above, as can be seen
in Fig. 10. It is the soprano that takes it as cantus firmus, but it does not appear
23Cf. d’ Alvarenga (2002, pp. 94–97). Where the author presents the comparison of paradigmatic
melodic types of Gloria, laus et honor, from the most significant Portuguese sources. He also
Fig. 10 Top: Gloria, laus et honor de Manuel de Tavares; bottom: universal melody
in the first bars. The other voices containing motifs with paraphrased excerpts of
this melody appear at the beginning, thus playing a basic organic role that launches
the subsequent motivational development, which is followed in imitation and whose
responses may be real or tonal, i.e. transposed to a different interval pattern. After
the first verse the cantus firmus departs from the universal melody.
8 The Expressive Relationship Between Text and Music
From a semantic and rhetorical point of view, the polyphonic music of Manuel de
Tavares is a kind of repertoire that integrates the Mannerist aesthetic sensibility of the
late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century. Composers had an expressive
concern and respect for the text, i.e., they adapted the music to the meaning of the
words, expressing the strength of each different emotion. Thus, driven by a desire to
serve the words of the text effectively and in detail, they used a technique of illus-
tration24 or musical symbolism through which extra musical relations were used in
composition, such as melodic and rhythmic configuration, chromatisms, dissonances,
melismas on certain syllables, false relations, ornaments, contrasts introduced in the
counterpoint texture, etc.
The following are a list of examples where this happens:
In the Passion according to St. Mark the words descende de cruce (descend
from a cross) are displayed in a motif, consisting of a melodic-rhythmic figuration
with a descending outline. In the same musical piece, in the phrase, which appears
states that the presence of the universal melody, or a variant of it, in a polyphonic version is almost
certainly an indication of origin in Spain.
24 Illustration or musical symbolism also some authors call madrigalism or word-painting. . CF. Tim
Carter, «Word-painting », in Stanley Sadie, ed, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,
2ª Ed, London, 2001, vol. 27., p. 563 and following.
at two different moments, et in tridium reaedificare illud, the word «tridium»is is

highlighted with a rhythmic cell suggesting the number three: .
In both Passions, the search for change and contrasts is particularly noticeable,
directly reinforcing the ideas of the text, accentuating certain statements of singular
drama on the part of the characters. The two pieces are for four voices, and from time
to time there are one or two voices that make divisi, the composer thus playing, with
its increment or reduction depending on the text. Thus, for example, in the Passion
according to St. John, the only phrase for six voices is “Ave, Rex Judaeorum”, in
imitation, extolling the soldiers’ shouts of scorn. The same phrase in the Passion
according to St. Matthew is also augmented by one more voice, remaining at five, but
presented in free counterpoint. The word «Judaeorum» contains a series of melisms,
which accentuates its emotional power in the context. In the same piece, the phrases,
“Flevit amare” (He cried bitterly) and “Emisit spiritum” (Rendered the spirit), are
the only ones that contain passages for six voices, both in imitation, with several
repetitions, which also accentuates their emotional charge.
The reduction of voices to three is also contemplated in both compositions. In
the Passion according to St. Matthew it happens twice, once with the phrase «Hic
dixit possum destroere templu Dei et in triduum reaedificare illud», which reinforces
the number three, using a panoply of counterpoint resources to render the concept
of building up; and the other phrase «Sine videamus na veniat Elias liberans eum»
conveys the idea of expectation.
It is obvious that the musical illustration of the content of the text is not always
done by identical means in both Passions. For example, for similar texts in which the
collective exclamations of the angry population are illustrated, such as Crucify Him,
in the Passion according to St. John, where the phrase is «Crucify, crucify eum»,
the first word is treated in homophony, while the other two are in free counterpoint,
possibly to underline the image of the increasingly agitated crowd. In the Passion
according to St. Matthew the word «Crucifigatur», repeated in two different sections,
is treated in homophony, but the first is for four voices, while the second is for five,
which also suggests that the population is more agitated or shouting louder and
louder.
Another suggestive example of text-music interconnection is the phrase «Voce
magna dicens» (Crying out loud), from the Passion according to St. Matthew, which
is contained in thirty-three bars, persistently repeated in imitation, and raising voices
to a higher pitch.
The verse of the hymn Israel es tu Rex displays intense melisms associated with
the words «Rex» and «Davidis», in contrast to the rest of the much more syllabic
text.
Quite expressive are the melodic jumps associated with certain words used as an
effective resource for illustrating the text. These motifs are often accompanied by
chromaticism and false relationships. Some of these resources are listed as exam-
ples: in Jeremiah’s Lamentation, the motif with the words «dissipate murum», uses
intervals of 5th, 6th, and 8th (Fig. 11).
The word «et illusit», from Sprevit autem, contains jumps of the 4th diminished
(Fig. 12).
Fig. 11 Lamentação de Jeremias, c.64–69
Fig. 12 Sprevit autem, c. 26–35
Another interesting resource of textual illustration lies in the following example:

there is a voice that uses chromatic accidents in the first part of a sentence, while in
the second part there is another voice. This can be seen in Jeremiah’s Lamentation,
with the phrase «non inverunt visionem a Domino». The Bass uses the chromatic
accidents In the first part, while in the second part it is the Alto (Fig. 13).
A resource to which Manuel de Tavares recurred often is the inclusion of more or
less voices depending on the content of the text. One can observe this, among other
examples, in the following: In Jeremiah’s Lamentation the verse «Defecerunt prae
lacrimis oculi mei, conturbata sunt viscera mea», corresponding to section F, is for
four voices, instead of the five for which the piece is built. On the other hand, the
increment of voices is also used to reinforce the semantic content of the text.
Fig. 13 Lamentação de Jeremias, c.246–259

9 Conclusion
The liturgical domain of the texts chosen by Manuel de Tavares shows that he
respected the ecclesiastical deliberations resulting from the various sessions of the
Council of Trent. These led to a process of codification of the Roman liturgy which
resulted in two imposed publications, which appeared in the pontificate of Pius V:
the Roman Missal and Breviary.
Manuel de Tavares’s work is thus part of the various trends sustained in the first
half of the seventeenth century. With regard to the liturgy, there is compliance with
the post-Tridentine model, and with regard to aesthetic sensitivity, there is adherence
to the Mannerist predilection for texts with a marked emotional charge. As for its
counterpoint language, which is already significantly progressive, there are both
traces of a more traditional character and we come across characteristics developed
in modal and polyphonic-counterpoint language. As such, it may be concluded that
Tavares, with his profound understanding of counterpoint, remained faithful to the
legacies of tradition, while he also profusely explored archetypes of a new emerging
language, thus creating a complex and original synthesis from the stylistic-formal
point of view.
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Telemann’s Fantasia No 2 à Travers Sans
Basse: Compositional Intentions,
Performance Characteristics and Audio
Footprint Signal Processing Analysis
Sofia B. Dias and Leontios J. Hadjileontiadis
Abstract In this chapter, a bilateral approach is applied to Telemann’s music,

combining information both from the music analysis domain and transformation
techniques of the sound signal. The Telemann’s Fantasia No 2 à Travers sans Basse
is used as the paradigm basis and its characteristics that relate with the melodic
and harmonic projection (music analysis axis) are seen through the perspectives
of dynamics, pitch, timbre, similarity, novelty, chroma and predicted emotional
impact, and the way they affect the micro-macrostructure of the piece, resulting in the
final sound output (advanced signal processing axis). Two recordings from eminent
flutists [Kuijken (flute traverso); Rampal (modern flute)] provided the audio data.
The proposed approach could serve as an alternative handling of the sound ontolo-
gies, aiming at the optimum arrangement and realization of the structural intentions
of a composer, as reflected in the interpretation of the performer and mediated to the
audience.
S. B. Dias (B)
CIPER, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, 1499-002 Cruz Quebrada,
Lisbon, Portugal
e-mail: sbalula@fmh.ulisboa.pt
L. J. Hadjileontiadis
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Khalifa University of Science and
Technology, P.O. BOX 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,
Thessaloniki, Greece
L. J. Hadjileontiadis
e-mail: leontios@auth.gr; leontios.hadjileontiadis@ku.ac.ae

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_2
32 S. B. Dias and L. J. Hadjileontiadis
1 Introduction
One of the most prolific composers in history (at least in terms of surviving oeuvre) is
George Philipp Telemann (14 March 1681–25 June 1767) and he was acknowledged
by his contemporaries to be one of the leading German composers of that time. Being
a flautist himself, he became one of the most important composers for flute and he was
the only composer of his time to write fugues and a French overture for flute solo. In
particular, his set of 12 Fantasias for flute solo [12 Fantaisies à Travers, sans Basse,
TWV 40:2–13, 1727/8-publ. 1732/33 (Brown, n.d.; Kuyjken, 1987; Zohn, 2008)]
left a clear footprint in the music repertoire, similar to the one of J. S. Bach’s “Well
Tempered Clavier” for keyboard instruments. Despite the believes by the eighteenth
century composers about the flute incapability to perform alone due to its inability to
create and sustain harmony (Brown, n.d.), Telemann explored the potential of flute,
setting the Fantasias as one of the most representative eighteenth century work in the
repertoire for flute solo.
As a flutist, Telemann incorporated in his Fantasias power elements of Rhetoric of
his era, by effectively using the affective potentiality of each key within the construc-
tion of the whole set, producing a desired effect to the sonic space. Moreover, tempo
alterations add to this, since a fast movement is followed by a slower one, and vice-
versa. In fact, by writing each Fantasia in a different tonality (ascending from A major
through A minor, B minor, Bb major, C major, D minor, D major, E minor, E major,
F# minor and G major to G minor), he applies a cyclic, almost encyclopedic presen-
tation of the key sequence, so to increase the emotional variance across the whole set.
Furthermore, the pedagogical importance of the 12 Fantasias is notable, as they are
suitable both to beginners, as well as to professional flutists. This is profound into the
structural information that Telemann encrypts behind his music score, which facil-
itates the comprehension of his intention and guides the performance of the whole
piece.
In this vein, this work aims at identifying the flow from Telemann’s compositional
ideas to performance qualities and auditory footprint. Stemming from the previous
work of Dias and Hadjileontiadis (2018), where the first movement (M1-Prelude)
from the Fantasia No 2 à Travers sans Basse was used as a working paradigm,
all movements (M1–M4) of Fantasia No 2 are analyzed here to holistically show
the potentiality behind the proposed approach. Moreover, two performances of the
Prelude are analyzed, one using flute traverso (performed by Barthold Kuijken) and
another that uses modern flute (performed by Jean-Pierre Rampal). Advanced signal
processing techniques are applied to the selected audio recordings, in order to provide
a tangible space for the compositional and performance qualities to be further clar-
ified. The latter, pave the way for further deepening in the music of Telemann and,
in more general, to the Baroque music.
Telemann’s Fantasia No 2 à Travers Sans Basse: Compositional … 33
2 The Research Focus
The main research question explored in this chapter relates with the information
flow that starts from the composer’s site, who expresses his intentions about the
final music output creating the music score. However, as expected, what is notated
on the score has to be processed by the performer’s interpretation and expression,
embedded in the performance, delivering the music (as a final audio stimulus) to
the audience. Since Telemann’s music is written for flute traverso, apart from the
differences in the idiosyncrasy, skills and style of performance, the core element of
the shifting from the flute traverso to the modern flute sets another facet of analysis
in this work. Finally, since the audio output encapsulates the compositional and
performance characteristics across time, a dynamic analysis is performed across
the structural elements, both at each movement level and the whole Fantasia No 2,
unfolding micro-, meso- and macro-resolution characteristics along with predicted
emotional impact.
3 Methodology
The proposed research was realized via two methodological axes, i.e., Axis 1: Music
analysis of the Fantasia No 2, including brief description of the implicit harmonies
and compound lines, along with and the harmonic and melodic environment; Axis 2:
Advanced signal processing analysis of the audio signals from the two performances
(i.e., flute traverso and modern flute), including dynamics analysis (envelope struc-
ture); timbral analysis (attack, slope, brightness); pitch analysis (main pitch distribu-
tion across time); similarity analysis (similarity in spectral characteristics); novelty
analysis (temporal succession of moments, each characterized by particular musical
properties); chromagram analysis (self-organizing map projection of chromagram);
and emotional analysis (activity, valence, and tension space).
For the Axis 1, the music analysis of Fantasia by Da Silva (2012) is adopted and
followed as a basis to build upon the interpretation of Axis 2 analysis results. With
regard to the latter, the analysis was based upon the following approaches:
Dynamics analysis: For the long-term evolution of the signal, expressing the
change of dynamics across the time duration, a signal segmentation at 1-s successive
windows and the normalized across segments envelope were used here. For a smooth
estimation of the signal envelope, a full-wave rectification, followed by a low-pass
auto-regressive filter and a down-sampling with a rate of 16 were employed.
Timbral analysis: This relates with the attack characteristics, i.e., attack time and
the attack slope (as a ratio between the magnitude difference at the beginning and
the ending of the attack period, and the corresponding time difference). Moreover,
the brightness, i.e., the amount of spectral energy above a specific cut-off frequency
( f cuto f f ) (Juslin, 2000), is also estimated.
Pitch analysis: The pitch is estimated via the autocorrelation function of the audio
signal across the segments, keeping the most prominent peaks at each segment.
Similarity analysis: The structural features within a piece of music have been
visualized with a self-similarity matrix (Foote et al., 2002), a matrix that shows the
degree of similarity between different parts of a musical piece. Let denote a vector
representing any musical feature at instant i. The self-similarity matrix M = (m i j )
is defined as
m i j = s(vi , v j ), (1)
where s denotes any similarity measure. By definition, the matrix is symmetrical

across its diagonal. Usually, a distance measure is adopted as a similarity measure of
the representation vectors. The later could be derived from spectral-based parameteri-
zations, linear prediction, Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC)1 or psychoa-
coustic considerations. A simple measure is the Euclidian distance in the parameter
space. In addition, useful metric is the scalar product of the vectors (internal product).
This will be large if the vectors are both large and similarly oriented. To remove the
dependence on magnitude (and hence energy, given our features), the product can be
normalized to give the cosine of the angle between the parameter vectors. The cosine
measure ensures that windows with low energy, such as those containing silence, can
still yield a large similarity score, which is generally desirable and is given below:
<−→v i, −
→
v j>
si j = . (2)
v i −
−
→ →v j
The contents of a self-similarity matrix can be visualized as a square using different

colors to indicate different degrees of similarity. The resulting matrix is visualized
so that: bright shades of color (or gray) stand for high degrees of similarity and dark
shades for low degrees of similarity. Regions of high self-similarity appear as bright
squares on the diagonal. Repeated sections will be visible as bright off-diagonal
rectangles. If the work has a high degree of repetition, this will be visible as diagonal
stripes or checkerboards, offset from the main diagonal by the repetition time. The
diagonal line indicates that each frame is maximally similar to itself. Any possible
periodicities visible in the spectrogram can also be visible in the similarity matrix.
Novelty curve: Convolution along the main diagonal of the similarity matrix using
a Gaussian checkerboard kernel yields a novelty curve that indicates the temporal
locations of significant textural changes. The result is a one-dimensional function
of time (frame index). Intuitively, the correlation emphasizes regions with strong
self-similarity, while penalizing regions with significant cross-similarity.
1 MFCC is a representation of the short-term power spectrum of a sound, based on a linear cosine
transform of a log power spectrum on a nonlinear MEL scale of frequency, which approximates
the human auditory system’s response more closely than the linearly-spaced frequency bands used
in the normal cepstrum. This frequency warping can allow for better representation of sound, for
example, in audio compression.
Chromagram analysis: The chromagram, also called Harmonic Pitch Class

Profile, shows the distribution of energy along the pitches or pitch classes. Projec-
tion of the normalized chromagram into a self-organizing map,2 trained with the
Krumhansl-Kessler profiles (modified for chromagrams) (Toiviainen & Krumhansl,
2003), provides a pseudo-color map, where colors correspond to Pearson correlation
values for the corresponding pitches.
Emotional analysis: For the emotion analysis, a multi-dimensional space is
adopted where the three dimensions are activity (or energetic arousal, which is charac-
terized by vigor and energy), valence (a pleasure-displeasure continuum) and tension
(or tense arousal, which is characterized by tension and nervousness) (Eerola et al.,
2009). An attempt to predict such description of emotion, based on the analysis of
the audio and musical contents of the recordings is realized here. In fact, following
a systematic statistical methodology, a mapping has been proposed by Eerola et al.
(2009) between each dimension and various sets of audio and musical features. In
particular, the five factors contributing to the activity score are: Root Mean Square
(RMS) averaged along frames; Maximum value of summarized fluctuation; Spectral
centroid averaged along frames; Spectral spread averaged along frames; Entropy of
the smoothed and collapsed spectrogram, averaged along frames. The five factors
contributing to the valence score are: Standard deviation of RMS along frames;
Maximum value of summarized fluctuation; Key clarity averaged along frames;
Mode averaged along frames; Averaged spectral novelty. The five factors contributing
to the tension score are: Standard deviation of RMS along frames; Maximum value
of summarized fluctuation; Key clarity averaged along frames; Averaged Harmonic
Change Detection Function (HCDF), i.e., the flux of the tonal centroid; Averaged
novelty from unwrapped chromagram.
4 Data Characteristics and Implementation Issues
Similarly to (Dias & Hadjileontiadis, 2018), the two audio recordings used as the
data sources here were extracted as.m4a files (@44.1 kHz) from the corresponding
publicly available YouTube video links.3, 4 Kuijken and Rampal were selected as very
well-known worldwide and skillful flute performers, with specialty in interpretation
of flute traverso and modern flute, respectively. The advanced signal processing anal-
ysis was carried out using Matlab 2019a (The Mathworks, Inc., Natick, USA), and
2 A self-organizing map (SOM) or self-organizing feature map (SOFM) is a type of artificial neural
network (ANN) that is trained using unsupervised learning to produce a low-dimensional (typically
two-dimensional), discretized representation of the input space of the training samples, called a
map, and is therefore a method to do dimensionality reduction. SOMs differ from other artificial
neural networks, as they apply competitive learning as opposed to error-correction learning (such
as backpropagation with gradient descent), and in the sense that they use a neighborhood function
to preserve the topological properties of the input space.
3 Barthold Kuijken’s performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5gOi77YkO0.
4 Jean-Pierre Rampal’s performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE9SjAqPGsc.
especially the MIRtoolbox I.3 (for emotion analysis only) and MIRtoolbox I.7 (for
the rest of the analysis) (https://www.jyu.fi/hytk/fi/laitokset/mutku/en/research/mat
erials/mirtoolbox/Download). The cutoff frequency ( f cuto f f ) for the calculation of
the brightness was selected equal to 1200 Hz, according to the spectral characteristics
of the two recordings.
5 Results
5.1 Axis 1: Music Analysis Results
Fantasia No 2, following the form of a Sonata da Chiesa (Porter et al., 2008), is a four-
movement piece, i.e., M1-Prelude (slow), M2-Fugue (fast), M3-Adagio (German
style fully ornamented, slow), and M4-Allegro (France Dance—Bourée, fast). M1
plays the role of the Prelude to the Fugue (M2) that follows, constituting a separate
movement, following Bach’s later style of Preludes and Fugues. The full score of
Fantasia No 2 is depicted in Fig. 1. M1: The Prelude is cast in 3/4 m, and it has
a serious and majestic character, adopting a slow harmonic rhythm, with basically
one chord per measure (Da Silva, 2012), and a contrapuntal technique of compound
lines. Moreover, as Da Silva (2012) notes, Telemann plays with suspensions and
sequence (i—iv9-8 in A minor, and I—IV9-8 in G major) in the first two measures
(see Fig. 1). Another important harmonic aspect is the evolution of the sequences that
follow, in which voice leading is alternated with changes, not only in the rhythmical
figuration and texture, but also in subverting the rules of counterpoint, trying to
increase harmonic surprises and dramatic changes of texture (Schulenberg, 2008).
The basic chord progression (i—iv7-6—V/III—III7-6—VI—iv—i64—iv—V) leads
from i in A minor, to V, which is actually being resolved to the tonic i at the second
movement; hence, fulfilling the role of a prelude, so to prepare the second movement
and the fugue that follows. M2: This is a double Fugue with a basic harmonic
sequence of A minor, E minor, D minor, and return to A minor. However, Telemann
uses more modulations during the episodes and links. In the structure of the double
fugue, the upper voice has its melody in syncopations, which creates suspensions
that will only be resolved in the middle of the next measure, whereas, the lower voice
moves by chromatic passing tones ornamented with lower neighbors. In addition,
melodies in contrary motion are employed (see Fig. 1). M3: Adagio is a clear example
of ornamentation in German style, with rhythmical variety, use of triplet figures
and unprepared dissonances (see Fig. 1). M4: Allegro is a lively and dance like
(Bourée) movement in A minor, with a contrapuntal structure. By using accented
dissonances, passing tones, and chromaticism, Telemann creates a very agile and
interesting melodic line, built in an unusual and complex way, i.e., in a minor scale
and with a lot of chromatic passages (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Original edition of the score of Fantasia No 2 with all movements (M1–M4) retrieved from
the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
5.2 Axis 2: Advanced Signal Processing Analysis Results
Duration and dynamics analysis results: Figure 2a–d depict the normalized
envelopes corresponding to the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals from the
interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom). As it is clear from the time
duration of each signal, Kuijken’s interpretation of M1 lasts 45 s, whereas Rampal’s
35 s; hence, Rampal plays the piece 28.5% faster than Kuijken. Moreover, looking
at the Kuijken’s interpretation (Fig. 2a-top) the maximum lies at 32.4 s whereas
in Rampal’s one (Fig. 2a-bottom) it lies at the 24.3 s, quite close to each other,
taking into account the duration analogy (24.3 s × 1.285 = 31.2 s). It is interesting
to notice that the position of the climax by Telemann is towards the golden ratio
(ϕ ≈ 1.61), so to maximize the psychological impact to the audience. From the two
interpretations, Rampal’s is closer to ϕ with a ratio of 24.3
35
≈ 1.44 and with Kuijken’s
exhibiting 32.4 ≈ 1.39. As Fig. 2b shows, Kuijken’s interpretation of M2 is much
45
Kuijken
Rampal M1 (Prelude) M2 (Fugue) M3 (Adagio) M4 (Allegro)
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 2 The normalized envelopes a–d corresponding to the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals
from the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom)
slower than the one by Rampal, whereas this is reversed in M3 (Fig. 2c) and almost
equalized in M4 (Fig. 2d). There is also a difference in the distribution of the maxima
in dynamics across M2–M4 between Kuijken’s and Rampal’s interpretations, with
the highest convergence in M4 (Fig. 2d). Clearly, Rampal’s interpretation sustains a
higher mean dynamic compared to the Kuijken’s one.
These duration and dynamics differences show alternative ways of interpretation
of Telemann’s intension to construct the Fantasia No 2. Perhaps Kuijken follows a
more introvert sound handling, without covering the whole dynamic range of the
soundscape. On the other hand, Rampal shows a more extrovert approach, consid-
ering each movement as an autonomous sound entity, and evokes more “internal
episodes” that gradually build the music language and sustain the development
potential for the movements that follow.
Timbral analysis: Figure 3a–d show the attack time corresponding to the four
movements (M1–M4) audio signals from the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and
Rampal (bottom). For M1, both performers have similar attack times (mostly lower
than 0.2 s), whereas Kuijken exhibits a double maximum attack time (1.2 s) compared
to Rampal (0.6 s), used when entering after the pause of bar 10 (see Fig. 1). Rampal
uses a higher attack time in the preparation of the climax and sustains quite low
attack time for entering after the pause of bar 10. These differences show that, unlike
Rampal, Kuijken prolongs, in a way, the impact of the pause after the climax, so the
listener could gradually shift from the silence to the sound again, mostly echoing
the psychological impact of the sound energy potential that was just released, when
rapidly shifting from the maximum dynamic to silence. In M2, both performers
adopt a low attack time (mean ~0.1 s), whereas in M3 Kuijken exhibits higher attack
time in the first 15 s (Fig. 3c-top) than Rampal, who peaks his attack time around
0.36 s at 15, 35 and 60 s (Fig. 3c-bottom). The latter is also adopted by Rampal
in M4 (Fig. 3d-bottom), whereas Kuijken exhibits a smoother attack time transition
between the range of 0.05–0.25 s (Fig. 3d-top).
Kuijken
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 3 The attack time a–d corresponding to the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals from the
interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom)
Figure 4a–d depict the attack slope corresponding to the four movements (M1–
M4) audio signals from the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom).
From the latter, it is clear that Rampal (on average) uses higher slopes than Kuijken
almost in all movements (with M2 as an exception), clearly showing the use of a
different embouchure style (perhaps supported by the difference in the two instru-
ments), in order to create more sharpness in the sound, compared to the Kuijken’s
that preserves this for the climax case only in M1 and locally in M4 (Fig. 4d-top).
Regarding the sound brightness, Rampal exhibits 40.2% spectral energy above
the f cuto f f = 1200 Hz, whereas Kuijken shows 17.8% only, clearly reflecting the
structural differences and tuning between the two instruments.
Pitch analysis: Figure 5a, b illustrate the magnified version of the main pitch distri-
bution of the first movement (M1) from the interpretation by Kuijken and Rampal,
M1 (Grave) M2 (Vivace) M3 (Adagio) M4 (Allegro)

Kuijken
Rampal
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 4 The attack slope a–d corresponding to the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals from
the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom)
Fig. 5 The magnified version of the main pitch distribution of the first movement (M1) from the
interpretation by Kuijken (a) and Rampal (b), respectively, along with the main pitch distribution
(c)–(e), corresponding to the rest of the movements (M2–M4) audio signals from the interpretation
by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom)
respectively, whereas Fig. 5c–e show the main pitch distribution corresponding to
the rest of the movements (M2–M4) audio signals from the interpretation by Kuijken
(top) and Rampal (bottom). Apparently, there is a high similarity in the organization,
as both performers correctly interpret the piece; nevertheless, some differences are
notable. For example, in M1 (Fig. 5a, b), the difference in tuning shows a shift to
lower frequencies in the case of Kuijken (e.g., the first note is A (enclosed in the
green horizontal rectangular in Fig. 5a) that corresponds to 405 Hz instead to 440 Hz
as in Rampal’s case). Moreover, the ascending motion in the beginning of M1 (see
Fig. 1) that corresponds to the pitches enclosed inside the red eclipse in Fig. 5a, b is
more profound in the case of Kuijken rather than in Rampal’s. In addition, there are
some clearer spectral lines in the case of Kuijken rather than in Rampal’s (see black
square in Fig. 5a, b). Similar characteristics are notable in the other three movements
(M2–M4), as seen in Fig. 5c–e, respectively.
M1 (Prelude): A
Kuijken Rampal
(a)
M1 (Prelude): A-C-E
(b)
M3 (Adagio)-1st Bar
(c)
Fig. 6 Differences in the articulation of the spectral flux of Kuijken’s (left column) and Rampal’s
(right column) interpretation of the a opening note A, b the sequence of the opening notes A-C-E
from M1 and of the c first bar from M3
Figure 6 deepens in the articulation of the spectral flux by zooming at specific

points of Fig. 5. In particular, Fig. 5) shows how the starting A note of M1 is formed
by the two performers. Kuijken starts with lower pitch and gradually achieves a mean
frequency of 405 Hz (Fig. 5)-left), whereas Rampal does exactly the opposite; he
starts with higher frequency around 447 Hz and, via a vibrato mode, he gradually
converges to a mean frequency of 440 Hz (Fig. 5a-right).
Moreover, when looking at the sequence of the opening three notes (first bar in
Fig. 1) expressed in the pitch domain (Fig. 6b), Kuijken (Fig. 6b-left) employs less
vibrato and more legato (especially for the connection of C and E; 3–4 s), whereas
Rampal does exactly the opposite (Fig. 6b-right), i.e., he disconnects the three notes
and gradually employs more vibrato (especially for the E; 2.9–3.8 s). This is also
evident in a more extended example depicted in Fig. 6c, i.e., the corresponding spec-
tral flux of the first bar of M3 (see Fig. 1). Overall, these differences, show how
the interpretation of the performer affects the audio stimulus that arrive to the audi-
ence, following divergent ways in the interpretation of the Telemann’s compositional
intention. Apparently, again Rampal’s playing seems more exocentric compared to
the Kuijken’s one, as he wants to dominate his playing style from the first three
notes, transferring the notion of a more contemporary approach in the Telemann’s
introductory compositional gestures.
Similarity analysis: Figure 7 depicts the magnified version of the self-similarity

matrices (shifted for horizontal diagonal) of the first movement (M1) from the inter-
pretation by Kuijken (Fig. 7a) and Rampal (Fig. 7b), respectively, along with the
main self-similarity matrices (Fig. 7c–e), corresponding to the rest of the move-
ments (M2–M4) audio signals from the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal
(bottom).
In all Fig. 7a–e, regions of high similarity appear as bright red squares on the
diagonal. When focusing at M1, an increased similarity and periodicity are expected
along the first five bars. These are quite similar in both interpretations, as they both
reveal the Telemann’s structure of the Prelude. For example, bars 1, 3 and 5 in Fig. 1
show a high structural similarity, presenting a periodic characteristic. This is reflected
in Fig. 7a, b, appearing as bright red squares sequence inside the three first white
boxes.
M1 (Prelude)-Kuijken M1 (Prelude)-Rampal
(a) (b)
M2 (Fugue) M3 (Adagio) M4 (Allegro)
Kuijken
Rampal
(c) (d) (e)
Fig. 7 The magnified version of the self-similarity matrices of the first movement (M1) from the
interpretation by Kuijken (a) and Rampal (b), respectively, along with the main self-similarity
matrices (c)–(e), corresponding to the rest of the movements (M2–M4) audio signals from the
Kuijken
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 8 The novelty a–d corresponding to the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals from the
As noted before, Kuijken produces clearer harmonic lines (Figs. 5 and 6), implying
a clearer representation of the structure of the piece. This is also seen in the fourth
white box of Fig. 7a, where the repetition of the sequences and the ascending motion
of Fig. 6b, are represented as more distinctive red squares in Kuijken’s case (Fig. 7a:
25–30 s) than in Rampal’s case (Fig. 7b: 17–23 s). The notion of repeated sections, as
chain sequences are reflected in all sub-figures of Fig. 6, stretching out the composi-
tional characteristic of Telemann across the rest of the M2–M4 movements (Fig. 7c–
e), through the diagonal stripes or checkerboards appearing offset from the main
diagonal.
Novelty curve: Figure 8a–d depict the novelty corresponding to the four move-
ments (M1–M4) audio signals, respectively, from the interpretation by Kuijken (top)
and Rampal (bottom). As it is clear from Fig. 8, both Kuijken’s and Rampal’s perfor-
mance exponentially maximize the novelty across the four movements. What it is
different is the point of novelty maximization. For example, in Kuijken’s performance
of M1, the novelty maximum is reached where the climax appears (Fig. 8a-top),
whereas in Rampal’s one this is reached at the end (Fig. 8a-bottom). This shows that
Rampal gradually builds the anticipation of the new material towards the end, and
not towards the climax as Kuijken does, evoking further the expectation of the next
part that will follow (i.e., the Fugue). A more synchronized articulation is seen in the
novelty curves of M2 and M3 between Kuijken and Rampal (Fig. 8b, c, respectively),
whereas their difference seen in M1, is also noticeable in the novelty curves of M4
(Fig. 8d).
Chromagram analysis: Figure 9a–d illustrate the self-organizing map projection
of the chromagram corresponding to the four movements (M1–M4), respectively,
audio signals from the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom). Looking
at M1 results (Fig. 9b), there is a clear concentration (red peaks) around the same
tonalities identified in the music analysis and the harmonic progression described
Kuijken
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 9 The SOM projection of the chromagram a–d corresponding to the four movements (M1–M4)
audio signals from the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom)
in Sect. 5.1. The differences of the peaks location between Fig. 9a-top and Fig. 9b-
bottom lie into the difference in the tuning between the two instrument that affects
the mapping, which is based on the well-tuned system assuming A in 440 Hz, like the
modern flute adopts. Similar behavior is seen in the rest of the movements (M2–M4,
Fig. 9b–d), where the harmonic centers of each movement (Sect. 5.1) are denoted
with red peaks at the bottom lane of Fig. 9.
Emotional analysis: Figure 10a–d illustrate the three emotional dimensions
(activity (blue line), valence (red line) and tension (green line)), as they evolve
with time across the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals, respectively, from
the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom). Apparently, the structural
characteristics of the two performances are differently reflected in the emotional
M1 (Prelude) M2 (Fugue) M3 (Adagio) M4 (Allegro)

Kuijken
Rampal
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 10 The three emotional dimensions [activity (blue line), valence (red line) and tension (green
line)], as they evolve with time a–d across the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals, respectively,
from the interpretation by Kuijken (top) and Rampal (bottom)
space. As it can be seen from Fig. 10a-top, in the case of M1 Kuijken’s perfor-
mance keeps the tension (tense arousal) high almost across the whole duration of
the Prelude, at a distance from valence and activity (energetic arousal) dimensions.
Especially, valence is kept almost at a neutral level (considering 4.5 as the neutral
value) and the activity is framed between 0 and 4. On the contrary, Rampal’s perfor-
mance (Fig. 10a-bottom) keeps the tension at a lower level (around 7) and reduces
it towards the end, whereas it keeps the activity (energetic arousal) at a higher level
(around 4) compared to the Kuijken’s performance.
Moreover, the valence is more positive, as mainly lies at values >4.5, exhibiting
the highest value (around 7) very close to the end of the piece, where both the tension
and activity are significantly reduced. The latter shows more engagement with the
character of the Prelude, building an atmosphere that could establish the Telemann’s
music language and transmit a positive and calm approach at the end, as a kind of
memory of the previous and anticipation of the new to come in Fugue. In the latter
(Fig. 10b) more similar evolution of the three emotional dimension is seen among
the two interpretations, whereas more noticeable differences are seen in the other
two movements (M3-Fig. 10c and M4-Fig. 10d).
Finally, Fig. 11a–d depict the 3D-distribution of the three emotional dimensions
(activity, valence and tension) of Fig. 10, for each of the four movements (M1–M4)
audio signals, respectively, from the interpretation by Kuijken (pink squares) and
Rampal (green circles). As it is seen from Fig. 11, in all M1–M4 movements, there
is a distinct difference in the location of the concentration at the 3D emotional space
between Kuijken’s and Rampal’s interpretations. Moreover, in Rampal’s case, there
is a higher variance across the valence axis compared to the Kuijken’s one at M1
(Fig. 11a) and M4 (Fig. 11d), whereas at M2 (Fig. 11b) and M3 (Fig. 11c), both
interpretations are similarly distributed across the valence axis.
In all movements, the mean distribution is mostly concentrated at middle towards
low values of valence and activity, yet medium to high values of tension, all
converging to higher values at M4 (Fig. 11d), almost in both interpretations, appar-
ently due to the finalization of the whole piece. In fact, this is anticipated by the expres-
sion characterizations that Telemann gives to each movement (Prelude-introduction
of the compositional space with more controlled emotions; Fugue-focus on technical
complexity for vertical (polyphonic) extension within more cognitive than emotional
stimuli; Adagio-slow, more esoteric; and Allegro-more vivid and rigorous).
6 Conclusive Remarks
Telemann’s Fantasia No 2 was able to expose the Baroque style through the flute and
managed to provide the basis for the bilateral approach explored in this paper, i.e.,
the music analysis and the advanced signal processing one. The identified structural
characteristics at the score level impose different qualities at the auditory level that
reveal Telemann’s intentions, as they are materialized via the two different interpreta-
tions by eminent performers of flute traverso and modern flute, respectively. The goal
M1 (Prelude) M2 (Fugue)
(a) (b)
M3 (Adagio) M4 (Allegro)
(c) (d)
Fig. 11 The 3D-distribution a–d of the three emotional dimensions (activity, valence and tension) of
Fig. 15, for each of the four movements (M1–M4) audio signals, respectively, from the interpretation
by Kuijken (pink squares) and Rampal (green circles)
was to realize how the compositional intentions are transformed in a language that is
mostly understood by the musicians and, at the same time, are codified in the audio
signal that reaches the listener in a way, which reveals their full spectrum. To achieve
this, many levels of analysis were employed, including duration, dynamics, pitch,
timbre, self-similarity, novelty, chroma and predicted emotional impact. This concept
allowed for the examination of the micro/macro-structural events of the Fantasia No
2 in a time-dependent representation, following, thus, the dynamic flow of the music
in parallel to the changes in the modeling parameters explored here. This could also
be extended across all 12 Fantasias at an even more macroscopic approach of Tele-
mann’s oeuvre for flute. The bilateral perspective introduced in this chapter addresses
the need for more efficient approaches of the compositional thinking and intensions
through the analysis of both the music score and the audio output. As the latter is
the one that directly reaches the audience, perhaps this spherical perspective could
bridge the compositional intentions reflected in the abstract forms of homogeneity,
discontinuity, correlation, with the actual musical content.
References
Brown, R. (n.d.). Telemann Fantasias: A feat of ingenuity and inspiration. Available at: http://www.
rachelbrownflute.com/telemann-fantasias.html
Da Silva, A. C. P. (2012). A performance guide to three of Telemann’s 12 fantasias for flute without
bass, based on the study of the compound melodies. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Dias, S. B, & Hadjileontiadis, L. J. (2018). From Telemann’s compositional ideas to performance
qualities and audio footprint signal processing analysis. The paradigm of Telemann’s Prelude
from Fantasia Nº 2 à Travers sans Basse. Convergências - Revista de Investigação e Ensino das
Artes, vol. XI (21), Retrieved from http://convergencias.ipcb.pt
Eerola, T., Lartillot, O., & Toiviainen, P. (2009). Prediction of multidimensional emotional ratings
in music from audio using multivariate regression models. In International conference on music
information retrieval, Kobe.
Foote, J., Cooper, M., & Nam, U. (2002). Audio retrieval by rhythmic similarity. In Proceedings of
the 3rd international conference on music information retrieval, Paris. Available at http://www.
ismir.net/proceedings/
Juslin, P. N. (2000). Cue utilization in communication of emotion in music performance: Relating
performance to perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor-
Mance, 26(6), 1797–1813.
Kuyjken, B. (1987). Georg Philipp Telemann, 12 Fantasias for Flute. Breitkopf & Härtel.
Porter, A., Bull, C., & Pyle, D. (2008). Telemann: 12 Fantasias for Flute without bass. A study
guide with amy porter. DVD produced by Mike Wilkinson. Duderstadt Media Center.
Schulenberg, D. (2008). Music of the Baroque (p. 249). Oxford University Press.
Toiviainen, P., & Krumhansl, C. L. (2003). Measuring and modeling real-time responses to music:
The dynamics of tonality induction. Perception, 32(6), 741–766.
Zohn, S. (2008). Music for a mixed taste: Style, genre and meaning in Telemann’s instrumental
works (p. 337). Oxford University Press.
The Sounds of the Baroque Tiles.
An Iconographic Itinerary of St. Victor’s
Church, Braga, Portugal
Elisa Lessa and Helena Brandão
Abstract The interior tiles of St. Victor’s Church, from the seventeenth century,
includes four panels and a fragment of tiles that present musical motifs associated
with different contexts. The coating was ordered and sponsored by Archbishop D.
Luís de Sousa (1637–1690), who also defined the respective iconographic program
carried out by one of the most renowned tile painters in Lisbon, the Spaniard Gabriel
del Barco (1648–c. 1701), although art historians recognize the potential artistic
influence of other individuals, not yet identified. The study presents a descriptive and
interpretative analysis of the musical motives identified in the panel of St. Rosendo,
which integrates the most monumental pictorial set of local hagiography in Portugal.
1 Introduction
Azulejo, is a Portuguese word originating from the Arabic term az-zuleij which desig-
nates a ceramic plate of little thickness, normally square. The tile pieces were used to
coat architectural works, applied both inside and outside, and exposing allegorical,
religious and historical episodes and scenes. This type of tile covering began to be
used at the turn of the 15th in Portugal. Initially the tiles were imported from Spain
and later manufactured locally, both in Portugal itself as well as parts of the old empire
from which it simultaneously absorbs a great influence (Guerra, 2010: 16). The art
of tiles would transcend its purely decorative and utilitarian function, becoming one
of the most expressive artistic forms of Portuguese culture. Portugal then became
the European country where the tile achieved enormous development, presenting the
most original and functional forms of use (Meco, 1985: 5). In the last quarter of the
seventeenth century, painting in blue and white tones became increasingly important,
in such a way that it ended up almost completely dominating national tile produc-
tion, which at that time was focused in Lisbon and remained so for half a century
(Carvalho & Silva, 2016: 33). In fact, the Portuguese production of tiles, from the end
E. Lessa (B) · H. Brandão

CEHUM-GIARTES, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal
e-mail: elisalessa@ilch.uminho.pt

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_3
50 E. Lessa and H. Brandão
of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century, marked the
true development and golden era of tiles in Portugal. Polychromatic decoration gave
way to dichromatic decoration due to the influence that Chinese porcelain, Dutch
tiles and the bicolor of engravings that circulated in Europe, exerted on Portuguese
painters. In addition to this change in the color palette used by painters, it is also
worth mentioning the change that occurred in the very status of tile painting, which,
instead of being considered a simple craft, became established as an art in itself.
2 St. Victor’s Church and the Martyrdom of Its Patron
St. Victor’s church located in the parish of São Victor in the municipality of Braga,
was built by Braga archbishop, D. Luís de Sousa (1637–1690). The construction
dates from 1686, but the consecration of the building took place only after the death
of D. Luís, by Archbishop D. João de Sousa (1696–1703), on March 19, 1698. The
building was sponsored by D. Luís de Sousa, who sought to be actively involved
in the work, hiring one of the greatest architects of the time, the military engineer
Miguel de Lescole, established in Viana do Castelo, as well as renowned master
masons, from Porto and Maia, Pascoal Fernandes and Estêvão Moreira, and1 the
carver Domingos Lopes, also from Porto, to make the altarpiece. The Archbishop
also revealed his active participation in defining the respective iconographic program
based on the narratives of the Ecclesiastical History of Braga’s Archbishops written
by D. Rodrigo da Cunha [Historia Ecclesiastica dos Arcebispos de Braga, e dos
Santos, e Varoes ilustres que florescerão neste Arcebispado, Braga, 1634 (vol. I)
and 1635 (vol. II)]. Inspired by D. Rodrigo da Cunha’s book, D. Luís de Sousa
selected twenty Minho saints, noting that some of these saints were also archbishops
of Braga. Their lives are represented on the tiles of the Church’s nave, showing
them at the time of their martyrdom or performing miracles. The saints are identified
by phylacteries, sometimes held by angels such as St. Paterno, St. Gonçalo, St.
Senhorinha, St. Rosendo, St. Marciana, St. Cucufate, St. Asciclo, St. Félix Torcato,
St. Basilio, St. Leodecísio, St. Narciso, St. Profuturo, St. Liberata, St. Marinha, St.
Quitéria, St. Eufémia, St. Ausberto, St. Salomão, St. Tolobeu and St. Frei Gil.
The greatest emphasis is given to the patron of the Church, to whom the entire
covering of the main chapel is dedicated, in which the observer can follow the narra-
tive of the martyrdom of St. Victor through a set of tile panels. Two grand panels
portray St. Victor refusing to worship the goddess Ceres. This refusal led him to
be tried by the governor of the city, Sérgio, as represented in another panel, which
is located on the side of the Epistle, or the upper plane of the wall. Faced with the
1Portugal’s history was marked by a brief period of significant commercial and, above all, cultural
exchanges between the Netherlands and Portugal. The time frame that goes from the last quarter
of the seventeenth century to the first of the eighteenth century corresponds, in the History of
Portuguese Art, to an important period that witnessed a great export of Dutch tiles to Portugal
of great rigor and technical quality. The painting style used was the blue over white background
painting, which will certainly have influenced Portuguese production.
The Sounds of the Baroque Tiles. An Iconographic … 51
reaction of the Saint, who reinforced his belief in the Christian faith, the governor
ordered him to be tied to a tree and tortured. The first phase of his martyrdom is
represented in another narrower section, where one soldier arrests St. Victor, while
another prepares instruments of torture. An angel appears in heaven, holding a wreath,
reinforcing Saint Victor’s union with the Christian faith. Another panel, also narrow,
represents the prolongation and intensification of the Saint’s torture. The final stage
of his martyrdom, with his beheading, is represented on the panel at the top of the
wall on the side of the Gospel. Finally, St. Victor ascends to Heaven, an episode
illustrated in the triumphal arch, where there are also several angels, one of whom
holds a palm and the other the crown.2
Two other small panels located at the access to the pulpits illustrate two other
important moments in the Saint’s history. The first episode was when the Martyr’s
body is abandoned in a field to be devoured by animals (then, during the night,
Christians buried him near the place he was his martyred). The second occurred at
the time of Archbishop D. Agostinho de Jesus (1537–1609), when the stone was
removed from the tomb of St. Victor and they realized that it still contained the blood
of his martyrdom.
While the exterior of the Church of St. Victor is characterized by the sobriety of
its decoration, the interior stands out for the monumentality of its tile covering that
completely covers the walls. This church is the first and only example in Portugal of
an iconographic program of grandiose dimensions entirely dedicated to local saints.
The iconological analysis of the tile covering of St. Victor’ Church has already
been carried out by Rosário Salema de Carvalho and Libório Manuel Silva.3 The
authorship of this extraordinary set of tiles is attributed to the Spaniard Gabriel del
Barco (Siguença, 1648–Lisbon, c. 1701), one of the most representative painters of
the first phase of the national production of blue and white tiles. Gabriel del Barco’s
work is part of the so-called Transition Period, a period from about 1675 to 1700
that laid the foundations and for the golden period of Portuguese tiles, the Masters
Cycle (c. 1725). Although the collaboration of “other hands” not yet identified by
art historians is recognized in this set of tiles, the work is generally attributed to the
figure of Gabriel del Barco, with the following arguments:
(…) The quick and almost “impressionistic” treatment of his brushstrokes, the very drawn
faces, the disproportion (…) and the perspective problems of this master who preferred
expression over the correctness of the drawing (…)4
Gabriel del Barco’s signature (abbreviated to “G.B.”) was identified on the tile
panel that represents one of the episodes in the life of Saint Victor located on the wall
of the main chapel on the side of the Gospel (Flor et al., 2014: 102). This artist was
one of the most significant tile painters of the late seventeenth century in Portugal.
2 For a detailed description and analysis of the scenes that represent the life of São Victor, the scenes
associated with other saints and their association with the literary source that is the source of these
representations, see Carvalho and Silva (2017).
3 See Rosário Salema de Carvalho e Libório Manuel Silva “A Igreja de São Victor” in
Azulejos/Maravilhas de Portugal. Vila Nova de Famalicão: Centro Atlântico, 2017.

4 Carvalho and Silva (2017: 99).
Born in Siguença (Spain), in 1648, Barco settled in Lisbon in 1669, remaining in the
Portuguese capital until the end of his life. It is thought that in the first years of his
career in Portugal he dedicated himself to painting ceilings and oil painting, but this
phase of his activity remains unknown. The first tile work that he signed dates from
1689 (main chapel of the Church of the Convent of Nossa Senhora do Espinheiro,
Évora), considering, therefore, that the beginning of his activity as a tile painter dates
back to the late 1680s. Although his career was relatively short (just over ten years),
Barco produced an average of two to three works per year, revealing that he had a
good workshop and an enormous work capacity considering the grand dimensions
of many of his panels (Carvalho & Silva, 2017: 10).
3 The Musical Representations in the Tile Covering
The musical representations appear in the panels dedicated to St. Victor, St. Eufémia,
to the rise of St. Rosendo and also in a fragment in the sacristy in which a musician
angel is represented. The main chapel’s iconographic program, as already stated,
is dedicated to the patron of the church. Going through the nave on the right side,
there is a panel, dedicated to St. Eufémia, whose iconographic representation is not
entirely visible because it is partly hidden by the historical organ. This panel shows
the appearance of the body of St. Eufémia to a little shepherdess and her father.
Although the text does not mention any musical instrument, Gabriel del Barco chose
to illustrate an aerophone in the pastor’s hand.
Luzia Rocha, in her doctoral dissertation (2011) presents a section on the tile
panels of St. Victor’s Church dedicated to her patron and St. Eufémia, however, does
not address the panel that represents the rise of St. Rosendo or the fragment found in
the sacristy which features a musician angel who strums a small diatonic harp with
one hand.
4 Musical Motives Represented in the Panel Dedicated

to St. Rosendo
Upon entering the church, we come across the triumphal arch where several musician
angels are found, some of which are significantly hidden due to the gilded pelmet
that was placed there in the twentieth century. This fact prevents a complete reading
of the pictorial representation, and it is not possible to verify whether other angels
are represented playing instruments or even singing (Fig. 1).
Pre-iconographic description5
5The analysis of musical representations follows the three stages systematized by Erwin Panofsky:
A pre-iconographic description in which one tries to identify and understand the artistic motives
Fig. 1 Triumphal arch located in the nave of St. Victor’s Church (http://juntasvictor.pt)
In this panel it is possible to observe several clouds and angels with a serene and
contemplative posture. However, only the heads or half of the bodies are visible. It is
possible to identify at least five musician angels who play musical instruments. On
the right side there are two chordophones (one rubbed and the other fingered) and
on the opposite side two chordophones with bow. It is also possible to observe the
tubes of a keybord aerophone.
Iconographic analysis
The phylactery displayed by two angels with the inscription “S. Rosendo” indicates
that the tile panel of the triumphal arch represents an episode in the life history of this
saint. Through the narrative written by D. Rodrigo da Cunha it appears that the theme
of this coating is the Ascension of St. Rosendo. However, his iconographic reading
that make up the representation; iconographic analysis itself and a third stage of iconographic
interpretation in a deeper sense in which the intrinsic meaning or content of the work is understood
(Panofsky, 1972: 3–17).
Fig. 2 Ascension of St. Rosendo. Detail of the phylactery (Brandão, 2019)
is not possible to fully observe due to the gilded pelmet placed at the beginning of
the twentieth century, in the years 1905–1906 (Fig. 2).6
The episode of St. Rosendo’s life is narrated by D. Rodrigo da Cunha in a chapter
dedicated to his cousin St. Senhorinha:
While [St. Senhorinha] was one night in the Choir in prayer with his sisters, he saw by
Divine revelation that the soul of his relative, St. Rosendo, was going to enjoy the eternal
bliss, taken by the hands of Angels, who with music celebrated his glory.7
The text justifies the presence of musician angels in the figurative painting of the
tile covering. They were probably made by a collaborator of Gabriel del Barco and
not by the artist (Carvalho, 2012: 143). However, the iconographic sources used to
represent the instruments are still unknown. It is possible to observe the representation
of five instruments. Probably a positive organ, a viola da braccio, a viola da gamba,
a harp and a violone. However, it was only possible to analyse the last two in more
detail, since only a small part of the other instruments can be visualized (Figs. 3 and
4).
The chordophone rubbed by a bow represented on the right side of the triumphal
arch appears to be a viola da braccio (alto). Due to the pelmet, it is only possible
to observe the volute, six tuning pegs, the neck with three visible frets, three strings
6Carvalho and Silva (2017), op. cit., p. 13.

7Cunha (1634) Primeira parte da Historia Ecclesiastica dos Arcebispos de Braga, e dos Santos, e
Varoes illustres, que florescerão neste Arcebispado. Braga: p. 456.
Fig. 3 Ascension of St. Rosendo. Details of the musician angels: organ (left) and violone (right);
(Brandão, 2019)
Fig. 4 Ascension of St. Rosendo. Details of the musician angels viola da braccio (?) and harp
(Brandão, 2019)
and a small part of the harmonic soundboard. Slightly below this instrument we find
an angel that plays a harp of triangular configuration, a diatonic model consisting
of about 26 strings. (It is not possible to see the number of strings in full). It is a
model before the end of the sixteenth century and, due to its dimensions, after the
fourteenth century. Its upper corner is very pointed and doesn’t match to the rounded
shape that appears in other representations. The resonance box structure also does
not correspond to medieval models because it is not represented in a more volumi-
nous way. The strings appear to be randomly attached to the console. The instrument
represented does not reflect the painter’s musical reality (seventeenth century), but
neither does it obey the characteristics that the instrument had in previous centuries.
The artist would not have had great knowledge about this instrument, having repre-
sented it in a simplified/stylized way, painting only the basic aspects that allow the
observer to quickly associate this representation with a harp. On the opposite side,
there are seven tubes of an organ that form a single row, being arranged according to
the organization of the manual (not visible). Below the organist angel we find another
musician angel who plays a violone. Above the organ tubes, you can see a small part
of the body of another rubbed chordophone that could be a viola da gamba. However,
it is not possible to understand for sure which instrument is represented.
The violone appears in the Renaissance as a complement to the violas family. This
chordophone was in force from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-seventeenth
century and is considered the direct precursor of the double bass. Today there are
only rare examples of this instrument (Munrow 1976: 88). Historically, the term
“violone” has several meanings: originally, since the 1530s, it has been used to name
any viola. In the Baroque period, both Corelli and Handel used it to refer to the
cello. Its meaning became even more confused when, from 1660 until the eighteenth
century, the term was regularly used to designate the double bass (Fig. 5).8
Some details of the violone represented in the triumphal arch are identical to
Michael Praetorius’s illustration, namely the configuration, and the decorative shape
of the volute, the “f” openings, although designed with little care; the frets which,
however, do not have the same number in relation to the Praetorius’s violone.9
However, the instrument has another characteristics that do not seem to correspond
to reality. This violone has no easel and the standard presents a fanciful shape when
compared to that of Praetorius’ engraving. The arm’s instrument is too short, with
only three frets. Although in the Baroque the violone normally had six strings, some-
times a seventh string was added.10 The way the musician angel’s right hand holds
the bow appears to correspond to reality (the bow is held from below). However, in
the iconographic representations of the time, the musician places only his thumb at
the top of the bow and the remaining fingers at the bottom. In this representation, the
way in which the bow is held does not seem to correspond to reality as it does not
allow sufficient support for its handling (Fig. 6).
8 Tharald Borgir, et al. “Violone” in Grove Music Online.

9 Praetorius (1619) Syntagma Musicum. Tomus Secundus: De Organographia. Wolfenbüttel.
10 See Munrow (1976) Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Fig. 5 Michael Praetorius Syntagma Musicum.Tomus Secundus: De Organographia (Wolfenbüttel,

1619). Violone’s representation on the tile panel (Brandão, 2019)
Fig. 6 Ascention of de St. Rosendo. Violone details (Brandão, 2019)
5 Conclusions
The Church of S. Victor and, in particular, its tile panels are an example of the aesthetic
taste marked by the exuberant decorative elements represented in an extraordinary
set of tiles and carvings with exceptional musical iconography. Its tile covering
presents an enormous wealth of representation of musical instruments namely chor-

dophones, aerophones, idiophones and membranophones, which appear associated
with different environments and contexts.
Most of the analysed instruments have representational problems. The painter’s
aim does not seem to have been the authentic representation of musical instruments,
much less the musical reality of his time. In fact, this coating could hardly represent
the musical reality of the late seventeenth century, since the painter used, in most
cases, engravings from the previous century. Furthermore the ceramic painting of his
time was executed à la prima and for that reason “There was no place for regrets”
(Carvalho & Silva, 2016: 35).
The identification of the engravings used by the painter Gabriel del Barco are
yet to be fully clarified. In order to answer all the questions posed regarding the
Ascension of St. Rosendo panel and the possible symbolic meanings of the number
of strings presented by the violone and viola da braccio, it would be necessary to
read the tile panel in full.
Perhaps one day the gilded woodcarving of the triumphal arch of St. Victor Church
can be removed and the tile panel of St. Rosendo’s Ascension will once again be
admired.
References
Borgir, T., et al. “Violone” in Grove Music Online. https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com

Carvalho, R. S. (2012). A pintura do azulejo em Portugal [1675–1725]. Autorias e biografias – um
novo paradigma. Tese de doutoramento em História da Arte. Universidade de Lisboa: Faculdade
de Letras – Departamento de História.
Carvalho, R. S. S., & Silva, L. M. (2016). Azulejo em/in Braga: O largo tempo do Barroco. Centro
Atlântico.
Carvalho, R. S. S., & Silva, L. M. (2017). “A Igreja de São Victor” Azulejos/Maravilhas de Portugal.
Centro Atlântico.
Flor, P., et al. (2014). Grande Panorama de Lisboa em azulejo: Novos contributos para a fixação da
data, encomenda e autoria. Revista de História da Arte, 11.
Guerra, A. F. M. (2010). O Azulejo de fachada na freguesia de Santo Ildefonso Séculos XIX e XX.
Relatório de estágio para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em História da Arte Portuguesa. Faculdade
de Letras da Universidade do Porto. Departamento de Ciências e Técnicas do Património, 2010.
Meco, J. (1985). Azulejaria Portuguesa. Bertrand Editora.
Munrow, D. (1976). Instruments of the middle ages and Renaissance. Oxford University Press/Music
Department
Panofsky, E. (1972). Studies in iconology/humanistic themes in the art of the Renaissance. Icon
Editions.
Rocha, L. (2011). O motivo musical na azulejaria portuguesa da primeira metade do século XVIII,
dissertação de doutoramento em Ciências Musicais Históricas. Universidade Nova de Lisboa:
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas.
Documentary Sources
Cunha, D. R. (1634) Primeira parte da Historia Ecclesiastica dos Arcebispos de Braga, e dos
Santos, e Varoes illustres, que florescerão neste Arcebispado. Braga.
Praetorius, M. (1619). Syntagma Musicum Tomus Secundus: De Organographia. Wolfenbüttel.
Portraits of Male and Female Musicians
in Portuguese Paintings
from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Centuries
Sónia Duarte
Abstract This investigation is about concrete portraits (not crypto-portraits) of male

and female musicians by Portuguese painters, since Vieira Lusitano to Sequeira,
Columbano, Emília Braga and Malhoa. A portrait is the presence of an absence.
A synonym of affectivity, propaganda, social prestige and power, it perpetuates the
memory of the person portrayed, with more or less verisimilitude. The first Western
treatise on portraiture was written in Portugal in 1549: the dialogue Do Tirar polo
Natural, by Francisco de Holanda (1517/18–84). Given this feat, one might expect a
number of portraits of musicians by national artists and workshops to have reached us
throughout the centuries. However, Holanda’s treatise lists a series of precepts that
can help explain the dearth of male and female portraits of Portuguese musicians
in the following centuries: “Let the excellent painter (…) paint very few people,
carefully selected”. Individual and collective, from public or private collections, the
theme of the musician’s portrait is marginally considered or even ignored by the
art historians. What constitutes the nature of these Portuguese portraits? What they
reveal to us? In the end of the chapter, we present an inventory with more than half
a hundred of portraits of male and female amateur and professional musicians from
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries painted by national painters.
S. Duarte (B)
ARTIS—Instituto de História da Arte da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa,
Portugal
e-mail: soniamariaduarte@campus.ul.pt
CESEM—Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical da Universidade NOVA de Lisboa,
Lisboa, Portugal
FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I. P., Lisboa, Portugal

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_4
62 S. Duarte
1 Portraits and Self-portraits in Portugal in the Eighteenth

and Nineteenth Centuries: An Overview
A portrait is the presence of an absence. A synonym of affectivity, propaganda,

social prestige and power, it perpetuates the memory of the person portrayed, with
more or less verisimilitude (França, 2010). The first Western treatise on portraiture
was written in Portugal in 1549: the dialogue Do Tirar polo Natural, by Francisco
de Holanda (1517/18–84). Given this feat, one might expect a number of effigies,
portraits and self-portraits by national artists and workshops to have reached us
throughout the centuries. However, Holanda’s treatise lists a series of precepts that
can help explain the dearth of portraits of Portuguese painters and musicians in the
following centuries: “Let the excellent painter (…) paint very few people, carefully
selected” (Holanda, 1984 [1549]: 14).
From the fifteenth to the seventeenth century, there are self-portraits by artists,
some of which hypothetical, as David Huguet, Francisco de Holanda, Fernão Gomes,
Giraldo Fernandes do Prado, Pedro Nunes, António de Oliveira Bernardes, or D. Félix
Machado da Silva Castro e Vasconcelos, the first Count of Amares. Many of them are
crypto-portraits or non-portraits—images based on iconographic elements that bear
no relation to the person portrayed—from Portuguese public and private collections.
It is the case of the depiction of saints in the Old Testament, eschatological and hagio-
graphical iconography relating to King David or Saint Cecilia; of classical gods and
deities, such as Orpheus or Eros; of concerts with angel musicians, evoking the theme
of divine music; of an archdevil playing signal instruments in eschatological subjects;
of soldiers playing aerophones on Via Crucis themes; of the anthropomorphic figures
featured in mural painting, playing fanciful instruments or dancing; of the shepherds
included in christological depictions, playing flutes, tambourines, adufe or bagpipes
in oil paintings on canvas by Bento Coelho da Silveira (ca. 1620–1708), Manuel de
Freitas Padrão (act. 1676-ca. 1739) or Domingos Teixeira Barreto (?-1807).
Other cases of crypto-portraits are the figuration of amateur musicians, like the
ones taking part in a procession in Guimarães painted by Portuguese-Swiss Augusto
Roquemont (Museu Nacional Soares dos Reis); shepherds playing flute by Silva
Porto (private collection) or Leonel Marques Pereira (Museu Nacional Soares dos
Reis); mythological subjects by Veloso Salgado (Museu do Chiado); and many
unidentified musicians by José Malhoa. Lastly, beggars and blind musicians in festi-
vals of villages painted de visu or idealized, by the painter so-called Morgado de
Setúbal (1752–1809) who painted a black boy played a side drum and a old man with
a bagpipe copied from engravings (Museu de Setúbal) and three others (Museu de
Évora); by Luís Pereira de Meneses (1817–78); Miguel Ângelo Lupi (1826–83) [1];
José Rodrigues (1828–87) (França, 1990: 271); Leonel Marques Pereira (Idem 269);
Carlos Reis (1863–1940); Sousa Pinto; or the Spanish painter who had Portuguese
nationality since 1874, Veloso Salgado (1864–1945).
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, on the other hand, self-portraits by
artists—individual or collective, with or without their working tools—are more
frequent. It is worth highlighting those of Vieira Lusitano (1699–1783), João Glama
Portraits of Male and Female Musicians in Portuguese Paintings … 63
Strobërle (ca. 1708–92), Vieira Portuense (1765–1805), Pedro Alexandrino de

Carvalho (1729–1810), José Teixeira Barreto (1782–1810), José de Almeida Furtado,
dito O Gata (1778–1831), José da Cunha Taborda (1766–1836), Domingos Sequeira
(1768–1837), Augusto Roquemont (1804–52), João Cristino da Silva (1829–77),
José Ferreira Chaves (1838–99), Henrique Pousão (1859–84), António Manuel da
Fonseca (1796–1890), Leonel Marques Pereira (1828–92), Francisco José Resende
(1825–93), Silva Porto (1850–93), Marques de Oliveira (1853–1927), Columbano
Bordalo Pinheiro (1857–1929), José Malhoa (1855–1933), or Ernesto Ferreira
Condeixa (1858–1933), as well as the notable self-portrait of Portuguese-Chilean
Aurélia de Sousa (1866–1922), from the same period, painted in 1882: a feminine,
intimate, stern and enigmatic portrait, with a “a light blue stare that structures the
entire composition” (França, 2000: 20) (Fig. 1).
Another example, which is not a self-portrait, but the depiction of a female painter
performing her art, was painted around 1807 and shows Gabriella Maria Ignazia
Asinari painting her husband, D. Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, 1st Count of Linhares
(Fig. 2). The moment seen in this picture, from a private collection, was captured by
Domingos Sequeira: standing in front of her canvas, placed on an easel, the student
is painting the portrait of her husband, and looks at her master as though awaiting
further instructions [2].
Fig. 1 Self-portrait, 1882,

Aurélia de Sousa; oil on
canvas; 45 × 36 cm; Museu
Nacional Soares dos Reis
64 S. Duarte
Fig. 2 The Counts of

Linhares: D. Gabriella
Maria Ignazia Asinari, dei
Marchesi di San Marzano,
painting her husband, D.
Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho,
eighteenth century,
Domingos Sequeira; oil on
canvas; 95 × 74 cm; private
collection
2 Group Portraits of Male and Female Musicians

in Portugal in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
Portraits of male and female musicians in Portuguese painting from the eighteenth
century are extremely rare. The political and economic circumstances, the market
and the artistic commissions, and the moderate prestige enjoyed by artists at the
time, along with iconoclastic tendencies, the lack of inventories and studies and their
dispersion among private collections have contributed to this result. From the first half
of the nineteenth century, the emergence of an influential intellectual elite, validated
not by an inherited status but by its education, individual skill and attendance of
certain milieus, associated with new social habits, led to a revitalization of portraiture.
Group portraits often consist in intimate depictions of soirées and families. A
domestic painting with a lively nature, ascribed to Gaspare Traversi (ca. 1732–70),
depicts one such soirée with a musician next to his pupil: the Princess Maria Bárbara
playing the harpsichord in front of Domenico Scarlatti (Gonçalves, 2013) [3]. An
unusually large The Wedding Masquerade by José Conrado Roza, son of the painter
Domingos da Rosa, depicts exotic, dwarfish figures with black skin, demonstrating
the triangular relationships between Europe, Africa and the Americas. This picture,
commissioned by Princess Maria Francisca Benedita, herself an accomplished musi-
cian, shows a wedding procession whose members lived in the Belém Estate (AA.
VV., 2018), two of them—D. Ana and Sebastião—are playing musical instruments:
tambourine and recorder (Fig. 3).
Moreover, Domingos Sequeira painted a harp recital, a moment of everyday inti-
macy of aristocracy (like the serenades) (AA. VV., 2018: 205). Columbano often
paints this theme: one Soirée with singers and a piano played by her friend and painter
Fig. 3 The Wedding

Masquerade (detail), 1788,
José Conrado Roza; Musée
du Nouveau Monde, La
Rochelle
Artur Loureiro, and a wooden transverse flute (for Columbano to play?) placed on
top of papers on the chair (Fig. 4); an study and the painting entitled An Amateur
Concert (1882), featuring a group of singers accompanied by a pianist. In my studio,
Columbano painted a self-portrait with lyre-guitar, as he was an amateur musician
(Lapa, 1994:124–25). In one of four oil paintings on wood, Carlos Reis, while still
a student, represented a Soirée with a male singer accompanied by a female figure
playing an upright piano and one singer (Fig. 5). Traces of these social gatherings are
also found in many private homes with a scenes related to music and dance (Duarte,
2018) [4].
Fig. 4 Soirée, 1882,

Columbano; private
collection; Soirée, 1880,
Carlos Reis; Museu do
Chiado, Lisbon
66 S. Duarte
Fig. 5 Soirée, 1882,

Columbano; private
collection; Soirée, 1880,
Carlos Reis; Museu do
Chiado, Lisbon
3 Individual Portraits and Effigies of Professional

and Amateur Musicians in Portugal
Traditionally attributed to painter João Glama Ströberle (ca. 1708–92), who worked
in the city of Porto, it is a curious painting from the collection of sculptor Teixeira
Lopes, where a young infant D. Pedro Carlos de Bourbon and Bragança (1786–
1812), son of D. Gabriel de Bourbon and Saxony (music student of the famous
Vicent Martín y Soler), playing cavaquinho. Following the misfortune of his parents’
death in November 1788, D. Pedro Carlos would come to Portugal to grandparents
house (which justifies its presence in a Portuguese collection). The portrait presents
an idealized background with a source (symbol of life) flanked by a lady holding a
flower (purity) and a dog’s paw (fidelity). Another painting of D. Carlos show the
little strikes a side drum through a wooden stick (Fig. 6).
D. José, Príncipe da Beira (1761–88) appears in two oil on canvas of natural
dimensions by Miguel António do Amaral (ca. 1710–80). One at the State Hermitage
commissioned by the Empress Catherine II for her portrait gallery at the Chesminsky
Palace, ca. 1773 (Fig. 7). Another, from the collection of the Palácio Nacional de
Queluz, summer residence of the royal family, dated from 1774, according to the
inscription: “Michael Antonius Fecit, ann.1774”. Among the attributes inherent to
Sciences, Arts and Letters, there are musical instruments such as the lyre, trumpet,
transverse flute, two kettledrums and an open book with legible musical notation
(Duarte, 2018) (Fig. 8).
Another working portrait of an artist belonging to Lisbon’s elite, linked to the
Baron of Sobral, was painted by an unknown artist. It shows an erudite, academic and
virtuous man, proficient in the Arts and Letters: elegantly dressed, with a rectangular
brooch on his chest surrounded by precious stones, a chain with a clock key and two
small bells around his waist. He is preparing the tobacco in a box and in front of him
lies a silver holder contains sharpened pieces of chalk, the medium essential to draw
Cupid sculpted by Mars, a clear allusion to the theme of love such as bust of Venus.
Might this be a wedding portrait, intended as a gift to a bride or an absent family? The
list of attributes is completed by a bookcase with almost fifty books, among which
Fig. 6 D. Pedro Carlos

(Palácio Nacional de
Queluz); D. José I, Príncipe
das Beiras (State
Hermitage); D. José,
Príncipe das Beiras (Palácio
Nacional de Queluz)

das Beiras (State
Nacional de Queluz)
68 S. Duarte

das Beiras (State
Nacional de Queluz)
“ARTE DA PINTURA”, by Filipe Nunes (?), as indicated on the spine. Furthermore,

the picture also includes a sheet of paper with minutely drawn musical notation and
a transverse flute made of wood, ivory and tin, divided into four sections, with six
holes and a key. The musical sheet corresponds to the instrumental section of a march
or hymn in E minor, starts with an anacrusis and was left unfinished (Figs. 9 and 10),
whilst the musician is most probably one of the amateur transverse flute players who
lived in Lisbon and gave domestic and spontaneous performances. This painting is
an allusion to good education and sensitivity and it is coeval with the flutes produced
by the Haupt and Silva families.
We found some individual portraits in public collections with a specific typology.
For example, each of the six portrayed at the Museu Nacional da Música: half-
lengths, elegantly dressed with jewels and medals, erudite and serious (almost severe)
face. The oldest one by Henrique José da Silva (1772–1834)—inscription: “H. J. S.ª
Pint 1814”—is the portrait of the pianist and composer João Domingos Bomtempo,
elegantly dressed with two seals at the waist and in front of a piano and a blank
sheet, show us the insignia of the Order of Christ [5]; other, around ca. 1840, with
the Italian violinist Vicenzo Tito Mazzoni (1799–1870), who worked in Lisbon (just
like the family a century before); another hypothetically by Lisbon painter Fran-
cisco António Silva Oeirense (1797–1845) with the conductor and teacher Francisco
António Norberto dos Santos Pinto (1815–60), around 1845 – inscription: “8.ª Aber-
tura/Pª Grande Orchestra/Composta e Dedicada/a Francisco Liszt/p[or] F. A. N. S.
Pinto/Lxª/1845”; the unfinished portrait of composer and pianist João Guilherme Bell
Daddi (1813–87), who, in February 1845, played with Liszt in Teatro Nacional de São
Carlos the Fantasy opus 12 by Sigismond Thalberg, called Fortuné François; another
Fig. 9 Portrait of a man of Baron of Sobral family, ca. 1810, unknown author; private collection.
Transcription (excerpt)
Fig. 10 Portrait of a man of Baron of Sobral family, ca. 1810, unknown author; private collection.
Transcription (excerpt)
painted in 28th August 1885 by Emília Adelaide Xavier dos Santos e Silva Braga
(Occidente 1893) granddaughter of the famous awarded musician and composer
Manuel Inocêncio Liberato dos Santos Carvalho e Silva (1802–87), who receive the
Boisselot of Liszt, by Queen Maria I, and distinctions of Order of Christ, Order
of Santiago de Espada and Order of Our Lady of the Conception of Vila Viçosa,
as we see on the portrait. The individual portrait of the Portuguese-Brazilian Artur
Napoleão dos Santos (1843–1925) presented as a composer and pianist, with your
own exercises book with the inscription “12 (…) Artistiques (…) NAPOLEAM”
maybe the famous “Douse Etudes Artistiques”, Opus 43, ca. 1870, and probably
the date of that painting. Lastly, the portraits of the organist and composer Marcos
Portugal (Figs. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19).
Furthermore, many prominent figures of Portuguese society and intelligentsia with
musical instruments are very ordinary on paintings and drawings of other painter:
Columbano [6]. For instance, the piano: in Difficult excerpt, a portrait from 1883 that
represents Manuel Gustavo Bordalo Pinheiro, an amateur pianist and flutist, nephew
of the painter Columbano, who struggles with the difficulty of reading a score at
70 S. Duarte
Fig. 11 Male portraits of nineteenth century in Lisbon. Museu Nacional da Música: Bomtempo;
Mazzoni; Santos Pinto; Daddi; Liberato dos Santos; Artur Napoleão. From other collections:
Marcos Portugal in Paços do Concelho; Marcos Portugal and Bomtempo in Conservatório Nacional
first sight (the notation is not noticeable) (Lapa, 2007: 138–39). In a painting called
Soirée Maria Alves Ribeiro plays the piano [7] and in another in private collection,
too, Artur Loureiro plays the piano in a painting called The amateur concert (Lapa,
2007: 96).
We found many paintings about the Fado—the National Song—and the
Portuguese Guitar by José Malhoa, Constantino Fernandes (Pereira, 2017: 59),
Francis Smith or Eduardo Moura (Duarte, 2014). The most well-known painting
is one of the versions of Fado by José Malhoa, with Lisbon hooligan and guitarist
Amâncio Augusto Esteves and his lover Adelaide Facada, a prostitute from the
Alfama neighbourhood (Henriques, 2004; Saldanha, 2012; Pereira, 2017) (Fig. 20).
4 Portraits of Female Musicians in Portuguese Painting:

Amateurs and Muses
Although music was one of the main female pastimes, as documented in letters,
poetical eulogies or coeval iconographies where women are seen playing instruments
or teaching other women in the comfort of their homes, the news about female
musicians are scarce. The first female artist in Western art history known to have
72 S. Duarte
74 S. Duarte
Fig. 20 Fado, 1910, José

Malhoa; Museu da Cidade de
Lisboa
painted her self-portrait is the Flemish Caterina van Hemessen, who is also the
painter of the first portrait of a female musician, dating from 1548. This picture, on
display at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum, is thought to represent her sister Cristina
van Hemessen, an amateur musician, playing a virginal [8].
Among Portugal’s life-size portraits from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
it is worth highlighting that of D. Maria Ana Francisca Josefa (1736–1813), the
daughter of D. José I, from the collection of the Palácio Nacional de Queluz.
Painted by Vieira Lusitano, the 17-year-old princess is standing next to a harpsi-
chord and appears to be devoted to music and painting (harpshichord and the book
with instrumental notation and unreadable signature) (Fig. 21).
Other paintings are dated from the mid-eighteenth century. One of D. Constança
de Portugal, who lived in the outskirts of Lisbon and married in 1736 the 15th Lord
of the Majorat of Oliveira, is depicted in a painting from a private collection as
a highly cultivated woman with singing skills (Sousa, 2006: 152). Next to her, an
open music book bears the title Cantata A voce sola de soprano [sic] (Fig. 22). In
addition, two portraits of D. Mariana Victória (1718–81), a keen musician, reading a
handwritten musical sheet (Fig. 23) and another in Lisbon Academy of Sciences with
a lyre (Fig. 25). In a half-length portrait, D. Carlota Joaquina (1775–1830), Spanish
princess and Queen of Portugal, exhibits several jewels and insignia, including a
medallion with a miniature portrait of her husband, Prince D. João. The picture also
includes attributes related to the Arts, such as a music sheet placed on a table, of which
only the beginning of the composition is visible, and part of a keyboard (Fig. 24).
In a portrait thought to depict a member of family of the poet D. Leonor de
Almeida Portugal Lorena e Lencastre, the 4th Marquise of Alorna (also known as
Alcipe)—a remarkable painter, musician and poet—wears a painted medallion on
her chest, with the effigy of her husband and parents, and holds a small lyre on her
left hand, which evokes the art of composition. The portable lyre, a chordophone that
76 S. Duarte
Fig. 21 Female portraits: D. Maria Ana Francisca Josefa of Bragança, ca. 1751; D. Constança de
Portugal da Gama, 1749; D. Mariana Victória, ca. 1740; D. Carlota Joaquina, ca. 1806
78 S. Duarte
Fig. 25 Female portraits: D.

Mariana Victória;
unidentified family member
of Alcipe; Francisca Possolo
da Costa; D. Maria Joana do
Amaral; Luísa Todi and
Gertrudes Leonor Hedwiges
Espada
represents harmony, is used to accompany the text, but also alludes to strength and
seduction, as in the mythological episode evoking the construction of the walls of
Thebes to the sound of a lyre (the myth of Amphion, the inventor of music). Orpheus
also sang and played a lyre (nature as a whole would stop to listen and every creature
followed him, for his art had the power to subdue and appease the wildest beasts)
(Fig. 26). Another painting of that tipology is the portrait of the poet and playwright
Francisca Possolo da Costa (1783–1838), called Francília Pastora do Tejo, painted
in the first half of nineteenth century by the Portuguese painter Bento Dufourcq [9].
The attributes are: lyre with four chords and a laurel wreath and a book (Fig. 27)
[10].
Sold at an auction in the Palácio do Correio Velho, the allegorical wedding portrait
of D. Maria Joana Pais [Paes] do Amaral (1779–1859), the 1st Viscountess of Alverca
(2nd Countess of Anadia) by marriage to her cousin José de Sá Pereira, as mentioned
in the caption, shows D. Maria fingering a fanciful lyre (symbol of marital harmony),
ca. 1816. On a table, a book with instrumental music alludes to Erato’s allegory
(Fig. 28). In a portrait from the Museu Nacional da Música, ascribed to the circle of
Vigée Le Brun and identified as an apotheose, or tribute after the death, of the opera
singer Luísa Rosa de Aguiar, best known as Luísa Todi (1753–1833), the latter is
depicted with a laurel wreath, attribute of Apollo and by extension an attribute of
the poets that means superiority and virtu. Here, the female person plays a lyre, as a
Muse of Music (Fig. 29) [11].

Mariana Victória;
Espada

Mariana Victória;
Espada
80 S. Duarte

Mariana Victória;
Espada

Mariana Victória;
Espada
D. Gertrudes Leonor Hedwiges Espada is depicted in a wedding portrait painted

together with that of her husband, the rich industrialist João Xavier Potsch (the son of a
coppersmith engaged by the Portuguese Royal House). The painting dates from 1815,
the year when the wedding took place, in Lisbon [12] (D. Gertrudes is not wearing a
wedding ring). In her Lisbon property, Quinta do Carmo, no longer used as a house,
the ballroom, the music room and the dining room are still decorated with frescos
relating to music and dancing, along with a piano by the English workshop Collard
& Collard, evoking the musical soirées that were once held there. D. Gertrudes is
wearing a French-style evening gown and her hair is bound up with ribbons and bows.
Her left hand holds a fan and her right hand a book and two sheets with instrumental
music. Standing next to her harpsichord, she looks at us, proud of her status and
erudition (Fig. 30).
Finally, children also play music. The portrait of D. Mariana Benedita Victória
de Sequeira painted by her father, Domingos Sequeira, around 1822–23 it is an inti-
mate and affectionate portrait, of which there are at least three preparatory sketches.
Sequeira exhibits his daughter as an erudite and skilful musician. Seated at the
pianoforte, the 10-year-old girl is interrupted by the observer, whom she looks at,
but remains nonetheless engrossed in her music, which denotes a complete mastery
of her instrument (Fig. 31) [11]. Finally, the portrait of Maria Luísa Relvas, the first-
born daughter of the politician, music lover and violinist José Relvas (as it proves
José Malhoa in a painting of 1898 in the same collection of Casa dos Patudos). It
was painted by José Malhoa and shows the 13-year old girl in 1896, which was to
be the last year of her life. She is holding the violin produced in several workshops
in Portugal, among which that of the Sanhudo family (Fig. 32) [12].

Mariana Victória;
Espada
82 S. Duarte
Fig. 31 Portraits of D.
Mariana Benedita Sequeira,
1822–23, Domingos
Sequeira; Maria Luísa de
Loureiro Relvas, 1896, José
Mahoa; Casa dos Patudos
Fig. 32 Portraits of D.
Mariana Benedita Sequeira,
1822–23, Domingos
Sequeira; Maria Luísa de
Loureiro Relvas, 1896, José
Mahoa; Casa dos Patudos
5 Conclusions
This investigation was about concrete portraits (not crypto-portraits in processions

or festivals in the small villages painted by Morgado de Setúbal, August Roque-
mont, José Rodrigues, Leonel Marques Pereira, and many others). It is not an
exhaustive list but it is the first inventory of portraits of male and female musicians
in Portugal—professional and amateurs—from Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassicism,
Romantism, Realism and Naturalism with more than half a hundred in private and
public collections, since Vieira Lusitano to Sequeira, Columbano, Emília Braga and
Malhoa.
As we saw, in the last decades of 18th and first decades of the nineteenth century,
Portugal saw a revaluation of the painted portrait. If in the eighteenth century it was
still painted using engraved models, in the 19th portrait is realistic and have new
commissioners: the bourgeoisie who wants to capture the essence of the personality
and the painters who needed is own financial sufficiency. The typology: full-body
figuration gives way to half-body figurations, focusing more on face expression;
attributes like books or musical instruments are evident, objects that translate civility,
sociability and new entertainments. Women are almost invariably portrayed with
musical sheets or books related to singing and keyboard instruments (spinet/virginal,
harpsichord, pianoforte and lyre), while men are usually associated with the art of
composition and a more diverse set of instruments. Moreover, women appear in active
portraits, within domestic settings, whereas men pose for the portrait and wear mili-
tary and honorary insignia—of the Order of Christ or the Immaculate Conception of
Vila Viçosa—attesting to their rising social status. The portraits of women are scarce
and, unfortunately, there is no record in Portuguese painting of self-portraits such
as the ones by Sofonisba Anguissola, Lavinia Fontana and in those times Angelica
Kauffmann, artists who have represented themselves as painters and as musicians. In
short, portraits, in its various forms—individual or collective, full-face, half-length
or three-quarter, ostentatious or allegorical—aimed to simulate the presence of what
is absent, exalting and evoking it. In doing so, they provide us with important clues
to understand Portugal’s musical history. Marginally considered or even ignored by
the art historians, most of the attention is focused on the identification of the sitter,
dating or discover the authorship of paintings. Male are virtuosi because they playing
and compose and the female are virtuosi too because they playing in domestic place
in a symbolic manner. The portrait is power. The portrait is a lie.
6 Attachments
Individual and group portraits of male and female amateur and professional
musicians from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries painted by national painters.
84
Title Person Date Authorship Location Instrument(s)/music Materials Bibliography

(inventory number) elements (dimensions)
Portrait of D. Mariana D. Mariana Ca. 1740 Unknown Academia das Lyre Oil on canvas –
Victória de Bourbon Victória de Ciências, Lisbon (–)
(–) Bourbon
Portrait of D. Mariana D. Mariana Ca. 1740 Unknown Palácio das Singing music book Oil on canvas –
Victória de Bourbon Victória de Necessidades (–)
(–) Bourbon
Portrait of D D. Constança de 1749 Unknown Private Singing music book Oil on canvas Sousa (2008:
Constança de Portugal Portugal da collection (–) 172)
da Gama (–) Gama
Portrait of D. Maria D. Maria Ana Ca. 1751 Vieira Palácio Harpshichord, legible Oil on canvas –
Ana Francisca Josefa Francisca Lusitano Nacional de Queluz music book (148 ×
de Bragança Josefa de 104 cm)
(PNQ 961) Bragança
Portrait of D. José, D. José, 1773 Miguel State Tranverse Oil on canvas –
Príncipe da Beira Príncipe da António do Hermitage flute, (–)
(G-4430) Beira Amaral music book
Portrait of D. José, D. José, 1774 Miguel Palácio Lyre, transverse flute, Oil on canvas –
Príncipe da Beira Príncipe da António do Nacional de Queluz kettledrums, (114 × 91 cm)
(PNQ 960) Beira Amaral instrumental, music
book, aerophone
Wedding Masquerade Mozambican 1788 José Musée du Nouveau Flute, Oil on canvas AA.VV
(MNM.1983.7.1) musicians: Conrado Rosa Monde tambourine (270 × (2018): 321
D. Ana and 190 cm)
Sebastião
Allegorical portrait of Luísa Todi Ca Circle of Vigée Museu Lyre Oil on canvas Trindade
Luísa Todi (MNM 1789 Le Brun Nacional da Música (78.8 × (1999)
0898) 61.7 cm)
S. Duarte
(continued)
(continued)
Portrait of the litle D. Pedro Carlos Ca. 1790 João Glama Casa-Museu Cavaquinho Oil on canvas –
princesses (–) de Bourbon Strobërle Teixeira Lopes (–)
and
Bragança
Portrait of D. Pedro D. Pedro Carlos Ca. 1790 João Glama Palácio Nacional de Side drum and stick Oil on canvas –
Carlos (PNQ 253A) de Bourbon Strobërle (?) Queluz (82.5 ×
and 58 cm)
Bragança
Portrait of Marcos Marcos Ca Unknown Conservatório – Oil on canvas –
Portugal (–) Portugal 1790 Nacional (–)
Portrait of a family Unidentified Ca. 1800 Unknown Private Lyre Oil on canvas –
member of collection (–)
Alcipe (–)
The Fado guitarist Unidentified Ca. 1800 Morgado de Museu Carlos Portuguese Oil on canvas –
(MCM 5214) Setúbal Machado guitar (96 ×
114.5 cm)
Portrait of D. Carlota Ca. 1806 Unknown Palácio Harpsichord (?), Oil on canvas Telles (2015)
Portraits of Male and Female Musicians in Portuguese Paintings …
D. Carlota Joaquina Joaquina Nacional da Ajuda legible sheet music (92.5 ×

(41,367) 74 cm)
Portrait of a man (–) Unidentified Ca. 1810 Unknown Private Legible sheet music, Oil on canvas –
collection tranverse flute (102.5 ×
82 cm)
Portrait of D. D. Francisca de First half of Bento Private collection Lyre Oil on canvas Costa (1841:
Francisca de Paula Paula nineteenth Dufourcq (–) 116)
Possolo da Costa (–) Possolo da century
Costa
85
(continued)
86
(continued)
Portrait of Gertrudes Ca. 1815 Unknown Private Harpsichord, legible Oil on canvas –
D. Gertrudes Leonor Leonor collection sheet music (94 × 76 cm)
Hedwiges (–) Hedwiges
Portrait of D. Maria D. Maria Joana Ca. 1816 Unknown Private Lyre, legible sheet Oil on canvas Telles (2015)
Joana Pais do Amaral Pais do collection music (–)
(–) Amaral
Harp recital Unidentified Ca. 1810–20 Domingos Museu Nacional de Harp Oil on canvas AA. VV
(inv. 1667 Pint) Sequeira Arte Antiga (20 × (2018: 205)
21.5 cm)
Portrait of João João 1814 Henrique José Museu Nacional da Pianoforte, sheet Oil on canvas Trindade
Domingos Bomtempo Domingos da Silva Música without music (87 × 65 cm) (1999)
(inv. MNM 1067) Bomtempo
Portrait of D. Mariana D. Mariana 1822/ Domingos Museu Nacional de Pianoforte, Oil on canvas AA.VV (2018)
Benedita Victória de Benedita 23 Sequeira Arte Antiga illegible sheet music (85 × 65 cm)
Sequeira (1086 Pint) Victória de
Sequeira
Portrait of the Marcos Ca. 1830 Unknown Paços do Concelho, – Oil on canvas –
composer Marcos Portugal Lisbon (–)
Portugal (–)
Portrait of Vincenzo Vincenzo Ca. 1840 Unknown Museu Nacional da Violin and bow Oil on canvas Trindade
Tito Mazzoni Tito Música (79 × 67 cm) (1999)
(MNM 0893) Mazzoni
Portrait of Francisco Francisco 1845 Francisco Museu Nacional da Legible sheet music Oil on canvas Trindade
António Norberto dos António António Silva Música (37.8 × (1999)
Santos Pinto (MNM Norberto dos Oeirense (?) 30.5 cm)
0900) Santos Pinto
S. Duarte
(continued)
(continued)
Portrait of João João 1845 Unknown Museu Nacional da – Oil on canvas Trindade
Guilherme Bell Daddi Guilherme Bell Música (64.5 × (1999)
(MNM 1069) Daddi 48.7 cm)
The two sisters Amália de Sá (?) Ca. 1860 José Ferreira Museu Piano, illegible sheet Oil on canvas –
(–) Chaves Nacional de Arte music (–)
Contemporânea
Portrait of Artur Artur Ca. 1870 Unknown Museu Piano, legible sheet Oil on canvas Trindade
Napoleão do Santos Napoleão do Nacional da Música music (100.5 × (1999)
(MNM 0901) Santos 83.5 cm)
Soirée Maria Alves 1880 Columbano Private Piano, illegible sheet Oil on canvas Lapa (2007:
(EXT204154) Ribeiro; Emília collection / Museu music, singing, a bell (29 × 46 cm) 84–85), Elias
Carlota Scheper Nacional de Arte of an aerophone (2011:
Fassio; Amélia Contemporânea 272–273)
Bordalo
Pinheiro
Portrait of Francisco Francisco 1881 José Conservatório – Oil on canvas Saldanha
Xavier Mingoni Xavier Mingoni Malhoa Nacional (2012)
Portrait of João João Domingos 1881 José Conservatório – Oil on canvas Saldanha
Domingos Bomtempo Bomtempo Malhoa Nacional (2012)
(–)
(continued)
87
88
(continued)
The amateur concert Maria Augusta 1882 Columbano Museu do Chiado - Piano, illegible Oil on canvas Lapa (2007:
[Soirée chez lui] Bordalo Museu Nacional de singing sheet, (220 × 98–101)
(498) Pinheiro; Carlo Arte Contemporânea illegible piano sheet, 300 cm)
Felici Figari; transverse flute
Adolfo Greno;
Josefa Greno;
Artur Loureiro
Difficult excerpt Manuel 1883 Columbano Casa-Museu Piano, illegible piano Oil on wood Lapa (2007)
(CMAG 928) Gustavo Anastácio Gonçalves sheet music (25 × 30 cm)
Bordalo
Pinheiro
In my studio Columbano 1884 Columbano Museu Grão Vasco Lyre-guitar Oil on wood Lapa (2007:
(2442) (38 × 124–125)
68.5 cm)
Portrait of Manuel Manuel 1885 Emília Museu – Oil on canvas Trindade
Inocêncio Liberato dos Inocêncio Adelaide Nacional da Música (69.8 × (1999)
Santos Carvalho e Liberato dos Xavier dos 53.7 cm)
Silva Santos Carvalho Santos e Silva
(MNM 1068) e Silva Braga
The black musicians of Five unidentified 1886 José Private collection Two trumpets, fife, Oil on canvas Saldanha
S. George (–) musicians Malhoa two side drums (41 × 60 cm) (2012)
Soirée Unidentified 1886 Carlos Reis Museu Municipal de Piano, illegible piano Oil on wood Santos (2004:
(3268) Torres Novas sheet music (50.5 × 329)
110.5 cm)
(continued)
S. Duarte
(continued)
Lady in white [retratos Julieta Hirsch 1887 Veloso Museu Nacional de Piano, illegible sheet Oil on canvas Santos (1999:
(1477) Salgado Arte Contemporânea music, stand (77 × 140), França
(inv. 1477) 54.5 cm) (1988), Lapa
(1994)
Portrait of the António Teixeira 1889 Veloso Casa-Museu Portuguese Oil on Santos (1999:
sculptor Teixeira Lopes Lopes Salgado Teixeira Lopes guitar canvas (228 × 140)
[in the workshop in 167 cm)
Paris] (–)
Lady tuning a Unidentified 1893 Emília dos Private collection Mandolin Oil on canvas Occidente
mandolin (–) Santos Braga (–) (1893, 530:
204)
Portrait of Maria Maria 1896 José Casa dos Patudos – Violin and bow, stand Oil on canvas Saldanha
Luísa de Loureiro Luísa de Malhoa Museu se Alpiarça and illegible sheet (118 × 86 cm) (2001)
Relvas (–) Loureiro Relvas music
José Relvas playing the José Relvas 1898 José Casa dos Patudos Violin and bow, Pastel on Saldanha
violin (–) Malhoa – Museu de Alpiarça illegible sheet music paper (2001)
(–)
Portrait of J. S. Bach Johann 1903 José Museu – Oil on canvas Trindade

(MNM 1066) Sebastian Bach Malhoa Nacional da Música (58.5 × (1999)
44.5 cm)
Portrait of W. A. Wolfgang 1903 José Museu – Oil on canvas Trindade
Mozart Amadeus Malhoa Nacional da Música (58.5 × (1999)
(MNM 1065) Mozart 44.5 cm)
Portrait of Robert 1903 José Museu – Oil on canvas Trindade
R. Schumann Schumann Malhoa Nacional da Música (58.5 × (1999)
(MNM 1064) 44.5 cm)
89
(continued)
90
(continued)
Portrait of Brahms J. Brahms 1903 José Museu Nacional da – Oil on canvas Trindade
(MNM 1063) Malhoa Música (58.5 × (1999)
44.5 cm)
The Apotheosis of Ludwig van 1903 José Museu Nacional da Piano, illegible sheet Oil on canvas Trindade
Beethoven Beethoven Malhoa Música music (366 × (1999)
(MNM 1053) 235 cm)
Interior of a village Unidentified 1909 Eduardo A. Museu Nacional Portuguese Oil on wood Duarte (2014)
tavern (–) Moura Soares dos Reis guitar (34 ×
28.6 cm)
Fado Amâncio 1909 José Private Portuguese Oil on canvas Pereira (2017:
(study) (–) Augusto Esteves Malhoa collection guitar (49 × 65 cm) 50)
Fado (–) Amâncio 1909 José Private collection Portuguese Oil on canvas Pereira (2017:
Augusto Esteves Malhoa guitar (86 × 107 cm) 54)
Fado (–) Amâncio 1910 José Museu da Cidade de Portuguese Oil on canvas Pereira (2017:
Augusto Esteves Malhoa Lisboa guitar (151 × 55)
186 cm)
S. Duarte
Notes
[1] Especially watercolors.

[2] There is another portrait by Domingos Sequeira with this subject, in a
private collection, ca. 1794. That typology of portrait evokes pictures
such as Bernardino Campi painting the portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola,
painted by Anguissola in 1559. See Gómez, LR (2019) Historia de dos
pintoras: Sofonisba Anguissola e Lavinia Fontana. Museo del Prado, Madrid:
102–103.
[3] Concerto is one painting by Gaspare Traversi (ca. 1732–70) in the collection
of Casa-Museu Anselmo Braamcamp Freire (inv. MMS/005484 BF) with
the figuration of Princess Maria Bárbara de Bragança in the harpsichord,
Domenico Scarlatti and D. Fernando VI.
[4] José de Sousa Carvalho’s residence in the Alentejo, there are several canvases
show dance and music scenes, including the rehearsal of a quartet study
practice: one plays a double bass (rabecão grande), another plays two kettle-
drums, a third one, with his back turned, a bassoon, and the last one a small
bass drum (Duarte, 2018).
[5] In May 1835 he was director of the Conservatório de Música of Lisbon and
that portrait serves as a model for another painted by José Malhoa, for the
great hall of that School, in 1881.
[6] See between Columbano’s drawings: A fifia [one flutist: M. Gustavao Bordalo
Pinheiro?; female pianist an male cellist], 1884; The guitarist, ca. 1887;
Gaspar da Viola, ca. 1887, etc. See also in paintings hypothetical portraits:
The priest in the village in the pedestrian for the Folar, ca. 1840; Waltz
invitation, 1880; and six larges decoratives oil in canvas painted in partnership
with Pereira Júnior, in 1891, for two private collections (Count of Valenças,
Luís Leite Pereira Jardim, and Hotel da Lapa).
[7] See some group portraits of Portuguese painted by foreigners. For example,
D. Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Palmela, and his Family by Ferdinand
Krumholz (1810–78), ca. 1847, in a private collection. During a stay in
Portugal between 1844 and 1847, at the invitation of the kings D. Maria II and
his consort D. Fernando II, the Austrian portraitist painted kings and dukes,
and the Duke of Palmela. This life-size scene takes place in the music room
of the residence of the Dukes of Palmela—the eminent diplomat (leaning
against the piano) and his wife, D. Eugénia Francisca Teles da Gama (the
first figure on the left)—who are listening to their third daughter, D. Teresa
Maria da Conceição de Sousa Holstein (1823–85), Countess of Alcáçovas by
marriage to D. Caetano de Sales, playing the piano (Urbano, 2008; França,
2010: 63–64).
[8] See the image in Gómez (2019) Historia de dos pintoras: Sofonisba
Anguissola e Lavinia Fontana. Museo del Prado, Madrid: 42.
[9] Married in April of 1813 with the industrialist and merchant João Baptista
Ângelo da Costa (1781–1830), this is a double portrait.
92 S. Duarte
[10] The presence of lyre is ordinary between poets (composer of poems). See, for
example, the engraving portrait of poet and dramaturge José Maria da Costa
e Silva (1788–1854) from an original by Maurício José do Carmo Sendim,
in 1832, in the collection of Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal.
[11] There are more allegories painted in Portugal. See, for example, the crypto-
portrait and Music Allegory by Vieira Portuense, in the collection of Museu
Nacional de Arte Antiga.
[12] ANTT, Registo Geral de Mercês de D. Maria I, liv.9 (2), f. 34 [12.05.1780];
Castelo Branco (1982) Obras completes. Vol. 14. Livraria Lello, Porto: 676.
[13] In the same museum there are five preparatory drawings for that painting.
Other paintings show us the importance and recurrence of the piano in female
education in the beginning of the twentieth century. See, for example, The
Letter, a painting sold by Sotheby’s (New York) in June 2008, signed by
Portuguese painter Sousa Pinto.
[14] Sometimes children play a musical instrument made of garbage to scare
the sparrows in the fields. See the crypto-portrait Scaring sparrows by José
Malhoa, 1904, in a private collection (Henriques, 2004: 73–74).
Acknowledgements Thanks to ARTIS, FCT, Cabral Moncada Leilões, Palácio do Correio Velho,
Veritas Art Auctioneers, Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea – Museu do Chiado, Museu
Nacional da Música, Casa-Museu Anselmo Braamcamp Freire, Casa dos Patudos – Museu de
Aliparça, Manuel Pedro Ferreira and Florence Gétreau.
References
AA. VV. (2018). Do Tirar polo natural. Inquérito ao Retrato Português (Catálogo). Museu Nacional
de Arte Antiga.
Costa, F. P. (1841). Conversações sobre a pluralidade dos mundos por Fontenelle: vertidas do
Francez em vulgar. Imprensa Nacional.
Duarte, S. M. (2014). Iconografia musical em Portugal: a cidade do Porto. Casa da Música.
Duarte, S. M. (2011). O contributo da pintura quatrocentista e quinhentista portuguesa, flamenga e
luso-flamenga para o reconhecimento de práticas musicais na época: fontes e modelos utilizados
nas oficinas de pintura. 2 Vols. Tese de Mestrado em Musicologia Histórica, Universidade NOVA
de Lisboa.
Duarte, S. M. (2018). Vivendo de sua fazenda e da sua arte de pintor’: relações entre as imagens de
música e a vila de Borba, a partir da obra pictórica de José de Sousa de Carvalho (1741–1795).
Artis on, 7, 20–33.
Elias, M. (2011). Columbano no seu Tempo (1857–1929). Universidade NOVA de Lisboa.
França, J. A. (2000). 100 Quadros Portugueses no Século XX. Quetzal Editores.
França, J. A. (1990). A Arte em Portugal no século XIX. 2 Vols. Bertrand Editora.
França, J. A., & Costa, L. V. (1998). Arte Portuguesa do século XIX. IPPC.
França, J. A. (2010). O retrato na arte portuguesa. Livros Horizonte (2.ª edição).
Gonçalves, S. C. F. N. (2013). A arte do retrato em Portugal no tempo do barroco (1683–
1750): conceitos, tipologias e protagonistas. 2 Vols. Tese de Doutoramento em História da Arte,
Universidade de Lisboa
Henriques, P. (2004). José Malhoa. Edições Inapa.
Holanda, F. (1984 [1549]). Do Tirar polo Natural. Livros Horizonte.

Lapa, P. (2007). Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro (1874–1900). Museu do Chiado.
Lapa, P. (1994). Museu do Chiado: Arte Portuguesa (1850–1950). Museu do Chiado.
Macedo, D. (1952). Columbano (pp. 64–66). ARTis.
Mercês, F.A. (Ed.) O Ocidente: revista ilustrada de Portugal e do estrangeiro. Nr. 530, 11 de
Setembro de 1893.
Pereira, S. (Org.). (2017). Outros Fados - Imagens Musicais. Museu do Fado.
Saldanha, N. (2012). José Malhoa—1855–1933: Catálogo Raisonné. SCRIBE.
Saldanha, N. (2001). José Malhoa – Na colecção de José Relvas. Casa-Museu dos Patudos.
Santos, D. G. (2004). Obras de Carlos Reis no Museu Municipal de Torres Novas Testemunhos da
permanência de um gosto. Revista Da Faculdade De Letras Da Universidade Do Porto, Porto, i,
Série, III, 317–338.
Santos, R. A. & Tavares, C. A. (1999). Veloso Salgado: 1864–1945. Lisboa: Instituto Português de
Museus.
Silva, R. H. (Org.). (1993). Silva Porto (1850–1893). Exposição comemorativa do centenária da
sua morte. Museu Nacional de Soares dos Reis.
Sousa, G. V. (2006). A joalharia em Portugal 1750–1825. Civilização Editora.
Sousa, G. V. (2008). Jóias, retratos e a iconografia das elites portuguesas de Oitocentos. Revista De
História Da Arte, 5, 259–271.
Telles, P. (2015). Retrato entre baionetas (Vol. 1). Universidade de Évora.
Urbano, P. (2008). A Casa Palmela. Livros Horizonte.
Amália Rodrigues in 2020—Mapping
Some Ingenuously Improbable Portraits
of the Fado Diva
Luzia Aurora Rocha
Abstract How have female musicians been represented in art through history?
Which media have been favoured for these representations? These two questions
are currently of pivotal interest to researchers in the field of musical iconography.
Little attention has however been paid to more unusual representations (including
the ingenuously improbable), such as those that are irreverent in terms of medium
or style. Often ignored by the academic community because they are perceived as
‘lesser’ art-forms, these representations can enjoy enormous popularity and wide,
even mass, exposure. Amália Rodrigues (1920–1999) was an artist who was the
subject of this kind of representation. In the centenary year of her birth, this article
aims to map some improbable representations of the fado singer during the twentieth
and twenty-first centuries, and to analyse their iconography and iconology. Sugar
packets, street walls and metro stations all exhibit Amália and seek to express her
essence, her emotion and her song.
1 Musical Iconography and the Art of Representing

Female Musicians
Iconography is a field of study which explores themes represented in the visual arts
and their significance. It considers a vast number of themes relating to music, and
these have expanded considerably as the academic discipline has evolved from the
end of the nineteenth century to the present day. Musical iconography has devoted
attention to the representation of musicians; professional and amateur, male and
This work is funded by national funding through the FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,
I.P., under the ‘Norma Transitória’ [DL 57/2016/CP1453/CT0086]. The review was undertaken with
the support of CESEM – Centro de Estudos de Sociologia e Estética Musical at the University NOVA
FCSH, UID/EAT/00693/2020, with the financial support of FCT through national funds.
L. A. Rocha (B)
CESEM/NOVA FCSH, Lisbon, Portugal
e-mail: luzia.rocha@fcsh.unl.pt

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_5
96 L. A. Rocha
female, classical and popular. What has changed over time has been the viewpoint
of the researcher, who now no longer only considers works judged to have status in
the canons of art history, but also gives equal attention to artistic creations that are
more informal and improbable, whether in medium or style, and investigates them
using artistic criteria.
Women have had roles in art as muses, patrons, collectors, fans and interpreters.
In music they can be instrumentalists, composers or singers. For centuries, they have
struggled to claim a legitimate place as artists viewed on the same level as their male
counterparts. This difficulty has lessened with time, but the discrepancies, whether
in the quantity of work they are able to produce, the remuneration they receive or the
artistic prestige they are afforded, unfortunately continue to exist.
A key aspect of the art of representing musicians is the single representation in
portrait form. Florence Gétreau notes:
L’un des thèmes de l’iconographie musicale est bien sûr la représentation du musicien, qu’il
soit instrumentiste, mais aussi chanteur, voire danseur s’accompagnant d’un instrument.
Beaucoup d’effigies de musiciens ont été commandées pour un usage familial et de société
(le portrait en musicien étant plus vivant que le portrait sans accessoire) ou dans un but de
représentation (le grand interprète, le prince, le mécène aiment se montrer avec l’emblème
de leur art). Selon les époques et les pays, le portrait connaît des variantes nombreuses dont
on peut tracer une sorte de typologie (portrait intime, portrait d’apparat, portrait officiel
etc.). Celle des musiciens s’inscrit bien sûr dans cette histoire largement codifiée. (…) Les
portraits de musiciens identifies peuvent représenter aussi bien des musiciens amateurs que
des professionnels de grande renommée (Gétreau, 2009: 21).
Portraits were painted of women to preserve their image for posterity in a way
that emphasised their personal and artistic legacy. Images of female musicians can
be seen in pre-historic and ancient civilisations: examples include the three women
on the Tomb of Nakht in Thebes in ancient Egypt and representations of the poetess
Sappho on vases from Vari in ancient Greece.1 The number of representations since
then makes selection difficult. For this study, the self-portrait by Marietta Robusti2 (La
Tintoretta) will be considered first, as an example of an image of an amateur female
musician. An apprentice in the painting workshop of her father, who was known as
Tintoretto, Marietta Robusti gained access to a male artistic world at a time when
convention allowed women to learn to paint but relegated their works to the private,
domestic sphere. Though she was recognised for her skill at portraiture, and painting
was her primary occupation, Marietta represented herself as an instrumentalist, with
a madrigal and a musical score in her hand, emphasising the importance of music to
her education and life. Music, which she practised as an amateur, was the activity La
Tintoretta chose to reference in her immortalisation of herself (Fig. 1).
1 Such as the example dated c. 440–430 BC in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, no.
1260.
2 Marietta Robusti (1554–1590), an Italian painter of the late Renaissance, also an instrumentalist
and singer, was the daughter of the Venetian painter Jacopo Robusti, known as Tintoretto.
Amália Rodrigues in 2020—Mapping Some Ingenuously … 97
Fig. 1 Marietta Robusti (La

Tintoretta), Self-portrait with
madrigal, ca. 1580, oil on
canvas, Uffizi Gallery, public
domain (https://fr.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Femme_artiste#/
media/Fichier:Autoritratto_
dela_tintoretta_alla_spinetta.
jpg)
Exemplifying the internationally-acclaimed professional female musician we

have a portrait of Luisa Todi.3 According to Cristina Fernandes, Todi was ‘the most
famous Portuguese singer in the history of music and the protagonist of an impressive
international career that led her to perform on the principal European stages and at
the royal courts of France, Prussia, Russia and Spain.’ She rivalled ‘other singing
stars (like the ‘castrato’ Luigi Marchesi)’ (Fernandes, 2010). Painted in 1785 by a
woman, Élizabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842), this portrait represents Luisa
Todi during the mature phase of her career. She wears a crown of laurels and is
playing a stylised lyre. In thus representing her as Apollo, the god who teaches the
Art of Music and trains the muses, Vigée Le Brun elevates Luisa Todi to the ranks
of the gods and of artistic immortality. The portrait is a simple but elegant, refined
and expressive representation (Fig. 2).
3 The daughter of Ana Joaquina de Almeida and music teacher Manuel José de Aguiar, she was
born in Setúbal on 9 January 1753 and died in Lisbon on 1 October 1833. She was baptised Luísa
Rosa de Aguiar. She married the Neapolitan Francesco Saverio Todi on July 1769. During the
first phase of her artistic journey she worked in spoken word theatre, before taking a musical
direction as a mezzosoprano. In Portugal she performed in theatres including Teatro do Bairro
Alto (Lisbon), Teatro do Corpo da Guarda (Oporto), Teatro da Rua dos Condes (Lisbon) and Real
Casa Pia (Lisbon). The Todis left Portugal in1777, and for the next 22 years Luísa built a major
international career, preforming in private recitals and public concerts in various cities, including
London (King’s Theatre), Paris (Concerts Spirituels), Vienna and other Austrian cities, Berlin and
other German cities, St. Petersburg and Moscow (in the service of Catherine the Great), Madrid and
Naples (Teatro di San Carlo). Source: http://cvc.instituto-camoes.pt/pessoas/luisa-todi.html#.X48
ICEJKiqA [Accessed 21 October 2020].
98 L. A. Rocha
Fig. 2 Élisabeth Louise

Vigée Le Brun, Luísa Todi,
oil on canvas, Museu da
Música, Lisbon, Portugal,
public domain (https://pt.wik
ipedia.org/wiki/Lu%C3%
ADsa_Todi#/media/Fic
heiro:Madame_Lebrun_-_
Lu%C3%ADsa_Todi.png)
An example of an imaginative portrait is that of Maria Severa Onofriana (1820–

1846), part of a mural4 called ‘Fado Vadio’.5 Embraced by an anonymous male
4 This mural contains numerous references to the musical genre of fado as well as to symbols
characteristic of Lisbon and Portuguese tradition, particularly those native to that particular area
of the city. Painted in February 2012 on the walls of an old building (EPUL) owned by the Lisbon
municipal council, it was the result of an interesting co-operative process that united a residents’
association, which secured sponsorship from the paint company CIN, the local authority of the area
(who donated the spray paints) and the artists, who created it in 24 consecutive hours. See Rocha,
Luzia Aurora and Beatriz Carvalho, ‘Arte urbana e iconografia musical…’ [urban art and musical
iconography], pp.145 and 149.
5 Fado, the genre of music depicted in the mural, is defined by Rui Vieira Nery in the Encyclopedia
of Twentieth Century Music in Portugal as ‘a style of popular urban song which evolved in Lisbon
from the second third of the nineteenth century. During the 1890s it developed alongside the Coimbra
songs, but in the transition to the twentieth century the two traditions display distinct aesthetic and
contextual characteristics and in the course of the two decades that followed they become completely
independent’ (Nery 2010, 433). On the origins of fado, Vieira Nery also says ‘The first instances
of the use of the word ‘fado’ applied explicitly to a musical phenomenon appear in descriptions
by foreign travellers and essayists in the first decades of the nineteenth century (Balbi, Freycinet,
Pohl, Schlichthorst, Weech) and refer to a dance with black singers which developed in colonial
Brazil, danced by couples in a popular rural context, involving occasional physical contact between
the dancers, and similar to other Afro-Brazilian dances of the late eighteenth century, in particular
the lundum (…). Fado, therefore, with its associations and original context belonging to slaves and
freed slaves, became connected with the lowest social strata of the urban proletariat, and emerged
initially in Lisbon’s poorest neighbourhoods (…). (Nery 2010, 434).
singer depicted in black and white, the youthful Maria Severa is semi-clad (or semi-
naked), with the body of a voluptuous mermaid, and stands out in bright red, pink
and yellow. She has long, thick black hair, wears fishnet stockings (showing a tattoo
on her thigh) and high heels, and holds a cigarette in her mouth and a wine glass
in her hand. Beside her is a plate with a sardine on it (the symbol of Lisbon and its
June street festival), which here assumes a phallic form, in an illusion to her loves,
her lovers and her beauty6 (Fig. 3).
2 Amália Rodrigues and her Ingenuously Improbable

Portraits
Discussion of Maria Severa Onofriana leads us on to her most famous successor,

Amália Rodrigues.7 Despite the many differences between them, both women are
giants in the history of fado. Amália Rodrigues was born in the summer of 1920
and died on 6 October 1999. This girl of humble origins grew into a beautiful,
elegant woman and an artist of genius, a universally-recognised diva, icon, symbol
6 Maria Severa Onofriana was born on 26 July 1820 on Rua da Madragoa (now Rua Vicente Borga
nº33), where her mother owned a bar. She was the daughter of Severo Manuel de Sousa of S.
Nicolau in Santarém and Ana Gertrudes of Portalegre. Severa died very young: the register of
deaths listed her death on 30 November 1846 at Rua do Capelão, apopleptic and without sacrament,
26 years old and single. Miguel Queriol, in an article published in the newspaper ‘O Popular’,
makes the following comments about her: ‘If I remember rightly, she was a slender, elegant girl,
with a dark mane of hair, and an air of resourcefulness about her, yet without overstepping the
privilege afforded by her status with regard to those who favoured her. She dressed cleanly and
correctly, rising above the disgrace of the class to which poverty rather than vice had constrained
her, and by her modesty showed herself to be ill-suited to the social milieu in which she found
herself.’ Maria Severa Onofriana, known as ‘Severa’, became an icon amongst the first fado singers
in the Lisbon neighbourhood of Mouraria through her loves and the fados she sang, played and
danced. Her popularity stemmed largely from her amorous relation with the Count of Vimioso, D.
Francisco de Paula Portugal e Castro, which made her a renowned figure and gave her access to
greater prestige and opportunities to perform before a young public drawn from the Portuguese
social and intellectual elite. In Mouraria, on the Rua do Capelão, is the Largo da Severa, where
the singer’s former house bears a sign reading ‘Casa da Severa’. On the pavement is the design
of a guitar created in Portuguese cobble stones. The house has a plaque which says ‘In this house
lived Maria Severa Onofriana, considered at the time the sublime expression of fado, who died on
30/11/1846 at 26 years of age/Lisbon 3/6/89’. The plaque was unveiled by Amália Rodrigues, at
the same time as that dedicated to Fernando Maurício. Source: Museu do Fado: URL: https://www.
museudofado.pt/index.php/fado/personalidade/severa [Accessed 22 October 2020].
7 Many writers have explored links between Maria Severa and Amália Rodrigues. Cristina
Rodrigues, depicting Amália as ‘Severa Reincarnated’, writes: “(…) Villaret said one day to Amália
that he saw in her the chrysalis of Severa. The prophecy came true when, having rejected through
fear an invitation from Amélia Rey Colaço to play the lead in a National Theatre production of A
Severa, the drama by Júlio Dantas first performed in 1901, Amália later accepted the challenge when
persuaded by the entrepreneur Vasco Morgado Santos Carvalho, the director of the piece. Amália
was acclaimed by the crowds who saw the performances between March and May 1955. The cast
also included the young Paulo Renato, Ruy de Carvalho and Armando Cortez (…).” (Vieira, 2008:
78).
100 L. A. Rocha
Fig. 3 Colectivo de artistas (Nuno Saraiva, Hugo Makarov, Mário Belém, Pedro Soares Neves,
UAT and Vanessa Teodoro. Nuno Saraiva is an ilustrator. Hugo Makarov is a tattoo artist who
occasionally works in urban art. Mário Belém is a graphic designer trained at the Lisbon art school
Ar.Co, who worked for various companies before going freelance. Pedro Soares Neves is an urban
designer with a multidisciplinary academic background and a postgraduate degree in architecture.
He specialises in participatory methodologies and informal pictorial appropriation and spontaneity
in public spaces. UAT stands for União Artistas do Trancão. Vanessa Teodoro is a graphic designer),
Maria Severa, mural painting, Escadinhas de S. Cristóvão, Lisbon, Portugal, © Luzia Aurora Rocha
and myth. Artists in various genres have created works from her image. In terms
of musical iconography, the name ‘Amália’ immediately evokes a rich and unique
repository of imagery in various media. Some of the portraits of Amália Rodrigues
are significant works of art history, often studied by academics. These include the
superb oil paintings by Pedro Leitão8 (1946, the first official portrait), Eduardo Malta9
8 Pedro Leitão (1922–2009) was born in Lisbon, where he had a workshop and house in the
neighbourhood of Lapa. He was a celebrated portraitist. He had a strong connection with Brazil,
specifically Rio de Janeiro.
9 Eduardo Malta (1900–1967) was Portuguese painter and illustrator well-known for his portraits.
He painted personalities including Teixeira de Pascoaes, Aquilino Ribeiro, Augusto de Castro, Juan
Belmonte, Manuel dos Santos, Amália Rodrigues, Oliveira Salazar, Cardeal Cerejeira and Getúlio
Vargas. He was a controversial director of the Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea (1959–1967)
(1949), Maluda10 (1966), Jacinto Luís11 (1982) and Enric Ribó.12 This study will
explore other examples, notable for their use of the innovative and unexpected, in
order to map the improbable and ingenious in the history of representations of Amália
Rodrigues.
In 2009,13 Tugaland Multimedia Editions, in association with the Fado Museum,
the Amália Rodrigues Foundation, the newspaper Público and the Berardo Collection
Museum,14 produced a collection that showed Amália in the period from 1945 to
1961, before her decisive artistic encounter with Alain Oulman. The set of twelve
books and accompanying CDs, published by Público, was arranged in twelve themes,
considered to have guided Amália’s musical and poetic choices: passion, jealousy,
abandonment, nostalgia, fate, tradition, stages, chords, grace, the world, Lisbon and
regrets. The texts were written by Rui Vieira Nery and Vasco Graça Moura.15 The
collection encompasses three quarters of the fado diva’s discography, with 135 songs
recorded between 1945 and 1959. The first example of art representing Amália to
be analysed here was created as a companion piece to this collection. It is entitled
‘Amália Nossa’ [Our Amália], and consists of a series of twelve designs which were
printed on packets of sugar.16 The originality of the work resides not so much in
the portraits themselves, which use the same iconography as the covers of the book
and CD collection, but in the chosen medium of sugar packets. According to the
AICC,17 80% of Portuguese people consume coffee daily, preferring it in the form
of espresso. The association also reports that while in the rest of Europe only 20% of
coffee consumption occurs outside the home, in Portugal the tendency is reversed,
because of his open opposition to modernist art. On 31 May 1958 he was decorated as an official
of the Military Order of Santiago d’Espada.
10 Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro (1934–1999), known as Maluda, was born in the state of Pangim in
Goa, then a Portuguese colony. From 1948 she lived in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), where she
began to paint. Together with four other painters, she formed a group called ‘The Independents.’ She
received a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, an institution in which she would later
exhibit. She was awarded the Bordalo Pinheiro Prize and was thanked by the Portuguese president
Jorge Sampaio through a Grande-Oficial of the Order of Infante D. Henrique.
11 Jacinto Luís was born in 1954 and moved to Paris in 1964. He produced his first drawings and
paintings in 1969. From 1971 to 1975 he received grants from the Italian government to attend the
Academia das Artes in Rome. He received a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in
Paris in 1982–1983. He exhibited in Portugal, France, the USA, Columbia, Belgium, Sweden and
Spain. He is represented in various public and private collections.
12 Catalan artist.
13 Year which marked the tenth anniversary of the death of Amália Rodrigues.
14 This was the context for the temporary exhibition Amália. Coração Independente [Amália, Inde-
pendent Spirit], which ran from 06/10/2009 to 31/01/2010, a partnership between the Berardo
Collection Museum, the EDP Foundation, the Amália Rodrigues Foundation, the National Theatre
Museum and Valentim de Carvalho. A catalogue was published with the same title.
15 Rui Vieira Nery contextualises the work of the singer in her time and produces a track by track
listening guide for the CDs, while Vasco Graça Moura offers a formal analysis of the musical
repertoire.
16 Packed by Tate & Lyle and distributed by Delta Cafés.
17 The AICC, Associação Industrial e Comercial do Café [Industrial and Commercial Coffee
Association] is an association of coffee roasters: http://aicc.pt/projecto/ [Accessed 24 October 2020].

102 L. A. Rocha
with 80% of people consuming it in public spaces. The public reach of these images
on their unexpected medium was therefore one that few artworks in Portugal achieve
(Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 Artists’ Collective (‘Passion’ illustrated by Pedro Brito; ‘jealousy’ illustrated by Inês Casais;
‘abandonment’ illustrated by Jimi; ‘nostalgia’ illustrated by João Moreno; ‘fate’ illustrated by Daniel
Lima; ‘tradition’ illustrated by Fernando Martins; ‘stages’ illustrated by João Fazenda; ‘chords’
illustrated by André Carrilho; ‘grace’ illustrated by Maria João Worm; ‘world’ illustrated by Nuno
Saraiva; ‘Lisbon’ illustrated by Vasco Gargalo; ‘live’ illustrated by Patrícia Romão), Amália Nossa,
sugar packets, 1999, Delta Cafés/Público
The collection shows portraits of Amália created in the style of each individual
artist, but based on older iconography. In ‘World’ by Nuno Saraiva,18 Amália is
shown in a costume she wore in Rio de Janeiro for the performance that was her first
great success in Brazil, Numa Aldeia Portuguesa [In a Portuguese Village] (1944).19
Saraiva’s image is a tracing of that which appeared on the cover of the publication Vida
Mundial Ilustrada in 1945.20 It is interesting to note that although often represented
with a Portuguese guitar, Amália did not play any musical instrument (Figs. 5 and
6).
The illustration by Pedro Brito for the theme of ‘passion’ is a re-interpretation of
the photograph by Augusto Cabrita (1923–1993) that was used as the cover for the
LP ‘Fado Português’ in 1965 (Figs. 7 and 8).
‘Abandonment’, illustrated by Jimi, is based on a photograph of Amália which
appeared on the cover of the magazine Eva in April 1950 (Figs. 9 and 10).
Some details of the images as they appeared on the covers of the CDs and books
were lost in the transition to the rectangular format of the sugar packet. In the illus-
tration by André Carrilho for ‘chords’, some meaning is lost because the Portuguese
guitar is no longer visible on the left hand side. ‘Abandonment’ by Jimi, instead of
a red and green background, has only green, meaning the symbolism of using the
main colours of the Portuguese flag is lost. The illustration for ‘tradition’ by Fernando
Martins loses several significant elements: the boat, the swallows, the bulls, the pitch-
fork, the pair of folkloric dancers, the street fish seller and the Portuguese guitar. All
are symbols that connect Amália with an image of ‘Portugalidade’ [‘Portugality’, the
nationalistic concept created by the ‘Estado Novo’ regime].21 The sugar packet series
also departs from the book and CD covers by giving the illustration for ‘regrets’ by
Patrícia Romão the alternative title of ‘live’.
Another portrait of Amália Rodrigues appears outside nº1 Travessa das Torres, in
Funchal on the island of Madeira. The work by Gabriel Motta (2011), a fado singer
and urban artist, is part of the ‘Projecto Arte Portas Abertas’22 [Open Doors Art
Project], and is an example of contemporary urban art taking its inspiration from the
18 Nuno Saraiva (1969-) is an illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist and Portuguese teacher. He
currently works freelance for the newspapers Público and Expresso and on a voluntary basis for
the community magazine Rosa Maria – o jornal da Mouraria.
19 According to the information on the web page of the Amália Rodrigues Foundation, in 1944
Amália performed for four months at the Copacabana Casino in the play ‘Numa Aldeia Portuguesa’,
created especially for her. Her biography refers to the performances as ‘such a great success that
she went on to return often to the country.’ URL: https://amaliarodrigues.pt/amalia/amalia-no-tea
tro/ [Accessed 24 October 2020].
20 Vida Mundial Ilustrada, Lisbon, nº238, 6 December 1945. ‘Amália Rodrigues in Brazil’ (cover)
/ News about Amália! The fado star triumphs in Brazil.’ Source: Amália Rodrigues: a vida é um
longo adeus [Amália Rodrigues: life is a long goodbye], blog by Jorge Muchagato for Centenário
[2020]. URL: https://amaliarodriguescentenario.wordpress.com/2018/07/26/rio-de-janeiro-1945-
amalia-aquela-rapariga-nervosa-como-um-vime-que-nao-nasceu-para-o-fado-porque-foi-o-fado-
que-nasceu-para-ela/ [Accessed 24 October 2020].
21 On the subject of ‘Portugality’ see Luzia Rocha and Beatriz Carvalho (2020), p. 142.
22 This is a project to open the doors of the city of Funchal to art and culture. These are real, not
virtual doorways, forgotten, abandoned or ruined, that have been given a new life. The interventions
104 L. A. Rocha
Fig. 5 Comparison between

the illustration by Nuno
Saraiva and the cover of the
publication Vida Mundial
Ilustrada, © Jorge
Muchagato
fado diva. Amália is depicted with her eyes closed. She is drawn in black, with a
white face that illuminates the portrait and a white background framing her. The only
other colours are the bright red of her lips (the singer often wore bright lipstick) and
the gold of her earrings and the Portuguese guitar that appears in front of her. Part
of the building’s structure—the door jamb and lintel—forms a frame for this street
portrait (Fig. 11).
At the Lisbon airport metro station,23 the cartoonist António Antunes has used
humour to create a unique gallery of portraits. He represents 53 personalities, in 52
images,24 using laser-cut stone: black and white marble encrusted in Lisbon lime-
stone. The artist told the newspaper Público that the caricatures of Carlos Paredes,
Vieira da Silva and Amália Rodrigues were the most difficult to create, because he
include visual arts of all sorts including painting, sculpture, photography and video, as well as writing
and music. URL: https://www.arteportasabertas.com/pt/-info.html [Accessed 24 October 2020].
23 Inaugurated on 17 July 2012.
24 Including Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral (who appear together), Fernando Pessoa, Amália
Rodrigues, Eusébio, Carlos Lopes, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Sá Carneiro, Paula Rego, Mário
Cesariny, Duarte Pacheco, Carlos Paredes, Raul Solnado, David Mourão-Ferreira, Sophia de Mello
Breyner, Maria João Pires, Zé Povinho and Vergílio Ferreira.

the illustration by Nuno
Saraiva and the cover of the
publication Vida Mundial
Ilustrada, © Jorge
Muchagato
had to ‘find a route that was not already too well-travelled.’25 Antunes’ caricatured
portrait of Amália is unique in terms of medium, location and the way the diva
is represented. The artistic work, in black and white, emphasises physical aspects
of the singer’s femininity (hair, lips, hands, elegant figure) as well as her artistry
(the exquisite gowns that she always wore on stage). The cartoon-style treatment
produces an exaggeratedly pointed nose and a theatrical pose, eyes closed and head
tilted upwards. Another interesting aspect of this caricature is that it shows Amália
during the final phase of her career, at a more advanced age, around the time when
she performed at the Lisbon Coliseum for the European Capital of Culture in 1994
(Figs. 12 and 13).
In discussing the genre of caricature, it would be impossible not to mention
Bordallo Pinheiro.26 His collection of figurines of Portuguese and international
25 Interview by Romana Borja-Santos. URL: https://www.publico.pt/2012/07/16/local/noticia/fer

nando-pessoa-amalia-e-eusebio-presentes-na-estacao-de-metro-do-aeroporto-1555188 [Accessed
25 October 2020].
26 The Fábrica de Faianças das Caldas was founded on 30 June 1884 by Raphael Bordallo Pinheiro
(1846–1905) and his brother Feliciano. Raphael is one of the most important personalities in nine-
teenth century Portuguese culture. He brought to caricature and artistic ceramics a quality and
popularity they had never enjoyed before. His work as a ceramicist earned him gold medals at
international exhibitions (Madrid, Antwerp, Paris and St. Louis in the USA) for pieces of enor-
mous technical virtuosity, artistic quality and creativity. He produced items including tiles, panels,
106 L. A. Rocha

the illustration by Pedro
Brito and the cover of the LP
‘Fado Português’ (Image
taken from Joaquim Viera
(2008), ‘Fotobiografias do
Século XX: Amália
Rodrigues’ [‘Twentieth
Century Photo Biographies;
Amália Rodrigues’], p. 120.)

the illustration by Pedro
Brito and the cover of the LP
‘Fado Português’ (Image
Século XX: Amália
pots, table centrepieces, Toby jugs, washbasins, plates, perfume bottles, pitchers, vases and giant
animals. He created characters including ‘Zé Povinho’, ‘Maria da Paciência’, the Maid of Caldas,
the policeman, the priest taking snuff and the sacristy with an incense burner in his hands. He
exhibited in Brazil, in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, where he presented his majestic Beethoven
vase.

the illustration by Jimi and
the cover of the magazine
Eva in April 1950 (Image
Século XX: Amália
Fig. 10 Comparison
between the illustration by
Jimi and the cover of the
magazine Eva in April 1950
(Image taken from Joaquim
Viera (2008), ‘Fotobiografias
do Século XX: Amália
108 L. A. Rocha
Fig. 11 The three phases of painting of the portrait of Amália Rodrigues, Gabriel Motta (Taken
from: https://www.arteportasabertas.com/pt/artistas/199-gabriel-motta-tdt1.html)
Fig. 12 António Antunes,

Retrato de Amália Rodrigues
na estação de metro
Aeroporto, [Portrait of
Amália Rodrigues at the
Lisbon airport metro station]
Lisboa, © Luzia Rocha
Fig. 13 Photograph of
Amália Rodrigues at the
Coliseum in 1994 (Image
taken from Vieira, 2008,
p. 188.)
personalities, ‘Os Figurões’, includes a representation of Amália. Dressed in black

with a silver shawl around her shoulders, she is depicted in the act of singing, with
eyes closed and an expression of emotional anguish on her face. The real origi-
nality of the representation is Amália’s guitar: the instrument has the peg box of a
Portuguese guitar but its body is a red heart, perhaps Amália’s own heart broken free
from her chest. The piece recalls the lyrics of the fado song Gaivota,27 made famous
by Amália: (…) what perfect heart, which beats in my breast (…)’. As Bordallo
Pinheiro company says, the listener to Amália is listening to a voice from the heart
(Fig. 14):
If our country had a name it would be Amália. Never, before or after her, has anyone expressed
our sorrows (and some of our joys too) so perfectly. If fado is Portugal’s soul, Amália is
her flag. No pantheon could be big enough to hold her genius and her mystery: to give her
rightful homage, a new one should be constructed for her alone, out of all of the windows
in Lisbon, gazing on the Tagus. We, along with all her admirers from other nations, when
listening to Amália, are listening to the voice of the heart.28
27Lyrics by Alexandre O’Neill, music by Alain Oulman.

28Source: Bordallo Pinheiro. URL: https://pt.bordallopinheiro.com/figur%C3%A3o-am%C3%
A1lia-rodrigues [Accessed 29 October 2020].
110 L. A. Rocha
Fig. 14 Amália Rodrigues

from the collection ‘Os
Figurões’. © Bordallo
Pinheiro Company (https://
pt.bordallopinheiro.com/
figur%C3%A3o-am%C3%
A1lia-rodrigues [Accessed
29 October 2020])
The popular ceramic sardines are also made by the Bordallo Pinheiro company.
The sardine went from being the meal of the poor to becoming the symbol of modern
Lisbon and its traditional festivals, in particular the June street festival of Santo
António. Rapahel Bordallo Pinheiro himself used to make them in a naturalistic style.
Today, designers create them in a more abstract styles, like that of the ‘Amália’ sardine
by Nuno Miguel Martins. A young Amália appears in black and white with arresting
red lips and a troubled facial expression, that of ‘a very Portuguese way of feeling.’
The artist considers Amália as belonging as much to Portugal as the sardine does, but
also to the whole world. The design includes text taken from the title of a fado song,
‘Nem às paredes confesso’ [I won’t confess, even to the walls] composed by Artur
Ribeiro (1924–1982) and sung by various artists including Amália Rodrigues. A new
design to appear this year is a sardine called ‘Amália Sempre’ [Amália Forever’] by
Ana Gomes. It contrasts with Martins’ design by representing the singer in the act of
singing and in the final phase of her career. Bright colours are chosen, including red
for the singer’s lips, but not as bright as that used in Martins’ design, and a golden
peg box for the Portuguese guitar. The peg box appears at the top of the image in the
background, like a tiara crowning the singer on the centenary of her birth (Figs. 15
and 16).
For the last ten years, a competition run by the EGAC29 has led to thousands of
sardine designs being created by Portuguese and international artists. In this year of
Amália’s centenary year, the competition’s honourable mentions included an Amália
29EGEAC—Empresa de Gestão de Equipamentos e Animação Cultural, Câmara Municipal de

Lisboa [Company for the Management of Cultural Materials and Events, Lisbon Municipal
Authority].
Fig. 15 Sardine – ‘Amália’

and sardine – ‘Amália
Sempre’ (1920–2020). ©
Bordallo Pinheiro Company
(https://pt.bordallopinheiro.
com/am%C3%A1lia e
[Accessed 29 October 2020])
sardine by the designer Ana Leite from Felgueiras. Amália is dressed in black and
wears a melancholy expression. She is draped over a Portuguese guitar, playing it
with thin, almost spectral fingers, while roses wind themselves around her. It is as
if she is hearing the sound of the guitar as the sound of her own soul. Woman and
guitar, representation of femininity and symbol of Portugal, are one (Fig. 17).
An unusual and unexpected medium in which to represent Amália, very much
in keeping with pandemic-focussed life in 2020, is the face mask. Obligatory in an
ever-increasing number of settings, this protective measure against the COVID-19
virus has become as familiar an everyday object as a wallet or a set of house keys.
A post on the social network Facebook advertises a face mask called ‘The Queen of
Fado, Amália Rodrigues’. Decorated with an old photograph of the singer, which has
been digitally inverted, the mask is sold by TeeChip, a printing service that allows
members of the public to create and sell designs online (TeeChip Pro). The Amália
Rodrigues mask continues to be advertised on Facebook but can no longer be found
on TeeChip: it was removed because of copyright violation (Figs. 18 and 19).
112 L. A. Rocha
Fig. 16 Sardine – ‘Amália’ and sardine – ‘Amália Sempre’ (1920–2020). © Bordallo Pinheiro
Company (https://pt.bordallopinheiro.com/am%C3%A1lia e [Accessed 29 October 2020])
Fig. 17 Ana Leite, Sardinha – O que nos (en)canta, [What we love/sing] EGEAC Competition
2020 (http://www.egeac.pt/sardinhas-vencedoras/ [Accessed 29 October 2020])
Fig. 18 ‘The Queen of

Fado’ face mask (Foto
copyright, Luzia Rocha)
Fig. 19 Photograph of
Amália Rodrigues (Image
taken from Vieira, 2008, 83)
114 L. A. Rocha
3 Conclusion
The representation of female musicians through history has followed the same course
as that of their male counterparts, but with far fewer examples. This is a result of the
numerous barriers to professional recognition experienced by women to this day. The
artists’ choice of media corresponds to the aesthetics of their period, with oil painting
still predominant. However new media and new methods of representation are being
employed with more and more originality. This article has mapped a few of these.
In numerous formats, including photography, painting (murals and oil painting),
sculpture, illustration, cartooning and urban art, Portuguese and international artists
have risen to the challenge of representing Amália in innovative ways. The fado
singer has fed, and continues to feed, a great many imaginations. These ingenuously
improbable images allow us to ‘hear’ her voice; to see her is to hear her. Amália has
been described as expressing the Portuguese people as a whole, and as the female
heteronym of Portugal (Viera 2008: 9). In the celebrations for the centenary of her
birth, (re)viewing images of Amália makes her feel ever more present. Presenting
new readings of her representations enables us to understand her better and shows
that she still has plenty to say. Past and present become routes towards the future,
with musical iconography the compass that allows us to trace new paths through our
studies of the diva of fado.
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amento-1918909
Music and Sound Creation and Technology
MicroSonic Spaces: Towards
an Autonomous Ecosystem of Virtual
Sonic Agents
Rui Dias
Abstract MicroSonic Spaces is an interactive audiovisual installation that explores

the concept of the creation of live ecosystems of autonomous agents as a non-linear
interactive sound and music composition system. This is an ongoing conceptual
and artistic research project that evolves with each new presentation. This article
introduces the concept and presents a report of the two initial versions of the installa-
tion, that were exhibited in Castelo Branco and Aveiro, Portugal, in 2016 and 2018.
The base concepts for the original version will be presented, as well as the main
developments in the second version.
1 Introduction
MicroSonic Spaces is a generative and interactive audiovisual installation, based on

the idea of a virtual ecosystem of autonomous agents that generate sound as they
live, move and interact with other agents and with the user. Musically, the interactive
installation format is explored as a dynamic meta-compositional system, combining
conventional music concepts and sound generation parameters, with the non-linear
nature of this format.
This work was initially inspired by Marvin Minsky’s The Society of Mind (1985),
and works by John McCormack (2001, 2003), Peter Beyls (2007), Mikhail Malt
(2001), Eduardo R. Miranda (2002, 2003), and Arne Eigenfeldt (2009, 2011), among
others. Some of my previous related work developed in this area include the installa-
tions “Little Life (talking)” presented at ESMAE, Porto in 2005, “Little Life (talking)
b”, in ACERT-Tondela in 2007, and “Urban Algae Folly Extended” in GNRation,
Braga, 2016.1
R. Dias (B)
Portugal
e-mail: ruidias@ipcb.pt
1 Further information about these projects can be found at http://ruidias.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_6
120 R. Dias
Computer-based artificial ecosystems incorporate knowledge from areas of study

such as artificial intelligence, artificial life, interactive systems, algorithmic compo-
sition, computational creativity and musical metacreation (Pasquier, 2016). Such
systems can adopt metaphors from the natural world, such as the concept of a life
cycle, comprising birth, growth and death, as well as behaviors, individual traces
and social interaction. When endowed with sound properties, the evolution of these
ecosystems creates a collective dynamic soundscape which is dependent on the iden-
tities and behaviors of the individual agents, as well as their actions and interactions
with the other agents and their environment.
MicroSonic Spaces was initially developed in 2016 and presented in Castelo
Branco, Portugal, in October the same year. Since its initial presentation, two subse-
quent versions were developed and exhibited in Aveiro and Braga, respectively
in February and September 2018. This article introduces the main concepts and
concerns in the creation of the installation, and presents the first and second versions,
respectively in Castelo Branco and Aveiro. A third exhibition of the installation was
created and exhibited at the “Noite Branca” 2018 art festival, in Braga (Portugal).
This version introduced several new developments, including genetic algorithms, to
explore notions of heredity, mating, and selection, to foster the autonomous develop-
ment of new complex layers, and new sonic and musical possibilities. This version
will be best described in a dedicated publication.
2 Concept
The creation and development of MicroSonic Spaces were driven by three main
underlying ideas that guided most of the decisions made throughout the process,
leading to the current format.
The first idea is the concept of an evolutionary artificial life ecosystem, constituted
of autonomous agents or entities, which have a sonic identity, that create a dynamic
sonic environment as they live, evolve and interact with the others and the environ-
ment. As mentioned above, artificial life ecosystems are computer systems inspired
by natural life ecosystems, that to some extent can emulate the general notions and
aspects of life and social behaviors, or can create their own reality, by defining their
own set of rules and conditions. As there is no direct control over the individuals or
the environment, a degree of unpredictability is expected and desirable, as the evolu-
tion of this type of system can potentially lead to very different outcomes. Depending
on the functional, experimental or artistic context for which this type of system is
created for, its properties have to be fine-tuned, by defining and setting the rules and
conditions of all the elements of the system.
In MicroSonic Spaces, the system comprises a planar, bi-dimensional virtual
space where several artificial creature-like entities are born, live, move and die, while
interacting with the others, and with the environment. This artificial life is associated
with the creation of a sonic and musical environment, where all the “creatures”
implement a set of sound-related parameters and rules that constitute their own
MicroSonic Spaces: Towards an Autonomous Ecosystem … 121
unique sonic identity. The collective existence and evolution of all the individual
entities in this virtual world, creates a sonic environment that evolves and develops
over time.
The second idea relates to the compositional approach to the non-linear instal-
lation format. Coming from the linear composition space of traditional acoustic,
electronic and electroacoustic concert music, I’ve always regarded the non-linear
character of the installation format as an exciting compositional challenge. Although
we can find musical concepts and parameters that can be translated to the installation
format, several common procedures regarding aspects like phrasing, form, motivic
development or harmonic progression can become difficult challenges or may even
be completely displaced and ineffective. In the particular case of this installation, this
compositional approach can be especially challenging, as the autonomous and evolu-
tionary nature of this ecosystem may be incompatible with the direct control over the
sound and musical parameters. The choice of these parameters to be implemented,
as well as the type of control over them need to be planned at a meta level, imple-
mented as part of the individual traces of each species, and as part of the environment
where they live. All the components of this living system have to be designed and
planned in order to potentiate the emergence of sonically or musically rich results,
as a part of the natural life of the system, and not imposed over it. I consider this
to be a dynamic meta-compositional system, where all the sound and musical ideas
have to be planned from a meta-level perspective. Rather than directly controlling the
parameters, the sonic properties have to be embedded in the rule system that defines
the behavior of each species and the environment, which then produce the sonic and
music results as the system evolves.
The third idea regards interactivity, exploring how such systems can accommo-
date external control or interference, to allow visitors to interact with the installation.
Although the concept of an autonomous system doesn’t necessarily imply interac-
tivity with external elements, it can contribute in a significant way to explore the
dynamic properties of the system, both at the level of the social interaction and
behavior of the agents, and at the sonic and musical level, exploring the installa-
tion as a dynamic music system. Also, I find very appealing to explore audience
participation as a way to create a more immersive experience for the installation
visitor.
The quality and range of the interaction, however, has to cope with the artificial
life of the ecosystem without being too disruptive. Rather than controlling the system
in a parametric approach, the user interferes with the ecosystem, by interacting with
the agents, altering or influencing some aspects of their behavior up to a certain level,
but not such that could significantly unbalance the ecosystem. This is significant to
the relation of the human to the system, which I find somewhat reminiscent of Joel
Chadabe’s concept of “interactive composing” (Chadabe, 1984).
These three main ideas were combined and managed in a way to potentiate the
emergence of an interesting and coherent work, as well as an interesting and engaging
experience for the visitors. The creation of an interactive multimedia artwork is
especially prone to be misguided by the superficial immediacy of attractive graphics
or interactive device.
122 R. Dias
An important consideration was also that the system has to exist regardless of user
interaction. As mentioned, the interaction influences the ecosystem, but it evolves
and generates life and sound even if there are no visitors. Also, the interactive installa-
tion format has its own requirements and idiosyncrasies, significantly different from
the isolated components like the graphics or music. Since the early experiments of
interactive computer systems, pioneer Myron Krueger (1977) referred to this issue,
stating that “The visual responses should not be judged as art nor the sounds as
music. The only aesthetic concern is the quality of the interaction”. Krueger goes
on saying that “The beauty of the visual and aural response is secondary. Response
is the medium!”. This idea, although may not apply to every type of context where
an interactive system may be used, it certainly applies to the interactive artwork.
The different components that constitute the installation should be planned in the
way they best convey the main concepts of the installation, and potentiate the best
experience for the visitor, complementing and contributing for the overall work.
3 Technology
The installation comprises an interactive sound engine, interactive graphics and user
input device. The interactive graphics system was developed in C++ using the Open-
Frameworks2 toolkit and the sound generation and processing engine was developed
in the MaxMSP3 graphical programming environment. The user interaction inter-
face uses a Leap Motion4 infrared sensor. The image is projected onto a white screen
using a video projector. The physical configuration of the installation is not binded to
a single configuration. As will be described below, the two versions here described
used different configurations, mainly by having the screen position in a frontal posi-
tion, in the presentation of Castelo Branco, and in a horizontal, table-like position in
Aveiro.
3.1 Graphics
The graphics consist of a two-dimensional image, with the virtual space corre-
sponding to the entire area of the projection. Each type of object is designed
using simple geometric shapes, mostly circles and lines. The graphics are essen-
tially intended as symbolic and representative of the ecosystem element’s states and
behaviors, and not necessarily as graphical design objects.
2 https://openframeworks.cc, accessed January 12nd, 2021.

3 https://cycling74.com, accessed January 12nd, 2021.
4 https://www.ultraleap.com/product/leap-motion-controller, accessed March 3rd, 2021.
3.2 Sound setup
The sound system uses four independent audio channels and four speakers. In the
original version, the purpose of the four speakers was to create two independent stereo
sound images to create a separation between foreground and background sounds.
The second version used the four speakers positioned around the installation area,
corresponding to the four corners of the screen. This layout created an immersive
bidimensional sonic plane, corresponding to the bidimensional position of the graphic
elements in the image.
3.3 User Interaction
The type and degree of control that the visitors should have in this installation
was particularly challenging. As explained before, interaction should be effective
in engaging the user, but not so much as to unbalance the ecosystem. Throughout
the development of all the versions of the installation, several tests were made using
different strategies and devices for user input, including a touchpad, a Kinect sensor,
and an infrared flashlight. The Leap Motion sensor (Fig. 1) proved to be the best
option regarding precision, control and stability, over the other options tested.
This sensor is extremely effective and precise, providing the best solution for
this installation. Its use is extremely simple and intuitive, and the response of the
hand tracking algorithm is almost immediate. The tracking that was used for the
installation was the three-dimensional position of one hand (the sensor can detect
two hands). The use of the position to control parameters of the installation will be
explained in each version below.
Fig. 1 The leap motion

sensor
124 R. Dias
4 Sound Design
The interactive sound system was devised in three different branches, that compose
the whole sound and music design of the installation. The three branches are: (1)
the sound of the autonomous life of all the creatures of the ecosystem; (2) the sound
resulting from user interaction, and (3) the background sounds. This separation is due
to significant differences in the way how the constituting elements of the installation
behave.
4.1 Autonomous life
The first relates to the sound of the autonomous ecosystem, comprising all the sounds
originated from each individual entity as well as their activity and interactions within
the system. Each type of entity has a set of sound properties, and each individual
entity has its own settings. The sound of the entities as well as the sound of their
actions were designed to be as sharp and clear as possible, in order to be clearly
understood while the ecosystem evolves. The synthesis techniques used for this
layer were frequency modulation (FM) synthesis, and granular synthesis.
4.2 Interaction
The way the sound responds to user interaction is very important to the overall feel
and engagement of the user. As with the physical properties and rules, the sound
properties of each element in the system were planned to account for parameters
to be triggered or affected by the user. The strategies and parameters for the two
versions of the installation changed significantly. While in the first version, the sound
parameters were affected in a global, statistic approach, in the second version, the
sound resulting from the interaction relates directly to the sound properties of each
individual creature that is being “touched”.
4.3 Background sound
The background layer was planned as an independent element altogether. Although

it was designed to complement and fit the sound design aesthetics of the ecosystem,
it is actually not directly influenced by it. The reasons for this are both aesthetical and
practical. As the sound of the entities had to be clear and prominent to clearly sonify
their traces, evolution and interactions with the environment and with the users, the
background sound needed to have an opposing character. Unlike the entities’ sounds,
the background sound layer is mainly low pitched, diffused and continuous.
The background sound also attends to a different, external function. This layer
is important to present and define the installation space. I find very interesting and
important to create a sonic presence that immerses the visitors as soon as they enter
the installation space (and depending on the volume, maybe even before entering the
space). This presence also immediately presents the character of the installation, in a
way similar to how background music contributes to a given movie scene, or maybe
even related to the function of the overture in an opera. Additionally, because all
other sounds of the installation are dependent on the evolution of the ecosystem or
the user interaction, both of which are somewhat unpredictable, it was important to
have an independent layer that can provide a continuous and safe way to guarantee
that the installation never gets completely silent.
5 Exhibitions
This section presents the two initial versions of this installation, that correspond to
two exhibitions, in Castelo Branco and Aveiro, in October 2016 and February 2018,
respectively. Although both versions share a common concept and main elements,
there are significant conceptual and technical differences that will be described in
each corresponding section.
5.1 Castelo Branco
MicroSonic Spaces was initially created for the first edition of the “Castelo de Artes”
arts festival, from September to November 2016, , in Castelo Branco, in the village
of S. Vicente da Beira.
5.1.1 Setup
The setup for this presentation included a vertical frontal projection, and a console
with the leap motion sensor in a frontal position relative to the screen, where the
visitors could interact with the installation (Fig. 2).
The four speakers of the quadraphonic sound system were placed at ground level,
as two stereo fronts in different depths. This setup was planned to create two different
sound planes, separating the ecosystem’s “creatures” sound events, in the frontal
plane close to the visitors, and a second plane, in the back of the room next to the
screen, with the environment’s background sounds.
126 R. Dias
Fig. 2 The setup used in the edition of Castelo Branco
5.1.2 Ecossystem
There are two species of virtual “creatures” who live in this ecosystem (Fig. 3). The
more abundant ones, simply named “microbes”, are represented by small grey circles
with different sizes. There are two types of microbes that have basically the same
properties and behaviors, but interact differently with the second species. One type is
represented by a filled circle, while the second type is represented by an empty, hollow
circle. The microbes are mostly static, but they can move sporadically, according to
a simple probabilistic mechanism that assigns a very small chance—around 1%—to
move in a short burst in a random direction. The microbe’s grey color gets brighter,
Fig. 3 A frame of the ecosystem in the original version in Castelo Branco

near white, when this movement occurs, and a short noisy burst of sound is triggered.
Multiplied by hundreds, these sporadic individual movements and sounds create a
subtle but constant, restless, collective life.
The second species were named the “hoarders”, and can be seen in Fig. 3 as white
concentric lines inside light grey circles. These creatures move in a straight line in a
random direction, but their speed is dependent on the number of microbes they have
nearby. The hoarders do not have a graphical representation. On their own, they are
basically invisible. However, when they are close enough to a microbe, a white line
appears, connecting them. The range that they can “see” a microbe is represented
by the radius of the grey circle around them. By connecting to microbes, the radius
of their visibility area widens, and their speed increases, moving faster as they are
connected to more microbes. As the microbes do not wrap around the edges of the
screen, the hoarders tend to slow down abruptly near the edges. There are always
ten hoarders present in the ecossystem. However, sometimes they may not have any
microbes nearby, so they seem to have disappeared.
5.1.3 Interaction
The interaction by the visitors with the installation is accomplished using the Leap
Motion sensor. As mentioned before, the main concern with user interaction is that
it should be effective, bur shouldn’t be too disruptive as to unbalance the ecosystem.
The main strategy adopted for the interaction is that the user interferes with the
environment but has no direct control over the parameters or rules. By waving one
hand over the sensor, the user will influence the environment by energizing the
microbes. The horizontal axis (x) and front-back (z) position of the hand correspond
to the x and y coordinates on the screen, while the proximity to the sensor in the
vertical axis (y) controls the amount of energy transmitted to the microbes. When
energized, the microbes gain an orange color and gain speed, quickly moving faster
in random directions, and thus away from the user. Although the user has no direct
effect on the hoarders, they are affected by the movement of the microbes.
5.1.4 Sound
The two species have their own distinct sounds, as well as the background. The
installation space was situated in a small building very near a church. The bells of
this church played very often. As this might be somewhat disruptive, I decided to
adapt the sound design concept to include that sound, so when the bell was playing,
it sounded as a part of the installation. The sound of the church bell was recorded
and used as a source for two custom-made granular synthesizers, that generated the
sound for the background of the installation and for the sound of the microbes.
The background sound is a constant drone-like sound that changes subtly
according to the activity level of the users, so that the background gets more active
when there is more activity from the user. The sound of the microbes is heard very
128 R. Dias
softly while they move autonomously, but they get louder and brighter as they get
energized by the user. This sound is the more responsive to the user interaction with
the installation.
The sound of the hoarders has a quite different character from the microbes. While
the microbes are very noise-like sound, the hoarders’ sound is tuned and constant.
Their sound engine uses a simple subtractive synthesis model, with a pulse wave and
low-pass filter. Each of the ten hoarders is assigned a frequency which is in direct
harmonic relation with the background drone fundamental tone. Their position in
the stereo image corresponds to their position in the horizontal axis.
5.2 MicroSonic Spaces AV
The second presentation of the installation took place at the “Teatro Aveirense”,
between February 16th–25th 2018, in the city of Aveiro, Portugal. The work was
commissioned for the electroacoustic music festival “Aveiro Síntese“, by Arte no
Tempo, with the support of DGArtes and Aveiro City Hall. This version of the
installation, entitled “MicroSonic Spaces AV”, had several developments since the
original one.
5.2.1 Setup
A different setup was used, placing the image in a table-like horizontal position, with
the projector hanging above the space, projecting the image downwards (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 Setup in Aveiro

Fig. 5 Visitors interacting with the installation in Aveiro. (Note: the image on the screen is not
actually white. This is an illusion caused by the camera due to the high contrast between the screen
and the darkened room.) With kind permission by Diana Ferreira
This setup allowed a greater proximity of the visitors around the image, and thus
a greater engagement with the evolution of the system. The sensor was positioned in
the middle position of one of the sides, and although only one person at a time could
interact with the installation, the fact that the other visitors were very close, around
the screen, permitted everyone to be more aware of the actions and reactions of the
ecosystem’s elements (Fig. 5).
5.2.2 Ecossystem
The graphics suffered some overall aesthetic modifications that included blur effects
using openGL shaders, to create a more diffuse and organic image, and to create a
sense of depth, using different blur levels. The background became more active, by
changing its color very slowly while affecting global parameters. The metaphor for
this behavior could be that of the seasons of the ear, where the environment changes
as a whole. This change affects the sound parameters of the environment, affecting
the notes used by the creatures, as will be explained below.
The microbes changed significantly, gathering traces from both the microbes and
the hoarders of the previous version. Their color changed to black, but the major
differences are in their behavior. In this version, the movement of the microbes is
determined by their size, which in turn is dependent on the number of microbes
nearby.
This behavior creates a tendency for the creation of clusters, while the microbes
gather. But as they reach a certain number of neighbors, they explode and die, forming
130 R. Dias
Fig. 6 The ecosystem image of the installation in Aveiro
the yellow circles that can be seen in the lower region in Figure 6. These explosions
play a new pitched sound and fade out slowly.
A second type of object, the blue circles that can be seen above, are always visible
and move freely throughout the environment. These creatures have no sound but are
able to energize the microbes when they get very close, acting like destabilizers, so
that the ecosystem is never static.
5.2.3 Interaction
The interaction using the leap motion sensor is similar to the previous installation, by
energizing the microbes. However, the sonic response is quite different. Unlike the
original version, where the movements of the microbes triggered random grains of
noisy sound created from the bell recording, in this version each microbe is assigned
its own pitch when it is born. When the visitor interacting with the installation waves
a hand over a microbe, the sound of the microbe is heard, while it moves away from
the hand.
5.2.4 Sound
The sound of the microbes in this version uses an FM synthesis model, designed
for this purpose. The explosions will also trigger the dying microbe’s pitch, but in
a lower octave range. The position of the hand tracked by the sensor is indicated
by a white, translucid circle in the image, to make more visible and controllable the
position of the hand. All the pitched sounds of the environment were coordinated in
order to obtain a coherent musical result. There is a global harmonic structure that
is used across all the sound events. This harmonic structure is “conducted” by the
environment’s slow change of background color, that modify the available notes when
the color changes. The procedure for the mapping of the notes of a global changing
harmony was based on the procedures used in the implementation of MyJazzBand
(Dias, 2017, 2018), and particularly in the solo instruments and piano mapping (Dias
et al., 2014).
The background sound was altered to detach even further from the creatures’
sounds. It became darker, more diffuse and low-pitched. Also, due to processing
needs, it was fully pre-composed, exported as a long audio file, and simply played
back in the MaxMSP patch.
6 Conclusions
This chapter presented the concept, main ideas and features of MicroSonic Spaces,
an audiovisual installation that presents the concept of a virtual ecosystem of artifi-
cial entities, in which the planning and implementation of the rules, properties and
boundaries of all the elements included a sound design and musical perspective.
The choices made in the creation of the environment and the species were the
result of several tests and attempts at creating a balanced ecosystem that can sustain
life and continuous activity. Due to the fact that these projects were created as public
installations, some compromises were necessary in the definition of the rules and
environmental factors, to restrict the boundaries of the creatures’ actions and the
interaction with the environment and the other species, in order to achieve a more or
less constant state and configuration of the ecosystem, during the exhibitions.
Although the initial version presented most of the main concepts and ideas that
motivated this project, each new version introduced new ideas that improved the
conceptual definition of the project. Namely, the introduction of an individual pitch
for each microbe in the version of Aveiro, fosters the idea of an individual profile,
which reinforces the idea of artificial life with a sonic identity. The fact that this sonic
identity can be listened to when the user interacts with it, creates an interesting new
role for the interactivity, that in a way resembles that of a musical instrument.
Albeit the prominence of the graphical form of this installation, I consider
MicroSonic Spaces to be mainly a sound and musical installation, as the main signifi-
cant resulting events are sonic, as if the life cycle, behavior and evolution of the living
artificial agents exist for a sonic purpose. From a musical and compositional perspec-
tive, there are still numerous possibilities and parameters to address in the creation
of a complex, deeper musical context, but it seems clear that this format creates an
interesting and engaging challenge to explore, both conceptually and artistically.
Acknowledgments This project was supported by the “Castelo de Artes” Festival (Castelo Branco)
and “Aveiro Síntese” music festival (Aveiro). I would like to thank Dr. Carlos Semedo and Dr. Vitor
Louro, in Castelo Branco, and Diana Ferreira and David Costa in Aveiro, for their help and support.
132 R. Dias
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0672
Musicking with Plants
Filipe Lopes and Paulo M. Rodrigues
Abstract In this paper we discuss our work and research related to music, humans
and plants. We attempt to put our endeavours in a large historical and technological
perspective as well as sharing our own creative journey motivated by an interest
in connecting with plants through music making. We deliberately use the term
“musicking” to create a context where our work can be meaningfully understood,
and we present case studies—elicitors—to discuss and communicate our activities
and creative processes.
Prologue.
The term “musicking” became part of the vocabulary of, at least, certain parts of the
academic world, highlighting the dynamic, interactive, communicational, relational
nature of a very complex phenomenon known to be of great importance for the human
species, Music. The use of “musicking” is a clear acknowledgement of the idea that
music is above all a process and not an object (Small, 1998). As far as we are aware,
Small did not consider the idea of “musicking” as a way to relate humans and plants,
but we believe that following that path could lead to better communicate our journey
of discovery.
1 Rooting Ideas
In the last few decades there has been a growing feeling of concern for nature due
to the increasingly obvious evidence of the deterioration of the natural world. From
rich and industrialized societies to local communities in developing countries, there
F. Lopes (B)
CIPEM/INET-md, ESMAD, uniMAD, Porto, Portugal
e-mail: filipelopes@esmad.ipp.pt
P. M. Rodrigues
INET-md, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_7
134 F. Lopes and P. M. Rodrigues
are numerous voices expressing a state of “detunement” between humans, other

living beings and our planet. In the case of the so-called developed countries, this
feeling arises as a consequence of the scientific community’s effort to show that
the human being is an integral part of nature and that the survival of both is inter-
connected, and, above all, because of the immediate impact that the news from the
media and the political, social, artistic and educational action of countless people
(from social networks to school, families and institutions) have on people. The alert
message reaches more and more people, increasingly often and more vehemently
through social networks,1 news, the media, school activities and the programming of
cultural institutions and means of entertainment.2 All these highly diversified initia-
tives lead us to realize that the balance of nature (and therefore all of humanity) is
undoubtedly in danger. The pioneering work of organizations like Green Peace finds
resonances in current numerous initiatives and associations around the world, which
have been working and intervening in local communities in order to draw attention
to aspects such as renewable energy, recycling, food waste, pollution, preservation
of biodiversity, among others.
New approaches to the production of food and energy, more environmentally
sustainable, have become increasingly popular, which demonstrates a positive atti-
tude change of societies towards the preservation of nature and the environment. We
know, however, that such positive attitudes face numerous obstacles and that impor-
tant political decisions, such as the climate goals established in world forums, end
up not being fulfilled. There is, therefore, a long way to go to establish a consistent,
fruitful and balanced relationship between humans, nature and our planet.
The artistic community, all over the world, has been aware of these phenomena.
The representation of life in paintings or music, be it the nature-observed-felt-lived by
artists in their real existence or the various “staging” of still life, seems to have given
way (or at least coexist) with the need to include life itself in the artistic discourses.
Art movements such as “land art”, “environmental art” or “bio art” started to deal
with life and nature, not only as a “subject” but also as a “medium”, or “matter”,
i.e. the “canvas” where ideas are expressed and the “means” used to do so, either a
garden, a mountain, a forest, a rabbit, a bacterium, a butterfly, a seaweed.
The realization that art and science are part of a whole driven by human creativity
has been reinstated after centuries of “divergent evolution” that led to their compart-
mentalization.3 Institutions and individuals have been gradually opening their phys-
ical and mental “windows” for the possibility of collaboration between artists and
scientists, allowing ideas, means and technologies previously confined to the labo-
ratory, gallery or concert hall “to move freely” between the various territories. DNA
1 See, for example, the images shared during pandemic of clean canals in Venice, blue sky in Beijing,
contaminating the imagination of people all over the world with the idea that nature “breathed” and
sent a warning to humanity. We know, however, that publications of this kind can be fake news.
2 As a mere example, it should be noticed that David Attenborough´s latest documentaries are
available on popular platforms such as Netflix.

3 Although not directly related to our work but related to the discussion about Art and Science, the
famous lecture by C. P. Snow, “The Two Cultures”, in 1959, addresses in an interesting manner
Art’s and Science split and its consequences.
Musicking with Plants 135
is no longer “owned” by scientists, just like the singing of birds, whales or volca-
noes. Instead of rivals in a race to capture the “truth” about nature, both artists and
scientists should be considered as creators of healthy stimulus to develop everyone’s
ideas about what is the world around us, in what way it affects us, how we affect it.
In addition, over the past few years, many of the technological resources that were
previously accessible only to scientists and artists based in institutions or laborato-
ries have become widely accessible, whether in the field of biology, electronics or
music. In this way, more than ever it is possible to investigate, create, question and
involve not only specialists but also the lay person in experiments (e.g. laboratory
experiments, musical experiments). Obviously, the motivation and focus of attention
of scientists and artists working in bio art or any other area that deals with nature as
matter (for example at the level of sound) may not be the concern for the degradation
of the Anthropocene but, for instance, the intrinsic challenge of creativity. But the
fact is that placing “life” at the centre of “action”, removing it from an external plane
intended for “figuration” to place it on the “stage” or making it a “canvas”, has an
effect on the perception we have about ourselves, about the immense power we have
to change the natural world around us, that is, it leads to a question about the essence
of what it means to be human, of our relationship with nature. What should we reason
about Alba, the fluorescent rabbit created by Eduardo Kac in 2000?
It is in this perspective of questioning that we face our work with plants. The idea
that plants are immobile and consequently passive has recently been widely ques-
tioned in light of new knowledge (Mancuso & Viola, 2016), especially if one inter-
prets such knowledge in light of a philosophy that does not start from the assumption
of the unequivocal superiority of human beings, but rather from the realization that
life on the planet manifests itself in very different ways, resulting from long processes
of evolution, adaptation and balance between all living beings. The individual and
social life of plants is, in fact, extraordinary. See, for example, that it is now recog-
nized that plants communicate with each other through chemical signals for mutual
benefit, whether under or above ground, react and adapt to environmental changes,
organize collectively, have strategies for exceptional survival and resilience that allow
them to overcome the supposed disadvantage of immobility, develop complex and
sophisticated collaborative relationships with other living organisms that result in
the possibility of everyone’s survival (Gorzelak et al., 2015). These arguments, and
several other, obvious but often neglected, challenge the idea inculcated in humans
that plants are “inferior” beings and relativize the animals’ exclusivity in terms of
memory, learning and cognition. These aspects, discussed in greater depth by the
philosopher Laura Ruggles (2017), are for us inspirers and instigators to the creation
of artistic projects that bring together music, humans and plants. It is not our purpose
to prove any cognitive theory about plants, but to dance with them just as scientists
dance with ideas of what is going on inside a black hole. We join the communities that
see in the Arts the potential to generate new forms of emotional bonds with nature and
(Jackobson & Monroe, 2007), thus, create personal and ontological understandings
about and with the natural world that are potentially more transforming of our attitude
towards plants and nature than just rigorous scientific linguistic communication.
2 Music and Plants
Plants have been present in the artistic world since immemorial times and the partic-
ular case of music is not an exception. The distinction between popular, traditional
or classical certainly does not segregate plants.
Translating plants features (e.g. their morphology, pattern of growth) into orga-
nizing principles for music creation with “real musical instruments” was, in the past,
the closest possible musical relationship between plants and humans, besides the
obvious way, that is, as a source of inspiration. Classical music is fertile in examples
that acknowledge trees and flowers (e.g. The Four Seasons by Vivaldi; Waltz of the
Flowers by Tchaikovsky; Flower Duet in Delibe´s Lakmé; several lieder by Schu-
bert and Schumman, and songs by Fauré, Borodin or Britten). Plants, flowers and
fruits, real and symbolic, can be found in many traditional cultural manifestations all
over de world where music plays an important role, from the lotus flower of Hindu
and Buddhist complex ceremonies to the simple traditional songs of many countries,
including Portugal, where aromatic herbs, carnations, roses, violets, oranges and
pomegranate seem to have flourished and survived for many years. Even the recent
world of urban pop/rock music has found in plants and flowers the sources that allow
words and melodies to evolve into more complex song structures (e.g. Strawberry
Fields Forever by the Beatles). A quick search reveals that roses, not strawberries,
seem to be a favourite theme.
By the late 50’s a new trend about music and plants started to emerge based on the
widespread idea that plant growth could be influenced by the human voice and music.
Singing and talking to plants have certainly been part of daily gardening routines of
many plant lovers,4 even if many others, including the scientific community, regard
it as an eccentricity. The fact is, however, that the idea had made its way to the music
world and instrumental music started to be created and recorded. One can easily
find many recording and music albums made for plants based on the assumption
that plants respond to music and that sound would influence the plant´s growth and
health. Music to Grow Plants (1970) by Dr. George Milstein and Corelli-Jacobs is
one such example; Green sounds: music for your plants, released in 1974, features
music played by Steve Hall, Tim Wallace and Doran Damitz. Molly Roth’s record
Plant Talk (1976) features the voice of Molly talking to plants, as if they listened
to it. In the same year, Mort Garson’s Mother Earth’s Plantasia (1976), a timeless
album, was also released.
Possibly influenced by this trend, a few people among the scientific community
started to investigate or, rather, attempting to validate the empirical knowledge alleged
by those eccentric plant lovers and musicians. In recent years a number of studies
have been published about the influence of different genres of music in the growth of
4 The documentary Music with plants, plants with Music (Tavares & Lopes, 2017) reports the
musical and educational work developed by the first author during one school year in public schools,
music schools, kindergarten and nursing homes. Some people living alone at those nursing homes
confessed that they talk to plants as if the plants were their friends and companions. Retrieved
January 28, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTKUcmsG_7c&t=3s.
several plants, clamming that there is scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis
(Sharma et al., 2015; Chowdhury & Gupta, 2015; Rachieru et al, 2017; Creath &
Schwarz, 2004; Popescu & Mocanu, 2013; Chivukula & Ramaswamy, 2014). The
evidence is, however, rather weak, frequently biased by a generic conception of music
divided into basic categories (e.g. rock, classical, indian) that seem to reflect opinions
and tastes rather than an objective sound-related or musically-based categorization
of the stimuli that was applied. Furthermore, no explanation has been produced about
the processes that could be involved in the response to music. Listening, in the sense
of what humans and many animals do, is not surely something that plants can do,
as they do not possess the organs and nervous structures that support it. There is,
however, evidence that plants respond to sound and suggestions have been made that
maybe plants even use sound to communicate (Cate, 2013; Gagliano, 2013; Gagliano
et al., 2012a, 2012b; Khait et al., 2019; Mishra et al., 2016). Whether or not sound is a
possibility for humans to interact with plants remains to be seen but it is quite unlikely
that our own notions of “music”, deeply shaped by human cultural experiences, will
be adequate to build this sound-based communication. Perhaps we should look at the
previously mentioned attempts of establishing musical communication with plants
as reflections of our deep need to connect with nature5 by means other than verbal
language.
The book The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tomnkins and Christopher Bird,
comprised several articles of people discussing their relationship with plants,
including one by the notorious Cleve Baxter,6 tells stories of plants being sentient
and emotionally responsive to human actions (Tomnkins & Bird, 1974). That book,
together with the unconventional idea of making music for plants, somewhat reviving
mysticism and alchemy narratives, strengthened among people an imaginary of plants
having emotions and consciousness.7 Words such as intelligence, consciousness and
emotions seem to be difficult to accept by humans when referring to plants, however,
there are strong arguments towards accepting a different view (Calvo et al., 2020;
Gagliano, 2015) and certainly this is the time to do it. It is certainly with this view
in mind that we can better understand a recent performance held for an audience of
plants. In 2020, due to the pandemic of Covid 19, and as an homage to the many
people who suffered and died due to the virus, Barcelona held a concert at the Grand
Teatre del Liceu, planned by Eugenio Ampudoa,8 in which the hall was filled with
hundreds plants each one placed in a seat. The ensemble played Puccini’s “Crisan-
temi” to the silent but live green audience. In that concert plants fulfilled the role
of a live audience, an essential requirement for any performing musician as it gives
5 The biophilia theory, suggested by Edward Wilson, asserts the existence of “a fundamental, genet-
ically based human need and propensity to affiliate with life and lifelike processes” (Kahn, 1997,
p. 1).
6 Cleve Baxter, using a lie-detector machine connected to a plant, stated that a plant had reacted to
his thoughts. His experiment and claims gave rise to many discussions.
7 Retrieved December 30, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/30/archives/the-secret-
life-of-plants-by-peter-tompkins-and-christopher-bird.html.
8 Retrieved January 10, 2021, from https://www.liceubarcelona.cat/en/artist-eugenio-ampudia-ina
ugurates-activity-liceu-concert-2292-plants.
meaning and intention to his/her work. Even with recordings it is possible that this
aspect of sharing (in this case postponed) might be one of the main rewards he/she
aims to obtain, as for many musicians the “sound” is not enough. In the Barcelona
concert the plants were perhaps substitutes, real or symbolic, of the many humans
that have died and therefore they were being used to remember those that could no
longer attend the performances of their ensemble. But it is possible also that they
were there by they own right as living beings opening a channel of communication
to the musicians on the stage, therefore allowing music to be played. Without them
there would be just sound. Nobody will never know whether or not the plant audience
enjoyed the music or even perceived the sounds, but the event certainly made people
think and feel, both the performers and other people that read it in the news. The
plants, therefore, exerted a deep impact upon those that became acquainted with the
idea, in a sharp example of how they seem to communicate with us or to enable us
to communicate with ourselves.
Another interesting trend, emerging early in the second half of the twentieth
century, was the use of plants to perform music. John Cage, during the 70’s,
presented two famous pieces which included plants: Child of a Tree (1975) and
Branches (1976). These pieces worked by amplifying plants and their leaves with
contact microphones.9 The latter has become an iconic piece that might have inspired
other artists worldwide, as the Portuguese sound-sculptor/performer João Ricardo
de Barros Oliveira,10 although we are not certain if this is the case, as João Ricardo
has his own very independent, idiosyncratic approach to musical creation.
One important aspect of both these pieces concerns the need of “touching”
the plant in order to produce sound, thus, involving a corporal proximity between
performer and plant which helps to develop a certain intimacy and a kind of embodied
connectivity between performer and plant. This can be interpreted also as an attempt
to renew what was once a close relationship between humans and plants in what
regards to music making. Other people choose to overcome the invisibility of plants
(Balas & Momsen, 2014) with more “intimate” and expressive ideas, as it happens
in the concerts by The Vegetable Orchestra.11
In the industrialized era we live in, musical instruments are easily available: for
the most part of musicians, professional or amateur, the most common approach
to have his/her own instrument is to purchase it from a shop. It was not certainly
the case when the first musical instruments started to be developed. Even today, or
at least in a recent past, it is possible to see that in traditional cultures building a
musical instrument was regarded as an important part of life, an activity that served
not only the purpose of possessing the means to play music but had profound spiritual
meaning.
Let us tell you a story told to us by an African instrument builder. African drums
are regarded as part of the identity of families and homes. When a new family, new
9 Retrieved December 30, 2020, from https://johncage.org/pp/John-Cage-Work-Detail.cfm?work_I

D=34.
10 Retrieved January 4, 2021, from https://www.lixoluxo.com/cactus-sonorus/
11 Retrieved January 5, 2021, from https://www.vegetableorchestra.org.
home, would be started, a new drum would have to be made (i.e. not bought, ordered
or commissioned to someone else). The making of a drum involved going to the
forest, observing and choosing a tree, cutting it, hollow it, in a lengthy and laborious
process that was based on the notion that the tree is a living being with whom one
would have to feel in “resonance” (as well as with the entire forest). The remaining
parts of the tree would be used in the making of the home and, of course, the animal
that would have to be sacrificed to provide the skin for the new drum would also be
eaten. Looking at this from a westernized point of view, one may say that “primitive”
cultures had a deep sense of economy of resources and a holistic vision of what means
to be human and therefore dependent on others and the environment. In this complex
and balanced scheme, one may say that drums were regard as means to allow the
celebration of a relationship with nature and powerful reminders of the voices one
needs to listen to in order to live in balance with the world. Many instruments of
traditional cultures look “primitive” in the sense that one clearly sees the natural
origin of the plants and animals that were used to make them. This is the case of the
drums that have animal skins as drumheads, but also logdrums, (i.e. hollow trunks
of trees, sometimes with impressive sizes, as in the Pacific islands) didgeridoos (i.e.
trunks or branches hollowed by termites, as in the Aboriginal culture of Australia),
rainsticks (made of sundried cacti, as in the indigenous cultures of present-day south-
central and Chile and southwestern Argentina) or flutes (made of branches from
softwood trees or bamboo, as in China and India). One may say, of course, that this
“primitive look” is only the consequence of the lack of technology and as soon as
new technology allows this link with nature is lost, as if man would like to deny
its origins and prove himself as a superior entity. A different but interesting case
concerning plants, humans and intimacy is that of gum leaf music, i.e. the music
one makes by blowing leaves captured from trees. This is an indigenous musical
practice which “illustrates the existence of a close relationship between musician
and plant in the Australian Aboriginal societies of which Western philosophy has
little awareness” (Ryan, 2013). It seems interesting to look at these examples when
thinking about music and plants since indigenous people have been living in the
nature for centuries, hence, accumulating an empirical knowledge about nature far
beyond the reality of the common modern man. A person from the Kaluli tribe,12
while talking about birds with Steven Feld, a famous anthropologist which lived with
the Kaluli for several months, said the following: “to you they are birds, to me they
are voices in the forest” (Feld, 2012, p. 45). As Feld reports, it’s not just a matter of
integrating things or uniting them, things are part of the “whole” and so a human, a
tree or an animal communicates and articulates among “the whole” in a natural way.
In other societies, such as some of the indigenous peoples of the Western Amazon,
plants are regarded as carriers of the voices from spirits, having the ability to teach
a specific type of songs to shamanic apprentices which later use them in ceremonies
12 The Kaluli is a tribe living in the rain forest at Papua New Guinea.
and healing treatments involving ayahuasca.13 Ayuaska, a powerful psychoactive

brew made with plants, is a well-known aspect of the far more deep and complex
relationship that these people have with the exuberant plant world they live in. The
work of Christina Callicott combines elements of anthropology and plant biology
to propose that the acquisition of the song elements mentioned above is a form of
inter-species communication in which the apprentice intercepts and interprets the
phytochemical signals inherent in plant communicative processes (Callicot, 2013).
In the second half of the twentieth century, increasingly sophisticated technology,
especially digital, paved new ways for artists to engage with plants. The use of sensors
allowed to retrieve features that before could only be observed or felt, thus, making
it possible, for instance, to use audio and images to “translate” such measurements.
Approaches to plants as interfaces or as musical instruments, as described earlier
with John Cage, increased significantly with the advent of computers, sensors and
accessible programming software (e.g. Processing, Pure Data, Arduino).14 Living
plants became interfaces for human–computer interaction, which prompted fresh
approaches on plants as sensitive beings while also strengthening the “imaginary
plant life” sparked by the musicians mentioned earlier.
The work Interactive Plant Growing (1992) by Christa Sommerer and Laurent
Mignonneau, although not directly related to music performance, was a pioneer work
within this trend of creating imaginary plants that would have organic dialogues with
human beings. Nowadays, it is common to see, and quick to implement, projects built
with the Makey Makey or Playton interfaces using plants to trigger audio files,15 .16
When using computers (i.e. programming), one is able to mimic the growth pattern of
plants17 to produce musical generative systems as well as to implement sonification18
strategies using data collected by sensors.19 Midi Sprout,20 or its recent upgrade Plant
Wave, as well Plant Choir,21 are nowadays accessible and “ready-to-use” technology
to acquire bio-signals from plants, translating them directly to midi and/or (genera-
tive) music. Such approaches, while directly related to the plant’s inner life, rely on
a “numeric approach to describe reality”. This kind of approach, however, is quite
different from an approach like the ones by aboriginal people where the ontological
intimacy and the physical contact with plants seems to be a vital aspect of the “inter-
action”. In recent years, interestingly, we have seen the growth of projects, like the
13 During the vietnam war, American troupes produced and played audio tapes which featured
strange sounds and altered voices to install a sense of fear among the vietnamese soldiers. https://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wandering_Soul_(Vietnam_War). Retrieved January 15, 2021.
14 In the essay The Art of Human to Plant Interaction, from 2015, Sommerer, Mignonneau and Weil
cover the main aspects of this trend and their technological approaches.
15 E.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcVImBOM1Cw. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
16 E.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYkkC0xp-N0. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
17 E.g. L-Systems.
18 Sonification refers to using non-speech audio to convey information related to specific data.
19 To get an overview of sensors used with plant, please check (Lopes & Rodrigues, 2020).
20 Retrieved January 4, 2021, from https://www.midisprout.com.
21 Retrieved January 4, 2021, from https://plantchoir.com.
ones by Leslie Garcia22 or Milecce,23 based on sonification strategies that encourage

people to touch and feel the plants in order to generate music inside a particular sonic
space. In the context of these types of “musical plant-ecosystems”, computers serve
the purpose of retrieving signals which become sound but have a relatively small
importance when it comes to “visibility”. In Portugal, Cláudia Martinho has been
creating sound installations related to plants and biofeedback, engaging the audience
to reach and feel the plants, while also bringing aspects of the aural architecture to
her creative process.24
Overall, nowadays there are many accessible technological options that allow
for a diverse and rigorous inspection of the plant’s life. It is possible to create an
ecosystem of interconnected sensors (e.g. luminosity, humidity, air quality) that,
connected to the internet, allows one to remotely monitor and visualize in real time
aspects of the environment where the plants are living. Such possibilities open up
the opportunity of creating digital, interactive and shared (i.e. accessible to anyone
online) musical systems. However, we ask ourselves: are these technologies really
capable of revealing the “plant’s music”? Will the current technological and computer
achievements be able to reveal any “truth”, “reality” or a poetics that does not simply
mirror itself? Aren´t we just using those technologies to retrieve numbers and then
create abstractions and concepts that we colonize with music that we like? We strive
to induce an empirical sense of equality and union between plants and music and,
consequently, a real and unified ontological experience. In other words, it is not just
a matter of making technology invisible to give prominence to the plant itself or the
other way around, but instead to envision technology as an integral and fundamental
part of the entire system in such a way to create a “wholeness”.25 We feel it renders a
musical poetic that, if for nothing else, serves to offer us and the audience an illusion
and the dream of a unified connection with nature.
3 Interlude
Our work related to music and nature has addressed three areas that we try to asso-
ciate: music education, new technologies and performance. This was not the result of
a conscious decision, but something that emerged in our practices, both individually
and together. The first author got his PhD by studying the relationship between music
and space and by creating compositions in which the soundscape and the acoustics
are structuring elements (Lopes & Guedes, 2020). As head of the educational service
of the Matosinhos Jazz Orchestra, in the academic year of 2017, he started a project
called Música com Plantas, Plantas com Música (Music with Plants, Plants with
Music) that would serve as inspiration for later works that include music, plants and
22 Retrieved January 2, 2021, from http://interspecifics.cc/work/pulsum-plantae-2012/.

23 Retrieved January 2, 2021, from https://www.mileece.is.
24 Retrieved January 3, 2021, from https://claudiamartinho.net/?p=68.
25 Here resonates the idea of cybernetics and telematics cultivated by artists like Roy Ascott.
computer technologies (Lêdo et al., 2019; Lopes & Ferreira, 2017). The musical
and compositional practices that emerged from that project were very interesting,
namely: the “creative help” that the plants brought to the practice of improvised
music, whether that improvisation was idiomatic (e.g. blues) or not; the leverage
of active listening practices (e.g. sound leaves in the wind) and the encouragement
of tangible contact with plants in the classroom. The second author has developed
a set of works with the aim of “tuning people, birds and flowers”, i.e. artistic and
educational experiences that promote awareness of the other and the fragility of the
World that we inherit. Theatrical pieces like NOAH (2017) or Orizuro (2019) are
examples of this, as well as installations like Metamorphosis (2017) and Gamelão
de Porcelana e Cristal (2011), or more complex projects like Mil Pássaros (2020),
Opus Tutti (2011) or GermInArte (2019). Some experiments carried out in contexts
such as the gardens of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation or the Parque da Devesa
in Vila Nova de Famalicão seek to explore an idea of “total work of art” in which
Nature is simultaneously scenery and character, interpreter and audience, in deep
communion with the human element. Together, the authors have developed musical
work targeted for music teachers and where the soundscape, as proposed by Schafer
(1977), and the natural space has a relevant role.
4 Our Work, so Far
Our particular work can be described as the search for an unmeasurable and empirical
equilibrium to establish a shared musical space between us and the plants, hence, our
two main questions: Do plants make music? How do we make music with plants?
Talking about music and plants makes us (re)reflect, first of all, on what we mean
by Music. Over the years we have attempted, unsuccessfully, to find a definition of
Music that could encompass all definitions that we were taught or came across, and,
above all, our own personal experiences. Adding plants to an already complex picture
probably does not make things clearer but it certainly fosters our imagination.
Plants have inhabited our planet for millions of years, long before the animal
kingdom. This fact, together with the postulate that all known cultures make music,
opens the door to the possibility of some intrinsic relationship between music, plants
and humans. The suggestion that plants make music is strange to most people for
two good reasons: we do not see plants producing sound deliberately and, above all,
we take music as an exclusively human phenomenon with a set of practices that we
usually ascribe to music making (e.g. performances, improvisations, etc.). Playing
music with plants would imply an active involvement of both humans and plants,
and, to the best of our knowledge, that has never been witnessed. We can, however,
imagine a broader notion about Music and in that case imagine that if the Music we
know and make derives from a creation of the much older plant kingdom it would
necessarily have to precede the self-conscious and autobiographical human, that is,
the humans would not have created Music. In that case, the humans would have
only discovered it in the fabric and modus operandi of nature. This is off course a
very speculative idea, even more than what has been suggested about the existence of
music in the animal world, in particular among birds—the work of David Rothenberg
being a particular source of inspiration for us (Rothenberg, 2005). If, on the other
hand, Music is an invention of humans, be it a by-product of language, as Steven
Pinker said,26 or something inscribed and vital in our biology,27 the search for “plant
music” is a path of faith that does not aspire to any particular outcome but instead
takes joy in a walk without an end.
In any case, we can say with some certainty that the music we know originated
and was influenced by the surrounding natural environment and by the acoustic
circumstance.28 While it is hard to say that the tempered tuning system arises due
to some type of contact with plants, it’s not unreasonable to think that basic sound
manifestations such as singing, dancing or playing instruments have been influenced
by contact with nature (e.g. making a flute out of a bone) and with plants (e.g.
gum leaf music). Plants certainly produce sounds and react to sound, as mentioned
before, but we tend to imagine that they are not capable of intentional behaviours
which means that the idea of plants playing music looks very remote. Plants have,
however, caused us, the authors, to enter new paths in our music making practices in
a way that differs from what can be called “inspiration”. In other words, they acted
as initiators or elicitors of musical discourses, provoking us to find “new music” and
create performative environments that seem to emanate from a dialogue between
people and plants.
Plantorumori is the project in which we have been working on musical creation
with plants, both from a theoretical and a practical point of view (i.e. performances).
Our main goal is to develop a hybrid system merging plants, electronics and sound
performance. Plantorumori is part of a larger research project named Xperimus which
studies experimental musical practices in Portugal.29 Plantorumori’s first phase
included the technological and musical experimentation under the motto “explore
the idea that art, music in particular, might have biological roots related to the need
to communicate and be in tune with others.” (Lopes& Rodrigues, 2020). This path
has led us to discover many interesting aspects about the inner life of plants as well
as their “social” life, the immense music production related to nature and plants and,
finally, get acquainted with a wide range of technologies to use to make music with
plants.30
26 For more detail, please see the chapter “The Music Instinct” in Daniel Levitin’s book This is your
Brain on Music (2007).
27 For more detail, please see the article “The artification hypothesis and its relevance to cognitive
science, evolutionary aesthetics, and neuroaesthetics” (2009).

28 Wallace Sabine stated that the music developed in the open space (e.g. savanna) was mainly
rhythmical due to the lack of reverberation. On the other hand, the music that flourished in closed
spaces is imminently more melodic and harmonic due to the influence of reverberation (Prior, 2007).
29 Retrieved November 13, 2021, from http://www.inetmd.pt/index.php/en/investigacao/projects/
9642.experimentation.in.music.in.portuguese.culture.history.contexts.and.practices-in-the-20th-
and-21st-centuries.
30 For a detailed description about this phase, see (Lopes & Rodrigues, 2020).
In the following paragraphs we will describe open processes, identified as Elic-

itors, which we devised since we started Plantorumori. They are not regarded as
“compositions”, in the meaning of stable, predictable configurations of sounds but
as processes that can mingle and be initiate or ceased at any time during performance,
that is, processes which we are conscious, but which are not premeditated. For this
very reason, it is not a matter of “interpreting” scores or a priori instructions with
beginning, middle and end, but triggering musical gestures that, according to people,
musicians, plants, aural architecture and soundscape, will flourish in an improvised
free flow. One last remark needs to be added to better understand the elicitors we
will describe: in our musical performance experiments we have invited other musi-
cians to join in with their instruments as well as using ourselves a variety of sound
resources that includes musical instruments (e.g. piano, guitar, synthesizers) and
sound-making objects (e.g. prepared loudspeakers,31 crystal bowls, medals), and the
plants themselves. In these contexts we do not regard ourselves as instrument players
but as “plant soundscapers”.
5 Elicitor #1: Visuals Generated from Plant Physiological

Signals
The use of graphical and/or animated scores is already a solid established prac-
tice within the experimental music context. Some well-known compilation of these
scores includes Notations (1969) by John Cage and more recently, in 2009, the
compilation Notation 21 (2009) by Theresa Sauer.32 In our experiments we have
used Plant SpikerBox33 technology to auscultate plant physiological signals in real
time, visualizing them in a tablet and deriving musical gestures from them.
6 Elicitor #2: Visuals Generated from Plant Imaginary
From previous projects we inherited the idea of “plantitura” (planta + partitura,

i.e. plant + score) a graphical score composition inspired in plants or using plants,
created for each performance. The ancient japanese practice of arranging flowers
and branches in order to give them life, known as Ikebana, resonates in the idea of
“plantitura” (Fig. 1).
31 By “prepared speaker”, we mean speakers that have their cone filled with various sound objects
(e.g. bells, coins, leaves, paper). The cone, when excited with electricity, moves which makes the
sound objects in its cone shock, producing a myriad of sounds.
32 It is beyond the scope of this paper to describe the practices and theories that encompass the
musical interpretation of graphic and / or animated scores. A good source of contemporary practices
can be found at https://animatednotation.com. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
33 Retrieved January 10, 2021, from https://backyardbrains.com/products/plantspikerbox.
Fig. 1 Plantitura example created by a kindergarten class
Fig. 2 A POLISphone based on Gulbenkian’s garden
Together with graphical scores, animated scores and “plantituras”, we also have
been using POLISphone (Lopes & Rodrigues, 2014; Lopes et al., 2016), a software
that allows the use of original images and sounds to create a digital musical instrument
(Fig. 2).34
34 Retrieved January 11, 2021, from https://filipelopes.net/polisphone.

Fig. 3 A photo of our plants

at 9:00 am
Fig. 4 A photo of our plants

at 2:00 pm
Still in the context of this elicitor, we have been using the photography technique
of time-lapse to register the movement produced by our plants during the day. These
images lead to short animations that can be used as scores (Figs. 3, 4 and 5).
7 Elicitor #3: Sonification of Plant Physiological Signs
In the context of experimental music, sonification practices continue to flourish,

aided by the current diversity and accessibility of sensors as well as the “data and
communication potential” of the internet.35 In our work we have used sensors that
35It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss in detail the practices and theories about sonification.
For more information, see https://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/49750. Retrieved January 11,
2021.
Fig. 5 A thermal image of a

leaf
Fig. 6 “The Seed”—first

experiment
are sensitive to the environment (e.g. levels of light, sound and aspects of air quality,
levels of soil humidity) to modulate the frequency of oscillators or/and the volume of
audio samples. Within the context of the Plantorumori project (described below) we
conceived “The Seed”. It comprises a set of plants and several sensors that, in turn,
are connected to the internet (i.e. a webpage). On the webpage of “The Seed”, the
visitor can download text files filled with the information collected by these sensors
over time and can also visualize their current activity (Fig. 6).36
36 At the moment, due to the covid 19 pandemic, the page that hosted “The Seed” is disabled. For
the purposes of “example”, you can see the version that was online during March 2019: https://fil
ipelopes.net/plantorumori. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
Fig. 7 The authors performing with plants
Some of the aspects that we are interested in exploring with these signals, and with
others that are also erratic (e.g. microvoltages in the leaves), is their “expressive”
potential to generate drones and modulate synthesis parameters and/or audio effects
(e.g. delay lines), thus, taking advantage of the “surprise” that these signals can bring
to a performance.
8 Elicitor #4: Touching the Plant
The amplification of plants, with contact microphones or conventional microphones,

is a very concrete way, in the Schaefferian sense, of making music with plants.
Exploring its sonic possibilities based on a “reduced listening” bias, promotes an
active connection with the plant. In our practice we have used contact microphones
as if they were “brushes” to touch and gently feel the plant. The sound that results from
this process is sometimes modified by audio effects such as delay, reverb or pitch shift.
Our practice also features physical touch on plants as a way to trigger certain audio
samples, through interfaces such as Makey-Makey, or as a way to excite “prepared
speakers”. We also inherited from other projects the idea of “plant painting”, which
consists of the definition of a gestural vocabulary, like the original “sound painting”37
but, in this case, involving touching plants to signal certain musical gestures to the
ensemble (Fig. 7).
37 Retrieved December 11, 2021, from http://www.soundpainting.com/soundpainting/.

9 Elicitor #5: Morphology of Plants and Their Name/Words
This Elicitor, for example, includes mapping the number of leaves to a given melodic
and/or rhythmic sequence, among other possibilities. It also includes the possibility
of mapping each letter of the plant’s name to a melodic and/or rhythmic sequence,38
as well as using the words and names as “raw sonic material” to sing or to perform
using human voice.
10 Elicitor #6: Creation of Imaginary Soundscapes

from Aspects of Plant Growth
This Elicitor is the basis of a set of recent experiences with groups of people exploring
the acoustic and visual characteristics of a large and reverberant garage. The possi-
bility of root growth being accompanied by the emission of short sounds that would
act as probes that would direct the growth of roots in the search for water and nutrients
served as a starting point for musical creation in space.
11 Our Work, in the Near Future
The Covid 19 pandemic interrupted the workflow as well as all the planned exper-
iments, namely new musical performances. Soon, we will have “The Seed” again
available online and ready to serve as a “bridge” between the audience, musicians
and the plants. At the moment, being able to make music in real time with plants,
leveraged by the research presented in this paper, is our main desire, so that we can
bring to life our intuitions. Strictly from a technological point of view, however, we
look forward to expand our past experiences by bringing to our “world” the tech-
nology of artificial intelligence, namely the Wekinator39 software or libraries such
as TensorFlow,40 as they will allow us to analyse patterns (e.g. plant movement over
months) and generate new types of “elicitors”.
38 The BACH motif is well known in the musical world, that is, a melodic sequence of 4 notes
derived from the letters B A C H. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BACH_motif. Retrieved December
15, 2021.
39 Retrieved January 2, 2021, from http://www.wekinator.org.
40 Retrieved January 2, 2021, from https://www.tensorflow.org.
12 Conclusions
As far as Music is concerned, we are still dominated by the paradigm of Music

as a product or commodity (“complex, humanly-produced, expressive sound,
engaged with through listening because of its capacity to elicit emotional responses,
produced—composed and performed—by the few and consumed—listened to—
by the many”) rather than a process (an optimal medium to communicate and
share aspects of the human essence that are difficult or impossible to verbalize,
for managing situations of social uncertainty, situations where cooperation, reci-
procity, commitment and trust cannot be taken for granted). The western view of
Music as a particular case of anthrophony has been challenged several times, both
by composers such as Cage or ethnomusicologists such as Feld, but not yet to the
extent of producing a new vision of a “common language” capable of connecting
humans and other bio-sensitive entities. We still apply models of musical perfor-
mance inherited from instrumental music, more or less experimental but certainly
made with and mostly for humans. This may mean, at this moment, an inevitability:
there is no way of knowing what plant music is (because we still can’t hear it) or how
to make music with plants other than a sympathetic, even if wide-range, imposition
of our cultural models. How to do the opposite, if possible, remains a mystery, so we
take this research as a wonderful way to discuss “What Is Music?” and not exactly to
“advance or expand the state of the art” about Music. Our ambition, nevertheless, is
not only platonic, in the sense that we believe that there is certainly a hidden music of
plants. We think that our journey-narrative about music with plants will intrinsically
give us, and our audience, an important ontological understanding and connection
to nature. Although we cannot say that there isn’t “plant music”, to do so we would
have to be plants ourselves, we can create music fuelled by our musical bias but
illuminated by the platonic idea of plant music. It matters that such music becomes
significant, signifier, embedded in a context and way of making music with plants that
is self-justifying, that is, a human-plant-music context that renders its own language,
music and forms of understanding. We really want to devise an illusive, performative
and experimental musical environments in order to convince whoever enters such
environments that the Music emanates from people and plants. We believe, therefore,
that it is possible and important to make credible the absurd.
Acknowledgements This research was funded by the project “Experimentation in music in

Portuguese culture: History, contexts and practices in the 20th and 21st centuries”, co-financed
by the European Union, through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and International-
ization, in its ERDF component, and by national funds, through the Portuguese Foundation for
Science and Technology. The authors would also like to thank CIPEM/INET-md, ESMAD/P.Porto,
University of Aveiro and Companhia de Música Teatral.
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Composition as Artistic Device
Diogo Alvim
Abstract In this essay I elaborate on different approaches to music composition that

show movements of expansion of the music discipline towards the real, lived world.
These happen through mechanisms that incorporate what are usually considered
extra-musical elements into the musical work. From programme music, to musique
concrète, soundscape composition and more recent artistic manifestations that reflect
attempts to mean outside the work, this article traverses notions such as autonomy,
relational and conceptual music, expansion of the field, and the dispositif to under-
stand how these mechanisms operate. Finally, I will reflect on an artistic device for
music creation, that may work as an interface between work and world, giving some
examples of my own work.
1 Introduction
The composer sits at a desk to write a new composition. On the desk, nothing but a
blank piece of paper. The composer tries to conceive a first gesture knowing it will
compromise the whole work, and so it needs to be right, to make sense. But no ideas
come to mind.
This situation reports a classical image associated with the creative process of
composers, writers, artists in general, many times referred to as the blank page
syndrome. The blank of the page is seen here as a vacuum, void of any reference,
meaning or form, from which nothing emanates. It portraits an idealized setting for
a specific form of work framed within a larger labour and social structure, a set
of institutional codes. In this frame, the blank page will be filled with the help of
several possible sources of inspiration. Whether external (a literary source, a fiction, a
specific situation) or internal (emotional experiences, personal histories, unconscious
D. Alvim (B)
CESEM - Centro de Estudos em Sociologia e Estética Musical (Centre for the Study of Sociology
and Aesthetics of Music), Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa,
Lisboa, Portugal
e-mail: diogoalvim@fcsh.unl.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_8
154 D. Alvim
manifestations), the notion of inspiration has its own history that evokes different
processes of creative force sustained by an input, something that stimulates. But I
want to use this situation as a starting point to elaborate on this relation between
what is within the page (the work) and outside (the world) and how this setting
assumes a polarity between work and world sustained by pre-determined codes that
condition our listening. The traditional work of music composition has tended, since
the eighteenth century, to cultivate a separation between what is outside and inside
the frame of the work. This exclusion of the real world from the work, has, I believe,
contributed to an exclusion of the work from a meaningful position in the world, by
creating a parallel discourse conveniently apart of any real implications.
There is a growing acknowledgement today that art is never independent of the
context of its production and reception. Discussions around autonomy, that is, that
art refers to nothing but itself, have been losing strength to a surge of art practices that
deliberately seek to relate art and life, or art and world. But it is only recently that this
discussion has been the focus of attention in important centres of musical production
and academia. Ideas such as absolute music are only now being buried under a
profusion of practices that explore different levels of articulation between real-world
phenomena and sound, while criticizing a “significant portion of New Music thought
and compositional praxis [that] exhibit an excessive inward focus, relying on sounds
and musical morphologies discovered and developed by composers from previous
generations” (Llach, 2018: 53).
In this essay, I will elaborate on different manifestations of this process that relate
world and musical work in ways that question processes of autonomy. Furthermore,
I will reflect on different artistic approaches with the intention to outline an artistic
research path and to develop methodologies that will allow different articulations to
be made between music and world.
2 The Paper Exercise
There is no such thing as an empty space or an empty time. There is always something to
see, something to hear. (Cage, 1961: 7).
The blank page is never void. Even if we ignore the staves in the case of music
paper, it has a materiality, a texture, a shape, a way of reflecting the light, etc. This
reflection already reveals a relation with external conditions (light) that dynamically
affects our perception of this paper. Its form and scale determine a specific contact
with the objects surrounding it, including our own body. The paper itself contains
a history embedded in its material that points to many different branches of human
culture, and therefore we cannot say the paper is a void. There are many aspects of
this “blank page” situation that are left out, and thus a certain prescription in the act
of composing is exposed. There is a protocol that determines the limits of this act, the
boundaries of the discipline and of the object. Of course we cannot equate the work
Composition as Artistic Device 155
to the object ‘sheet of paper’ (though it has not been uncommon to value the score
as the musical work itself), but it is enlightening to engage in a cognitive process
parallel to the one that took place with minimalist sculpture in the 1960’s.
The better new work takes relationships out of the work and makes them a function of space,
light, and the viewer’s field of vision. The object is but one of the terms in the newer aesthetic.
It is in some way more reflexive because one’s awareness of oneself existing in the same
space as the work is stronger than in previous work, with its many internal relationships
(Morris, 1995: 15).
The acknowledgement of these external relationships were to change sculpture

through what was later termed the expanded field (Krauss 1979). Morris signaled
the expanded situation of the work by recognizing a network of operations put in
motion by certain objects within the space of (around) the work in relation with the
viewer. We can argue those operations already existed in earlier sculpture, as well as
behind this struggle to find inspiration to fill the blank page, but they were negated
by a protocol of procedures that dictate what is internal and external, included and
excluded (of the work, of the practice). It is this protocol, this behavioral code that
has so many times been questioned, subverted and transformed in different artistic
domains, and that has been resisting in many musical practices and concert listening
etiquette until recently.
There is an exercise I like to try with my students that plays with this situation
and proposes an expansion (if modest) of the musical field. I present a blank piece
of paper from which they are asked to create music. Not in which, but from which.
This exercise is based on Georges Self’s exercise “Trancription”:
Issue each student with a sheet of paper. Ask them to fold their paper in half and carefully
crease it down the centre, and then tear the paper along the fold.
Have the group been aware of the sounds that were made? Three distinct sounds of folding,
creasing and tearing? Or were they expecting to write, and more concerned about finding
their pens?
Inform the group that the pieces are to be used as musical instruments… (Self, 1974: 19).
Self’s exercise finishes with the transcription of the sound made with the paper
into traditional instruments. But even before that, it points to a break, not only with
the traditional music protocol, but with the paper protocol as well. The paper is not
a blank page to be written on, it is a material to create sound. And thus we can go
further than creasing and tearing, and explore other sonic possibilities with other
gestures, different papers, and of course, with microphones. As soon as we open
the possibilities, students come up with questions and ideas about which papers to
use—what type of paper? Can it be a paper cup? A paper box? Can it be written, can
I read it? There are always other layers of possibilities that come up in this process by
engaging with the piece of paper as an actual material for composition. This opens
new semantic possibilities that inform the composition. The paper is not a musical
material, but in a way it becomes one. It is a compositional subject, it establishes a
musical programme.
156 D. Alvim
3 Music with a Programme
Properly speaking, … programme music is music with a programme (Scruton, 2001).
Programme music offered a way to connect music to extra-musical ideas, by

defining an external narrative that musical materials would depict or represent. Some
composers would argue it allowed them to draw inspiration from different sources
and thus renew musical material. A strategy to fill in the void of the blank page.
The term was coined by Liszt in 1855, and refers to music of a narrative or descrip-
tive kind, or even “all music that attempts to represent extra-musical concepts without
resort to sung words” (Scruton, 2001). The concept came from Berlioz’s Symphonie
Fantastique, and his idea that “The outline of the instrumental drama, which lacks
the help of words, needs to be explained in advance” and that the “distribution of
the programme to the audience at concerts … is indispensable for a complete under-
standing of the dramatic outline of the work” (cited in Taruskin 2010: 321). There
are several implications in this idea, the most relevant, perhaps, being that music is
not able to fully convey the composer’s intended message. This points to the problem
of representation.
The term ‘programme music’ came to be applied not only to music with a story but also to
music designed to represent a character (Strauss’s Don Juan and Don Quixote) or to describe
a scene or phenomenon (Debussy’s La mer). What is common to all these is the attempt to
‘represent’ objects in music (Scruton, 2001).
But these representations worked with idealized, subjective associations between

ideas and sounds, through a literary text, for example. It is for this reason that
programme notes had to be handed out, allowing those arbitrary relations to be
known beforehand, and thus condition listening in the intended way.
Programme music became a widespread idea in the nineteenth century, and a
strong contestant to absolute music where
the ‘specifically musical composer’,… places value only on ‘using material’… a ‘formalist’,
a ‘mere musician’, who is ‘capable of nothing better or cleverer than to use, propagate,
arrange, and occasionally develop that which has already been achieved by others.’ The
composer of program music, by contrast, is a ‘tone-poet’ who draws on ever-new sources of
inspiration (Bonds 2014: 210, citing Liszt).
The extra-musical references or ideas were understood by the composer of

programme music as a lever towards creativity and a way to guide the listener “to a
state of transcendence” (Bonds 2014: 214), that the self-contained, absolute music
could not. Nevertheless, we could argue that the opposition between programme
and absolute music did not overcome the problem of autonomy—both worked on
a level detached from the real world. If the extra-musical ideas were understood as
ways to enhance the musical experience, they operated at the expense of bringing the
attention away from the object or its expanded situation. The programme aimed not
at the concrete real-world experience of the work, but at another narrative, parallel,
perhaps conveniently distant.
4 Absolute Zero
The apparent impossibility to create clear, objective relations between ideas and
sound contributed to take absolute music to become “the dominant idea of art
music in the Twentieth Century, because it was almost impossible for composers to
compose with any other aesthetic material than sounds produced by acoustic instru-
ments” (Lehmann, 2020). Absolute music, a romantic notion well absorbed into
later modernist ideals, assumed a relation to the world through analogy—where “the
structure of pure instrumental music reflected the structure of the Universe” (ibid.).
This would be the perfect alibi to remove the composer-genius from any responsi-
bility regarding worldly matters such as the production, distribution or reception of
the work, so strongly determined and sustained by the musical institutions such as
academias, orchestras and publishers. The absolute New Music work simply obeys
the laws of material progress and is immune to any contamination by elements outside
the fortified walls of its field.
But how innocent were composers of absolute music? How autonomous can a
work of art be? We could question the efficacy of this detachment by analysing
the motivations behind the construction of the boundaries that define the work, the
discipline, or the institution. In the period after the Second World War, for example,
material autonomy, as part of the ideal of absolute music, was favoured by Western
composers as a way to guarantee ethical autonomy. “Freed from the distasteful servi-
tude of politics, composers embraced the aesthetics of absolute music as never before,
for it offered them the prospect of a truly cosmopolitan art, one that transcended
national boundaries and ideological differences” (Bonds 2014: 297). This was a
reaction to “Eastern bloc regimes [that] denounced as ‘formalist’ any art that was
not socially engaged” (ibid.). But this ‘formalism’ nevertheless ended up serving
Western ideologies of purity and individual freedom during the Cold War (ibid.). As
much as an artist may refuse to say anything about the world, how far can their work
and work process remain neutral, uncompromised?
5 Concrete Sounds, Abstract Music
It is not until the invention of electroacoustic music that composers were able to
create music that could, through recording technologies, clearly refer to something
beyond itself and open a new chapter in the discussion of autonomy. Sounds could
evoke other things not musical, and potentiate a less arbitrary field of associations as
in previous representation attempts, a clearer indication of ideas. But even with the
many possibilities of the new sound technologies, there was resistance to an opening
up of sound as reference.
Musique Concrète, that started as an art that used concrete sounds from the
concrete world to create music, soon focused on the exhaustive study of the timbral
qualities of these captured sound objects, excluding any reference to cause or source,
158 D. Alvim
and thus reducing its potential meaning. Pierre Schaeffer’s sound objects are indeed
reified reductions of a larger sonic reality that is much more complex and difficult to
classify. That’s why they require a reduced listening.
[Schaeffer’s] insistence on reduced listening means that musique concrète was intended to
refine and accelerate the development of a primarily timbral discourse which had already had
a long history within western music… If the search for source or cause is to be bracketed out
then the field of play of such timbral music is made much richer by the materials of musique
concrète but is in principle not changed in its aesthetic aims (Emmerson 2007: 6).
What was a sign of a shift towards the concrete, gave in to the irresistible aesthetic
delights of the abstract once more, the detached, the uncompromised. By working
the sound object as an abstract entity, the listener experiences a richer sonic field, the
blank page is filled with new timbres and sonic gestures. The field of play becomes
richer, but not expanded. The ambition turned towards the knowledge and catego-
rization of the sound object as a whole new vocabulary for music. To do that it would
be important for Schaeffer to remove not only sound from its context, but context
from sound. “Musique concrète requires, in its move to auditory experience and the
electronic potential of found sounds, from the acousmatic to the sound object, a
suppression of context” (LaBelle, 2006: 31). This would allow the suppression of
any identifiable source, and the absence of recognizable references in listening. It
is ironic that, in the end, there was nothing concrete in Musique concrète. In fact,
it extended an autonomous conception of music by abstracting from it any possible
reference.
Nevertheless, this polarised contest between the purely timbral qualities of sound
and its potential signification was an Achilles’ heal from the start, since listening
cannot be so easily reduced, as it is always embedded in a specific context, it evokes
and induces. As many sound musicians, sound artists and scholars have been showing
since, sounds cannot be reduced to objects, sounds are events, not something that is,
but something that happens, communicates and affects.
But this extension into recorded sound acted as a Trojan horse containing another world
altogether—one which Schaeffer did not accept—where the temptation to refer to things
apparently outside ‘music’ would be hard to resist. … We can go even further perhaps risking
the assertion: sounds inevitably have associations. So perhaps while the ‘source/cause’ search
might be suspended, the ‘association’ of the sound … is certainly not. (Emmerson 2007: 6).
These associations are to a great extent subjective and thus meaning is not some-
thing a composer can fully control. Context conditions listening, and listening condi-
tions meaning. The way sounds are exposed acts on the way we listen to them, and
thus the construction of meaning starts to expand from the object to the relation
between object and listener.
The bracketing out of sonic source or cause might be a matter of discipline
protocol, one that we choose to engage with in order to determine the aesthetic field
of play of music, or even the semantic field of our listening. But with the possibilities
offered by recorded sound, the brackets had been breached.
6 Real World Sounds
There are a few examples of a voluntary expansion of the sonic reach in instrumental
music in the Twentieth Century. Russolo, Satie and Cage experimented with different
types of breaches where some form of relation between sound and context would be
established. But it is Cage that takes this mission further.
For in this new music nothing takes place but sounds: those that are notated and those that
are not. Those that are not notated appear in the written music as silences, opening the doors
of the music to the sounds that happen to be in the environment. This openness exists in the
fields of modern sculpture and architecture. The glass houses of Mies van der Rohe reflect
their environment, presenting to the eye images of clouds, trees, or grass, according to the
situation (Cage, 1961: 7–8).
Cage’s 4 33” is still a landmark for exposing our cultural boundaries that enclose
music as a discipline. Here, the brackets are reversed and the world is included in the
work as we inadvertently listen to the everyday. This gesture would have an effect on
many artists since then. One of those artists was Luc Ferrari that, having worked with
Schaeffer, would develop an alternative route to musique concrète, and succumb to
the irresistible world of sonic associations.
Musique concrète was a kind of abstractisation [sic] of sound—we didn’t want to know
its origin, its causality… Whereas here I wanted you to recognize causality—it was traffic
noise, it wasn’t just to make music with but to say: this is traffic noise! [Laughs.] Cage’s
influence, perhaps (Ferrari and Warburton 1998).
Ferrari met Cage at the Darmstadt courses in 1958 and this encounter would bring
about the motivation needed to break with Schaefferian thought. His Presque Rien
nº1 became a landmark in electroacoustic music bringing to the studio what 4 33” had
brought to the concert hall—the mundane and the everyday. But while Cage invited
the public to listen to the world between the notes, Ferrari would compose from
his recordings, and invite listeners to engage with specific references he established
through sound.
Presque Rien No. 1 from 1970 caused a slight rift in the GRM studios through its reference to
the real as autobiographical narrative rather than sonic material, as insistence on the source
as opposed to an abstracted imaginary (LaBelle, 2006: 31).
At the same time Luc Ferrari was exploring sound as referent, composers at
Simon Fraser University were developing research around Murray Schafer’s notion
of the Soundscape. This research lead to a wide variety of concepts, practices
and disciplines. From acoustic ecology, to soundscape composition, soundwalks,
field recording, and so many other forms of phonography, the soundscape is not a
stable concept, as it keeps developing and branching out, but has become a field of
inquiry about the environment and our relation to it through listening. Soundscape
Composition is a widespread practice today that oscillates between a more acous-
matic approach, and a more referential one, where listening is conducted towards
some aspect of the world. The relevance here is the development of compositional
techniques that depend on the listener’s “recognizability of the source material”
160 D. Alvim
and “knowledge of the environmental and psychological context” to “complete the

network of meaning ascribed to the music” (Truax, 1996: 63).
In this line of thought, Barry Truax has recently expanded his notion of Soundscape
Composition towards an idea of “context-based composition”, “where real-world
contexts inform the design and composition of aurally based work at every level, that
is, in the materials, their organisation, and ultimately the work’s placement within
cultural contexts” (Truax, 2017: 1). This seems to establish further the expansion
of a field of play beyond the musical or sonic object, particularly in the field of
electroacoustic compositional practice. Here, musical materials are not notes or sound
objects, but extracts from the concrete world, recognizable and evocative, integrated
in a complex and distributed network of relations that condition and affect listening.
In his proposal, Truax identifies the precedence of Katherine Norman’s Real World
Music and her three modes of listening—referential, reflective and contextual—that
he categorizes respectively as objective, subjective and communication approaches
(ibid.).
If a first strong wave of breaking the autonomy of the work came with the devel-
opment of recording technologies, enabling sounds to refer to real things or events,
sound art and experimental music brought into the sonic domain new approaches that
were also in operation in the visual arts and performance practices. For a long time
excluded from the classical music institutions, there is a wider recognition today of
the contributions of many other musics, multimedia crossings, sound installations and
a great variety of sonic experiments, to the development of a richer sonic culture. This
larger field unveiled different vectors of interaction with real word experience and
everyday life that would stress the detachment of the classical and the New Music
traditions. Sound installations exposed the space and the presence of the listener,
multimedia works crossed between media and disciplines, and experimental music
performances explored non intentionality, the physicality of sound, and focused on
“the time and place in which it occurs”, revealing a “non-fictional music” that would
“speak to our interaction with the world” (Gottschalk, 2016: 4). A music that “does
not suggest ‘other worlds’, but instead strengthens relations with this world” (ibid.).
7 Relations and Concepts
Moving progressively away from dichotomies such as popular and classical music,
or low and high culture, music has been further transformed by digital technolo-
gies, becoming more accessible, more democratic, more diverse. “The more art
music becomes accessible, the more it loses its elite status” (Lehmann, 2020).
Harry Lehmann, in a much discussed book published in German in 2012 (with a
French translation in 2017), argued that the digital revolution has been expanding
the possibilities of music creation within a new paradigm, where composers are not
so much concerned about finding new sounds anymore, but on finding new modes
of relation between music and ideas, resulting in what he called relational music.
Distancing himself from Nicola Bourriaud’s notion of relational aesthetics (Bour-

riaud, 2002), where some kind of relation between aesthetic and social processes
take place, Lehmann’s more “broader” notion points to “the set of relationships that
music weaves with what normally is not part of it: images, actions, words” (Lehmann,
2017: 2724).
Lehmann takes these ideas further pointing to the end of material progress, and
the emergence of a new aesthetics—of musical Gehalt, or content as perceived.
With the digital revolution, and the consequent weakening of institutions, musical
creation becomes more dispersed and democratic. Composers are more free to work
with cheaper, more accessible tools, and conceive new and different programmes for
their music, bypassing many of the constraints imposed by traditional institutions.
Drawing from Foucault’s concept of the dispositif (the device or apparatus),
Lehmann analyses New Music institutions as power forces that determine the bound-
aries of knowledge, a formal manifestation of the protocol mentioned above. Quoting
a much quoted Foucault interview, the dispositif is a “system of relations”,
a thoroughly heterogeneous ensemble consisting of discourses, institutions, architectural
forms, regulatory decisions, laws, administrative measures, scientific statements, philosoph-
ical and moral philanthropic propositions—in short, the said as much as the unsaid (Foucault
1980: 194).
Moreover, dispositifs are also devices of power that shape thinking, feelings,
behaviours and the actions of actors in a social field” (Lehmann, 2017: 78). If
academia, orchestras, concert halls and their etiquettes, are all part of a system of rela-
tions, a dispositif , we can argue that there was already a strong connection between
world and work, because the boundaries of the musical work, or the musical disci-
pline relate to those larger structures of power in play outside the strict musical
field. By containing the content of the work, these institutions both legitimize and
crystallize the work. They give it strength, hold it in place, but hamper any move-
ment of expansion or relation beyond its well-established boundaries. The apparent
autonomy and freedom of absolute music is therefore an illusion, as it is hostage to
the perpetuation of institutionalized discourses. However, “device-oriented analyzes
have emancipatory potential, provided they show not only reality but also historically
formed power relations, the fact that they are constituted and contingent” (ibid.).
Lehmann’s arguments have been very much debated, but have brought a signif-
icant contribution to the discussion about the possible ways of relating music and
ideas, expanding the semantic reach of music. If, he argues, on one hand, after
Cage and Lachenman, material progress has exhausted itself, on the other hand the
digital revolution weakened institutions by transforming the dispositif . This allowed
composers to expand beyond the established boundaries and find new alternatives to
the progress of New Music by creating relations and inserting concepts in musical
discourse.
Concepts, Lehmann argues, have always been present in music, but New Music
institutions strongly resisted their acknowledgment, and the idea of an “authentic
music remains pure instrumental music, and a concept represents to it something
extramusical” (Lehmann, 2017: 2495). However “when, on the other hand, a clearer
162 D. Alvim
deinstitutionalization of contemporary music is achieved, the time for musical

concepts will have come”. His discourse accompanies the practice of composers
that are part of what has recently been called New Conceptualism, where “the focus
on music’s potential to function as a signifier, to evoke additional meaning, and to
convey a particular content is an important aspect for many composers” (Ciciliani,
2017: 30).
We can argue that any musical composition already has a strong conceptual dimen-
sion, for example, in the application and manipulation of musical concepts such as
a note, a chord, a serial tone row, etc. Such abstract elements are conceptual enti-
ties, indeed reductions of a larger sonic field, but internal to the musical field. Thus,
perhaps it is more relevant to discuss, not if concepts are part of the musical field, but
how they can operate both intra and extra, and therefore question and transform its
boundaries. Different manifestations of conceptual music have been much discussed
and criticized (see for example Erwin, 2016 and Iddon, 2016). We can argue that
“all sorts of conceptualism in music rest on the invocation of additional meanings
that certain materials carry” (Ciciliani, 2017: 30), but I believe that what is relevant
is not if the music is conceptual, not if musical material changes from the technical
operations with sounds to clever operations with meanings, but how concepts operate
in favour of a meaningful musical experience. How they contribute to a dispositif
that relates sounds and meanings, regardless of them being intra- or extra-musical,
and how in fact they expand the relations towards social processes. This resonates
with Brian Holmes, who recognizes an “urgent need for an articulation of aesthetics
and thinking… or for what might be called a cognitive creativity” (Holmes, 2006:
413). I’ll come back to the idea of the extra-musical with Holmes, but before that I
want to expand on the notion of the dispositif as a tool for the creative process and
the basis for an articulation with the world.
8 The Artistic Device
Lehmann speaks of Foucault’s dispositif as the power system exercised by the insti-
tutions that conditions the musical production. This is a fundamental and urgent
perspective, if very much resisted by the musical institutions themselves for obvious
reasons. But we can read the dispositif in a wider frame that becomes instrumental
to understand and even undermine crystallized forces. The dispositif also constitutes
the way the musician occupies the stage, the electroacoustic apparatus, the thought
process of composition, concert behavioral norms, etc., and therefore it is a poten-
tial instrument—a device—to analyze, recognize, and deconstruct power within the
creative process.
The device, as Foucault says, is the system of relations between all its heterogeneous
elements. But it is also the singular instance where those relations break down, reorganize
themselves, turn to other purposes (Holmes, 2006: 414).
Brian Holmes, in a much referenced text of 2006, takes Foucault’s dispositif to

this broader field, by analysing not only how it operates within the art world but also
within art works.
[T]he articulation of heterogeneous elements that constitutes the device is used for many
purposes at once; and it’s precisely this multiplicity of purpose that is guided or managed
in accordance with a strategy dictated by a need, by a structural imperative (Holmes, 2006:
413).
The device can be used as an instrument of artistic creation, critical analysis and
perpetual transformation by articulating between elements that lie inside and outside
the work. If used in music creation, it becomes instrumental to a musical practice that
decodes its own boundaries and the models of social operations that condition it. A
device that allows the musical discipline to comprehend the world, while opening not
just to the extramusical, but to the extradisciplinary, a term Brian Holmes develops
from Foucault once more.
What we have is the exact operation of the very device that Foucault describes, the panopticon,
which consists in internalising the disciplinary force, so it no longer weighs upon you in the
outside world because it weighs upon you in your own world. They don’t have to lock the
door anymore, because the bars are in your head. That means they can be displaced, moved,
recombined … This society… in which all sorts of passages from one discipline to the other
are completely possible and in fact carried out all the time, and yet in which the force of the
discipline remains extremely strong (Holmes, 2010).
The extramusical, what is outside the discipline, outside the institutional field
of play, can be understood in terms of what is not supposed to be considered in
listening (think of Cage), and in composing—everyday sounds, images, scientific
data, certain concepts and behavioral codes, etc. I am not arguing that musicians
should play within other disciplines, outside the musical field, rather that we may
conceive a device that operates on a level higher than the walls between the disciplines
and to allow transposition and confrontation as
an attempt to transform the initial discipline, to end its isolation, to open up new possi-
bilities of expression, analysis, cooperation and commitment. This back-and-forth move-
ment, or rather, this transformative spiral, is the operative principle of what I will be calling
extradisciplinary investigations (Holmes, 2007: 2).
An artistic device in music, allows the musical work to open to the extra,
dissolving the question of autonomy. It potentiates a deeper experience of sound
and music through the implication of ideas, concepts, indicating, referring, evoking
and provoking, where meaning is constructed not in the (musical) object, but in its
relations to the world.
The object itself has not become less important. It has merely become less self -important
(Morris, 1995: 17).
164 D. Alvim
9 Expanded Practices
There are many examples today of practices that, in different ways, engage with
elements that could be considered extramusical, and expand the musical field of
play. The reference to Krauss has recently been picked up in the European art musical
domain by Marko Ciciliani, where many forms of expansion have been identified
and explored in a gathering of expanded composers in the 2016 summer course at
Darmstadt (Ciciliani, 2017). There is something absurd in this seemingly overdue
transgression of the boundaries of absolute music in one of the institutions most
responsible for promoting musical autonomy after World War II. But even if it sounds
as if Darmstadt suddenly opened up to experimental music—Cicilliani considers this
a relatively young development (ibid.: 24), this is a strong sign of the institutional
weakening referred above, and an important step towards acknowledging the role of
experimental practices in opening the frame of the institutionalized musical object to
the world. Ciciliani’s expanded field of music is understood as transgression in terms
of aesthetic disciplines, medias and practices (dance, theatre, video, etc.), by artists
to whom “sound alone is no longer sufficient to express their musical ideas” (ibid.).
Focusing on “music as a practice that allows the inclusion of non-sonic elements”,
Ciciliani identifies three criteria that operate this expanse: intertextuality, physicality
and modes of listening/ economy of attention. If this echoes some of the notions
mentioned above, it also resonates with other thesis of sound-art that have been
claiming the relational dimension of sound for a while now (for example Labelle,
2006, and Kim-Cohen, 2009).
Thus, we can identify different standpoints and strategies to expand musical
practice. From multidisciplinary, conceptual, relational, referential, contextual or
expanded, many artists are re-orienting music creation towards finding new modes
of relations with the world, facing “outward and relate to elements of contemporary
culture and society” (Llach, 2018), in strategies that point in the direction of the
design of artistic devices. My interest is not so much in identifying or promoting
expansion per se, but to understand and develop the mechanisms of intertextuality,
interference and transformation between work and world that disturb stable notions
of objects, works and disciplines.
Thus, a deliberate confrontation of the disciplines which may likely already be operative
within yourself, can be something quite interesting because it will open up some realms
of the social unconscious which are maintained strongly by this disciplinary operations
(Holmes, 2010).
In the practice-based research I developed for my PhD (Alvim, 2016), through

a confrontation between music and architectural practice, I arrived at a notion of
musical programme that indicated the dispositif :
Composing can be an exercise of programming by framing, and the margins [of the work,
where the frame lies] are the permeable site that provides the compositional material,
converting context into content, allowing the world to leak into the work (Alvim, 2018:
8).
The musical programme (making the parallel with the architectural programme)
could be a way to frame what the work is about, what it concerns, or indicates, not so
much symbols or fictions, but the site, its materials, a situation, a context, its historic
implications and potentialities. Through the programme, music generates a specific
field of play that may include what might have been extra-musical elements, and
listening becomes an experience that relates, or involves the lived world.
As I argued, “the composer is an architect: not an organiser of form, but a planner
of situations, an instigator of events, designing and orchestrating conditions towards
a relational creativity that is not a reflection of society, but a project of sociality”
(ibid.). The artistic device therefore is an approach that responds to this ambition. It
resolves an inconsistency of the programme, that oscillated between an instrument
of control (imposing an intended message) and an open indication of concern or
context, where listening may wander freely. The device can be an instrument that
articulates different levels of the work’s ontology, establishes open and unpredictable
situations, allowing a constant renewal of connections between concepts, sounds,
listeners and world. “To think about the device as a concept and methodology would
be… to think about the dynamic processes, beyond the work, closed in itself … to
think of its impact on reality and the possibility of transforming it in a very concrete
way” (Rykner 2019: 5). If a programme points, suggests, delimitates, a device opens,
relates, and operates in real-time and in real-world.
My PhD focused on how architectural thought and practice can inform musical
composition. Architectural practice as a model for composition broadened my prac-
tice by articulating it with different notions of materiality, site, drawing, programme
and use, allowing for an expanded compositional field that includes elements previ-
ously excluded from the musical process. Composition needn’t be an inward-looking
solitary activity. It can encompass, like architectural practice, a wider scope of activ-
ities and concerns that, I believe, give the composer a possibility for a more conse-
quential place in society. Moreover, in almost fifteen years of collaborating with
artists from other disciplines, I experimented with work models from different areas
of knowledge ranging from visual and installation art, to performance art, dance and
theatre, film and other experimental forms. This allowed for a continuous practice of
musical creation that dialogues with extramusical elements and nurtured a motivation
to explore further the strategies and methodologies that can articulate music and what
we may call a real-world experience (the concrete, the everyday, the intersubjective,
the situated).
More recently I have been trying to apply these principles through a series of
works that I called Desk Job. They are live performances, where a specific context
or situation is analysed to inform the composition, and integrated in the work to
enhance the listening experience. The title comes from the idea of the traditional
practice of the composer, as that of the architect, that works at a desk—sketching,
planning (programming), projecting an action in the future. The desk embodies an
idea of a solitary work, intellectual, detached from the world. It is where the blank
paper sits, waiting to be filled with lines and little black dots. The composer projects
ideas of sound in a private, creative operation. But here, that projection becomes
166 D. Alvim
performative, and deferred time becomes real time, subverting traditional concert
modes.
Three main works were already developed under this series and all explore compo-
sitional methodologies that involve the experience of the specific situation, creating
a dynamic relation between experienced sound and real world. They consist of a
common device that includes a desk, and a camera that projects on a wall or another
surface what is happening on the desk. That includes a computer and a few controllers,
but also an amplified board (with a couple of contact microphones) where things can
be written, drawn or touched, and sounded. For each iteration of the work, the device
is further developed as a response to the specific situation, to include composi-
tional and performative operations, actions, behaviours. The actions of composing,
drawing, listening and reacting, sounding and improvising, become public, shared in
a presentation setting that is not so much a concert, but an exposition. The processes
that generate the sound are part of the work, affecting the listening through new
possibilities of associations.
The first piece, Da Tradução1 (On Translation), was presented at an art gallery
in Lisbon in 2016. It took its name from an essay by Paul Ricouer and proposed a
translation of the gesture of writing and drawing into sound. I selected a few graphic
and verbal scores from a few composers from the 60 s and 70 s, and instead of
interpreting them, I played these scores by drawing them on the amplified board.
The sound of the pen that reconstituted these scores was not their intended output,
but became a different musical material that negotiated with them. The perception
of these sounds was bound with the content of the scores creating new readings,
expectations, contradictions.
The second piece, 1/5002 (2017) is a performance / installation that established
a relationship with the city of Lisbon sustained by a reduction in scale. Based on a
network that connected various points of the city through sound, the piece proposed a
listening situation in which the sound spatialization refers to the broad geographical
context of the city. Sounds live-streamed from several remote and distant places,
converged in a space that represented the city on a 1/500 scale (the loudspeakers were
positioned in the relative locations). These sounds were processed using parameters
developed on a map, set on a table (the desk) and projected on a wall. The installation
was manipulated at various times, accumulating processes that related the sound to
the distances between the locations.
Finally, Material Music3 was presented at the CNEAI (in Pantin, outside Paris)
that same year, and was created from an installation by the artist Ramiro Guerreiro
(Portable Structures for Potential Gatherings), with which it interacted. The instal-
lation was the basis for a sound composition that played with the materials used
by the artist. Material Music emphasized the tactile, haptic dimension of sound,
using physical materials as musical materials. The device engaged the audience in
1 http://www.diogoalvim.com/portfolio/trabalho-de-mesa/
2 http://www.diogoalvim.com/portfolio/1500/
3 http://www.diogoalvim.com/portfolio/material-music/
an interior space of play framed by the installation structure that was sounded by the
performance.
In these works, sounds become charged with relational potential, not in a symbolic
subjective way, but concrete, experiential. The artistic device of the Desk Job, tried to
open a creative arena where the framed situation provides the materials and suggests
the forms and gestures for musical creation. The device is mutable and adapts to
each specific situation while at the same time configuring the work in its openness
and permeability.
The device presents itself as a way of fragmentation, contamination and dissemination of
meaning; it shuffles the boundaries and disturbs representation allowing these to open to the
confusing real that does not adapt well to any type of imposed scores (Rykner 2019: 45).
10 Conclusion
In this text I tried to map different movements of expansion in musical works

reflecting on the different processes that connect them to the real, lived world. My
goal is not to argue for the same ambition as the avant-garde that “intends the abolition
of the autonomous art by which it means that art is to be integrated into the praxis of
life” (Bürger, 1984: 54), for it would either dissolve art in the world, or require a fully
radical revolution of life itself. And although that may sound appealing, bourgeois
art has demonstrated many times how it falls short of achieving that goal, and ends
up feeding a system of consumer aesthetics that betrays any revolutionary project.
Instead, I want to investigate mechanisms of articulation between musical creation
and world, that may expand the semantic reach of a work, setting in motion transfor-
mative operations that allow it to play on a more meaningful field, and find a more
consequent place in the world.
What emerges from this kind of practice is a new definition of art as a mobile laboratory
and experimental theatre for the investigation and instigation of social and cultural change
(Holmes, 2006: 412).
In Desk Job, the blank page on the composer’s desk is not a neutral void. It already
reflects the world, while providing a point of tangency, a surface of agency between
extramusical ideas and performance, between sounds and the world. The sounds that
emanate from the desk work carry a content that condition the listening of the work
towards the outside, where it claims its field.
It is the device that creates the interface between the work and the world, between us and the
work, and in the end, between us and the world (it allows the work to open to the complexity
of the world) (Rykner 2019: 45).
The artistic device as a method for musical creation, is a catalyst for a process
of cognitive creativity, and might facilitate a potential space for alternative narra-
tives, a wider programme that effectively constructs meaningful experiences, with
a transformative potential. Not representational, as the device “allows to leave the
exclusively symbolic level” (Rykner 2019: 40), but present, concrete. By letting the
real-world into the work, the work might find a better place in the real-world.
168 D. Alvim
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Sound Intensity and Loudness of Musical
Tones
Carlos dos Santos-Luiz
Abstract Psychoacoustics, as an integral part of neuroscience, is the science that

studies the correlation between acoustic stimuli and perceived sensation. In neuro-
science, importance is given to the higher functions that occur in the brain, namely in
the cerebral cortex. Among the subjective qualities that allow us to describe musical
sound, we find pitch, loudness and timbre. Loudness variations are important in
musical performance, making it more exciting. Musical dynamics is prescribed in
the score through dynamic markings (from pp to ff ). The present chapter aims to
analyse the relationship between loudness and certain physical parameters, as well
as other factors, which can influence loudness perception. Loudness depends mainly
on sound intensity (in dB SPL) and corresponds to the perceptual correlate of this
physical parameter. However, it also depends on other variables such as frequency,
spectrum/spectral bandwidth, duration, context (e.g., room acoustics), and personal
factors (e.g., hearing loss). Transformation of the physical sound intensity sensation
into loudness perception will only be completed in the auditory cortex.
1 Introduction
Sound, being part of our daily lives, allows us to live in a very diverse sound envi-
ronment (Howard & Angus, 2017; Rossing et al., 2002). Sounds can be produced by
humans, animals, machines and natural causes. Generally, sounds associated with
music and speech are desirable, while others, such as noise, are not (Rossing et al.,
2002). However, in certain situations, noise can be considered a musical sound.
Within the scope of the artistic movement called Futurism, Russolo declared a series
of ideas in the manifesto L’arte dei rumori (1913). By proposing the use of noise
from machines and factories as a musical sound, he built the “intonarumori” machines
(noise-intoners) (Griffiths, 1994; Waterhouse, 1980). Composers influenced by futur-
istic ideas were, for example, Honegger, with the orchestral work Pacific 231 (1923),
C. dos Santos-Luiz (B)

School of Education At Coimbra Polytechnic, Portugal & CIPEM/INET-md, Porto, Portugal
e-mail: cluis@esec.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_9
170 C. dos Santos-Luiz
and Varèse (Griffiths, 1994). The movement led to concrete music and electronic
music (Waterhouse, 1980).
In the study of a sound communication chain, there is a set of systems that physi-
cists identify as follows: source, medium and receptor (Roederer, 2008). In the case
of a musical performance in a concert hall, these systems correspond to the produc-
tion of sound/music by the performer and their instrument, the propagation of sound
through the air of the concert hall, and the listener, who listens to the music (Campbell
& Greated, 2001; Roederer, 2008). When we refer to sound, it can have a physical or
psychophysical significance. The first refers to the sound source and the propagation
of the sound, and the second to its hearing/sensation (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015;
Henrique, 2014; Yost, 2006). Therefore, the word sound can describe a wave motion
in elastic media such as air or other, referring to a stimulus. It can also describe
the perception of sound, as a result of excitation of the auditory system (Everest &
Pohlmann, 2015).
As for the first stage of the musical communication chain, let us start by mentioning
that among the most common sound sources we find vibrating bodies. Musical instru-
ments have vibratory motion as a sound generator. We refer, for example, to the string
of string instruments, the air column of wind instruments or the membrane of some
percussion instruments (Backus, 1977; Campbell & Greated, 2001; Gough, 2014;
Henrique, 2014; Rossing et al., 2002).
The next stage of the communication chain focuses on the propagation of sound
operated by the medium. Usually, air is the medium we use to listen (Henrique, 2014;
Roederer, 2008). When a sound source vibrates (e.g., plucking the string), a train of
pulses is created that will travel along the medium through the alternation of compres-
sions and rarefactions of the air molecules, which is called the sound wave (Backus,
1977; Campbell & Greated, 2001; Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Henrique, 2014).
Air compressions and rarefactions correspond to pressure fluctuations in relation to
atmospheric pressure and this range of pressure variation is called sound pressure
(Backus, 1977; Henrique, 2014). That is to say, sound waves are considered pressure
waves (Henrique, 2014).
The last stage of the communication chain is associated with the recep-
tion/perception of sound (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Roederer, 2008). As the sound,
and their physical parameters, are processed in the auditory periphery and in the
central auditory nervous system, which includes the auditory cortex (Bear et al.,
2008; Warren, 2008; Yost, 2006), psychoacoustics and neuroscience assume special
relevance. Psychoacoustics or psychological acoustics allow us to explain how we
perceive sound (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Howard & Angus, 2017; Rasch & Plomp,
1999; Roederer, 2008; Ziemer, 2020), whereas neuroscience studies “the functions
of the neural system linking the information received from environment and body
with the full cognitive, emotional, and behavioral output. (…) The main system under
study is, obviously, the brain” (Roederer, 2008, p. 12).
Musical tone can be described by three subjective qualities, i.e., pitch, loudness
and timbre, which establish dependency with physical quantities of sound (Heller,
2013; Roederer, 2008; Rossing et al., 2002). The aim of this chapter is to analyse
the relationship between loudness and the physical parameters of sound pressure,
Sound Intensity and Loudness of Musical Tones 171
frequency and spectrum, and also the hearing status (hearing loss), given the relevance
of these factors in the perceived loudness of the musical tones. The relationship
between physical sound intensity, perceived loudness, and neural activity in the
auditory cortex and subcortical auditory regions will also be reported. This study
will be based on physical acoustic, psychoacoustic, neuroscience, and musicology.
2 Auditory Sensitivity
2.1 Area of Audibility
In the context of auditory perception, let us start by mentioning the sensitivity of the
human auditory system in relation to frequency and intensity.
Among the loudest audible sounds that can induce pain to the ear and the softest
sounds that we can hear, there is an intensity ratio of about 1012 . The intensity
range, on the decibel scale, is about 120 dB (0 a 120 dB) (Oxenham, 2013; Rossing
et al., 2002). In the range of audible frequencies, we have a frequency ratio of
approximately 103 between the lowest and highest frequencies, a frequency range
of 20 Hz–20 kHz. In total, the range is between nine and ten octaves (Everest &
Pohlmann, 2015; Rossing et al., 2002).
From the combination of frequency and intensity values of pure tones, two curves
arise, the threshold of hearing and the threshold of pain, which delimit the extremes of
our hearing area (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Ziemer, 2020).
The threshold of hearing curve represents the minimum just audible intensity over
the frequency range, and the threshold of pain curve, at the other extreme, represents
the maximum intensity supported by the ear, also over the frequency range (Everest
& Pohlmann, 2015; Henrique, 2014; Roederer, 2008; Yost, 2006). The most sensitive
frequency range is between 2 Hz and 5 kHz, and below and above this range there
are areas of less auditory sensitivity, becoming more accentuated below 40 Hz as
well as above 10 kHz (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Ziemer, 2020). Beyond the limits of
audible sounds (<20 Hz and >20 kHz), there are infrasounds and ultrasounds, both
with frequencies not perceived by humans (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Henrique,
2014; Rossing et al., 2002).
Both speech and music use only part of the hearing area. In speech, the intensity
range is about 42 dB and the frequency range is between 170 Hz and 4 kHz, approx-
imately (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Henrique, 2014). In speech we do not have
sounds that are too soft or loud in intensity, nor extremely low or high frequency
sounds (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015). The area of audibility of music is greater than
that of speech. Regarding music, the intensity range is around 75 dB and the frequency
range is between 50 Hz and 10 kHz,1 roughly (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Fastl &
Zwicker, 2007; Henrique, 2014).
2.2 Just-Noticeable Difference in Intensity
Psychophysics allows us to determine the minimum value of change of a physical

parameter (the stimulus) that causes a noticeable variation in the sensation of it (Just
Noticeable Difference—JND or Difference Limen—DL), as in the case of intensity
and frequency (Roederer, 2008; Rossing et al., 2002; Yost, 2006). We can judge
two stimuli as being equal if the difference between them is smaller than the JND
(Rossing et al., 2002).
In an analysis of the intensity discrimination of various sounds, the just noticeable
change in amplitude was found to depend on the signal (pure tone or broadband
noise), as well as on its frequency and amplitude (Howard & Angus, 2017). Regarding
broadband noise, the sensitivity of the auditory system has a value of 0.5 to 1 dB, for
sound levels of about 20 to 100 dB (Howard & Angus, 2017; Yost, 2006). To find
the JND, Weber’s law is used, which, based on the Weber fraction (S/S), states
that the minimum perceptible difference related to intensity (I ) is proportional to
intensity (I). This implies that I /I = constant (Oxenham, 2013; Yost, 2006). As
for pure tones, the results are different and depend a lot on amplitude and frequency.
Discrimination improves as the sound level rises (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Howard
& Angus, 2017; Yost, 2006). Therefore, Yost (2006) reports that the Weber fraction
does not apply strictly to pure tones. In conclusion, “it seems that amplitude- or
level-processing in hearing is based on an element, the size of which is about 1 dB”
(Fastl & Zwicker, 2007, p. 175). In everyday life, contrary to what happens in the
laboratory, it is not easy to perceive a 1 dB change in sound level (Fischetti, 2003;
Moore, 2014). Moore (2014) indicates 3 dB as easily perceived, which is equivalent
to doubling or dividing the intensity by two.
3 Relationship Between Loudness and Physical Parameters
Loudness “is an auditory measure of perception and can essentially be defined as the
perceived intensity of a sound” (Schmidt et al., 2020, p. 1). In musical performance,
this generally refers to the levels of dynamic markings (pp, p, mp, mf , f and ff )
(Campbell & Greated, 2001; Oxenham, 2013; Patterson, 1974), as well as the balance
that must exist between musicians in a musical ensemble (e.g., choir and orchestra)
(Howard & Angus, 2017).
1 Above 10 kHz, most musical instruments produce little sound, and what is produced in this region
is due to noises resulting from the scraping of the bow on the strings, pressing the keys on keyboard
instruments, among others (Backus, 1977).
Loudness correlates mainly with physical sound pressure (or physical sound inten-
sity) (Oxenham, 2013; Rossing et al., 2002; Schneider, 2018a). As a subjective char-
acteristic of sound, loudness depends on other physical parameters in addition to
sound intensity. Therefore, its dependence is associated with frequency and spec-
trum/spectral bandwidth (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Hall et al., 2001; Howard & Angus,
2017; Röhl et al., 2011; Rossing et al., 2002), and duration (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007;
Oxenham, 2013; Röhl et al., 2011; Rossing et al., 2002). Other factors that can
influence the loudness judgment are the context in which the sound is found (e.g.,
other tones simultaneously, and room acoustics) (Howard & Angus, 2017; Meyer,
2009; Oxenham, 2013; Schmidt et al., 2020; Schneider, 2018b; von Ruschkowski,
2013; Winckel, 1962), and personal factors (hearing status and personality traits)
(Uppenkamp & Röhl, 2014).
3.1 Loudness and Sound Pressure
Sound pressure is related to the sound power,2 which is radiated by the source, and
to the sound intensity3 (Rossing et al., 2002).
The sound intensity range of the human auditory system that we mentioned above
is quite large, with the strongest sound that can induce pain being about 1 billion
times louder than the weakest sound capable of being audible (Oxenham, 2013;
Rossing et al., 2002). Because of this, it is more practical to use a logarithmic scale4
− the decibel scale (dB)—to describe the sound level, between approximately 0 and
120 dB (Henrique, 2014; Oxenham, 2013; Roederer, 2008; Ziemer, 2020). Decibel
values are close to the way the loudness of sounds is heard (Everest & Pohlmann,
2015). It is within the scope of the decibel scale that we find the dynamic markings
used by musicians, between pianissimo and fortissimo (Campbell & Greated, 2001).
Since our ears are sensitive to pressure variations, it is more convenient to use
pressure, rather than intensity, when measuring the amplitude of a sound (Henrique,
2014; Howard & Angus, 2017). This parameter is called sound pressure and corre-
sponds to the rms5 pressure at a given point in a sound wave (Backus, 1977; Howard
& Angus, 2017). As the variations in air pressure are extremely small in relation to
atmospheric pressure, the minimum amplitude of sound pressure is approximately
2 × 10−5 N/m2 or Pa (20 µPa) and corresponds to the threshold of hearing at 1 kHz;
the pressure amplitude about 1 million times greater than the threshold of hearing is
2 Sound power (or acoustic) is the sound energy radiated per unit of time by a sound source (e.g.
musical instrument) (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Henrique, 2014).
3 Sound intensity (or acoustic) is the power per unit area carried by a sound wave in a certain
direction (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Howard & Angus, 2017; Rossing et al., 2002).
4 One of the reasons for using logarithmic scales is associated with the evidence that our ear responds
(auditory perception) in a logarithmic and not linear way (Henrique, 2014; Ziemer, 2020).
5 The rms (root mean square) sound pressure corresponds to a 1/√2(= 0.707) ×
(peak sound pressure) (Backus, 1977).

about 20 Pa, and corresponds to the threshold of pain (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015;
Henrique, 2014; Howard & Angus, 2017; Rossing et al., 2002).
Knowing that the sound intensity is proportional to the square of the sound pressure
(Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Howard & Angus, 2017; Rossing et al., 2002), we can
describe the latter in terms of sound pressure level (SPL or L p ) (Roederer, 2008). The
SPL is defined by the expression S P L = 20 log( p/ p0 ), whose acoustic reference
pressure value is p0 = 2 × 10−5 Pa. There is a similar expression for the sound
intensity level (SIL or L I ), i.e., S I L = 10 log(I /I0 )6 , whose reference intensity
value is I0 = 10−12 W/m2 (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Howard & Angus, 2017;
Roederer, 2008; Rossing et al., 2002). The SPL and SIL values are approximately
equal (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Howard & Angus, 2017; Roederer, 2008) when
referring to a progressive wave, without reflection (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Howard &
Angus, 2017). Therefore, they are simply called sound level7 (Everest & Pohlmann,
2015; Rossing et al., 2002). As examples of sound levels, Henrique (2014) reports
the following cases: recording studio (30 dB); library (40 dB); normal conversation
(60 dB); urban traffic (70 dB); symphony orchestra in tutti (100 dB); and rock concert
with amplification (110/120 dB). Sound levels are measured using a sound-level
meter (Henrique, 2014; Rossing et al., 2002). We can find 0 dB in an anechoic
chamber (Gough, 2014).
In certain contexts, it is interesting to notice the sound level resulting from the
combination of several sound sources. In many situations, the existence of several
sources is due to an ensemble of musical instruments or their sound reflections in the
room (Howard & Angus, 2017). In the case of two or more different musical instru-
ments, the waveforms produced are different at different frequencies. The sources
are not coherent.8 Even if the instruments play in unison, we are in the situation of a
combination (or sum) of incoherent sound sources, because the differences continue
to appear (Fischetti, 2003; Howard & Angus, 2017). If we add two incoherent sound
sources, for example, each with 80 dB, we will have a total of 83 dB (Rossing et al.,
2002). Thus, whenever we double the number of sources at the same level (this
corresponds to doubling the intensity of a source), the sound level increases by 3 dB
(Backus, 1977; Fischetti, 2003). That is, we have the same 3 dB increase when we
have two violins instead of one or 200 instead of 100 (Fischetti, 2003). When we
combine sound sources of equal sound level, as we cannot add the sound levels, we
6 As the sound intensity corresponds to the power per unit area, it relates to the sound power
expressed in decibels, i.e., the sound power level (SWL or LW) (Howard & Angus, 2017). The
SWL is defined as the sound power radiated by a source in all directions, whose expression is
SW L = 10 log(w/w0 ) and the reference power value is W0 = 10−12 (Henrique, 2014; Howard
& Angus, 2017). The SWL should not be confused with the SIL, since the first refers to the sound
source and the second to the sound at a given point (Rossing et al., 2002).
7 In more accurate measurements, a distinction will have to be made between the two types of levels
(e.g. in an auditorium, due to reflections) (Backus, 1977; Rossing et al., 2002).

8 Incoherent sources are independent, uncorrelated, and without a constant phase relationship.
Coherent sources, with a constant phase relationship, can lead to destructive or constructive inter-
ference. Incoherent sources correspond to the more general case (Breazeale & McPherson, 2014;
Fischetti, 2003; Howard & Angus, 2017).
first convert the dB to W/m2 , then we add the intensities, and finally, convert the
result to dB (Backus, 1977; Rossing et al., 2002). For example, if we have a violin
playing at 50 dB, the sound level of three violins playing simultaneously at the same
level is 54.8 dB (Rossing et al., 2002). In another case, ten sound sources of the same
level cause an increase of 10 dB. If the sound levels are different, we can use the
same type of calculation. When two singers sing simultaneously, at 69 and 71 dB,
the sound level is 73.1 dB (Howard & Angus, 2017).
3.1.1 Musical Dynamics
In musical performance, it is possible to print expressivity through loudness vari-

ations. Composers use signs in the scores in order to give musicians relative (not
absolute) indications of loudness (Kosta et al., 2018; Meyer, 2009; Rossing et al.,
2002). The loudness signals of musical sounds are indicated by means of dynamic
markings, whose series can, in general, range from pp (pianissimo—very quiet) to
ff (fortissimo—very loud) (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Howard & Angus, 2017;
Oxenham, 2013; Patterson, 1974). This series can vary and be extended from ppp
(pianississimo—extremely quiet) to fff (fortississimo—extremely loud) (Campbell &
Greated, 2001; von Ruschkowski, 2013) or more, considering the periods of music
history (Thiemel, 2001). The range of sound level used in musical practice and
performance is called dynamic range (Rossing et al., 2002).
Dynamics began to be used explicitly as a means of musical expression from
approximately 1600. However, in the Baroque period, dynamic markings occurred
only sporadically. In the middle of the eighteenth century, with the symphony and
the sonata, the dynamics came up with a different concept. In the Classical style, this
is associated with the characteristic climax, such as the dynamic contrasts in C.P.E.
Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. In the nineteenth century, dynamic markings
with extreme values appeared, with composers having to give more indications in
their scores. Berlioz will have been the first composer to use ffff . As an example of
works, we can refer to Requiem Mass, by Verdi (ppppp appears for the first time)
(Thiemel, 2001), and Symphony No. 6, Pathétique, by Tchaikovsky (ffff , in a tutti
in 3rd movement, and pppppp, in a bassoon solo in the 1st movement). This wider
dynamic range will have contributed to the orchestra’s growth in the Romantic period
(Campbell & Greated, 2001). Additionally, it was in the middle of the nineteenth
century that a major reform took place in relation to the construction of musical
instruments, i.e., the strings were rebuilt, some woods were redesigned with the
Boehm system, and the trumpets and horns started to have valves. In general, instru-
ments acquired a greater volume of sound (Westrup & Zaslaw, 1980). Regarding the
twentieth century, “dynamics came to be seen as one of the fundamental parame-
ters of composition which function interdependently to create musical meaning and
structure” (Thiemel, 2001, para. 1). It should be noted, however, that only in the
works of each composer, or in certain periods of history, should the dynamic signs
be considered identical (Thiemel, 2001).
Despite our ability to infer sound level differences between two consecutive
sounds (JND), we are less able to classify sound levels (Oxenham, 2013). Camp-
bell and Greated (2001) drew attention to the possibility of disagreement between
musicians when trying to associate, for a pure sound of 1 kHz, a dynamic marking at
different intensities. This possibility justifies the different correspondences that we
find between dynamic markings and sound intensity levels (Campbell & Greated,
2001; Henrique, 2014). As an example of scale of musical dynamic levels, we report
some correlations presented by Campbell and Greated (2001), because it comprises a
wide series of dynamic markings (from ppp to fff ), which is as follows: ppp (30 dB);
pp (40 dB); mp (60 dB); mf (70 dB); ff (90 dB); and fff (100 dB). One step up or
down on the scale of musical dynamic levels corresponds to about 10 dB. Therefore,
it should be noted that the numbers now indicated should be taken as illustrative and
not as exact (Backus, 1977). Rasch and Plomp (1999) state that it is not possible
to have the same degree of precision when judging musical loudness, in relation to
the judgments we make with pitch. The physical parameter of sound intensity is not
so easily controlled, since there may be variations in certain aspects (e.g., in sound
production, and in the fixed and variable acoustic conditions of a room). That is,
“in all the stages on the road from sound production to sound perception, sound
pressure level is liable to be altered whereas frequency is not” (p. 101). Winckel
(1962), in a study on the acoustic quality of concert halls, found that the dynamic
range of orchestral music was roughly between 45 and 95 dB. The lower and upper
limits of the dynamic range depend on the characteristics of the room. The study
was conducted during a tour with the Cleveland Orchestra, for 15 rooms, and the
musical repertoire was often the same, with works from the Classical, Romantic and
twentieth century periods.
3.1.2 Hearing Problems in Musicians
Although the range of audible frequencies is generally between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, we

can find considerable differences between people (Howard & Angus, 2017; Rossing
et al., 2002). Hearing sensitivity in early childhood can reach up to 20 kHz but,
throughout life, this upper limit gradually decreases. The loss of sensitivity to the
higher frequencies with age is called presbycusis (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Howard
& Angus, 2017).
Other factors can induce hearing loss, such as exposure to very high sound levels,
particularly in professional activities. Among various professions, musicians (Couth
et al., 2020; Di Stadio, 2017; Di Stadio et al., 2018; Emmerich et al., 2008; Jansen
et al., 2009; Lie et al., 2016; Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska et al., 2011) and music instruc-
tors (Crawford et al., 2021) may be subject to noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
Hearing loss, among other consequences, can affect musicians’ performance nega-
tively (Couth et al., 2020; Sataloff, 1991), as well as being detrimental to the career
of music instructors (Crawford et al., 2021).
The systematic review by Lie et al. (2016) on occupational noise exposure and
hearing in working life, concluded that rock/jazz musicians have a more pronounced
degree of hearing loss than classical musicians. In line with these results, the literature
review by Di Stadio (2017) and the systematic review by Di Stadio et al. (2018),
focusing specifically on the hearing problems of professional musicians, report that
a hearing loss prevails in pop/rock musicians compared to classical musicians.
Referring to the hearing loss in musicians in symphony orchestras, the study by
Jansen et al. (2009) indicates that although most musicians have normal hearing,
their audiograms have notches at a frequency of 6 kHz, which is associated with
NIHL. Moreover, hearing loss is greater than expected for age. In the same context,
the study by Emmerich et al. (2008) shows a hearing loss of 15 dB or even higher,
with permanent hearing threshold shifts, in a considerable percentage of musicians.
The results of Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska et al. (2013) are in line with those of Jansen
et al. (2009) and Emmerich et al. (2008). In the professional context of musicians
from different musical genres (pop/rock music and classical music), Di Stadio et al.
(2018) report that hearing loss had a greater impact on the high frequencies of 3, 4,
and 6 kHz. In addition, pop/rock musicians showed a mainly symmetric hearing loss
while classical musicians’ hearing loss was predominantly asymmetric.
The studies by Lie et al. (2016) and Di Stadio et al. (2018) also report other types of
hearing problems in musicians. Hearing complaints are tinnitus9 (Couth et al., 2020;
Di Stadio, 2017; Di Stadio et al., 2018; Emmerich et al., 2008; Jansen et al., 2009),
hyperacusis (Couth et al., 2020; Di Stadio, 2017; Di Stadio et al., 2018; Jansen et al.,
2009) and diplacusis (Di Stadio, 2017; Di Stadio et al., 2018; Jansen et al., 2009).
With regard to the manifestation of these hearing problems in professional pop/rock
and classical musicians, tinnitus is distributed in a very similar way between the two
groups, and diplacusis manifests itself more in classical musicians (Di Stadio et al.,
2018).
Considering the type of musical instrument, and in a decreasing order of number
of cases, hearing loss was found in professional string instrument musicians (instru-
ments of the violin family), percussion instruments, brass instruments, double bass,10
electric guitar, piano, and flute (Di Stadio et al., 2018). The study by Pawlaczyk-
Łuszczyńska et al. (2011) reports that the instruments representing the highest risk
of inducing hearing loss (above 20%) to professional orchestral musicians are brass
instruments (horn, trumpet and tuba) and percussion. In musicians from three German
orchestras, Emmerich et al. (2008) indicate a greater hearing loss in string and brass
players. Among the violinists of one of the orchestras, greater hearing loss was found
in the left ear, in the frequency of 4 kHz, in the group of musicians aged between 40
and 49 years old. For music instructors, those associated with brass instruments and
conducting are at risk for NIHL (Crawford et al., 2021).
9 Tinnitus is a disorder in which a person hears ringing in the absence of a physical sound source
(Yost, 2006).
10 Here, the double bass is placed separately from the violin family, because it is not strictly
considered as the bass member of that family (Campbell & Greated, 2001).
3.2 Loudness Level: Phons
Normally, sounds with high sound levels also sound louder. However, this does not
always happen (Rossing et al., 2002), because the loudness of a sound depends a
lot on the frequency (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Oxenham, 2013; Rossing et al.,
2002). Tones of different frequency, but with the same SPL, generally sound with
different loudness. The SPL is not a measure of loudness that makes it possible to
conveniently compare tones of different frequencies. Therefore, the loudness level
magnitude is introduced (Roederer, 2008).
Fletcher and Munson (1933) determined the equal-loudness level contours for
pure sounds. The contours reflect the sensitivity of the ear according to the resonance
effects of the outer ear (external auditory channel), with the first resonance frequency
about 3.5 kHz (Heller, 2013; Howard & Angus, 2017; Roederer, 2008; Rossing et al.,
2002), and the second resonance frequency about 13 kHz (Howard & Angus, 2017;
Rossing et al., 2002). The contours also show the insensitivity of the ear to sounds
of low frequency, especially at low sound levels (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Heller,
2013; Roederer, 2008; Rossing et al., 2002).
The equal-loudness level contours are recommended by the International Stan-
dards Organization (ISO, 2003) and are identical to those of Fletcher and Munson
(Rossing et al., 2002). The loudness level unit is the phon (Everest & Pohlmann,
2015; Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Rossing et al., 2002; Yost, 2006), and the “phon value
of a sound is the dB SPL value of a 1-kHz tone that is judged to have the same loud-
ness as the sound” (Oxenham, 2013, p. 6). The phons scale has a range of 0 to 120
phons, approximately. The basic principle is that all sounds (different frequencies)
on the same contour provide the same loudness (Henrique, 2014). For example, two
tones, 1 kHz and 20 Hz, sound equally loud at 30 phons, if they have 30 and 88 dB,
respectively (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015).
Although the phon is an arbitrary unit, the equal-loudness level contours have
practical application (Oxenham, 2013; Rossing et al., 2002). Because loudness varies
with frequency, the phons scale allows us to better understand the correspondences
between dynamic markings and sound intensity levels in the sequence reported above.
Thus, we include loudness levels in that sequence. According to Campbell and
Greated (2001), the correspondences are: ppp (30 dB; 30 phons); pp (40 dB; 40
phons); mp (60 dB; 60 phons); mf (70 dB; 70 phons); ff (90 dB; 90 phons); and fff
(100 dB; 100 phons). For example, if a pure tone of 1 kHz with 60 dB has a loudness
approximate to the dynamic sign mp, a pure tone of any frequency (pitch) with a
loudness level of 60 phons will also correspond to mp.
There are other situations in which knowledge of perceived loudness is impor-
tant (Oxenham, 2013). For this, the sound level meter is used, which measures the
SPL with the weighted frequency, giving us an approximate result. The purpose of
weighting is to have a frequency response identical to that of the ear, amplifying some
frequencies and attenuating others (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Howard & Angus,
2017). It should also be noted that complex sounds (like musical tones) are made
up of various components of pure tones (Campbell & Greated, 2001). Therefore,
the sound level meter usually has three frequency weighting networks (dB-A, dB-B,
and dB-C). The dB-A weighting is based on the weak sensitivity of the ear at low
frequencies of low SPL, whose response is equivalent to the contour of 40 phons.
The dB-C weighting, for very intense sounds, allows an almost constant amplifi-
cation (Henrique, 2014; Rossing et al., 2002). Sound level measurements normally
use dB-A weighting (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Howard & Angus, 2017; Rossing
et al., 2002), specifically in music concerts (Oxenham, 2013; Rossing et al., 2002)
and in ambient noise assessment (Henrique, 2014; Rossing et al., 2002; Yost, 2006).
Despite this measurement, the dB-C weighting should also be measured, because it
emphasizes sounds of low frequency (Rossing et al., 2002).
Another aspect that we can associate with equal-loudness level contours is the
quality of reproduced music. As the ear is less sensitive to sounds of low frequency at
low sound levels, reproduced music requires volume control/loudness compensation,
because the frequency response will be different if the music is heard at low or high
levels. At high frequencies there are also deviations, but they are not so noticeable
(Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Fierro et al., 2019). Without loudness compensation,
the frequencies would seem unbalanced and the music with a different timbre (Fierro
et al., 2019; Howard & Angus, 2017). Many of the loudness controls, however, do not
have satisfactory solutions (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Howard & Angus, 2017).
Therefore, knowing that several aspects can affect the volume control configuration,
from loudspeakers, power amplifiers and even the acoustic conditions of the room,
“the system must be calibrated and the loudness control must adaptively vary the
frequency response relative to level at the listener” (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015,
p. 48).
3.2.1 Loudness Scale: Sone
The loudness level is still considered a physical parameter (Everest & Pohlmann,
2015; Roederer, 2008), and is positioned “between sensation and physical values”
(Fastl & Zwicker, 2007, p. 203). Although the phon unit is useful, it does not reflect
our perception of loudness (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Roederer, 2008). The subjec-
tive loudness of a tone is not proportional to its loudness level (in phons). For example,
a tone that has a loudness level of 80 phons does not sound twice as much as a tone
of 40 phons (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Moore, 2014).
After several studies, it was agreed that loudness doubles when the SPL increases
10 dB (Stevens, 1955). In practice, “ten instruments playing a given note at the same
LL are judged to sound only twice as loud as one of the instruments playing alone!”
(Roederer, 2008, p. 99). The unit of subjective loudness is the sone (loudness scale of
sones). A sone is the loudness (not loudness level) of a 1 kHz tone at 40 dB (loudness
level of 40 phons) (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Stevens, 1936, 1955). Approximately,
and for the 1 kHz tone, 2 sones (50 dB or 50 phons) sound twice as loud than 1 sone
(40 dB or 40 phons), 4 sones (60 dB or 60 phons) sound twice as much as 2 sones,
8 sones (70 dB or 70 phons) sound twice as much as 4 sones, and so on (Campbell
& Greated, 2001; Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Oxenham, 2013; Schneider, 2018a).
Campbell and Greated (2001) concluded that, “at least for isolated pure tones, the
phon scale of loudness level is more directly related to musical practice than the sone
scale” (p. 117).
3.3 Loudness of Complex Tones
After observing the dependence of loudness as a function of sound pressure and

frequency, we will address its relationship with the sound spectrum.
Regarding real sounds, which consist of several frequency components, the
perception of loudness will depend on whether the components are within one
or several critical bands (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Everest & Pohlmann, 2015;
Howard & Angus, 2017). The critical band11 is part of a psychoacoustic principle
underlying the perception of music in terms of the subjective qualities of pitch, loud-
ness and timbre (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Howard & Angus, 2017; Röhl et al., 2011;
Rossing et al., 2002).
Knowing that loudness increases as bandwidth also increases, broadband sounds
(e.g., jet aircraft) sound louder than narrowband noise or pure tones of equal SPL
(Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Heller, 2013; Rossing et al., 2002; Zwicker et al., 1957). In
relation to complex tones of musical instruments, Schneider (2018b) refers to three
loud sounds (of cello, bell, and crash cymbal) as being broadband signals.
Through musical tones (notes A5 and F1), Campbell and Greated (2001) exem-
plify how loudness can be estimated. Considering the note A5 (880 Hz) only with
the first two harmonics (880 and 1760 Hz) of equal intensity of 60 dB (loudness
of 4 sones each), the total loudness would be 8 sones (loudness level of 70 phons).
Each component is in a different critical band. As the components are 880 Hz apart,
in this frequency range the difference corresponds to about four times the critical
bandwidth. It is also assumed that masking is insignificant between harmonics at this
intensity level. Now, we consider the note F1 (43.651 Hz) with only harmonics 4 and
5 (about 175 and 218 Hz, respectively) of equal intensity (60 dB, a loudness level
of 60 phons) and both in the same critical band. In this case, we can add the indi-
vidual intensities (or double the intensity of one of the components), corresponding
to an increase of 3 dB, i.e., to a total intensity level of 63 dB (loudness level of 63
phons). In the cochlea, and in this second case, all energy will be converted into nerve
11 Each frequency component of a complex sound gives rise to a wave that travels along the basilar
membrane (BM), causing a displacement (maximum amplitude) at a particular place, depending
on the frequency itself. This place covers a range of frequencies that are above and below the
stimulus frequency, a range called critical band (Backus, 1977; Howard & Angus, 2017). The
range of audible frequencies covers around 24 critical bands and the region of each one on the
BM is about 1.3 mm long (Scharf, 1970). Another important concept is that of critical bandwidth,
which corresponds to the frequency bandwidth from which the loudness increases according to the
bandwidth (Rossing et al., 2002). Investigation shows that the critical bandwidth depends on the
centre frequency, increasing considerably in the higher frequencies (Campbell & Greated, 2001;
Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Fastl & Zwicker, 2007; Howard & Angus, 2017). Note, however, that
the width of the critical bands varies with the type of experiment performed (Rossing et al., 2002).
impulses, using practically the same nerve fibres. In the first case, as the energy is
found in more than one critical band, since the two tones have a frequency separation
that is higher than the critical bandwidth, different sets of nerve fibres will be acti-
vated, leading to a consequent increase in loudness. Therefore, loudness increases
as the frequency separation between two sounds increases (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007;
Roederer, 2008). This happens within the scope of loudness summation12 (Fastl &
Zwicker, 2007; Howard & Angus, 2017; Roederer, 2008; Röhl et al., 2011; Zwicker
et al., 1957). Röhl et al. (2011) reported that perceived loudness is associated with
spectral loudness summation for higher bandwidth.
In the specific case of music, which considers broadband signals, the energy will be
distributed among several critical bands. Regarding the perception of the loudness
of music, one might think that the total energy resulting from the critical bands
could “evoke a sensation of loudness somehow proportional to the energy input and
in particular to the excitation pattern corresponding to BM motion (displacement,
velocity, acceleration)” (Schneider, 2018b, p. 732).
4 Processing in the Peripheral and Central Auditory

Nervous System
Sound and music are processed in the ascending auditory pathway, from the cochlea
to the auditory cortex (Warren, 2008).
In the peripheral auditory nervous system, namely in the auditory nerve, the firing
rates of the nerve fibres may reflect the coding of the characteristics of the sound (e.g.,
frequency and intensity) performed in the inner ear (Schneider, 2018a; Yost, 2006).
In the case of intensity, this will be done in two interrelated ways. The coding is due
to the firing rate of neurons (Bear et al., 2008; Fettiplace, 2002; Yost, 2006), as well
as the number of neurons that are active (Bear et al., 2008; Yost, 2006). Specifically,
in a vibration with a greater amplitude of the BM due to a more intense stimulus, the
axons that establish synapses with the hair cells increase in firing rate (Bear et al.,
2008). On the other hand, stimuli of higher intensity produce movements in the BM
that will propagate over greater distances, leading to activation of a higher number
of hair cells (Bear et al., 2008; Teich & Lachs, 1979; Yost, 2006). Therefore, the
sound volume will be associated with the number and rate of firing of auditory nerve
neurons (Bear et al., 2008; Yost, 2006), among other factors (Schneider, 2018b).
The sound parameters, in addition to being encoded in the auditory periphery,
are also processed in subsequent stages in the central auditory system (Bear et al.,
2008; Schneider, 2018a; Yost, 2006). In relation to the sound intensity (expressed in
dB SPL), there is an increase in brain activity when the SPL also increases (Behler
& Uppenkamp, 2016). We refer to the regions of the ascending auditory pathway,
12 Röhl et al. (2011) refer to spectral loudness summation as “for a certain range of bandwidths,
it is known that the perceived loudness of sounds increases with increasing bandwidth even if the
sound pressure level remains constant” (p. 1483).
such as the inferior colliculus (IC), in the brainstem, and the medial geniculate body
(MGB), in the thalamus (Behler & Uppenkamp, 2016; Röhl & Uppenkamp, 2012;
Sigalovsky & Melcher, 2006), and of the auditory cortex (AC) (Behler & Uppenkamp,
2016, 2020; Hall et al., 2001; Röhl & Uppenkamp, 2012; Uppenkamp & Röhl, 2014;
Weder et al., 2020).
Behler and Uppenkamp (2016) report that few studies have investigated the rela-
tionship between brain activity and loudness perception. Thus, these authors analysed
the relation between sound intensity, loudness and brain activity at various stages
of the human central auditory system (brainstem, thalamic and cortical regions),
in order to increase knowledge about the neural representation of sound intensity
and perceived loudness. The findings are as follows: (a) brain activity increases in
these stages with sound intensity; (b) at the cortical level, and in both hemispheres,
responses with sound intensity are more expressive in the posterior medial parts of
Heschl’s gyrus (HG), which is followed by central HG and Planum temporale; (c)
although the relationship between SPL and loudness is strong, their neural represen-
tations in the regions analysed are different. Behler and Uppenkamp conclude that,
in general, the “fMRI activation in several regions within auditory cortex as well as
in certain stages of the ascending auditory pathway might be more a direct linear
reflection of perceived loudness rather than of physical sound intensity” (p. 187).
The findings of several studies (Behler & Uppenkamp, 2016, 2020; Hall et al.,
2001; Röhl & Uppenkamp, 2012; Schmidt et al., 2020; Weder et al., 2020) are in
line with the result that indicates that AC activation is more related to perceived
loudness than to sound intensity. Within the scope of the analyses carried out in
these studies, in Behler and Uppenkamp (2016), for example, a narrowband noise
was used, in contrast to Hall et al. (2001), who used a pure tone (300 Hz) and a
complex periodic tone (f0 = 150 Hz nineteen more harmonics). In this study, the
authors quantified, in extent and magnitude, the activation in the superior temporal
gyrus (with the primary and secondary areas of the auditory cortex). They concluded
that the sound level, for the pure tone, had a small effect on the extent of activation,
but not in relation to the complex periodic tone. As for the response magnitude, the
effect was significant for both types of sounds. Still regarding the magnitude, the
complex periodic tone produced a greater activation than the pure tone, with the
bandwidth having a greater influence than the sound level in the activation pattern.
In the relationship between intensity and loudness, it was possible to verify the
importance of the bandwidth difference in the perception of loudness. The extent
and magnitude correlate significantly with the loudness level (in phons), but not with
the sound level (in SPL).
5 Conclusion
Loudness is a psychoacoustic attribute that plays an important role in the percep-

tion of sound and corresponds to the perceptual correlate of physical sound intensity
(usually expressed in dB SPL). However, there are other variables that influence the
perception of loudness (Behler & Uppenkamp, 2016). We refer to physical parame-

ters (frequency, spectrum/spectral bandwidth, and duration) (Fastl & Zwicker, 2007;
Oxenham, 2013; Rossing et al., 2002), context effects (Meyer, 2009; Oxenham, 2013;
Schmidt et al., 2020), and personal factors (e.g., hearing loss) (Uppenkamp & Röhl,
2014).
Musical performance and listening occur within the scope of audibility. The area
of audibility is delimited by the hearing and pain thresholds, with music having a
wider hearing area than speech (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Henrique, 2014; Rossing
et al., 2002). As human auditory perception follows logarithmic relationships, there
are logarithmic scales for sound intensity and frequency. The decibel scale (dB) falls
between 0 and 120 dB, and the frequency range between approximately 20 Hz and
20 kHz (Everest & Pohlmann, 2015; Rossing et al., 2002; Ziemer, 2020).
The variations in loudness through dynamic markings, within a wide dynamic
range, give greater liveliness to musical performance (Rossing et al., 2002; Thiemel,
2001; Winckel, 1962). However, the limits of the dynamic range depend on the
context. The acoustic characteristics of the room are very important, such as noise
level and sound diffusion (Meyer, 2009; Winckel, 1962). Considering a background
level of 40 dB, the dynamic range for orchestral music will be between 45 and
95 dB, in order to have the dynamic marking of pianissimo (Winckel, 1962). Thus,
the scale of musical dynamic levels (for a pure tone of 1 kHz), between pp (40 dB)
and fff (100 dB), with a sound level range about 60 dB, has a more or less direct
correspondence with the overall sound levels used in the orchestral environment.
The sound levels found in the individual practice of musical instruments will be
different, with it being difficult to have a close relationship between sound levels
in dB (or phons) and the respective dynamic markings. In this case, the dynamic
ranges will be compressed (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Meyer, 2009; Patterson,
1974; Rossing et al., 2002; Weinzierl et al., 2018). In both cases, it should be noted
that in the act of playing the instruments, musicians make a flexible interpretation of
dynamic markings (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Kosta et al., 2014, 2018), which will
be associated with various contextual factors (e.g., location of dynamic markings in
the score, type of instrument, individual musical practice or orchestral, and room
acoustics) (Campbell & Greated, 2001; Kosta et al., 2014, 2018; Weinzierl et al.,
2018; Winckel, 1962).
In the career of a professional musician, good hearing is very important. However,
in addition to presbycusis and other leisure activities, the exposure of musicians
to musical noise may cause hearing deficits (Emmerich et al., 2008). Overall, the
systematic reviews by Lie et al. (2016) and Di Stadio et al. (2018) and the literature
review by Di Stadio (2017), addressing hearing problems in musicians, indicate
that pop/rock/jazz musicians have a higher prevalence of hearing loss than classical
musicians. In a total of 2078 professional musicians (of which 1359 play classical
music and 719 pop/rock), Di Stadio (2017) indicates a prevalence of hearing loss
of 57% in pop/rock musicians versus 43% in classical musicians. Other hearing
problems that may be related to each other or to hearing loss are tinnitus, hyperacusis
and diplacusis (Di Stadio et al., 2018; Jansen et al., 2009). Di Stadio et al. (2018)
report that of these three disorders, tinnitus is the most prevalent among professional
musicians, with a very similar distribution among musicians of the pop/rock and
classical genres.
The lower prevalence of hearing loss by classical professionals in relation to
pop/rock musicians, will be due to the characteristics of different musical genres (Di
Stadio, 2017; Di Stadio et al., 2018). In the case of pop/rock musicians, the magnitude
of the sound level will be more important (pop/rock music >95 dB vs. classical music
<95 dB), while in classical musicians it will be the intensity of the frequency (Di
Stadio, 2017). Regarding pop/rock/jazz music, sound amplification allows for higher
sound levels (Halevi-Katz et al., 2015). In the scope of orchestral music, Winckel
(1962) mentions 95 dB as the maximum dynamic range limit as a possible value for
the conductor and musicians. Consider the examples of Symphony No. 6, Pathétique,
by Tchaikovsky, with ffff in a tutti in 3rd movement, and Bruckner’s Symphony No.
9, with fff in a tutti in bar 63 of the first movement. In the latter case, the tutti played
by the Cleveland Orchestra reaches about 100 dB. In both situations, musicians are
not subject to very loud sounds for a long time, so as to cause very serious hearing
damage (Campbell & Greated, 2001). Thus, classical musicians have a lower risk of
developing hearing loss (Di Stadio et al., 2018). That is, impairments due to noise
exposure are less than expected for this group of musicians (Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska
et al., 2013).
More explicitly, the explanation for professional musicians’ hearing loss may
be based on the sound level (with the possibility of reaching high intensities) and
the frequency range (with the possibility of reaching higher frequencies) of musical
instruments, in which the combination of these two factors is fundamental (Campbell
& Greated, 2001; Di Stadio, 2017; Di Stadio et al., 2018; Everest & Pohlmann, 2015).
This can lead to damage to the inner ear, such as the loss of hair cells (Bear et al.,
2008; Di Stadio, 2017). Consequently, the most affected frequencies are between 3
and 6 kHz (Di Stadio et al., 2018). As an example of instruments used mainly in the
orchestra that combine those two aspects in varying proportions, we can mention the
violin (L W (ff ) 95 dB), double bass (L W (ff ) 100 dB), transverse flute (L W (ff ) 105 dB),
oboe (L W (ff ) 101 dB), Bb soprano clarinet (L W (ff ) 110 dB), trumpet (L W (ff ) 112 dB),
Bb /F tenor trombone (L W (ff ) 113 dB), F/Bb double horn (L W (ff ) 114 dB), and timpani
(L W (ff ) 108 dB) (Weinzierl et al., 2018). The piccolo can also reach about 110 dB
in the high register (Campbell & Greated, 2001). In general, hearing loss is found
mainly in professional musicians who play stringed instruments, percussion, and
brass (Di Stadio et al., 2018; Emmerich et al., 2008; Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska et al.,
2011). Additionally, the greater incidence of asymmetric hearing loss in classical
musicians will be due to the fact that many musicians play single-sided instruments
(e.g., violin and transverse flute) (Di Stadio, 2017; Di Stadio et al., 2018). Usually,
the left ear is most affected (Di Stadio, 2017; Emmerich et al., 2008). As a measure
to prevent hearing problems, musicians should use hearing protection devices (Di
Stadio et al., 2018; Emmerich et al., 2008; Henrique, 2014; Jansen et al., 2009).
Based on the sequence of sound processing reported by Schneider (2018a), some
of the steps that relate sensation to perception, as well as cognition, are indicated. The
steps are as follows: sound (physical stimuli) → ears (sensory organ) ↔ auditory
nerve, at the base of the auditory pathway (sensation) ↔ auditory cortex (perception)
↔ cognition. The specific case of studies that analysed the relation between physical
sound intensity, loudness and brain activity through brain imaging technique, indicate
that AC (Behler & Uppenkamp, 2016; Weder et al., 2020) and other stages of the
auditory pathway (brainstem and thalamic region) (Behler & Uppenkamp, 2016) are
activated with sound level and loudness. The short review on intensity and loudness by
Uppenkamp and Röhl (2014) reports that neural activation operated on the brainstem
will be more correlated with physical parameters (e.g., sound level or bandwidth). At
the level of cortical areas, activation of the AC will be more related to the perceived
loudness than to the sound level (Langers et al., 2007; Röhl & Uppenkamp, 2012;
Weder et al., 2020). It can be concluded that the transformation of physical sound
intensity (sensation) into loudness (perception) will only be completed at the cortical
level (Röhl & Uppenkamp, 2012; Uppenkamp & Röhl, 2014; Weder et al., 2020).
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A Review of Musical Rhythm
Representation and (Dis)similarity
in Symbolic and Audio Domains
Diogo Cocharro, Gilberto Bernardes, Gonçalo Bernardo, and Cláudio Lemos
Abstract In this paper, we review computational methods for the representation

and similarity computation of musical rhythms in both symbolic and sub-symbolic
(e.g., audio) domains. Both tasks are fundamental to multiple application scenarios
from indexing, browsing, and retrieving music, namely navigating musical archives
at scale. Stemming from the literature review, we identified three main rhythmic
representations: string (sequence of alpha-numeric symbols to denote the tempo-
ral organization of events), geometric (spatio-temporal pictorial representation of
events), and feature lists (transformation of audio into a temporal series of features
or descriptors), and twofold categories of feature- and transformation-based distance
metrics for similarity computation. Furthermore, we address the gap between explicit
(symbolic) and implicit (musical audio) rhythmic representations stressing that a
greater interaction across modalities would promote a holistic view of the temporal
music phenomena. We conclude the article by unveiling avenues for future work on
(1) hierarchical, (2) multi-attribute and (3) rhythmic layering models grounded in
methodologies across disciplines, such as perception, cognition, mathematics, signal
processing, and music.
D. Cocharro · G. Bernardes (B) · G. Bernardo · C. Lemos

Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
e-mail: gba@fe.up.pt
D. Cocharro
e-mail: d.cocharro@fe.up.pt
G. Bernardo
e-mail: gn.bernardo@fe.up.pt
C. Lemos
e-mail: claudio.lemos@fe.up.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_10
190 D. Cocharro et al.
1 Introduction
Consider the following scenario. A musician accesses a large musical archive on

the web to find loops1 for an ongoing project. She wishes to find a snare loop that
matches the ride pattern rhythm and a synth loop that complements it with a strong
syncopation feeling. This recurrent scenario in today’s music production environ-
ment raises interesting challenges to machine musicianship, which require enhanced
models for machine understating of musical structure.
In this paper, we will address a part of this problem: the machine understating of
rhythm. Ultimately, we aim to answer the question: how can a computer participate
or enhance the musical creative flow by retrieving and suggesting rhythmic content
for a given context? Context here is primarily understood from a formal musical
perspective, such as the level of information musicians adopt at rehearsal practice
when addressing music content. To this end, we pursue a literature review of two
fundamental research topics that tackle this problem: the representation of musical
rhythm and its similarity computation.
The two topics are intrinsically connected. The representation of musical rhythm
targets a compact encoding of musical time, which is the underlying basis for compar-
ing rhythmic patterns. Imperatively, the representation reduces the musical objects
from which similarity models are built.
Both the representation and similarity computation of musical rhythms have
grown substantially in the last decade. The motivation to pursue this research line
stems from the thriving application domains that require advanced rhythmic mod-
els: to automate multiple time-consuming and demanding tasks in music informa-
tion retrieval (MIR), musicology, composition, and performance, to cite a few. In
MIR, music recommendation, music playlists generation, and copyright infringement
detection are representative examples of end-user applications that embed rhythmic
similarity models. In musicological, phylogenetic analysis or discovering the evolu-
tion of rhythmic patterns and motifs at scale is a research topic relevant in all current
agendas. Finally, in composition and performance, computer-assisted composition
systems and interactive music systems benefit greatly from this research line.
Music is typically manifested in either the symbolic or sub-symbolic (e.g., audio)
domains within these applications. Digital sheet music and MIDI information are
examples of the former. It typically requires (artificial or human) understating of
the underlying representation codes to perform and record musical structures in the
audio domain. The different nature of these two musical manifestations requires
idiosyncratic research methods. To this end, in the reminder of this paper, we start by
detailing the multiple hierarchies and dimensions of musical rhythm in Sect. 2. Then,
we address rhythmic representations of symbolic and audio manifestations in Sects. 3
and 4, respectively. Section 5 lists distance metrics adopted in rhythmic similarity
1 A short segment of audio, e.g. a measure of a drum beat, that is set up to repeat in order to allow
the sound to sustain longer than the original sample lasts (Gallagher, 2009).
A Review of Musical Rhythm Representation and (Dis)similarity . . . 191
computation applied to both domains. Finally, Sect. 6 provides a critical summary

of the current research on rhythmic representation and similarity computation and
aims to sheds light on the gaps and opportunities for this interaction and its future
challenges.
2 Encoding Rhythm
Rhythm is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the natural world which happens at different

time scales (Roads, 2001; Sethares, 2007). Musical rhythm refers to “all of the
temporal aspects of music” which can have different manifestations, in a score,
measured from a performance, or as a perceptual phenomenon in the listener (Weihs
et al., 2019). Perceptually, happens in a frequency range bellow the human hearing
and as been considered as a “interaction between meter and grouping” (Clarke, 1999).
Recent research by Rohrmeier (2020) contributed to the advancement of formalizing
musical rhythm since the seminal work of Lerdahl and Jackendoff (1996). Regarding
the task of automatic rhythm estimation, Weihs et al. (2019) splits musical rhythm
into five components, beat, tempo, meter, timing and grouping.2
The deep understanding of these components promotes a better description of
musical rhythm and consequently better computational models of musical rhythm,
which require, according to Sethares (2007), a thorough understanding of (1) cogni-
tion: “recognize, remember, and recall complex patterns over long periods of time”;
(2) perception: “information that enters the senses must be organized into events,
chunks, and categories”; (3) mathematics: mathematical tools to “search for patterns
and repetitions in data” and “help to uncover regularities that may exist”; (4) signal
processing: “perceptual preprocessing,” “attempt to extract significant features of a
sound from its waveform” and “manipulation of signals and songs at the beat level”;
and (5) music: reveal common threads in world’s music.
Figure 1 provides a hierarchical view over multiple levels of rhythmic informa-
tion. A twofold categorization splits the hierarchies into sub-symbolic and symbolic
domains or a continuous degree of abstraction from lower (at the bottom layers) to
higher-level rhythmic hierarchies. Musical audio is a common sub-symbolic mani-
festation, whereas symbolic typically pertains to the universe of music notation.
Encoding rhythmic information as discrete digital information can have both
explicit and implicit representations.3 In explicit (symbolic) representations the tim-
ing, structure and temporal organization is defined a priori. In implicit (sub-symbolic)
representation, such as audio, a prepossessing stage is required to reduce the rhyth-
2 The concept of beat often assumes different meaning depending on discipline and context. In our
work, we follow (Weihs et al., 2019), which defines it as “any of the events or accents in the music,
[...] characterized by as what listeners typically entrain to as they tap their foot or dance along with
a piece of music.”
3 Sethares (2007) refers to these degrees of information as symbolic and literal, and denotes rhythmic
representations as spatial metaphors for the temporal dimension, analogous to the text manifestation
in the written and spoken domains.
Fig. 1 Example of various layers of rhythmic information which establish a representation
mic level of information to an explicit representation. Moreover, the encoding of

rhythmic information generally accounts for two defining elements: (1) the quanti-
zation level, i.e., the shortest unit duration of a discrete temporal grid, and (2) the
representation scheme of events, silences, and durations in the quantization grid.
The quantization level is an inaudible isochronous sequence of time-points,
equidistant time-span (Lerdahl & Jackendoff, 1996) or period, commonly referred to
as pulses (Snyder, 2001), which provides a framework against which durations and
patterns are heard. The quantization resolution should accommodate the fastest rhyth-
mic gesture or at least the tactus (Lerdahl & Jackendoff, 1996) or pulse salience (Parn-
cutt, 1994), i.e., the metrical level at which a listener naturally taps his foot and where
the perception of regularities are stronger.
The representation scheme adopted to define the quantized temporal grid can be
oriented towards multiple perceptual attributes. A typical approach is the definition
of note or event onsets as active pulses in the quantized grid. This representation
schema prioritizes onsets over higher-abstraction levels for rhythmic representation,
particularly event duration, expressive timing, accents, and timbre (Bouwer et al.,
2018).
The events’ duration can be decomposed into several layers, starting with the
tempo, which depends on the tactus duration and the stratification of the remaining
metrical layers (Sioros et al., 2013). Furthermore, inter-onset-intervals (IOIs), i.e.,
the intervals between the onsets times of sequential note events (Toussaint, 2019),
provide a good indication of the structural characteristics of a rhythm, given by the
temporal distribution of the events’ onsets, while discarding rests (i.e., silences) and
performance traits such as legato or staccato.
Expressive timing results from temporal deviations of the events. It characterize
musical genres and influence groove sensation (Davis et al., 2013). Accents result
from perceptual attributes of the events, such as dynamics or pitch (Bouwer et al.,
2018), or as Snyder outlines, a change in loudness, duration, timbre, or leaps in
pitch (Synder 2001). Timbre is part of the events’ physical properties. It can influence
how a rhythm is perceived, e.g., when several rhythmic patterns are merged, resulting
in a composite pattern with multi-timbrical and poly-rhythmic characteristics, which
can originate salience of events resulting in perceptual accents (Bouwer et al., 2018).
3 Rhythmic Representation from Symbolic Music

Manifestations
This section will review representative computational methods used in symbolic

musical representations. We intend to highlight the schemes used to represent the
essential rhythmic properties that allow for a valid rhythm representation; henceforth,
we enquired the following: How is quantization represented? How are events and
silences represented? Furthermore, how are durations represented? Arom (Toussaint
et al., 2019), considers durations the simplest criterion to determine a rhythm in the
absence of other contrasting differences.
A clear split between formal strings and geometric representations emerges as the
two main categories of rhythm encoding, which we detail in Sects. 3.1 and 3.2.4
3.1 Representing Rhythm as Formal Strings
One of the most simple (Sethares, 2007), yet common, formal string representation
of rhythm adopts binary symbols. Typically, 1 denotes an active pulse (e.g., note
onset) and 0 an inactive (or silent) pulse (Liu & Toussaint, 2012). A binary string
expresses a temporal rhythmic sequence, where sequential index positions indicate
the active or inactive state of the pulse. The string bit-length indicates the length of
the represented rhythm, hence the total number of pulses. Expanded variations of
the binary representation employ magnitude other than unity to account for different
attributes, e.g., weights, accents, or duration (Sethares, 2007).
The Interval-Length Representation (ILR) is a numerical representation of the
interval duration (or IOI) between consecutive onsets and is typically driven from
a binary representation. Previous studies indicate that ILRs strongly contribute to
accent and pulse perception (Parncutt, 1994), and benefits from compactness and
ease of use (Toussaint,2006). This representation poorly denotes the sequence’s tem-
poral dimension by excluding the index of the active pulses and silences.5 Moreover,
4 Toussaint (2006, 2019) provides an in-depth study of rhythmic representations. Historically,

geometric representations of rhythm have existed before Western musical notation, e.g., the pie
slice (Toussaint, 2006). Conversely, string representations fit within the traditional pattern recogni-
tion problems in computer science.
5 In the specific case of a loop-based rhythmic representation, the lack of the activation in time is a
relevant limitation as the repeating pattern typically ties the last and first events.
according to Liu and Toussaint (2012), this representation might add complexity to
the analysis of rhythms containing a different number of onsets because it yields
vectors in spaces of different dimensionalities. However, ILR is considered a better
approach than the binary representation towards modeling the perceptual represen-
tation of rhythm since melodic and rhythmic information is processed perceptually
as relative ratios between events rather than absolute pitches and time-points, or
durations (Levitin 2006; Ravignani et al., 2018; Sakai et al., 1999; Wu et al., 2013).
Two representations expand ILR: adjacent-interval-spectrum (AIS) and tem-
poral elements displayed as squares (TEDAS). AIS is a spectrum-based represen-
tation of the ILR representation resembling the histogram representation proposed
by Gustafson (1988). As Fig. 3 shows, in the resulting 2-dimensional plot, the rel-
ative lengths of the intervals are visible in the Y-axis. In the X-axis, the temporal
information is lost, showing the ordinal numbers denoting the sequence of active
pulses (Gustafson, 1988).
TEDAS combines both ILR and AIS representation by plotting IOIs in both the
X and Y axis, depicting each event as a box shape format. Both axis exhibit the
intervals between events, as shown in Fig. 3. The X-axis can additionally indicate
the pulse index at which events occur, hence exposing the beat temporal information.
This representation captures the durational relations of the timing between events,
wherein duration is plotted as a function of time. From this representation emerges
the duration and timing of the events with different orders, e.g., the temporal changes
in the boxes’ height enhance the isochronic character of the rhythm. Furthermore,
successively increasing or decreasing boxes reveal tempo fluctuations (Gustafson,
1988). This representation evokes measuring the distance between rhythms by the
area differences of their graphs.6
The Humdrum is a computer-assisted musical corpus research framework pro-
posed by Huron (2002). The Humdrum proposes an idiosyncratic syntax to encode
multiple dimensions of musical information, including a extensive selection of prede-
fined schemes7 for rhythm such as the **URhythm scheme based on Johnson-Laird’s
theory of rhythmic prototypes (Johnson-Laird, 1991) which characterizes each beat
in a passage as one of the following categories: note, syncopation, or other, among
others schemes.8 One of the powerful advantages of Humdrum is the possibility to
create user defined schemes, opening a myriad of possibilities.
6 AIS and TEDAS have a dual manifestation as formal strings and geometric representations.
7 Comprehensive list available online at: https://www.humdrum.org/rep/.
8 Further rhythm-related schemes: **takt to represent temporal moments within a recurring cycle
or pattern; **recip to represent durations according to the traditional system of beat-proportions;

**metpos to represent the position in metric hierarchy; **dur to encode a sequence of time-spans or
successive durations; **synco encodes numerical values that indicate the degree of metric syncopa-
tion for successive moments in a musical passage; **simil encodes numerical values that indicate
the Damerau-Levenshtein edit distance between two Humdrum representations.
Fig. 2 Notation from a

traditional score into
a binary b box-notation
system and c Time Unit Box
System (TUBS)
3.2 Representing Rhythm as Geometric Models
In a similar fashion to the binary representation, the box notation system uses sym-
bols to plot active beats and silences instead of numbers. This visual representation
uses text symbols instead of graphics, typically, an (X) to denote the active pulses
and a hifen (-) or a dot (.) to denote silences (Liu & Toussaint, 2012; Toussaint, 2019)
as shown in Fig. 2b.
The Time Unit Box System (TUBS) adds enhanced visualization to the box
notation method by plotting rhythmic patterns with a sequence of boxes representing
pulses and the pattern length. An empty box represents a silent pulse, and boxes
with a black circle represent active pulses (Liu & Toussaint, 2012; Toussaint, 2019,
as shown in Fig. 2c. TUBS variation named drum tablature notation allows to plot
polyphonic rhythmic patterns performed by multiple instruments (Akhtaruzzaman,
2008; Liu & Toussaint, 2012; Sethares, 2007).
One of the outcomes from the seminal work of Liu and Toussaint (2012),
Schillinger (1946), Schillinger (1948), Sethares (2007), was the novel notation sys-
tem for melody and rhythm named after him as Schillinger notation. Fig. 4a plots
the Schillinger rhythm notation, which is grounded on his theory of interference
patterns. It adopts pulse waves (or squared waves) between two levels as a function
of time. Changes to the pulse level indicate onsets.
The Chronotonic Chain, also referred to c-chains (Hofmann-engl, 2002), is a
geometric representation that exposes the same level of information as the TEDAS,
i.e., a compound representation of pulses in time (referred to as “atomic beats”)
and their IOI, in a x-monotonic polygonal chain. In other words, it is a sequence
of durations (chain), where each IOI of the rhythm comprises a sequence of atomic
beats. E.g., in Fig. 4b, the first quarter-note duration lasts for four 16th note atomic
beats, which results in a (4 4 4 4) plot. This representation has a dual formal string and
geometric manifestation. C-chains aim to capture cognitive aspects of pitch, loudness,
and duration beyond the sequential string-based representation of traditional music
notation representation (e.g., MIDI or XML) (Hofmann-engl, 2003), by handling
all relevant parameters in an equal fashion to quantized time events (Hofmann-engl,
2003). A similar geometric-based method to c-chains and the Schillinger notation
Fig. 3 A rhythmic pattern with IOI sequence represented as: a) adjacent-interval spectrum
b) TEDAS, c) phase space
Fig. 4 a) Schillinger’s notation for rhythm with a suggested string representation ontop. b) Chrono-
tonic chain notated from a traditional score into atomic beats. c) Convex Polygon representation
with a turning function illustration above
for monophonic melody representation and similarity has been applied by Aloupis
et al. (2006) named as orthogonal polygonal chain.
The Fig. 4 is a geometric representation for enhanced visualization of cyclic rhyth-
mic patterns. The total number of pulses in a rhythmic pattern is mapped to equidistant
locations on a circumference. Active pulses define the vertices of a polygon, whose
edges result by connecting sequential vertices. Geometric properties of the plotted
rhythm such as symmetry, evenness, the ratio of perimeter area and various moments
of inertia, and the IOI as edge length can be computed (Toussaint, 2006, 2019).
A multi-polygonal approach to represent layered patterns with an equal number of
nodes in one plot was pursued in Akhtaruzzaman (2008). The rhythmic pattern begins
streaming from the inner polygon until a new onset is found in another polygon,
switching the stream from that point onwards. The combined cyclic trajectory creates
a new polygon representing the layered rhythms, in which geometric methods can
be further applied.
The Fig. 4c is a technique adopted from computational geometry to represent
a polygon and measure the similarity between polygons efficiently (Arkin, 1991;
Akhtaruzzaman, 2008; Cakmakov & Celakoska, 2004; Veltkamp, 2001), character-
ize, classify, and segment (2010). The turning function converts the polygon shape
into rectilinear curve representation by measuring each turning angle V of a tangent
as a function of arc length S. The curve increases with left-hand turns and decreases
with right-hand turns Akhtaruzzaman (2008).
The phase space plotting method consists of jointly plotting adjacent IOIs from a
cyclic rhythm in a two-dimensional coordinate system (Ravignani, 2017), as plotted
in Fig. 3c. Stemming from the geometric representation, we can inspect properties
of the rhythmic pattern such as the events that fall on the isotropy line9 (i.e., pairs
of IOI with equal duration), the symmetry of rhythmic patterns along the isotropy
line, and depict events that self-intersect as vertices and edges that fall on top of each
other. Known rhythmic patterns have unique representations in the phase space.10
Tangle diagrams (Toussaint, 2019) is a geometric representation derived from
tangle and knot theory. Tangle diagrams connect the two vertices at the top of a
convex rhythmic representation to two vertices at the bottom with arcs that may
intertwine with each other. Kirk and Nicholson (2016) studied the identical genera-
tion process between euclidean rhythms and tangle representations to create a unique
visualization correlated with each rhythmic instance, serving as image schemas that
act as “structures that organize mental representations” of musical methaphors (Kirk
& Nicholson, 2016). This approach shows potential for both compositional and ana-
lytical applications. The resulting representation shows a strong correlation between
the diagram’s visual complexity and the perceptual complexity of a rhythm.
4 Rhythmic Representations from Musical Audio

Manifestations
The automatic description of musical audio content has been a fundamental research
line within the Music Information Retrieval (MIR) field. In the Western musical tradi-
tion, pitch (e..g, melody and harmony), timbre (namely what relates to orchestration),
and rhythm are prominent content-based attributes under consideration.
Conversely to the symbolic representations detailed in Sect. 3, whose minimum
abstraction levels explicitly encode rhythmic information, the audio counterpart
poses more challenges to access the same information. For example, the detection
of note onsets (Weihs et al., 2019) is not readily available, but rather implicit in
musical audio samples. Next, we pursue a comprehensive review of literature on
the representations of musical audio underpinning computational methods for audio
similarity–one of the many kernel intricacies within MIR, vastly adopted in applica-
tions for content-based musical corpus classification, visualization, and retrieval.
Rhythmic representations from musical audio can be organized into three abstrac-
tion levels: low, mid, and high. Roads (1996) defines low-level description as the
extraction of feature lists from which we can isolate individual events, for example.
Middle-level description as transcription-based, thus eliciting the same level of infor-
mation as symbolic representations or a musical score. Finally, high-level description
9 Equidistant diagonal line between X and Y axis, as shown in Fig. 3.

10 For example, the gahu and the son clave are the only patterns that do not have self-
intersections (Toussaint, 2019). The former equally results in a simple polygon. The shiko, bossa-
nova, the son clave, and the fume-fume patterns are symmetric along the isotropy line.
as the domain of composition theory or style analysis, depending on the application.

Our review focuses on low- and mid-levels of abstraction, as they are the commonly
adopted representation in rhythmic similarity computation from musical audio.
4.1 Low-level Representation of Rhythmic Description
At the low-level rhythmic description from musical audio, a fundamental emphasis

is given to time series that expose the novelty (or amount of change) of an audio
signal content over time. To compute a novelty function the difference between
consecutive descriptor values is typically adopted, i.e., the positive, negative deriva-
tives as well as the combination of both derivative of a baseline audio descriptor
can be adopted, indicating sudden increases, decreases, or overall changes in the
musical audio content (Bello et al., 2005). The two lowest layers in Fig. 1 illustrate
this process.
Energy- and spectral-based representation are representative examples of baseline
descriptors for the novelty function computation. The main use of novelty functions
is to locate sudden changes in the musical audio signal, which commonly indicate
note onsets. Depending on the baseline feature adopted, different information can be
inferred. For example, a sudden increase in the signal’s energy typically denotes an
onset. However, adopting energy information alone may not be enough to capture
changes to the audio signal complying with different levels of rhythmic activation.
A note change across a sequence of slurred notes may be better captured in the
frequency domain. The latter method works similarly to the energy-based novelty
but from differences between consecutive spectral vectors, and is typically referred
to as spectral flux (Bello et al., 2005).
4.2 Mid-level Representation of Rhythmic Description
A prominent mid-level rhythmic representation from musical audio is a formal string

sequence of onset times. Onsets can be inferred as local maxima from novelty func-
tions. From the resulting string, IOIs can be further computed, providing higher-
level information about durations in the rhythmic structure’s periodicity. However,
the salience of feature periodicity has been more often explored as continuous func-
tions. Multiple periodicity function representations have been proposed. Their major
difference relies on the type of information being represented (e.g., event positions,
the acoustical attribute of events, or both) and their representation (e.g., sequence of
events, histogram, profiles, and evolution).
In (Dixon et al., 2003) the auto-correlation function (ACF) from the amplitude
envelope of band-limited versions of the signal is adopted to detect periodicities in
each band. Ultimately, relationships between periodicities are then used to estimate
tempo, meter, and the distribution of periodicities to predict music style.
The beat spectrum (Aucouturier & Pachet, 2002; Foote & Uchihashi, 2001; Pam-
palk et al., 2003) represents rhythmic periodicity as a function of time lags. After
signal parameterization (e.g., MFCC, brightness, and loudness),11 the beat spec-
trum can be computed from diagonal sums of pairwise distances in a self-similarity
matrix (Foote & Uchihashi, 2001). The resulting representation will reveal the peri-
odic structures in the musical audio from the peaks. Repetitive music will have strong
beat spectrum peaks at the repetition times.
The Rhythmic or Fluctuation Patterns (FP) Logan and Salomon (2001) describe
rhythm as the modulation of loudness in different frequency bands. The result is a
time-invariant 24 critical Bark bands representation that captures recurring patterns
(i.e., periodicities) in the audio signal and can show the critical bands’ rhythmic
structure. Pohle et al. (2009) expand FP by an onset-based representation of rhyth-
mic patterns in a semitone (i.e., log-scale) space. The resulting matrix representation,
named onset patterns, is typically reduced using the DCT (Pohleet al., 2009) dis-
carding higher-order coefficients.
The rhythmic histogram representation of a global musical audio track across all
bands can be derived from the FP algorithm, exposing each modulation frequency
bin’s magnitude (Lidy & Rauber, 2005). Tzanetakis and Cook (2002) propose a
similar beat histogram driven from peaks in an enhanced ACF of a discrete Wavelet
transform signal.
As the temporal dimension is partially disregarded in periodicity representations
of musical rhythm (Holzapfel & Stylianou, 2008, 2009) adopt the scale transform,
a special case of the Mellin transform, to ACF, making the rhythmic representation
invariant to tempo changes, accounting for similar rhythms in different tempi.
Tempo estimation and beat tracking are two additional and fundamental mid-
level rhythmic representations of musical audio. They are typically expressed as a
single value derived from the periodicity function detailed above. Periodicity repre-
sentation from entire musical tracks is typically adopted (Dixon et al., 2003, 2004;
Gouyon & Dixon, 2004). Existing state-of-the-art methods (Mckinney et al., 2007)
perform well across musical content with strong regular beats such as in commer-
cial musical genres (e.g., pop and world music). Expressive fluctuations of tempo
and non-percussive musical audios are rather challenging (Mckinney et al., 2007).
More recently, tempo detection and beat tracking have been addressed by end-to-end
algorithms, using deep learning methods (Bock & Schedl, 2011, showing enhanced
results even in non-percussive musical content (Goto, 2001).
5 Similarity Metrics for Musical Rhythm Representations
Toussaint (2006) stresses that the rhythm representation in part predetermines the
choice for a similarity metric. This can be further explained by using a geometrical
11Please refer to Gouyon et al. (2005) for a comprehensive list of features adopted in rhythmic
periodicity functions.
Qualitative Features/Dimensions Topology, Distance,

Feature-based Direction, Correlation
of Rhythm
Quantitative
Geometric Rhythmic Representation Rhythmic (Dis)similarity Geometric

(Cakmakov 2004,Toussaint 2010, Yan 2015)
Symbolic Dimension, Size,

Feature Lists (audio) Transformation-based Shape, Area, Length
(Weihs 2019)
Fig. 5 Overview of rhythmic similarity metrics and representations
metaphor. Two geometric shapes might have a similar shape and a different color
or vice-versa. If color is the only description available, then our choice of similarity
methods should be suitable for color matching. In this context, we should clarify
at least two fundamental aspects for each metric: what is measured, and how it is
measured (Toussaint, 2006). Furthermore, he distinguishes two broad approaches to
rhythm similarity: (1) feature-based methods, which compare the number of common
traits; and (2) transformation-based methods, which measure how much effort is
required to transform one pattern into another (Toussaint, 2019). Each distance metric
approach is detailed in Sects. 5.1 and 5.2. Figure 5 summarizes the distance metrics
categories and the relations to rhythmic representations.12
5.1 Feature-Based Distance Metrics
The Hamming distance between two binary sequences is defined as the number of
corresponding pulses where the two sequences differ (Toussaint, 2019). The distance
can account for the number of matching or mismatching pulses, i.e., similarity or
dissimilarity, respectively. In (Toussaint, 2010), this metric is not recommended for
rhythmic similarity because it does not consider the displacement length between
onsets, which perceptually can sound very different. The fuzzy Hamming distance
tries to overpass some of these limitations by accounting for the shift of onsets,
insertions and deletions (Toussaint, 2010).
The Minkowski distance is a generalization of a large family of distance metrics
dependent on a selected order p. A Minkowski metric with order p = 1, known as
city-block distance or taxi-cab distance (Toussaint, 2019), is computed as the sum
12 Besides of the approaches identified by Toussaint (2019), computational geometry proposes

another classification for difference estimation and shape matching: (1) transformational (based
on the comparison of curve descriptions, e.g., Fourier descriptors, turning functions, etc.), (2)
geometrical (optimization of position and scaling for the match and calculate the difference in the
areas [i.e. TEDAS], boundaries or contour line segments using an optimal correspondence), (3)
structural (based on string or graph matching using the curve representation or by decomposing
the curve in parts to apply then a transformational approach) and (4) quantitative (based in using
various shape descriptors such as ratio perimeter/area2 , average angle changes, and the ratio of
perpendicular chords) (Cakmakov & Celakoska, 2004).
−
→ −
→
Fig. 6 Euclidean d, cosine θ, and city-block s distances between vectors A and B which denote
similar rhythmic patterns displaced by an octave
of the absolute distance values per dimension (Tenney & Polansky, 1980; Toussaint,
2019), as shown in Fig. 6. Tenney et al. Tenney and Polansky (1980) favored the city-
block metric over the Euclidean distance, despite the lack of perceptual validation.
Wen and Krumhansl (2019), applied the city-block distance to research how pitch
and time perceptually interact.
The Euclidean distance, adopting p = 2, is one of the most popular cases of
the Minkowski distance with extensive applications in rhythmic similarity. The
Euclidean distance can be applied to almost any rhythmic input representations and
reflects the distance between the vectors’ magnitude. It can be further adopted to
categorize similar rhythms as classes in clustering algorithms, as used in Dixon
et al. (2004) for audio similarity computation.
The cosine distance is a metric closely related to the Euclidean distance and is
generally applied as a metric for measuring distance when the vectors’ magnitude is
not relevant. Figure 6 shows how the cosine distance (θ ) can be interpreted geometri-
−
→ −
→
cally across vectors A and B and compares it to related Euclidean (d) and city-block
(s) distances. It is a measurement of orientation and not magnitude, as it takes into
account the angle between the vectors to compute their distance. The cosine distance
is commonly adopted in audio-based rhythmic representations. Foote and collabo-
rators (Foote & Cooper, 2001; Foote & Uchihashi, 2001; Foote et al., 2002 adopt
the cosine distance across the beat spectrum and the Fourier coefficients of the beat
spectrum for computing rhythmic similarity between musical audio. Similar metrics
have been adopted using rhythmic histogram, FP, and Onset Patterns (Bosteels &
Kerre, 2008; Lidy & Rauber, 2005; Pohle et al., 2009).
The dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm is adopted before the distance
calculation to account for the computation of the shortest distance across musical
rhythms. It is commonly applied to audio-driven representations, which have greater
granularity in the temporal resolution and encode micro-timing deviations. The DTW
computes the minimum cost across sequences by aligning them in the best possible
way to minimize their distance calculation (Paulus & Klapuri, 2002).
The dynamic periodicity warping (DPW) is a related strategy and was presented
to account for tempo fluctuations across rhythmic audio representation in computing
their similarity (Holzapfel & Stylianou, 2008). It finds similar rhythmic structures in
musical audio with different tempo by computing the minimum cost warping path.
5.2 Transformation-Based Distance Metrics
The feature-based metrics at their core are perceptually agnostic because they do
not consider displacements of metrical or temporal structure. Two patterns with just
one event at different pulses have the same dissimilarity value irrespective of their
displacement. To account for the ‘quality’ of the displacement, enhanced metrics have
been proposed, namely, those that fall under the transformation-based methods.
The swap distance takes as input a binary rhythm representation. It is defined
as the minimum number of swaps necessary to transform one rhythm into the other
and is equivalent to the minimum value of the sum of distances (measured as the
number of pulses) traveled by all the attacks during this transformation (Toussaint,
2019). Computationally, it is only possible to interchange elements adjacent to each
other, which means if two patterns of the same length comprise one event four steps
apart, it takes four swaps to transform one pattern into the other. Moreover, this
distance requires both patterns to have the same number of attacks for an effective
transformation of one to another.
An extension of the previous metric to accommodate rhythms with different den-
sities is the directed swap distance. It expects a binary rhythm representation as
input and is defined as the minimum number of swaps needed by all denser rhythm
attacks to convert it to the sparser rhythm. Active pulses from the denser rhythm
must move to an active pulse of the sparser rhythm, and every active pulse of the
sparser rhythm must receive at least one active pulse of the denser rhythm. The term
“directed” comes from the fact that the mapping used here is directional, from the
denser to the sparser rhythm (Toussaint, 2019).
The many-to-many assigment (Colannino et al., 2007) distance takes the pre-
ceding metrics a step further by employing a strategy that accounts for metrical
structure and rhythmic grouping. The preceding metrics perform similarity based
on a one-to-one event relation. However, rhythmic events that happen in fast/weak
metrical levels might get tied or bound to an event in a slow/strong metrical level, as
in the case of an anacrusis or rhythms with different densities (Sioros et al., 2017).
This metric introduces the concepts of fission and fusion of rhythmic events (Tous-
saint, 2019). One event in a rhythmic pattern A can be assigned to multiple events in
the rhythmic pattern B, and vice-versa. The minimum-cost many-to-many matching
problem matches each point in A to at least one point in B and each point in B to at
least one point in A, such that the sum of the matching costs is minimized (Colannino
et al., 2007).
The edit distance, also known as Levenshtein distance, is defined as the min-
imum number of edits necessary to convert one sequence into the other. The edit
operations are insertions, deletions, and substitutions. Insertions and deletions change
the rhythmic sequence’s length by increasing or decreasing the sequence with one
event, thus allows to compare sequences with different lengths. A substitution
replaces one event with another, thus preserving the sequence length. This met-
ric has been regarded as a superior prediction of human judgments with melodies
and rhythms (Toussaint et al., 2011).
In the context of a music recognition system for large database retrieval of musi-
cal content from a target query, the difference-of-rhythm vector (Shmulevich et
al., 2001) also known as interval-difference vector distance (Toussaint, 2006) was
introduced. It adopts an error criterion to judge the goodness of a match between two
patterns informed by perceptual studies, namely by adopting invariance to tempo
changes, where events maintain constant duration ratios. In other words, rhythm is
encoded as duration ratios (IOIs) instead of absolute durations.
The chronotonic similarity computes the distance from a vector of atomic beats
(chronotic chain), i.e., a rhythm represented as a sequence of durations at the beat
level (chronoton). This approach includes a mechanism to transform a chain A to a
chain B, and adopts the strategy to measure their similarity (Hofmann-engl, 2002).
The distance between chronotonic vectors is computed using a weighted Euclidean
distance (Toussaint, 2006). This similarity method expects two chains with the same
length. However, if their length does not match, one can extend the shorter chain to
match the longer chain length (Hofmann-engl, 2002).
The earth mover’s distance is a string-based method, other methods such as
the swap distance are considered a variation from this one (Toussaint, 2006). The
core of this metric is defined by the idea of transporting material with a relative
weight between two points. These are referred as supply and demand points, each
assigned a weight of material. The supply point can not provide more weight than
it bears, and the demand point can not receive more weight than it requires. The
earth-mover’s distance measures the minimum amount of work required to transport
material (weight times distance) (Toussaint, 2006, 2010).
6 Discussion, Conclusions, and Future Challenges
There is no definitive answer to the hypothetical scenario raised in the introduc-

tion, which ultimately requires a computational understanding of rhythm at the
level of human perception and cognition. Today, existing models account for narrow
tasks. Nonetheless, we witness a growing trend on mathematical and computational
approaches inspired by, or based on perceptual and cognitive principles. It leads to
insightful musicological analysis on world’s music from symbolic manifestations.
Signal processing approaches are gradually filling the gap to reach the level of robust-
ness of symbolic representations, while adding enhanced levels of timing and timbral
dimensions.
Existing models for rhythm representation and (dis)similarity builds upon the fun-
damental identification and characterization of musical events. It typically adopts a
content-based or bottom-up processing pipeline, which can depart from sample-
based representations to lower-level onset detection and higher abstractions levels of
rhythmic information, such as IOIs, periodicity, tempo, and genre. The latter reduc-
tionist representation of musical rhythm excludes the rich and implicit information
present in an audio signal (or the performance) to the detriment of an explicit and
concise information.
Our literature review found three main rhythmic representations: string, geomet-
ric, and feature lists. String-based representations typically employ a sequence of
alpha-numeric symbols to represent onsets of events and/or silences. Geometric rep-
resentations have a mathematical and a pictorial manifestation, thus widening the
range of methodologies for characterizing musical rhythms Toussaint (2010). Feature
lists concern the use of audio descriptors to reduce an audio sample representation
into a time-series of rhythmic features with multiple levels of abstraction. 13
Most representations give primacy to event onset location in detriment of duration.
The duration is typically a second-stage inference procedure as IOIs from onset times,
thus misrepresenting rests or silences. The encoding of musical information in the
MIDI standard is an exception. However, music psychology studies on monophonic
rhythmic stimulus showed that IOIs have stronger links to our understanding of
rhythm in comparison with isolated active pulses. A more ecological valid stimulus
similar to real music, notably considering silences and the added complexity of
interaction layers in polyphonic textures, should be pursued.
Current research (Bruford et al., 2020) on representations schemes that encode
multiple layers of rhythmic information for the analysis and comparison of sym-
bolic drum loops indicate promising results. Future work on rhythmic representation
schemes can benefit from being perceptually and cognitively informed, while enforc-
ing layering interactions and timbral content.
Additionally, most rhythmic representations are blind to remaining structural ele-
ments of the music structure, namely pitch and timbre (other than rhythmic activation
across different spectral bands) and which are known to have a fundamental impact
on the creation of perceptual accents and grouping (e.g., in inducing the metrical
structure).
A holistic structural view of large dimensional attributes at different time scales
and interacting layers could promote new avenues for rhythmic perception and
cognition. To this end, filling the gaps across the explicit (symbolic) and implicit
(sub-symbolic) representation approaches can lead to a multi-resolution and multi-
attribute view over the phenomena of timing (when events occur), tempo (how often
events occur), meter (what structure best describes the event occurrences), and group-
ing (phrase structure). Moreover, diverting the focus from ‘similarity’ to ‘compati-
bility’ across multi-layers textures can promote enhanced rhythmic layer interaction
models.
13A comparative summary of the current review can be accessed online at: https://sites.google.
com/view/mrrd.
To establish a program for rhythmic research across multiple manifestations,

advances in retrieving mid-level representations of note onsets from audio to a degree
complying with music notation should be pursued. Despite the large advances in the
area and the relative robustness of existing tools, when adopting musical audio from
performance, tempo deviations and micro-timing are still challenging to process,
affecting higher-level description, such as IOIs computation or the assignment of
active pulses in quantized grids.
Finally, a definitive answer to which of the metrics reviewed in Sect. 5 best capture
the similarity of musical rhythms in the scope of different musical contexts is yet
to be known. To this end, we should promote comparative cross evaluations with
multiple similarity metrics and rhythmic representations for musical rhythm in light
of the processes underlying human perception and cognition.
Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and
Technology (FCT) under the doctoral grant SFRH/BD/132188/2017 and “Experimentation in music
in Portuguese culture: History, contexts and practices in the 20th and 21st centuries” (POCI-01-
0145-FEDER-031380) co-funded by the European Union through the Operational Program Com-
petitiveness and Internationalization, in its ERDF component, and by national funds, through the
Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. We thank George Sioros for the comments,
which greatly contributed to the quality of the paper.
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On the Use of Automatic Onset Detection
for the Analysis of Maracatu de Baque
Solto
João Fonseca, Magdalena Fuentes, Filippo Bonini Baraldi,

and Matthew E. P. Davies
Abstract In this work we investigate the use of automatic onset detection tech-
niques to support the ethnomusicological analysis of microtiming in Maracatu de
Baque Solto. In order to lay the foundation for a robust and meaningful analysis
of Maracatu in terms of its temporal and rhythmic structure, we require extremely
precise annotations of note onset positions. However, the nature of Maracatu perfor-
mance, with percussionists in very close proximity to one another and playing very
loud and at high tempo, makes manual annotation extremely challenging. To this
end, we orient our work towards minimising the number of corrections necessary by
a human annotator, and thus we incorporate explicit knowledge of Maracatu into a
computational approach for onset detection. In our evaluation, we explore the diver-
gence between the use of an “off the shelf” state-of-the-art onset detection technique
which has been trained to generalise across a wide variety of musical material, with
a bespoke approach which specifically targets the instrumentation in Maracatu. We
then explore the impact of this approach when visualising microtiming profiles.
J. Fonseca (B)
Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
e-mail: up201403802@fe.up.pt
M. Fuentes
CUSP, MARL, New York University, New York City, NY, USA
e-mail: mfuentes@nyu.edu
F. Bonini Baraldi
Ethnomusicology Institute (INET-md), FCSH, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
e-mail: fbaraldi@fcsh.unl.pt
Centre de Recherche en Ethnomusicologie (CREM-LESC), Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre,
France
M. E. P. Davies
University of Coimbra, CISUC, DEI, and INESC TEC, Coimbra, Portugal
e-mail: mepdavies@dei.uc.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_11
210 J. Fonseca et al.
1 Introduction
The relation among music, health, and culture is currently a main topic of ethnomu-
sicological research [for a review, see Koen et al. (2008)]. Communities from around
the globe have developed countless local practices in order to heal people, prevent
from illness or enhance well-being by using sounds and music. These practices are
generally ritualized and involve a set of symbolic, religious, and emotional meanings
that culminate in expressive strategies for playing together that differ from those in
Western culture.
During the Carnival season, the inhabitants of Zona da Mata Norte region, in the
interior of Pernambuco state (Northeast Brazil), gather around the Maracatu de Baque
Solto, a performance-ritual that is perceived to help prevent from threats provoked by
invisible entities and to promote health and social equilibrium Bonini Baraldi (2021).
The oldest Maracatu de Baque Solto groups were formed toward the end of the 19th
century and have been included into the Brazilian National Historical and Artistic
Heritage Institute in the Register Book of Forms of Expression since December 2014.
The members of these groups are mostly rural workers and sugarcane cutters, with
very modest incomes.
Maracatu performances comprise various aesthetical means including costumes,
music, dance, and improvised poetry. Music is performed by two to five “músicos”
(musicians) playing wind instruments (generally trombone and trumpet), and five
percussionists (the “terno”) playing the “tarol”, “bombo”, “gonguê”, “porca” and
“mineiro” (see Sect. 2). A Maracatu group includes 15–200 masked dancers per-
forming complex collective choreographies (“manobras”), among which the most
emblematic character is the “caboclo de lança” (see Fig. 1). Two poets (“mestres do
apito”) regularly stop the music and the dance by blowing their whistles (“apito”),
and improvise short chanted verses in various metrical forms, depending on the
moment of the performance. When the poet finishes his verses and blows again his
whistle, music and dance resume. This alternating pattern between the poets and the
musicians and dancers remains throughout the whole performance, which may last
an entire night.
Maracatu musicians and dancers aim to achieve a high level of group cohesion
locally known as “consonância” (consonance), as opposed to “desmantelo”(fracture,
breaking up). Dancing and producing sounds in “consonância” is intended as a way
to protect the group from the attacks of negative forces who may, for example, affect a
dancer’s body, brake an instrument, or suddenly mute the poet’s whistle. A related key
concept comes from the expression “fechar o Maracatu” (closing the Maracatu) that
also refers to various religious and aesthetic strategies used to protect the individual
and the community from perceived threats. Previous field research suggested that
this expression is used as well in the acoustical and musical domain: the percussion
instruments play in the fastest (160–180 BPM) and loudest way possible in order
to avoid any silence or hole (“furo”) in the rhythmical pattern [see Bonini Baraldi,
(2021)].
On the Use of Automatic Onset Detection for the Analysis … 211
Fig. 1 Three “caboclo de lança” dancers of the “Leão de Ouro de Condado” Maracatu group in
Lisbon, Portugal. Photo credit Filippo Bonini Baraldi, 2019
The Portuguese nationally-funded research project HELP-MD,1 “The Healing

and Emotional Power of Music and Dance” explores the hypothesis that music is
widely associated with healing practices in many societies around the world. This
could be due to its potential to elicit and control emotions, whether this happens
through symbolic associations or aesthetic meanings attributed to musical forms.
Within the context of the HELP-MD project, specific focus is given to Maracatu de
Baque Solto, and in December 2019, 13 members of the “Leão de Ouro de Condado”
Maracatu group were invited to Lisbon, Portugal. The visit (notable as it was the first
time that a Maracatu group was invited to Portugal) included several workshops,
a parade through the streets of Lisbon, and a fixed location performance. In this
performance, a set of recordings were obtained and form the basis of our subsequent
analysis of temporal structure in this paper and the work presented in Davies et al.
(2020).
The specific focus of this paper is an evaluation of the capabilities of automatic
onset estimation strategies to aid in the analysis of microtiming in Maracatu. We first
investigate the necessary steps to obtain clean instrument signals to annotate and then
detail a semi-automatic approach for precise onset annotation in order to obtain the
most accurate temporal structure data while minimising the human effort in hand-
labelling. Once we obtain accurate onset annotations, we evaluate the impact of each
processing step that guided the human annotator through a detailed evaluation, and
in turn, how these stages affect the reliability of the the microtiming visualisation in
Maracatu.
1 https://www.help-md.eu.
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: Sect. 2 provides an overview

of the instruments of Maracatu and describes the signal acquisition process; Sect. 3
details the methodology followed to detect percussive onsets in Maracatu. In Sect. 4,
we present the evaluation of our approach. In Sect. 5, we present microtiming profiles
obtained under different onset detection conditions. We conclude the paper in Sect. 6
with insights on the use of computational onset detection in order to observe micro-
rhythmic content in Maracatu.
2 Maracatu Percussion Instruments and Signal Acquisition
The five percussion instruments of the terno in Maracatu are as follows: Tarol—a
thin snare drum like instrument (Fig. 2a). Porca—a friction drum, also referred to as
a “Cuíca” which is played with a damp cloth holding the stick (Fig. 2b and Fig. 2c.
Mineiro—a metal tube which is filled with beads or other small objects, and which is
shaken to create a rattle type sound (Fig. 2d). Bombo—a bass drum like instrument
which is played with two sticks, one per side (Fig. 2e). We refer to the upper skin
of the bombo as “Bombo High” and the lower skin as “Bombo Low.” Gonguê—is
made of iron and is comprised of two bells, with the smaller, higher pitched bell
“Gonguê High” and the larger, lower pitched bell “Gonguê Low.” (Fig. 2f).
Given the musical characteristics of Maracatu and the way it is performed (musi-
cians in close physical proximity playing very loud and very fast), the process of
annotating precise onset times of multiple instruments in the"terno" from mixed (e.g.
stereo) recordings acquired with traditional electroacoustic microphones is extremely
challenging. As such, one possibility is to look at audio source separation as a means
to obtain isolated percussion signals for subsequent annotation and analysis. How-
ever, despite significant recent advances due to the use of deep neural networks Stoter
et al. (2019), Hennequin et al. (2019), state-of-the-art techniques primarily target the
separation of vocals, drums, and bass from popular music recordings. Given the terno
is entirely comprised of percussion instruments, we should expect limited success
with these approaches.
As described in detail in Davies et al. (2020), we focus instead on acquiring sep-
arated recordings at the source, via the use of contact microphones attached to each
instrument of the terno. Contact microphones convert the vibrational energy of the
instruments’ drum surfaces into electrical energy. This recording process minimises
leakage between microphone captures and consequently eases the analysis of the
waveform and annotation processes. We placed two pickups on the Gonguê—one
per bell, and two on the Bombo—one on each skin of the drum. For the other instru-
ments, the Tarol, Porca, and Mineiro, we used a single pickup.
In total, we collected a dataset of isolated signals of each considered instrument
for 34 pieces present in a fixed location Maracatu de Baque Solto performance,
that totals approximately 22 minutes. Across 7 channels, this led to a total of 238
acquired contact microphone signals with minimum and maximum lengths of 24.9 s
and 123.3 s, respectively.
(a) Tarol (b) Porca (c) Back of the Porca
(d) Mineiro (e) Bombo (f) Gonguê
Fig. 2 Maracatu de Baque Solto percussion instruments. The contact microphones are fixed with
black tape and the grey balls are markers for motion capture
3 Semi-automatic Onset Detection in Maracatu
3.1 Motivation
Within the field of music information retrieval (MIR), it is common to develop com-
putational approaches for the extraction of information from musical audio signals.
In recent years, deep learning techniques have become highly prevalent and have
led to significant breakthroughs in performance by leveraging the ability of deep
neural networks to learn from labelled data. Of particular importance in MIR-based
evaluation is the ability of these trained networks to generalise to unseen data.
In this work, the context is quite different. First and foremost, our focus is on a
specific set of recordings towards the ethnomusicological analysis of the nature and
role of microtiming in Maracatu. In this sense, the annotation of the onset positions
can be considered a necessary intermediate step within a larger analysis pipeline,
and one which must be as accurate as possible. Thanks to the largely isolated signals
obtained from the contact microphones, the manual annotation of this data would
be possible [e.g. using a software tool like Sonic Visualiser Cannam et al. (2006)].
However, in the graphical example in Fig. 3 which shows four contact microphone
signals and their mixture, we see the dense rhythmic structure of Maracatu and hence
Fig. 3 Illustration of instrument signals with manually annotated onsets in approximately one bar
of track #28. Top to bottom: Tarol with annotations in solid lines; Porca with annotations in dashed
lines; Bombo High with annotations in dash-dotted lines; Gonguê Low with annotations in dotted
lines; Audio mixture with overlaid onsets of the four instruments
the very high number of annotations necessary even across a short duration of just two
seconds. Propagating this effort across 7 contact microphone signals, even for just 22
minutes of recordings from the fixed location performance, presents a considerable
annotation effort.
The alternative to manual annotation is to consider the use of computational
approaches for onset detection within a semi-automatic framework, where the auto-
matic estimates are subsequently verified and corrected (as necessary) by one or more
human annotators. We pursue this semi-automatic framework for two purposes: first,
as an opportunity to investigate the effectiveness of an “off the shelf” state-of-the-art
onset detection method for this task; and second, to consider how context-specific
information can be leveraged to guide the automatic analysis so as to minimise the
amount of human interaction required for the correction of the annotations.
3.2 “Off the Shelf” Onset Detection
The existing onset detection method we use is taken from the well-known Python
library, madmom Bock et al. (2016). This state-of-the-art onset detection approach
[described in detail in Eyben et al. (2010)] uses a recurrent neural network (RNN)
architecture and, given an input audio signal sampled at 44.1 kHz, it provides a
sequence of onset times at ,a temporal resolution of 10 ms. This onset detection
method has been trained on a wide variety of musical material [for details, see Bock
et al. (2012)] with the purpose of being widely applicable on diverse input material.
We treat this approach to onset detection as a “black box.”
3.3 Maracatu-Specific Onset Detection
Since we have largely isolated signals which are percussive in nature, one might
assume that the task of automatic onset detection would be relatively straightforward.
However, our initial experimentation in Davies et al. (2020) with existing onset detec-
tion methods provided somewhat mixed results with noticeably poor performance
on the Gonguê and Porca. Furthermore, even from a manual annotation perspective,
we found the Mineiro extremely challenging to annotate in a consistent way due to
the lack of well-defined attack in the waveform and thus we exclude it from further
analysis in this paper.
Our hypothesis concerning the apparent low effectiveness of existing onset detec-
tion approaches hinges on two points: first, that we use contact microphone signals
as input rather those obtained with traditional electroacoustic microphones, and sec-
ond that the Maracatu terno is comprised of handmade instruments which may never
have been observed in the training data of existing approaches. Within the context
of our work, we have a fixed set of recordings, with the same performers and instru-
ments throughout. On this basis, we investigate the use of an instrument-specific
approach to onset detection in Maracatu by taking an existing deep neural network
and retraining it specific to each individual instrument of the terno.
However, since most deep neural networks require a large amount of training data
and can be slow to train (especially so of RNN approaches), we target the use of a
lightweight deep neural network which can be trained very efficiently, and use “fine-
tuning” to adapt the weights of an existing network rather than train from scratch. This
latter aspect is particularly important, since we would like to use as little annotated
training as possible. We re-enforce that this approach is highly exploratory in nature,

and embedded within a larger analysis pipeline of Maracatu, and thus our goal is not
to discover an optimal means for fine-tuning but rather to investigate its potential
within an musicological work flow.
Our retraining methodology is based on the temporal convolutional network
(TCN) approach in Davies and Bock (2019) which was first presented for musi-
cal audio beat tracking and which we adapted for the task of onset detection.
While it would have been possible to retrain a version of the RNN-based approach
in madmom, the TCN offers the advantage that is particularly fast to train (even
without access to specialised hardware such as GPUs) and uses proportionally far
fewer weights than the recurrent neural network approach in madmom. The process
involves first training the TCN on an existing onset detection dataset Bock et al.
(2012). Next, for each of the instruments of the Maracatu, an instrument-adapted
network is obtained by freezing all except the shallowest layers of the network (i.e.
those closest to the musical surface) together with the final output layer, and fine-
tuning the network on a short manually-annotated section of just 5 s per instrument.
Given the lightweight nature of the TCN and the very small amount of annotated
training data, this fine-tuning process could be achieved in less than a minute on a
standard laptop computer, and without any need for specialised GPU hardware.
In broad terms, our goal is to build upon what the network already knows about
onset detection from the initial generic training data, and then essentially to re-
calibrate it so that it will focus specifically on each of the instruments of the terno.
As with the madmom approach, the output of the TCN is a so-called “onset activation
function” with a temporal resolution of 10 ms. To extract the sequence of detected
onsets we then use the peak picking algorithm within madmom under its default
parameterisation.
3.4 Precise Temporal Localisation
Most existing methods for onset detection cannot reliably identify the onset position
at the sample level of the waveform because the analysis is conducted over windows
of approximately 10 ms in duration Eyben et al. (2010). Indeed, in mixed recordings
with multiple simultaneous instruments, there is an intrinsic uncertainty about the
precise temporal location of note onsets. However, for our specific case of “clean”
contact microphone signals on percussive instruments, we retain the ability to look
in the waveform to attempt to identify a precise (or at least consistent way) to mark
the onset locations.
We develop a straightforward approach for fine temporal localisation based on a
pair of small non-overlapping sliding windows which increment at the audio sample
level. Using these sliding windows around a small region surrounding an initially
detected onset, we locate the point in the audio signal which leads to the maximum
positive change in energy and spectral difference. In this way, we can overcome
the 10 ms quantisation effect of automatic onset detection methods and provide the
means for very accurate timing analysis necessary for the estimation of microtiming.
A graphical overview of our is illustrated in Fig. 4, which we use as the means to
describe our approach in detail. In the top plot we see a 1 s excerpt of the Gonguê low
contact microphone signal from the same recording used in Fig. 3 with a detected
onset from the Gonguê-specific TCN marked at 44.5 s as a solid vertical line—with
all other detected onsets omitted for visual clarity. Close inspection of the waveform
shows that the precise onset location, i.e. the point at which the energy sharply
increases, does not coincide with this marker due to the 10 ms quantisation effect. In
order to obtain a more accurate onset position we create a window of ±512 samples
(i.e. 1024 total samples), shown as the box surrounding the solid vertical line. Moving
to the middle plot of the figure, we now zoom into the waveform over this 1024
sample range. Within this analysis window, we create two smaller windows, shown
in light and dark grey, each of size 128 samples. These two windows sit adjacent
to one another and slide through the 1024 sample window, one audio sample at a
time. For each sample increment we measure the change in signal energy between
both windows as well as the spectral flux and take the sum of these two values.
The output of this measurement is shown in the lowest plot of the figure. We then
find the index of the maximum value of this signal, shown as a vertical dashed line,
as our more precise onset detection. In this specific case, the more precise onset is
approximately 5 ms earlier than the quantised onset from the TCN. In addition to
giving high temporal precision, we believe that our approach also offers the means
for a highly consistent labelling of onset positions.
3.5 Semi-automatic Onset Annotation Pipeline
Given each of these components, we summarise our semi-automatic annotation

pipeline as follows:
• We train the TCN using generic onset annotated data.
• Per instrument of the terno we perform fine-tuning of the TCN with a 5 s annotated
region.
• On each of the recordings in our dataset we use the instrument-adaptive TCN to
predict an onset activation function.
• On this signal we use the default peak picking function from the madmom library
to obtain a sequence of detected onsets.
• We then perform fine temporal localisation on the detected onsets of each
instrumented-adapted network.
• Finally, we load the detected onsets into Sonic Visualiser together with the cor-
responding waveform and perform final corrections via insertions, deletions and
temporal shifts.
218
Gonguê Low waveform

0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Amplitude
-0.1
44 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 44.5 44.6 44.7 44.8 44.9
Zoomed in waveform
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Amplitude
-0.1
44.49 44.492 44.494 44.496 44.498 44.5 44.502 44.504 44.506 44.508 44.51
Spectral difference plus energy change
20
10
0
44.49 44.492 44.494 44.496 44.498 44.5 44.502 44.504 44.506 44.508 44.51
time (s)
Fig. 4 Fine temporal localisation. Top plot: a 1 s excerpt of Gonguê Low with an automatically detected onset marked as a vertical line. Middle plot: a zoomed
in region used to discover a more precise onset location. The light and dark grey shaded regions represent the sliding window that move through the waveform
J. Fonseca et al.
at audio sample increments. Bottom plot: the output of the energy change and spectral difference, whose maximum is marked as a dashed vertical line and used
as the precise onset location
4 Evaluation of Automatic Onset Detection Methodology

in Maracatu
In our evaluation we adopt the widely-used F-measure from the mir_eval library
Raffel et al. (2014) to estimate the performance of the onset detection approaches.
Given ground-truth onset data, if an estimation falls within a tolerance window
around it, is considered a correct estimation (true positive). Any missed detections
are considered false negatives, and detections that fall outside the tolerance windows
are considered false positives.
While much existing work in onset detection Collins (2005, Eyben et al. (2010),
Bock et al. (2012) uses a tolerance window ±25 ms our specific interest is in the
analysis of microtiming variations which may involve temporal variation at a much
finer time-scale. On this basis, we perform a more extensive evaluation by calculating
the F-measure repeatedly over a range of tolerance windows from ±1 ms up to
±25 ms in 1 ms increments.
Figure 5 shows the mean F-measure scores in function of increasingly wider toler-
ance windows per analysed instrument: (a) Tarol, (b) Porca, (c) Bombo High, and (d)
Gonguê Low for 33 of the 34 pieces present in our dataset—we omit the piece used
to provide the manual annotations for fine-tuning. In the plot we present the mean
F-measure under three conditions: madmom (black line with dots), the instrument-
specific TCN (red line with triangles), and the instrument-specific TCN after the fine
temporal localisation has been applied (blue line with squares).
Inspection of the figure per instrument allows us to draw several conclusions. As
expected, the performance across all conditions increases as the tolerance window
becomes wider. Indeed, all approaches appear to saturate by ±20 ms with no further
gains possible. Comparing the pattern across instruments, we see that for the Tarol
and Bombo High, the performance is essentially the same under all approaches for
tolerance windows greater than ±15 ms, however for Porca and Gonguê Low, we can
observe a clear difference in performance, with the instrument-specific approaches
obtaining much higher F-measure scores.
This result may be explained by the more conventional nature of the Tarol and
Bombo High and their close similarity to existing Western drums, as opposed to the
Porca and Gonguê which are timbrally quite different to the material used to train the
madmom system. Inspection of the waveforms in Fig. 3 in particular for the Porca
demonstrate their unusual shape. As such we can mostly clearly observe the benefit
of our fine-tuning approach for these instruments. For visual clarity we do not include
the performance of the baseline trained TCN (i.e. without fine-tuning), but we found
its performance to be extremely similar to the madmom system.
Turning our attention to temporal localisation, we see that even for for the Tarol and
Bombo High, the instrument-specific TCN approaches achieve higher performance
than madmom for smaller tolerance windows. This effect is even more prominent
after the fine temporal localisation has been applied. Here we can observe very high
F-measure scores across all instruments even for extremely small tolerance windows
of just a few milliseconds.
Fig. 5 Mean F-measure

scores in function of the
tolerance window of the
three automatic onset
detection scenarios
(a) Tarol
(b) Porca
(c) Bombo High
(d) Gonguê Low

We reiterate that due to the exploratory nature of the work, we do not focus too
closely on the raw accuracy scores themselves, which may be improved by better
optimisation when fine-tuning the networks per instrument. Instead, we highlight
the trends which are present: the general improvement in accuracy via the use of
instrument-specific networks as well the benefit of fine temporal localisation in pro-
viding a precise output.
5 Microtiming Visualisation in Maracatu
Having evaluting the accuracy of the different variants of our computational approach
to onset detection, we now turn our attention to observing the microtiming structures
present on the recordings of our Maracatu dataset. By contrasting the visualisations
using the final manually verified annotations with the output of the computational
approaches, our aim is to discover the impact that each processing step has on micro-
timing visualisation.
To visualise the microtiming profiles, we use the CARAT library Rocamora
et al. (2019) to plot the evolution of the onset positions over the beats of a Mara-
catu piece and investigate the presence and nature of microtiming patterns over time.
To undertake an evaluation of the microtiming structure present in recordings,
we need to obtain temporal markers that indicate both the note onset positions
and metrical structure. Following previous works in microtiming analysis Naveda
et al. (2011), Fuentes (2019), Jure and Rocamora (2016), we create a reference beat
grid to be able to compare the locations of performed onsets.
Due to the tempo variations present in the recordings, it is not possible to analyse
timing data in absolute duration. For this reason, each beat interval is assigned a
normalised duration of 100%, and thus a rhythmic pattern containing four sixteenth
notes with equal inter-onset intervals would occur at normalised positions of 0, 25,
50, and 75%. The onsets are converted to their relative position with regard to the
beats and are assigned a position relative to an isochronous metrical grid (equally
distributed subdivisions within the beat) Jure and Rocamora (2016).
Although previous approaches studied within-instrument rhythmic patterns, this
work, aligned with Davies et al. (2020), focuses on identifying the between-
instrument microtiming deviations. We use the Gonguê Low onsets as the beat ref-
erence [since it is thought to convey the beat in Maracatu Oliveira et al. (2009)] and
focus on the microtiming present in the Tarol dependent on these beats.
In Fig. 6 we show the microtiming profiles for one Tarol recording under three
conditions: using onsets computed with the Tarol-specific TCN; these onsets after
fine temporal localisation; and then compared the final output after manual correc-
tion. In the figure, the red dots represent the location of the onsets within each beat,
represented horizontally through the beat-length normalisation, where the .1 tick cor-
responds to the first sub-beat position (that coincides with the beat) and the remaining
.2, .3 and .4 ticks correspond to the second, third and fourth sub-beat positions. The
beat evolution across time is displayed vertically, with time increasing from bottom
Fig. 6 Microtiming profiles

in track #28 for Tarol, with
Gonguê Low estimations as
the beat reference. Top to
bottom microtiming profiles
computed with TCN
detections, temporally
localised TCN detections
and manually corrected
annotations, respectively
(a) Tarol-specific TCN
(b) Temporally localised TCN
(c) Manual annotations

to top. At the bottom of each sub-figure is a histogram of the onset locations providing
a measure of the mean location of events within a group (extended by the light-blue
dashed lines) and their amount of dispersion. We can use this distribution as a means
to look for consistent deviations from quantised positions, while inspecting the onset
positions themselves as a means to discover localised behaviour.
Looking first at the global behaviour we see that under each condition the resulting
mean positions of each sub-division of the beat in the Tarol are extremely consistent at
[1%, 27%, 49%, 74%] for the two TCN approaches, and then [1%, 27%, 48%, 74%]
for the final manually-veritied annotations. For this specific piece, we can therefore
assert that some consistent deviation from quantised positions is occuring, with the
second sixteenth note slightly delayed with the third and fourth slightly anticipated.
The clearest discrepancy can be observed in the sparse and spiky nature of the
distribution for the raw TCN output in the top plot for the Tarol onsets which coincide
(in a notational sense) with the onsets (and hence beats) of the Gonguê Low. Here we
see first-hand the quantisation effect which arises by limiting the temporal resolution
to 10 ms. If we look at the temporal evolution of the onsets, we see the same pattern
reflected a vertical banding for the first sixteenth note of each beat. To a lesser and
lesser extent we can see the same kind of patterning in the other onsets of the Tarol,
but we believe this effect is smoothed out due to the normalisation of each beat
duration.
Turning to the middle plot, where we incorporate fine temporal localisation, we see
that the ability to more precisely determine the onset locations removes this vertical
banding behaviour entirely and the temporal evolution looks extremely similar to
bottom plot which represents the output after human intervention to correct the
onsets. Following initial results observed in Davies et al. (2020) we can see some
evidence of a dynamic use of microtiming, where the trend of the red dots appears to
move ahead and behind the beats marked by the Gonguê Low. Inspection of the plots
shows this trend to be most pronounced for the second and fourth sixteenth notes.
While we can begin to draw insight about the use of microtiming in Maracatu, our
goal in this work is rather to demonstrate the similarity in the visual representation
contrasting automatic onset detection (with fine temporal localisation) and how this
compares to the final output after manual correction. In this sense, we seek to highlight
the benefit of contextually-guided computational analysis as a means to reduce the
work load placed on a human annotator.
6 Conclusions
In this work we conduct a rigorous analysis of computational onset detection meth-

ods when compared to manual annotations of Maracatu recordings. We contrast a
“black box” state-of-the-art approach from the well-known madmom library with
instrument-specific methods using fine-tuning and fine temporal localisation. In
developing these approaches our goal is not to understand the generalisation proper-
ties of the automatic approaches—as would be customary in the MIR onset detection
literature, but rather to see the cumulative impact of each processing step in arriving at
a highly accurate output which can be used for subsequent ethnomusicological anal-
ysis. Within our evaluation we noted that the use of an instrument-specific approach
was most beneficial for the Porca and Gonguê Low recordings, which we believe had
a profound impact in reducing the amount of human interaction required to produce
a verified set of onset annotations..
In this kind of musicological work, which ultimately focuses on a small set of
recordings from single set of performers on fixed instruments, we cannot hope to
obtain “big data” in the sense which the term is applied in other domains using
DNNs. Thus, from a technical perspective, this work raises important questions about
how we can develop techniques that can learn from “small data”, or adapt existing
trained models so they can be effective in highly constrained circumstances. In this
context we believe that fine-tuning is a promising step towards creating application-
specific and hence more accurate analysis for end-users. In a broad sense, we hope
this work can help advance the ongoing discussion over the use of computational
methods to aid musicologists. In future work we look to extend our contribution
by creating streamlined tools with straightforward workflows which can enable the
user-specific adaption of deep neural networks within data-constrained and under-
explored problems.
Acknowledgements This work is supported by Portuguese National Funds through the FCT—
Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., within the scope of the project “The Healing and
Emotional Power of Music and Dance” (HELP-MD), PTDC/ART-PER/29641/2017.
This work is funded by national funds through the FCT—Foundation for Science and Tech-
nology, I.P., within the scope of the project CISUC-UID/CEC/00326/2020 and by European
Social Fund, through the Regional Operational Program Centro 2020 as well as by Portuguese
National Funds through the FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project
IF/01566/2015.
Magdalena Fuentes is a faculty fellow in the NYU Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
at the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress and Music and Audio Research Laboratory.
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3D Modeling Techniques for the
Characterization and Sound Synthesis
of Timbila Bars
Vincent Debut and Eduardo Oliveira
Abstract Timbilas are wooden xylophones finely manufactured and tuned by Chopi
people from Mozambique. In the context of a research project concerned with histor-
ical Timbilas, we developed a workflow for the characterization and sound synthesis
of Timbila bars using 3D scanning technology, reverse engineering and sound syn-
thesis techniques. If the interest in 3D scanning is evident from the perspective of
cultural heritage for documenting valuable objects without the need to make mechan-
ical contact, the 3D data could also be used as inputs to computational methods for
vibration and acoustic analysis. In this paper, we detail and apply the methodological
framework to a real-life nine-bar Timbila, starting with the acquisition of the 3D data,
moving to the finite element modeling and the modal computations, and ending with
the building of a sound synthesis model based on physical modeling techniques. The
proposed approach provides a non-invasive way of assessing the tuning of the bars
and the reference pitch of the instrument, and also offers realistic synthetic sounds
that can be exploited in combination with the produced high resolution rendering 3D
model for applications in the fields of multimedia and virtual reality.
1 Introduction
Timbila xylophones are traditional wooden bar percussion instruments finely manu-
factured and tuned by Chopi people from Mozambique, whose music has been known
to the world through the work of ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey, with the book
“Chopi Musicians: Their Music, Poetry and Instruments” (Tracey, 1948). Forging a
unique musical identity for Mozambique in the mid-20th century, Timbila tradition
V. Debut (B)
Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas, Avenida do Empresário - Campus da Talagueira,
6000-767 Castelo, Branco, Portugal
e-mail: vincentdebut@ipcb.pt
V. Debut · E. Oliveira
Instituto de Etnomusicologia, Música e Dança, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas,
Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1069-061 Lisboa, Portugal
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_12
228 V. Debut and E. Oliveira
strongly suffered from the independence and civil war that torn apart the country in
the 70s. Famous musicians died, practical know-how has been left to industrialised
production and the new generation has lost touch with tradition. In 2007, the Chopi
Timbila was included in the UNESCO’s list of intangible heritage and since then
has gained new attentions. As local consideration goes, Timbila is among the most
important musical genre in Mozambique.
Despite the numerous references to Timbila in the literature, mainly in the field
of ethnomusicology, only a few researchers have actually contributed to the musical
values of Timbila xylophones. With the loss of most tangible memory of Timbila,
recent research has focused on material heritage kept in museums, among these
the National Museum of Ethnology of Lisbon (NME), which represents the world’s
most important collection of original Timbilas xylophones, because of the number of
instruments and their age. Henrique (2004) studied the vibrational behavior of several
idiophones housed by the MNE, including one original Chopi Timbila, on the basis
of impact testing and experimental modal identifications techniques. Warneke (2014)
also did a substantial work on the MNE’s collection by systematically analyzing the
sounds of every Timbila. However, his analysis relied on the fundamental frequencies
of the bars and thus limited the access to quantitative information about their tonal
qualities and sound decays, which both play an important role perceptually.
For the last 20 years, imaging technology has become an attractive tool for the
investigation of musical instruments. The use of X-ray and Computed Tomogra-
phy (CT) technologies enables precise and detailed images of the structure of the
instruments for which information was hardly available. It facilitates the analysis of
construction details, evidences the signs of repairs and damages, and also enables
the identification of material properties (Baer, 2018; Bissinger, 2008; Sodini, 2012).
If these technologies have opened up new ways for instrument characterization,
preservation and conservation, it appears that the use of reverse engineering tech-
niques based on scan data is still rather rare for investigating the sounds of musical
instruments. In an attempt to identify what make the instruments built by Stradivari
unique, Pyrkosz (2013) developed a coupled vibro-acoustic model of one of Stradi-
vari’s violins based on CT scans, resulting in a reasonable representation of the
structural and acoustical behavior of the instrument. Coupling scan data with Finite
Element (FE) computations, Debut et al. (2018) assessed the dynamical features of
a 18th century bell, which were found in excellent agreement with results obtained
by experimental modal analysis. Recently, an ancient Roman brass instrument was
virtually reconstructed from scans of fragments, that were fixed and arranged in an
automatic manner and finally exploited to attempt an acoustical analysis (Sun et al.,
2020).
Following our previous work on the characterization and simulation of historical
instruments (Debut et al., 2016a, b, 2018), we present a non-invasive characterization
strategy to systematically analyze Timbila xylophones in terms of their vibrational
and musical properties. Our approach is rooted on 3D surface scanning technology
and uses physical modeling and reverse engineering techniques, as well as experi-
mental modal analysis. In general terms, it involves a 3D geometrical capture of each
bar by manual scanning, the construction of a structural model by means of 3D finite
3D Modeling Techniques for the Characterization and Sound … 229
elements and a dynamical analysis for assessing the natural frequencies and refer-
ence tuning of the instrument from modal computations. To complement the modal
data, experimental modal analysis is also performed in order to provide estimations
of the bars modal damping that control the sound decays and to update our FE model
if necessary. Using all the data set, it is finally possible to bring out the acoustic
properties of the instrument by physics-based sound synthesis, here addressed using
modal methods. This paper details the methodological framework and illustrates
the workflow applied to a real-life Timbila xylophone. Rather than introducing new
knowledge on Timbila acoustics, our main objective is to discuss the potentials and
limits of our analysis technique in order to define foreseen developments before
applying the techniques to Timbilas from the NME’s collection.
2 Chopi Timbila Xylophone
Chopi people are a group living in south-east Mozambique, in the Zavala region, who
have a long history of musical traditions. The first documents reporting Timbila music
date back from the 16th century, from Portuguese expeditions in southern Africa
(Dos Santos, 1609). Based on large orchestra of xylophones played in tandem with
choreographied dances and including texts, Timbila music can be considered as one
of the most advanced and elaborate of all artistic traditions on the African continent
(Tracey, 1948). The orchestra, which is the foremost characteristic of Timbila music,
comprises five to thirty xylophones, divided into five groups and covering together
four octaves. Like its western counterpart, Timbila xylophones comprise a set of
wooden bars, mounted on a frame, with resonators attached to the undersides of each
bar (see Fig. 1). As with many African xylophones, a small membrane is attached
over a small hole in the resonator wall, adding a buzzing quality to the sound. The bars
are traditionally made of a wood species called Mwenje (Ptaeroxylon obliquum) and
tuned by removing wood material at specific locations (Henrique, 2004). From the
acoustics viewpoint, the sound is produced by impacting the bars with a beater and
involves the contribution of the bar vibration and the gourd resonator acoustics, that
together mutually interact in a complex manner. Essentially, the tonal qualities are
governed by the bars vibration while the gourd resonators improve sound radiation.
3 Reverse-Engineering Procedure
3.1 3D Surface Scanning
Surface scanning technology combines sophisticated techniques of image capture

with efficient processing algorithms that enable fast and precise inspection of objects
with complex shapes. In this work, a Artec Eva 3D hand-held scanner was used. This
Fig. 1 Timbila xylophone from Mozambique (Commission National de la République du Mozam-

bique auprès de l’UNESCO)
is a structured light 3D scanner equipped with one projector and two cameras for
lighting and capturing the 3D point clouds respectively. It has a spatial resolution
of 0.5 mm and provides surface color and texture information, thus enabling the
generation of detailed and realistic 3D rendered models.
The bars of the studied instrument were scanned by sweeping the device along
the entire instrument from different angles. Scanning was done sequentially over
consecutive regions spanning two or three bars. The procedure was repeated until
all the bars were captured and each region was post-processed individually in order
to isolate each bar. Although relativity simple in practice, scanning can be time-
consuming and must be done with care in order to avoid noisy acquisition, long
post-processing and extremely large mesh files. Specific difficulties include difficult-
to-reach areas such as the underside of the bars. Scanning therefore usually involves
several scan acquisitions and demands different post-processing before obtaining
the final polygon mesh of the object. It includes: (1) assembling and aligning scans
stemming from several captures, (2) cleaning noisy images using eraser, low-pass
filter and outlier removal tools, (3) fusing all the scans together to generate the surface
mesh, and finally (4) rendering. The final 3D surface mesh is built using simplified
polygons and is exported in the STL format, which is one standard for 3D objects
and CAD softwares. One example of an obtained surface mesh and its corresponding
rendered model are presented in Fig. 2.
Since the building process is not automatic, we tested the repeatability of the
procedure by building several models using the same scan dataset as inputs. We also
built models from scratch using scans stemming from different acquisitions in order
to assess the reproducibility of the procedure. Globally, differences in volume and
in the Hausdorff distance, which is a measure of the difference between two mesh
representations of the same 3D object, were found to be less than 1% and 0.9 mm
respectively, thus showing that the scanning and building procedures were reliable.
Fig. 2 Top: surface mesh. Bottom: details of the 3D rendering with texture
3.2 Geometry Features Extraction
The 3D model is then used to inspect details of the bar geometry, including dimen-
sions, volume and the design of the bar shape, which is crucial for the tuning of the
bar overtones. To that end, we developed a basic uniform slicing algorithm in order to
automatically produce contour data from the STL files. For a given cutting plane, the
algorithm first calculates the facets that intersect with the cut plane, then estimates
the coordinates of the intersection points and defines the line segment resulting from
the facet/plane intersection. Proceeding similarly for all the intersected facets, a set
of intersection line segments is obtained from which the closed contour is finally
built by linking the start and end points of successive segments. Figure 3 shows an
example of a 3D contour image obtained using the developed algorithm from which a
number of metrics, such as width and cross-section, can be easily computed. Notably,
such reconstructed 3D geometry can also be used directly to create physical copies
in rapid prototyping through 3D printer, which is actually based on 2D adding layer
process and requires as inputs slices of the object to print. Needless to say, obtaining
such precise data for a surface with many irregularities would be very challenging
and time-consuming through classical geometrical measurements.
Fig. 3 Computed slices extracted from 3D scan data. Bar # 4
3.3 3D Finite Element Modeling and Modal Computations
FE techniques are then applied to investigate the dynamical behavior of each bar
and to provide the set of modal frequencies to be analyzed for assessing the tuning
and musical scale of the instrument. From the 3D surface data, a solid 3D model is
built by means of finite elements using the Partial Differential Equation Toolbox of
Matlab, which allows to import 3D geometries from STL files and to carry out the
modal computations. For building the mesh, the selected elements were tetrahedrons
with 10 nodes. If the number of required elements varies with the bar dimensions,
systematic tests of convergence show that a number of about 30,000 elements leads
to a relative accuracy of a few percent for this instrument. For illustration, Fig. 4
presents one example of the computed mesh for one bar of the studied instrument.
A practical problem of our FE modal computations is the selection of the required
mechanical parameters to describe the elastic behavior of the bar, i.e. the density and
elastic constants. One inherent difficulty in wood mechanics is due to the orthotropic
nature of wood meaning that wood has differing mechanical properties along the
main directions Green et al. (1999). Instead of three parameters needed for describing
isotropic material, a set of nine parameters is necessary for modeling wooden bars. If
wood databases usually present properties in the direction parallel to the fiber, they
Fig. 4 Solid mesh built using tetrahedron elements. Bar # 4

are however less extensive for the radial and tangential directions, explaining why
many studies on wooden bar percussion instruments modeled wood as an isotropic
material (Aramaki et al., 2007; Bork et al., 1999; Chaigne & Doutaut, 1996). An other
cause of difficulty, more specific to our case, is that information about Mwenje is rare.
Given the limitations of currently available data, our primarily modal computations
were thus performed in the case of an isotropic and homogeneous Mwenje, using
average values found in the literature. The Young’s modulus was set to its longitudinal
modulus value 17.7 GPa, the density to 1000 kg/m3 and the Poisson ratio to 0.3
(Plant Ressources, 2020). If none of these choices is entirely satisfactory for accurate
prediction, it must be stated that bars are cut in the longitudinal direction and have
rather large length/width ratio so that using the longitudinal properties could remain
a first reasonable approximation. For marimba bars, Bork et al. (1999) reported that
using an isotropic FE modeling was efficient in predicting the modal frequencies
of the first three vertical transverse modes but led to large errors for higher-order
modes and torsional modes. This surely establishes limitations of our analysis but
since radiation is dominated by the bar transverse motion, one would expect the first
low-frequency transverse modes to be predicted quite reasonably for a subsequent
sound analysis. Also, for simplicity, modal computations were performed ignoring
internal damping losses and sound radiation, and assuming free boundary conditions
since the supporting fixtures are close to the nodal position of their fundamental
mode. Figure 5 presents the first six nonzero-frequency modes computed for bar #
4, where vertical transverse, torsional and lateral modes, very similar to those found
for marimba (Bork et al., 1999), can be seen. Notice that the three-dimensional
character of the modal displacement becomes gradually more pronounced as the
frequency increases so that the commonly used beam approximation for modeling
the bar dynamics becomes rapidly abusive (Bestle, 2017; Chaigne & Doutaut, 1996;
Henrique & Antunes, 2003; Soares et al., 2021). Finally, although not presented,
the bar also presents six low-frequency modes that describe the rigid-body motions
with near-zero frequencies since modal computations are performed assuming free
boundary conditions.
4 Experimental Modal Analysis
The purpose of modal experiment in this work is twofold. First, it provides a basis for
getting a feel of the validity of our preliminary FE modeling, and then it serves as a
mean of providing estimates of the bar modal damping that are necessary for accurate
sound synthesis since no information is given by our FE modal computations.
A series of impact tests was performed on every bars, with the bars mounted on the
instrument. The excitation forces were given using a miniature instrumented hammer
(PCB 086E80) and the bar responses were measured near one corner by a laser
vibrometer (Polytec PDV-100). Impacts were given in the direction perpendicular to
the bar at three different points located off-axis from the symetry axis. The use of a
laser vibrometer, which sensed the bar velocity, was preferred to an accelerometer
Fig. 5 First six non-zero frequency modes computed by 3D FEM for bar # 4
that introduces errors in the natural frequencies of about 6% in our case due to mass
loading effect. The acquisitions were 0.6s long, which was long enough to capture
the vibration decay, and signals were sampled 12,600 Hz. For modal estimation, an
implementation of the Eigensystem Realization Algorithm (Juang, 1994) was used,
fed by the three computed impulses response functions. Figure 6 shows an example
of a measured impulse response and transfer function together with the reconstructed
functions using the identified modal parameters. As seen, our identifications were
reliable up 5000 Hz.
40
h ( t ) [ (m/s)/N ]
h (t)
m
20 h (t)
id
0
-20
-40
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1
Time [s]
| H ( f ) | [ (m/s)/N ]
0
10
10-5
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Frequency [ Hz ]
Fig. 6 Measured and synthesized impulse (top) and transfer functions (bottom). Vertical dotted
gray lines stand for the identified modal frequencies. Bar # 4
The comparison between the measured and identified modal frequencies is then
shown in Fig. 7, where modes have been categorized into two groups according to
the types of modal displacements involved (transverse and others). As can be seen,
the predictions for the transverse modes are in reasonably good agreement with the
identified values but large differences are found for the other modes. Without any
model updating of the FE model, the mean relative error among the nine bars is found
to be less than 0.7% for the first mode. It then increases with the mode number with
differences of about 4 and 12% for the second and third modes respectively. For the
other modes, it can be noticed that the predictions always overestimate the identified
values and that the agreement is clearly not satisfactory, thus showing the necessity
for improving our preliminary FE model by accounting for the wood anisotropy.
Of course, modal updating techniques could have been envisaged to give a much
better agreement with experimental values for the transverse modes but in view of
the discrepancies for the other modes, it has not been pursued. Instead, in order to
provide a more realistic tuning analysis of the studied instrument, we decided to use
the experimentally identified values of the modal frequencies.
Regarding modal damping, it was found frequency dependent, with values increas-
ing with the frequency (see Fig. 8), thus following the trends reported for wooden
bars (Aramaki et al., 2007; Chaigne & Doutaut, 1996). However, note that large val-
ues were identified for the first torsional mode of each bar. One possible explanation
could be found in the influence of the cord that passes over and below the bars for
supporting the bars. Indeed, looking at the modeshapes plotted in Fig. 5, one under-
stands that the cord is actually positioned in regions of large modal displacements
TRANSVERSE
60
st
Freq. dev. [ % ]
1 mode
nd
40 2 mode
rd
3 mode
20
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
OTHER
60
Freq. dev. [ % ]
40
20
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar number
Fig. 7 Comparison between experimentally identified and computed modal frequencies for the
studied Timbila
2.5
First torsional modes
Other modes
2
1.5
[%] n
0.5
0
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000
Frequency [ Hz ]
Fig. 8 Experimentally identified modal damping as a function of frequency for all the bars com-
prising the instrument
for the first torsional mode and its influence could locally increase damping for this
motion. This has been further confirmed by modal experiments performed on one
bar, that was removed from the instrument and tested in free boundary conditions:
the modal damping of the first torsional mode was reduced by a factor three while
almost no change was observed for the other modes.
5 Tuning Analysis
From the knowledge of the modal frequencies, it is now possible to analyze the tuning
of the bars and to assess the musical scale and reference tuning of the studied Timbila.
Before attempting any assessment, it must be said that according to measurements
by Tracey (1948), Timbila xylophones share a common tuning system, based on an
absolute standard pitch. It is built as an even scale of seven intervals all alike, with
a reference pitch 252 Hz, referred as to the Hombe tone. Tuning is thus done for one
octave first, and then all the other tones are tuned in octave from the central scale.
The tuning analysis was pursued by considering the modal frequencies of the
vertical transverse modes, which are the only motions that contribute to the radiation
significantly. The relative tuning of each individual bar, which is relevant for the
perception of pitch, was analyzed by looking at the bar overtones, calculating their
frequency ratios in relation to the fundamental mode. Looking at Fig. 9, it appears
that the second (transverse) modes have approximately a double-octave relationship,
with values ranging from 3.5 to 4.4. The tunings of the third (transverse) modes
were found to vary largely, between 7.6 and 10.6, thus suggesting no attempt by the
Timbila maker to tune the corresponding overtones.
Figure 10 then presents the musical intervals between successive bars expressed
in cents1 by considering the fundamental frequency of each bar. Looking at the upper
plot, we get a first indication that the scale of the instrument is actually of equal steps
due to the rather constant fractional increase observed between successive notes. In
addition, a look at the lower plot reveals the relative flat tuning of the lowest intervals
in comparison to the ones of the upper register, which are found to be very close to
the value of 171.42 cents used as the basis of an heptatonic scale.
A further analysis of the set of modal frequencies could also provide an estimate
of the reference frequency of the instrument. To that end, the simpler approach
would consist in identifying the bar associated to the Hombe tone and measure its
fundamental frequency. However, a more objective approach is considered here by
applying the strategy proposed by Debut et al. (2016a), using the identified modal
frequencies of the first modes of the set of bars and the theoretical musical intervals
of the heptatonic musical system. The reference tuning f 0 of the instrument is then
provided according to:
f 0 = sT + f meas (1)
1 An interval of one cent corresponds to 1/100 of an equal-tempered semitone.

12
f 2/f 1
f 3/f 1
10
8
fn/f1
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar number
Fig. 9 Frequency ratio between the first two overtones and the fundamental frequency of each bar.
Vertical transverse modes only
MUSICAL INTERVALS
1500
[ cent ]
1000
500
0
1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9
200
[ cent ]
100
0
1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9
Successive bars
Fig. 10 Musical scale (top) and successive musical intervals (bottom). The horizontal black dotted
line stands for the interval between the notes of an heptatonic scale
where f meas is the vector of the identified frequencies for the fundamental mode of
the bars, sT = (20/7 , . . . , 28/7 ) is a vector containing the targeted musical intervals
of a nine-bar instrument tuned according to a perfect heptatonic tuning system, +
denoting the symbol for the Moore–Penrose pseudoinverse (Teukolsky et al., 2007).
Instead of looking at the fundamental frequency of a single bar, this approach esti-
mates the reference frequency in the mean square sense by accounting for all the bars
comprising the instrument. The application of Eq. (1) to our set of modal frequencies
results in f 0 = 248.1 Hz, which is 30 cents lower than the value given by Tracey as
a reference. In relation to this identified pitch, one finds that the standard deviation
of the bars tuning is less than 12 cents over the musical scale of the instrument, thus
evidencing that the bars are reasonably in tune with each other.
6 Physics-Based Sound Synthesis
Physical modeling has become an increasingly active field of research in music acous-
tics. Contrary to abstract or signal-based synthesis, the approach taken in physical
modeling is to develop mathematical models of the physical phenomena involved
in the sound production process. The idea is to derive a theoretical model of the
dynamics of the main components together with their coupling, ansd to search for
the actual solutions by integrating the equations of motions over time numerically.
Models can be used to run parametric computations in order to understand the influ-
ence of construction details and/or of the parameters controlled by the player, and
can also be used to create virtual instruments.
In this work, the synthesis is done by using modal methods (Adrien, 1991), fol-
lowing the lines proposed by Henrique and Antunes (2003) for simulating percussion
bar instruments. We however extend the technique by considering the synthesis of a
bar that comes from a real-life instrument, and by using a refined modal basis that
includes torsion and high-frequency three-dimensional effects. In broad terms, the
computational model simulates the vibratory motion of the bar according to a given
mallet excitation and includes:
1. the multi-modal vibrational behavior of a free bar supported at flexible fixtures,
described mathematically by a set of ordinary differential equations;
2. the motion of the mallet that impacts the bar with an initial velocity controlled
by the musician;
3. a nonlinear interaction force between the bar and the mallet related to the impact.
The present model surely includes enough details to obtain satisfactory simula-
tions of the vibratory phenomena involved in the sound generation process. How-
ever, for the construction of a virtual instrument, the modeling has to be improved by
addressing two important issues, namely the vibro-acoustic coupling with the gourd
resonator and the modeling of the sound radiation. In the following, the detailed
modeling of these phenomena is not pursued and is left for future work.
6.1 Timbila Bar Dynamics
Adopting a modal framework, the 3D motion of the bar ξ (r, t) defined at position
r = (x, y, z) and time t is given by the sum of the modal responses,

N
ξ (r, t) = qn (t)ϕn (r) (2)
n=1
where qn (t) is the modal amplitude of the nth mode ϕn (r) and N is the size of the
modal basis. The 3D mode ϕn (r) can be generically written as:
ϕn (r) = ϕnx (r)ex + ϕny (r)ey + ϕnz (r)ez (3)
where ex , ey and ez are the unit vectors of the cartesian coordinate system, and each
motion along one direction can be calculated by modal summation as:

N
N
N
ξ x (r, t) = qn (t)ϕnx (r) , ξ y (r, t) = qn (t)ϕny (r) , ξ z (r, t) = qn (t)ϕnz (r)
n=1 n=1 n=1
(4)
Starting from the general description of the vibratory behavior ξ (r, t) of a flexible
structure and developing the bar motion following Eq. (2), the time-dependent ampli-
tudes of the modes become governed by a set of N second-order ordinary differential
equations, written as:
m n q̈n (t) + cn q̇n (t) + kn qn (t) = Fn (t) n = 1, . . . , N (5)
where m n , cn = 2m n ζn ωn and kn = m n ωn2 are the modal mass, modal dissipation and
modal stiffness of mode n respectively, ωn and ζn being the circular modal frequency
and the modal damping value respectively. The term Fn (t) represents the forces acting
on each mode, which is obtained by projecting the physical forces f (r, t) on every
mode shape of the modal basis:

Fn (t) = f (r, t)ϕn (r) d r n = 1, . . . , N (6)
V
In our context, the first contribution to the external forces comes from the bar/mallet
interaction that occurs at location r c . In the 3D case, both normal and frictional
interactions occur and the impact force actually includes the contribution of two
forces acting in the normal and tangential directions to the contact surface. Denoting
e⊥ the outward unit vector normal to the surface, the contact force fc is decomposed
into normal fcn and tangential fct components as
fc = fcn e⊥ + fct (7)

and Eq. (6) becomes :

Fn(1)(t) = fc (t) · ex ϕnx (r c ) + [fc (t) · ey ]ϕny (r c ) + [fc (t) · ez ]ϕnz (r c ) (8)
where · is the scalar product between two vectors. In what follows however, we
only consider impacts with small incidence angle. Indeed, an analysis of the scan
data evidences that the surface normals on the upperside of the bar, which is struck
by the mallet, are oriented in the direction close to the z axis, at maximum angle
of about 15 degrees. Assuming that the bar is struck in the vertical direction, the
friction interaction would essentially be reduced to a condition of sticking and for
simplicity, no friction model will be considered in the following (fct = 0). The second
contribution to the external forces stems from the cord that suspends and secures the
bars together. Its influence can be viewed as a set of point forces distributed along the
bar width, conveniently modelled using flexible-dissipative supports located close
the nodes of the fundamental mode. Accounting for a number of P point-forces
located at r s p , Eq. (6) then reads as:

P
x
Fn(2)(t) = fs p (t)ϕnx (r s p ) + fsyp (t)ϕny (r s p ) + fszp (t)ϕnz (r s p ) (9)
p=1
where fsXp (t) is the reaction force acting in the direction X (X stands for x, y or z) at
location r s p , which can be modelled as:
fsXp (t) = −K sXp ξ X (r s p , t) − CsXp ξ̇ X (r s p , t) (10)
where K sXp and CsXp are arbitrary parameters describing the support stiffness and
damping respectively. In practice, the value of K sXp must be low in order to provide
the coupling between the bar and the structure without affecting the bar vibration
(Chaigne & Doutaut, 1996).
6.2 Mallet Dynamics
The mallet is modeled as a rigid body of mass m M , neglecting any elastic dynamics
beyond the contact deformation during the impact. Its 3D motion w(t) is given by
Newton’s law as:
m M ẅ(t) = f (r c , t) (11)
where the forcing term f (r c , t) is given by the projections of the contact force fc
onto the reference axis ex , ey and ez .
6.3 Mallet/bar Interaction Force
The contact is therefore modelled using the theory of linear elasticity developed by
Hertz that expresses the normal interaction force fcn (t) between two elastic contacting
bodies as a nonlinear power function of the local compression, of the form:
fcn (t) = K c δ(t)b (12)
where δ(t) is the relative normal deformation between the contacting solids, b is
typically equal to 3/2 for a sphere in contact with an elastic half-space and K c is a
contact stiffness coefficient that depends on both surfaces geometries and the elas-
tic properties of the two solids. The nonlinearity enables to reproduce the spectral
changes observed in percussion sounds when the instrument is struck with different
strengths while K c allows the control of the mallet stiffness. For b > 1, the impact
force increases with compression and high-frequency modes will be increasingly
excited, leading to sounds of brighter timbral qualities. Also the harder the con-
tact stiffness, the shorter the contact time and the wider the frequency range of the
response. Within such a framework, the impact force is thus given by:
b
fcn (t) = −K c w ⊥ (t) − ξ ⊥ (r c , t) if w ⊥ (t) < ξ ⊥ (r c , t)
(13)
fcn (t) = 0 if w ⊥ (t) ≥ ξ ⊥ (r c , t)
where w ⊥ (t) = w(t) · e⊥ and ξ ⊥ (r c , t) = ξ (r c , t) · e⊥ are the motions of the mallet

and the bar in the direction normal to the contact surface respectively. In a modal
description, when the mallet and the bar are in contact, Eq. (13) becomes

N
b
z
fcn (t) = −K c w ⊥ (t) −
y
qn (t) ϕnx (r c )e⊥
x
+ ϕny (r c )e⊥ + ϕnz (r c )e⊥ (14)
n=1
y
with e⊥ = (e⊥ x
, e⊥ , e⊥
z
). The form of Eq. (14) shows that the contact nonlinearity
not only distributes the impact energy across all the modes but also couples all
the directions of the bar motion, even those that are not excited initially. Apart its
compactness, Hertz’s theory remains a crude representation of the real interaction
dynamics. Strictly speaking, it cannot be applied to dynamical problems for which the
contact force evolves with time, but a quasi-static approximation, as considered here,
is a pragmatic approach commonly used in music acoustics (Chaigne & Kergomard,
2016).
6.4 Numerical Results
The set of Eqs. (4), (5), (8), (9), (11) and (13) represents the essential physics of
the bar dynamics, that can be integrated over time from given initial conditions in
order to simulate its vibratory motion. For the time-step integration, we used the
central difference scheme of the Newmark’s family of methods (Gerardin & Rixen,
2015). Here, the main numerical difficulty comes from the short duration of the
contact which requires a small time-step t for stable and accurate computations.
For the presented simulations, we adopted a time step of 10−6 s, and assumed all
modal displacements and velocities to be nil initially, except the initial velocity of
the mallet v0 . Struck excitations were simulated by considering a mallet of mass
m M =10 g and assuming a contact stiffness of K c = 107 N/m1.5 between the bar and
mallet. The bar modal basis included modes up to 20 kHz, which is enough to ensure
convergence in relation to the contact stiffness. The input modal frequencies, modal
masses and modeshapes stem from the FE modal computations, for which the first
six modal frequencies were substituted by their values identified experimentally.
Modal damping were estimated from a fitting procedure using the identified values
but excluding the first torsional modes, resulting in values ranging from 0.3 to 3 %.
For each supporting fixture, we consider values of stiffness and dissipation of 104
N/m and 3 Ns/m respectively, equally distributed among three flexible-dissipative
supports located uniformly on each nodal lines of the fundamental mode. This results
in frequencies of about 50 Hz for the flexible bar/chord system.
Figure 11 shows results obtained when considering the bar impacted at its center
with velocity v0 = 1 ms−1 , which is a configuration intended to reproduce a typical
excitation by player. It shows the time history response of the bar displacement in
the three directions of motion, where the initial transient and the rapid decay of the
vibration are evident, with some superimposed low-frequency oscillations due to
the influence of the supports. As one would expect, although the impact energy is
given in a single direction, the vibration of the bar is effectively three dimensional.
Notice however that the relative amplitudes of motion in the x-y plane are small
compared to the vertical component thus confirming the common hypothesis in music
acoustics of neglecting in-plane motions for percussion bar instruments. Clearly, this
simplification is also reinforced by the fact that coupling with the air essentially
occurs through the vertical motions so that motions in the x-y plane are likely to
have small consequences on the produced sound.
The plot in Fig. 12 presents results stemming from several simulations obtained
by varying the impact point. It is a plot of the modal energy of the first eight flexible
modes in relation to the total energy of the bar. It shows the selective excitation of
the partials depending on the locations of the nodes/anti-nodes of the modeshapes
and of the contact point. In comparison to bar models accounting for beam modes
only, note the gradual excitation of the torsional modes as the impact point moves
away from the symmetry axis, because of the 3D modeling of the bar vibrations.
Musically, this leads to clear audible changes in the sound radiated, starting with a
-4
10
5
dir. X
0
-5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
10-4
5
dir. Y
0
-5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
10-4
5
dir. Z
0
-5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Time [ s ]
Fig. 11 Time history response of the components of the bar displacement for a vertical excitation.
Excitation location is given by the sketch on the left
0
10
10-2
log10 ( En / Et )
-4
10
-6
10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Mode number
Fig. 12 Modal energy of the first eight flexible modes as a function of the excitation locations.
Excitation locations are given by the sketch. A color code is used to relate the excitation location
and the corresponding distribution of modal energy
Vert. Hor. X Hor. Y
Dir. X
0
10
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Dir. Y
0
10
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Dir. Z
0
10
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Frequency [ Hz ]
Fig. 13 Autospectra of the 3D components of the bar velocity computed at the contact point for
different directions of excitation. Excitation directions are given on the left. A color code is used to
identify the direction of the excitation in the autospectra
well defined sound dominated by its fundamental mode at the center and ending with
a richer but thinner sound close to the edges of the bar.
Figure 13 then shows the components of the bar velocity spectra obtained by
considering different directions of the impact velocity. By changing the components
of the initial velocity vector of the mallet, we simulated normal impacts on each face
of the bar, all given close to its bottom-left corner. Again, since the modeshapes are
three dimensional, the three components of motion are always excited whatever the
direction of impact . Note however the different distributions of the input energy
among the three components that will result in different timbral characteristics for
the sound radiated. If impacting the bar along the x-direction mainly excites the
higher order modes, note that the fundamental mode, which involves motions in the
z direction mainly, is slightly excited. Looking at the relative amplitudes between the
excited overtones, one understands that the corresponding sound will be perceived
thinner and brighter compared to a strike given in the z direction.
Figure 14 then illustrates the influence of the nonlinearity of the contact by mod-
ifying the strength of the impact, which is known to be highly relevant from the per-
ceptual viewpoint (Poirot et al. 2019). The cases of weak, medium and stronger exci-
tations are considered by testing increasing impact velocities of 0.5, 1 and 1.5 ms−1 .
We present the velocity spectra of the bar normalized to their maximum value in
order to emphasize the differences in frequency contents. If a weak excitation favors
the low-order modes and results in a gentle sound, the main difference observed here
occurs for the third mode which becomes more prominent in the global vibration as
the impact velocity increases, and that could influence the perceived pitch of the bar.
v = 1.5 m/s v = 1.0 m/s v = 0.5 m/s

0 0 0
0
10
Dir. X
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
100
Dir. Y
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

0
10
Dir. Z
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Frequency [ Hz ]
Fig. 14 Normalized autospectra of the components of the bar velocity by varying the excitation
amplitude. Excitation location is given on the left
Finally, we present in Fig. 15 an attempt to compare the synthesis model at hand

with measurements obtained during impact tests. Of course, such a comparison has
several limitations, mainly regarding the unmeasured striking parameters that could
make the comparison discutable. Based on the force value measured by the minia-
ture hammer, we tentatively adjust the velocity and contact stiffness of the excitation,
resulting in values of 1 ms−1 and K c = 107 N/m1.5 when considering a mallet mass
of 1.5 g. Looking at Fig. 15, the comparison of the two spectrograms shows a fair
agreement for the intensity and damping behavior of the excited frequencies. In par-
ticular, the decay of the second overtone is well reproduced by our model, reinforcing
the explanation given in Sect. 4 about the influence of the bar supports in the increase
of modal damping observed for the first torsional mode.
7 Conclusions
In this paper, we developed a non-destructive technique in order to assess the geomet-

rical and acoustical features of Timbila wooden xylophones. Based on 3D scanning
measurements, the technique provides faithful virtual models of the bars and allows
systematic analysis of their geometry with high accuracy, as well as of their vibra-
tional properties. A specific slicing algorithm was developed for contour extraction
and successfully implemented in order to highlight the precise design of the bar
undercut that appears useful to investigate the tuning practice of Timbila makers.
Combining the scan data with FE modeling and vibration analysis techniques, we
5000 0
-20
4000
-40
Frequency [ Hz ]
3000
-60
2000 -80
-100
1000
-120
0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time [ s ]
5000 0
-20
4000
-40
Frequency [ Hz ]
3000
-60
2000 -80
-100
1000
-120
0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time [ s ]
Fig. 15 Spectrograms of the vertical component of the bar velocity. Top: measurement. Bottom:
simulation
also analysed the relative tuning of each bar, checked the musical scale of the instru-
ment and identified its reference pitch. By comparison with modal data obtained by
experimental identification techniques, our preliminary FE modeling proved to be
accurate on predicting the modal frequencies of the most important musical (vertical
transverse) modes but failed with the other modes. The main reason is to be found
in the very crude model for the wood, which ignores its orthotropic behavior. This
is a practical problem which remains the most urgent aspect to include in our future
approach. Given the limitations of current data for the wood species Mwenje, attempts
will be made by using values found in the literature for similar wood species and/or
by investigating the anisotropy of Mwenje through measurements carried out on
specimen samples. Regarding the sound synthesis physical model, our main efforts
are currently being put in the introduction of the bar/resonator interaction and will be
followed by including the acoustic radiation of both the bar and resonator. Finally,
other important task for future work will be the application of the proposed method-
ology to the collection of historical Timbila xylophones of the National Museum of
Ethnology of Lisbon in order to virtually share this unique collection and promote
Timbila music and instrument making.
Acknowledgements The authors thank José Vieira Antunes from the Centro de Ciências e Tec-
nologias Nucleares of Instituto Superior Técnico for lending equipments for experiments. We
also acknowledge supports from the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) under the
Grant Research Project PTDC/ART-PER/32568/2017 and the Norma Transitória Grant No. DL
57/2016/CP1453/CT0007.
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Reducing Annoyance of Healthcare
Soundscapes with Harmonious Alarms
Frederico Pereira, Rui Marques, Joana Vieira, and Guilherme Campos
Abstract Recent research and amendments to standards have called for a paradigm
shift when designing for healthcare spaces. While these are currently populated
with melodic, hard to learn alarms and other noise sources, the benefits of harmo-
nious alarms inside healing soundscapes seem promising for patients. We propose
alarms for the Temperature IEC 60601-1-8 category which were designed consid-
ering psychoacoustic and musical knowledge. Effort was made to abide by design
recommendations while including new information such as the direction change of
the vital sign being monitored (increasing or decreasing), and also manipulating
harmonicity to trigger certain emotional percepts. Relevant human factors and orga-
nizational factors are discussed, as the consequences of having carefully curated,
generative healing soundscapes still need to be researched from a patient, healthcare
professional and organizational perspective.
F. Pereira (B) · R. Marques · J. Vieira

CCG: Centre for Computer Graphics, Guimarães, Portugal
e-mail: frederico.pereira@ccg.pt
R. Marques
e-mail: rui.marques@ccg.pt
J. Vieira
e-mail: joana.vieira@ccg.pt
J. Vieira
Ergonomics & Human Factors Group, ALGORITMI Research Centre, University of Minho,
Guimarães, Portugal
CIAUD Research Centre for Architecture Urbanism and Design, Lisbon School of Architecture,
Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
G. Campos
Department of Electronics, Telecom and Informatics (DETI)/IEETA, University of Aveiro,
3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
e-mail: guilherme.campos@ua.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_13
252 F. Pereira et al.
1 Introduction
“It robs the industrious man of his time; it annoys the musical man by its intolerable
badness; it irritates the invalid; deprives the patient, who at great inconvenience
has visited London for the best medical advice, (…), and it destroys the time and
the energies of all the intellectual classes of society by its continual interruptions
of their pursuits” (Public Domain Review, 2020). These are the vociferous words
of Charles Babbage, co-inventor of the first mechanical computer, written in 1864.
The polymath has witnessed the birth of noise with the advent of machinery and the
industrial revolution, after millennia of silence (Schafer, 1977). In the meantime, we
have gone through three more technological and social revolutions, and are currently
living under the fourth one, privileging automation and smart technology.
The increment in technology and machinery, and consequently noise, has only
but increased, and hospitals and healthcare facilities are not an exception (Busch-
Vishniac, 2019; Busch-Vishniac et al., 2005). Healthcare facilities, especially the
intensive care units, now face a difficult dilemma, which is using technology to
ensure the patient’s safe recovery, knowing that this technology might hinder the
patients’ and clinician’s wellbeing (Birdja & Özcan, 2019). Intrinsic to the environ-
ment experience in healthcare facilities are the sounds emitted by medical devices.
A wide variety of these medical devices are used throughout Intensive Care Units
(ICU’s), recovery and operating rooms, tasked with monitoring physiological condi-
tions of patients. These devices are intended to measure and, visually and/or aurally
communicate on a patient’s condition to nearby healthcare staff. Some devices emit
sound as a continuous monitoring tool for staff, while others use sounds only as
alarms. As an example, pulse oximetry is continuously monitored, and the pitch and
speed of the sound provide information regarding the oxygen saturation values of the
patients, as well as their heart rate. The monitoring sound is continuous and different
from the alarm sound. Infusion pumps on the other hand, may work silently, and
only emit an alarm once they detect a kinked catheter or an occlusion. When the
monitored parameters of a patient are within a certain range of values, the device can
emit no sound, or it can emit a monitoring sound. However, when crossing predefined
thresholds, different sounds are emitted so to alert nearby healthcare workers on the
status change.
Ever since 2012, auditory alarms have been listed as one of the ten main tech-
nology hazards inside hospitals by ECRI Institute1 (ECRI Institute, 2019). One of the
major causes of the problem is that there are too many alarm sounds (Block, 2008;
Thangavelu et al., 2014), and in the clinical environment, the problem is intensified
due to the use of equipment from different manufacturers, which place increased
demands on the clinical staff who use and trust the alarms (Casey et al., 2018).
The use of sound to communicate important information to healthcare workers
has many advantages, and is therefore a widely employed form of machine-human
communication. Benefits include allowing listeners to move without the need to
1ECRI Institute is a non-profit organization that establishes best practices to improve patient care
using applied scientific research in healthcare.
Reducing Annoyance of Healthcare Soundscapes … 253
keep the device in their visual field, more compliance to auditory warnings over
visual warnings (Edworthy & Hards, 1999), attraction of attention regardless of the
listener’s current activity (Edworthy & Stanton, 1995), rapid communication and
localizable emitting source in the room space. However, most design decisions come
with their own set of disadvantages, and the use of sound as a communication tool
has the immediate consequence of contributing to the general perception of noise
inside a healthcare facility. A study led by the Beryl Institute (Madaras & Apps,
2012) has categorized the primary sources of noise in a hospital after interviews
with professionals from 241 U.S. hospitals. Physiological monitoring alarms are
thought to contribute with as much as 25% to hospital noise. Both healthcare profes-
sionals and patients face auditory alarms as a necessary hindrance which affects not
only their mental health and professional capabilities (Busch-Vishniac, 2019; Insti-
tute, 2013), but which also affects the patients’ effective recovery (Birdja & Özcan,
2019; Ecophon, 2018) simply by being exposed to the stressful auditory soundscapes
generated by medical devices.
Noise induced annoyance in these environments is the result of a vicious cycle,
where not only physical properties of emitted sounds and architectural features take
part, but also the subjective perception and emotions that may result from it. Noise is
a hindrance for good communication, may it be between humans, or human machine.
Noise is noted as the main cause of desensitization of medical staff to alarm sounds
leading to alarm fatigue (Edworthy, 2013; Kristensen et al., 2016; Simpson & Lyndon,
2019), missed and misinterpreted information, louder voice conversations, louder
telephone rings, televisions, among others, in a reaction akin to the Lombard effect
[2],2 whereby in order to overcome communication noise, a noisier environment is
generated. The cycle only leads to stress, frustration, and fatigue, contributing to
an overall inefficiency with potentially serious consequences. Noise in healthcare
facilities is a major source of complaints, from patients, staff, and visitors (Hravnak
et al., 2018; Lorenz et al., 2017).
It is therefore of utmost importance that these alarm sounds are clearly understood
and discriminated against other sound sources that contribute to the soundscape,
such as chatter, trolleys, HVAC systems, doors, lighting, cleaning machines, among
others (Madaras & Apps, 2012). With a multitude of concurrent sound sources, staff,
patients and visitors may quite easily become annoyed at the resulting cacophony.
Therefore, efforts to mitigate an annoying soundscape should be considered at the
sound design stage. Recently, scientific studies and projects (Birdja & Özcan, 2019;
Özcan et al., 2018) have been defending and proposing positive soundscapes for these
environments, demonstrating that sounds from nature or harmonic music can have
positive effects on health (Rueb, 2019). The current state of healthcare soundscapes
may well represent an inhuman environment, “when, as today, environmental sound
reaches such proportions that human vocal sounds are masked or overwhelmed, we
have produced an inhuman environment. When sounds are forced on the ear which
2The involuntary tendency of speakers to increase their voice when speaking in loud noise to
enhance the audibility of their voice.
may endanger it physically or debilitate it psychologically, we have produced an

inhuman environment” (Schafer, 1977).
1.1 Designing Positive Healthcare Soundscapes
The soundscape, or sonic environment, can deeply affect the patient experience.
This perceptual construct is grounded in the relation between acoustic environment,
resulting from physical phenomena, and its perception, resulting in the soundscape
it generates (ISO 12913-1:2014). Only by knowing the acoustic environment can we
have the resources to improve the orchestration of the soundscape (Schafer, 1977).
In recent years there has been an effort to investigate how healthcare facilities’
soundscape affects patients’ recovery time, dignity and, overall well-being of patients
and professionals alike (Ecophon, 2018). Inside a hospital environment, hearing
becomes more important and relevant to a patient because the visual environment is
dull and boring (Spence & Keller, 2019). Electronic musician, composer and author
Yoko Sen has been a prominent voice in drawing attention to this systemic problem,
pointing out that healthcare facilities’ soundscapes are closer to noise than to melodic
sounds, provoking annoyance, and negatively affecting patient experience (Sen &
Sen, 2020). Sen summarizes the issue with a question: “What is the last sound you
wish to hear before you die?” (Sen, 2016a), adding that most surely would not be a
concoction of harsh sounding beeps (Sen, 2016b). The issue is not limited to the above
mentioned metaphoric extreme scenario, it is present at all times during a patient’s
stay. Past investigations have reported on the longer recovery times and health risks
on patients’ exposure to unsuited noise levels (Buxton et al., 2012; Science Daily,
2012). Sleep deprivation affects the immune system, directly affecting mortality rates
in hospitals. This means that uncontrolled hospital noise can be directly considered
as dangerous.
In search of solutions, Sen’s efforts suggest acting on biological processes through
exposure to soothing sounds, like composed melodies and soft sounding textures,
transforming the sonic space towards a healing environment. The concept involves
as much of architectural features as sensory factors, of which the soundscape is
paramount (Stichler, 2001). Several studies have pointed to benefits of the use of
music in care of hospital patients, as to induce a reduction of anxiety and stress
(Drahota et al., 2012). Then, it makes sense that in the transformation towards
a healing environment should be a paradigm shift in the sound design of equip-
ment alarms, embracing the role of music in healing, promoting an interdisciplinary
approach to the process (Weymann, 2018).
Sound design of medical equipment alarms had until recently been almost
completely overlooked, with Antti Ikonen from Aalto University (Ikonen, 2017)
suggesting that since these are not consumer products, traditionally, attractiveness
was set aside, with the main intent being as loud as necessary whilst reducing
production expense. Additionally, there is a technical legacy where these devices
have commonly used very simple piezo speakers, which although robust, small and
cheap, offer limited scope for sound design. This trend is now changing, and patients
are more and more considered as consumers or guests. As such, their stay is a curated
journey with the goal of providing them a good experience (Spence & Keller, 2019).
Research shows that hospitals with a better patient experience do better financially
(Trzeciak et al., 2016). In fact, some hospitals are putting great efforts into reducing
their noise levels or even designing healing soundscapes (Rueb, 2019; De Ruiter,
2015). The New Children’s Hospital in Helsinki partnered with Aalto University,
created a series of ambient soundscapes (International Sound Awards, 2019). Each
floor represents a theme such as ocean, jungle or forest. All spaces are designed to
make children comfortable, while imagining they are in another place filled with
natural sounds and smooth instruments. Brian Eno is known to have designed a quiet
room in the Montefiore hospital (Brown, 2013) that soothed and calmed patients
with what he called functional music. Similarly, the project Sonic Environments for
Healing used generative music systems to improve the atmosphere of hospital waiting
rooms (Lazarevic, 2015). Also MacDonald and Schlesinger (2018) created a device
that would control music in the operating room by integrating it with the vital signs
from the anesthesia monitor. This device would automatically reduce the volume of
the music whenever it detected critical events such as a slowing heart rate, reduced
oxygen saturation or blood pressure, in order to allow the team to better communi-
cate and concentrate on the patient. More recently, the Critical Alarms Lab at the
University of Delft has developed the CareTunes project (Bogers, 2018), aiming at a
melodic representation of the patient’s physiological signals. A device transcribes a
patient’s vital signs into songs that sound like electronic dance music. Drums repre-
sent the heartbeat, guitar for oxygen saturation and piano for blood pressure. When
a patient is stable, the tune is harmonious, but it becomes dissonant when a patient’s
status changes for the worse, thus calling for a caregiver’s attention.
1.2 Aim
This chapter focuses on the sound design of medical device ‘alarm’ sounds relating
to patient status. We propose to characterize the surprisingly distant relation between
music and alarm design; select good practices and design guidelines from literature;
and to create our own set of harmonious alarms.
2 Current Clinical Auditory Alarms and Guidelines
2.1 IEC 60601-1-8 Clinical Alarm Design Guidelines
The global medical device standard IEC 60601-1-8 published in 2006, and corre-
sponding amendments (2012 and 2020) were developed by the IEC (International
Electrotechnical Commission) Technical Committee 62, “Electrical equipment in

medical practice”, Subcommittee (SC) 62A, “Common aspects of electrical equip-
ment used in medical practice” (ANSI/AAMI/ IEC 2013, viii). The document is set
out to include general requirements, tests, and guidance for alarm systems in medical
electrical equipment and medical electrical systems (Edworthy et al., 2013). The
IEC’s 2006 and 2012 proposed alarms were an improvement to the design require-
ments existing at the time, as they standardized important design recommendations.
However, the research that ensued proved they were not without issues, and still left
plenty of space for improvement, especially concerning their learnability (Wee &
Sanderson, 2008). The general guidelines were mostly focused on basic function-
ality, and little consideration was given to hearing science and insight from musical
perception that may be drawn from the musicology’s vast body of knowledge (Atyeo
& Sanderson, 2015; Edworthy et al., 2017; Foley et al., 2020).
The IEC 60601-1-8 (2006 and 2012) proposes eight alarm categories, each
consisting of three musical notes for medium priority and five musical notes for
high priority, forming a distinct melody for each alarm. Although the melodies differ
between alarms’ categories, they have the same rhythm, identical timbre, they are all
in the key of C major and they all start in the C note, leading to very little acoustic
variation and heterogeneity between them. Figure 1 represents the IEC 60601-1-8
melodic variations for alarms of medium priority (Gillard & Schutz, 2016). Within
each priority level, the IEC alarms have the same length, the same rhythm and span
a narrow pitch range (262–523 Hz or C4–C5)—characteristics likely contributing to
problems in learning and retention (Gillard & Schutz, 2016).
A problem repeatedly identified in the IEC guidelines compliant alarms, was not
only the fact that they were in the same key but also of identical timbre, where the
only sound aspect that served as a reference to differentiate which category they
belong to was its melody alternation.
The recent 2020 IEC 60601-1-8 amendment seeks to alleviate the aforemen-
tioned issues by introducing dramatic changes such as differentiation of each cate-
gory by use of auditory icons. An auditory icon takes advantage of the already
existing and familiar association between a sound and its source. The meaning of
these sounds rarely needs to be learned, as they are based on previous experiences. In
this case, different auditory icons are used for different clinical category functions.
For example, the sound of a breath is used for the Ventilation category, a whistling
kettle for the Temperature category, the sound of pills shaking inside a plastic box
for the Drug Administration category, among others. The current amendment also
devised an initial auditory pointer representing the degree of urgency, going from
low, to medium and high priority. Nevertheless, these initial pointers are very similar
to the older 2006 IEC 60601-1-8 standard sounds, with little temporal harmonic
variation. Their most salient percepts include the alternation of pitch (lowest for
low priority and highest for high priority), and the number of times the note repeats
over time, to discriminate urgency. The new approach results in sounds with much
more temporal variation at the rhythmic level, with the hope of increasing learning
capacity and detectability (Bennett et al., 2019), which, from previous results, seems
promising (Edworthy et al., 2017).
Fig. 1 Melodic sequences for the medium priority eight alarm categories of the IEC 60601-1-8
standard (2006 and 2012 update). Adapted from Gillard & Schutz (2016)
Although the updated alarm design guidelines have been validated for a significant
improvement in the memorization and interpretation of alarms, additional examina-
tion is necessary to consolidate its advantages, especially in real scenarios, consid-
ering their inherent workload and mental stress are hard to replicate in simulated
clinical environments. As an example, the recent update has yet to be evaluated for
annoyance, an issue that might reveal itself only after long hours of professional
healthcare work (Foley et al., 2020).
2.2 Alarms and Musical Cognition
At no surprise for musicians, alarms abiding to pre-2020 IEC 60601-1-8 design guide-
lines become confusing in their identification, result in hearing and alarm fatigue
(Simpson & Lyndon, 2019) and consequently carried a high degree of annoyance
(Atyeo & Sanderson, 2015; Foley et al., 2020; Wee & Sanderson, 2008). The distance
between musical knowledge and alarm design becomes reinforced when comparing
musicians and non-musicians’ populations learning clinical alarms. Pre-2020 IEC
60601-1-8 alarms were better recalled by participants with at least 1 year of musical
training (Sanderson et al., 2006; Wee & Sanderson, 2008). Foley et al. (2020) add that
musicians do better in pitch discrimination tasks, concluding that pitch and melody
discrimination is highly dependent on musical aptitude. Importantly, there does not
seem to be detection differences in harmonics between musicians and non-musicians
(McPherson et al., 2020) as reported for pitch and melody. The authors of the study,
however, point to methodological artifacts which might have conditioned the results.
They raise important questions regarding the western music training which does not
commonly ask musicians to hear in the presence of stationary noise, as was requested
during the experiment. In fact, hearing a harmonic sound among similar sounds may
require different strategies than hearing a harmonic sound in noise. The authors claim
there might be musicianship advantages in the first situation but not in the latter.
Music cognition aims at applying cognitive science methods to musical issues,
and the reported differences between populations are serious enough to motivate a
deeper study of what both cognitive science and music can teach us, to design more
democratic alarms.
For an increased recognition of melodies, music cognition literature suggests
attending to the Cohort Theory of spoken word identification. The theory has been
originally proposed in 1980, by Marsen-Wilson and Tyler (1980), proposing that at
the start of a sound, the brain engages in memory searching for possible combinations
for the melody that may follow; the possible combinations are eliminated as the sound
progresses, until a match is found. Pitch contour has been identified as having a
major role in melody recognition and memorization, with melody similarity ratings
predominantly based on pitch contour, content and note patterns (Ahlbak, 2007;
Gillard & Schutz, 2016).
The fact that the newly proposed alarms’ categories are represented with audi-
tory icons somehow alleviates previous performance, recognition, and learnability
problems (McNeer et al., 2018). However, new questions emerge while designing
within this paradigm. What is the best sound to use for each situation? Which sound
will trigger the intended reaction and performance without irritating or polluting
the soundscape? The answer depends on a diverse range of factors such as, on the
listener’s culture, age, current cognitive load, task at hand, the nature of the source,
among others. There is evidence of a general trend in preference however, where
people tend to find naturally occurring sounds most pleasant. The sound of moving
water in multiple forms (drops, streams, ocean waves, rain), wind, or even animal
sounds (birds, other people) were all sound categories for which listeners displayed
a preference (Brown, 2012).
It is worth noting that the use of auditory icons to represent alarms categories leaves
the opportunity to employ melodic sequences as another type of information carrier.
Melodic sequences can provide some recognition and memorization of conveyed
information, but caution must be taken, as if overlaid with other melodic sequences
they may become difficult to isolate and recognize.
The use of identical timbre for alarms may pose an obstacle to its efficiency, as
different timbres ease recognition and discrimination between sound sources (Gillard
& Schutz, 2016; Wee & Sanderson, 2008). Timbre is a complex subjective charac-
teristic of sound that allows us to differentiate two or more sounds of equal pitch and
intensity. Timbral variation can be obtained in the most diverse ways through the
manipulation of properties for a synthesized sound, such as amplitude and frequency
dynamics, spectral energy distribution, degree of inharmonicity of the partials and
frequency (Houtsma et al., 1987). It can be said that timbre is one of the main percepts
leading to a very high identification rate, even for very brief sounds and from different
sound sources (Darwin, 1971; Hall & Grose, 1988; Iverson, 1995; Moore & Gockel,
2012). As it turns out, in an orchestral performance, an ordinary person without
musical training can easily distinguish wind instruments, strings and percussion by
their timbre (Schellenberg et al., 1999; Suied, et al., 2014).
2.3 Annoyance
Sound annoyance has been studied by several authors, and it has revealed to be a
complex phenomenon. Various sound properties have been identified as affecting
annoyance, namely, the time envelope of harmonics (Sreetharan et al., 2018), and
the sharpness and roughness percepts (Fastl, 1997; Terhardt & Stoll 1981). We under-
stand by time envelope of harmonics the shape of the harmonic energy variation over
time. It is a major dimension of timbre. Harmonics are the result of energy at integer
multiples of the fundamental frequency, that is, for example, in a musical instru-
ment when excited by an external force, it does not produce only one fundamental
frequency, but a series of multiple integer frequencies of the fundamental frequency
exhibiting complex time patterns.
It is crucial that sound alarm induced annoyance is considered at the sound design
stage, as at later stages, annoyance mitigation may prove extremely difficult.
Figure 2 shows the harmonic composition of an 2006 IEC 60601-1-8 medium
priority Power Down (equipment failure) alarm, where static harmonics are visible
over time, a feature imparting a somehow unnatural and less pleasant sound to hear.
This consequence is pointed by Foley et. al (2020), where the authors expose that over
centuries, musicians have avoided simple, static sounds, while honing techniques and
crafting instruments that resulted in temporally complex and harmonious sounds.
All other 2006 IEC 60601-1-8 alarm categories are designed according to this
example.
Fig. 2 Spectrogram of a Medium priority Equipment failure alarm complying to IEC 60601-1-8
2006. The harmonic energy have a plateau on the time dimension
3 Harmonious Sound Design
Although the recently updated alarm design guidelines have been validated for
a significant improvement in the learnability and recognizability of alarms, some
aspects may deserve efforts for improvement.
3.1 Lessons Learned from Music
The use of auditory icons, note pulses and sequences grant an opportunity for manip-
ulation towards the concept of ‘healing environment’ based on lessons rescued from
a long history of music making.
3.1.1 Melody
In investigations on the emotional effect of sound rhythm and melody, a number of

experiments have shown that listeners had a prevalence to report positive, peaceful
emotions when exposed to simple melodies and regular rhythms, in contrast, excite-
ment, anger and sadness feelings were associated to sounds with more melodic
variation and less rhythmic stability (Crozier, 1974; Imberty, 1974; Vitz, 1966).
Investigating on perception and cognition of melody, Narmour (1990) suggests that
universal principles govern listeners’ melodic expectancies, identifying two main
principles: registral direction and intervallic difference. Registral direction, indi-

cates that small intervals imply a sequence maintaining its direction, on the other
hand, larger intervals hint at a directional change. For intervallic difference, small
intervals imply a subsequent interval of similar size (within 2 or 3 semitones), while
larger intervals suggest a following interval of at least 3 or 4 semitones smaller.
These principles have been empirically corroborated by other researchers’ studies,
as Krumhansl (1995), supporting the power of the implicative principles on listeners’
expectation of melody progression, even when unfamiliar with it. (dos Santos, 2012)
3.1.2 Pitch
There is supporting evidence indicating that pitch has a role in the perception of
emotion in music. Compositions with a wide pitch range are perceived as unpre-
dictable, conveying a high degree of arousal, while in the case of a reduced pitch
range, melodies are simpler to process, not being as effective in evoking arousal feel-
ings. In music, the general expectation of listeners is that of a fairly reduced pitch
range, causing positive and calming feelings (Narmour, 1990, 1991; Thompson et al.,
1997).
3.1.3 Harmony
One of the areas in which harmony preferences have already been measured and
modelled rigorously is on theory of formation of musical chords—a combination
of notes played at the same time. It has been consolidated for thousands of years
that certain combinations of notes are more agreeable than others, even though
combinations may vary according to culture (McDermott et al., 2010).
The distinction between consonance and dissonance is fundamental to Western
music. Consonance is defined by musical intervals that have a pleasant or harmonious
effect on the listener. As in the case of the fundamental note and its octave, having
a 1:2 ratio, which means that the frequency of an octave is twice the fundamental.
This interval is called unison and is generally pleasing. Another range that gives
the listener a pleasant feeling is a perfect fifth note which has a 3:2 ratio. These two
intervals constitute the first milestone in the evolution of the tone system. In contrast,
dissonance is the quality of a musical interval that does not have a pleasant or harmo-
nious effect on the listener. Such is the example of the tritone (6 semitones), which
has a complex frequency ratio of 45:32. The intervals between adjacent notes mainly
produce dissonance. Examination of scores and scales indicate that in classical music,
compositions tend to deliberately embrace consonance, and that the Western diatonic
scale might have emerged from the tendency to maximize the number of possible
combinations of consonant notes. Nonetheless dissonance is also used frequently,
it plays an important role in composition and is often used to create musical tense
moments (McDermott et al., 2010). A study by Oelman & Laeng (2008), found four
harmonic intervals that were assessed for emotional significance by listeners (2nd
major, 3rd major, 4th perfect and 5th perfect). The researchers found that adjectives
frequently employed for interval descriptions included “dissatisfied”, “sad”, “irritat-
ing” and “active” for 2nd major, while for a 3rd major description of “calmness”,
“enjoyable” and “happy” were given. As for the 4th perfect, elicitations included
“vigorous”, “robust” and, again, “dissatisfied”. For the 5th perfect, adjectives as
“clear”, “defined” and “serious” were used.
3.2 Harmonizing Auditory Icons
One way to harmonize alarms is to use consonant chords. To do this, sound designers
can take advantage of manipulation akin to a cartonization of the auditory icons.
This process may be achieved through physical modelling synthesis techniques (i.e.,
simulating the propagation of acoustic energy through an object model), an approach
based on the use of real-time mathematical simulations or real-world event models.
The resonances obtained by this type of synthesis may be modulated in order to
obtain consonant chords.
Another possibility to make an icon more harmonious while adding a layer of
extra information, is to modulate the resonances to generate a melodic variation
over its duration. For example, a stepped melody of ascending or descending ramp
to indicate the ascent or descent of monitored temperature. We can also increase
the dissonance in this melody in order to create tension, as to communicate higher
degrees of urgency/priorities.
Upon analysis of the issues and improvement opportunities described throughout
this chapter, the authors set out to design an alarm as a proposal including hearing
science and musical derived principles. The proposal attends to a greater detectability
and recognition through timbre, melodic sequences for provision of extra status infor-
mation, and overall improved harmony in order to reduce noise induced annoyance.
It should be noted that alarm annoyance not only results from an annoying sound,
but as well from the frustration of poor detectability and recognition.
These alarm proposals are represented in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 where spectrograms
were generated to show frequencies energy over time, and harmonic composition.
All of the sound examples were synthesized using Max/Msp software (cycling74)
through application of mathematical models of physical modelling developed by
Ircam (Modalys; SDT), customized by the authors so to accommodate desired
synthesis routines for the intended sounds.
Figures 3 and 4 relate to the Priority pointers that sound before the auditory icon.
Unlike the 2020 IEC 60601-1-8 standard alarms, the proposed priority pointers have
harmonic variation in time. Figure 3 is a medium priority pointer, and Fig. 4 is a high
priority pointer.
Figure 5 represents a Temperature category auditory icon designed according
to the IEC 60601-1-8 2020 amendment guidelines, with an added rising melody
layer. This melody layer is a design option that is not contemplated on the standard.
Fig. 3 Spectrogram of a Medium Priority Pointer. Harmonic Composition f0 = D4, f2 = D5, f3 =

F#5, f4 = D6, f5 = F#6 with 150 ms pulse duration, and 25 ms inter pulse interval (IPI). Constant
repetition occurs three times
Fig. 4 Spectrogram of a High Priority Pointer. Harmonious composition f0 = A4, f2 = A5, f3 =

E5, f4 = A6, f5 = E6, with 75 ms pulse duration and 25 ms inter pulse interval (IPI). The rhythmic
pattern is syncopated with 75 ms pauses
In this case, it serves to inform that the Temperature values are increasing. This
representation does not include the Priority Pointer.
Figures 6 and 7 represent the same Temperature alarm, with the Priority Pointers.
Figure 6 in Medium Priority and Fig. 7 is High Priority.
Fig. 5 Spectrogram of a Temperature category Auditory icon with rising melody
Fig. 6 Spectrogram of a complete Temperature alarm, including Medium Priority Pointer, and
auditory icon overlaid with an increasing melody
The harmonization of the auditory icons was achieved with the cartonization of
the sounds. We used the formation of major chords and chose the F key (F3-349 Hz,
A3-440 Hz, C4-523 Hz, F4-698 Hz).
The resulting sound examples can be divided into three important aspects: (1)
priority identification by using a first small musical note (2) category recognition by
using an appropriate auditory icon; and (3) the direction of the monitored vital signal
values, whether they are increasing or decreasing, through the use of a melodic
sequence. Priorities can be presented as low (not represented), medium (Fig. 3)
and high (Fig. 4), the alarm categories according to the IEC 60601-1-8 are eight
Fig. 7 Spectrogram of a complete Temperature alarm, including High priority pointer, an auditory
icon and the increasing melody layer
(Power Down, Cardiovascular, Perfusion, Drug administration, Oxygen, Ventilation,

Temperature and General), and the direction of registered values can be increasing
or decreasing.
The Priority aspect was designed taking into account the time envelope of
harmonics (Sreetharan et al., 2018and sharpness (Fastl, 1997; Terhardt & Stoll,
1981). The choice of intervals to create a harmonization considered their capacity
on influencing subjective perception, as reported in Sect. 3.1. The major 3rd was
used expecting to trigger calm, pleasing, bright, hopeful, and happy emotions for
the Medium priority alarm. A perfect 5th was applied for the High Priority alarm,
expecting to evoke clear, definite, inflexible, and serious emotions (Oelmann &
Laeng, 2008). At the rhythmic level, the Priorities differ accordingly. For Medium
Priority (Fig. 3), the rhythm is simple, constant with longer timed musical notes.
The Medium Priority alarm has as it harmonic composition f0 = D4, f2 = D5, f3 =
F#5, f4 = D6, f5 = F#6 with 150 ms duration of each pulse and with a 25 ms inter
pulse interval (IPI). It constantly repeats three times. For High Priority (Fig. 4) the
rhythm is more complex, irregular and with shorter-timed musical notes. Its harmo-
nious composition includes f0 =A4, f2 = A5, f3 = E5, f4 = A6, f5 = E6 with
a 75 ms pulse duration and 25 ms inter pulse interval (IPI). The rhythmic pattern
is syncopated with 75 ms pauses. The relation between harmonic composition and
emotions needs to be further validated with listening tests.
For category recognition we use auditory icons as recommended in the 2020 IEC
60601-1-8 amendment. User listening tests by the authors are underway to catalog
which of a set of auditory icons are better associated with each category. As an
example, one of possible auditory icons for the Temperature category set is the
sound of boiling water in a kettle, while releasing pressure. Auditory icons were
previously selected through a categorization exercise with healthcare professionals.
For the direction of the monitored vital signs values we implemented a melodic
line conveying an increase or decrease of values based on sequence expectancy as
described by (Narmour, 1990). According to the author, the listener is able to foresee
the direction of the melody even before it ends, that is, whether it is going to evoke
and increase or decrease. For these melodies, intervals of two and one semitones
were used. For our Temperature use-case, a pentatonic of F major was used for the
rising Temperature on a Medium Priority alarm, and a pentatonic of F minor for the
case of a High Priority alarm. Rhythmically, the sequence is syncopated.
The proposed Temperature alarm is grounded on design guidelines rescued from
reported music knowledge and psychoacoustics. Its effectiveness and subjective
evaluation by human listeners needs to be further researched in experimental settings.
4 Discussion and Conclusion
In this chapter we made a brief overview of the consequences of technology and

equipment in healthcare settings, with particular focus on clinical auditory alarms.
The history of alarm design is long, starting in the 1980’s with Paterson designing
alarms for civil aircraft (Patterson, 1982). The paradigm of using melodic alarms
with different priorities was applied throughout several different application settings,
namely healthcare. Up until very recently, the IEC 60601-1-8 provided design guide-
lines based on the assumption that humans would be able to associate different clin-
ical function categories to different melodies (Block, 2008). The assumption did not
consider several cognitive limitations, and the result was a large number of alarms,
very similar in structure, and very hard to learn. Later studies have shown that they
were in fact very hard to memorize, and that musicians were better at learning them
than non-musicians. These results led the standard to a much needed update which
was released in late 2020. The update includes major design guidelines changes,
being the most dramatic one dropping melodies as category differentiators. Taking
advantage of years of psychoacoustic studies and knowledge, the new alarms should
be designed using auditory icons. Auditory icons are everyday sounds that trigger
stored knowledge that most humans have. The sound of a screeching tyre means that
a car is braking nearby. The sound of a heartbeat means that a heart is beating, and
the sound of rattling pills means that it is medicine time. These sounds accelerate
recognition, and are structurally and temporally heterogeneous, making them easier
to learn (Edworthy et al., 2017).
The new design guidelines are an evident improvement to the healthcare profes-
sional’s training and day to day activities. But they set ground for new questions.
Which auditory icons should be used for a given category? What are the long-term
consequences of using everyday sounds as sounds representing critical events and
situations?
Zooming out from clinical alarms, we have dedicated a section to understanding
how hospitals, researchers and musicians are facing the design of a sound space as
a whole, naming them healing soundscapes. The positive effect a carefully designed
and generated soundscape can have of patients and healthcare professionals seems
promising. It obviously affects alarm design, and how they can be embedded in that
environment and still obtain the response action they expect from professionals.
A recent paper by Foley et al. (2020), and previous studies (Gillard & Schutz, 2016;
Schutz, 2018) make an intriguing point, further demonstrating that there is more to
alarm design than meets the eye. Alarm design and music have been surprisingly
apart on the course of alarm design history, and important percepts are yet to be
tested, such as annoyance, and how harmonicity and other variables affect it. The
question of what music knowledge could teach alarm designers was briefly analysed,
and results from studies on harmony, pitch and harmony were reported.
Having all that on account, we have proposed to design an harmonious alarm
that would trigger certain subjective percepts, such as the perception of urgency,
and would not annoy the listener. Having as use-case the challenging Temperature
category, we have designed according to the new IEC 60601-1-8 standard an alarm
that would (1) inform of the priority of the situation, (2) inform the clinical category
and (3) inform the direction of the monitored vital sign value. Importantly, the third
function of informing the direction of the sound is not stated on the IEC recommen-
dation, but after interviews with healthcare professionals we have understood it as an
important layer to add to the alarm. We have thus designed Medium and High Priority
alarms, with the values of Temperature increasing. Validation studies by the team of
authors are underway, both for the final selection of auditory icons (comprehension
and association to a referent) and for the annoyance rating of the alarms.
The design of harmonic alarms and healing soundscapes does not come without
its human factors challenges, and it may even be considered too radical of a change
when compared with our current noisy healthcare soundscape. We are aware that
the positive results of soothing, healing sound spaces are experimental, laboratorial
sometimes. Could the trade-off between patient well-being and staff alertness be
impossible to balance? Could the best healing soundscape be one with no auditory
alarms at all?
We have described the benefits of better alarms and soundscapes, but the transition
between different alarms from different manufacturers to a unison of equipment and
humans may take longer than expected. In the meantime, will hospitals need to set
for a middle ground where “older” alarms coexist with new ones? What impact
and consequences will new and better alarms have on the noise floor, will they add
more noise to noisy conditions? And what impact will that have on the patients and
professionals?
Additionally, most of the reported knowledge regards western research and
western musical preferences. It would be very enriching to understand what soothes
and comforts non-western patients and what alerts non-western healthcare profes-
sionals. Considering the identification advantages of musicians with melodic alarms,
another open question regards how harmonicity is interpreted by musicians. While
no reported differences were found in detecting harmonies among noise (McPherson
et al. 2020), would we still find musician advantages in detecting harmonies within
an harmonious soundscape?
Taken together, it seems that after designing an alarm as a piece of music, the
research questions that ensue regard human, architectural and organizational factors.
Complex socio technical settings like hospitals are hard places to implement changes.
Here, everything is a system, and every change should be considered as a variable
affecting a complex system. For this reason, further multidisciplinary research is
needed. Joint efforts from musicians, psychologists, acousticians, healthcare and
human-factors professionals, designers and many others are necessary to achieve an
acoustically healthy place, a hospital as a safe haven.
The true acoustic designer must thoroughly understand the environment he is tackling;
he must have training in acoustics, psychology, sociology, music, and a great deal more
besides, as the occasion demands. There are no schools where such training is possible, but
their creation cannot long be delayed, for as the soundscape slumps into a lo-fi state, the
wired background music promoters are already commandeering acoustic design as a bellezza
business. (Schafer, 1977)
Acknowledgements This paper is dedicated to the memory of Professor Jorge Almeida Santos.
The presented work is part of the project PATERSON—Prototyping medical acoustic envi-
ronments for the design of new auditory warning signals, supported by the Portuguese Govern-
ment through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (grant ref. PTDC/PSI-GER/EEA-
ELC/112137/2009), co-funded by COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 program, and supported by
FEDER and FCT within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020.’
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Music Education and Intersection Areas
The Music Training of General Primary
Education Teachers: A Case Study
at a Spanish University
Yurima Blanco-García and Alicia Peñalba
Abstract This chapter presents a case study on the musical training that General
Primary Education teachers receive at Palencia’s Faculty of Education, University
of Valladolid (Spain). This training constitutes the common academic offer on the
subject of Music for the future Primary teachers. The methodology is based on
the case studies (Stake, 2010) and its intention is to learn the singularities of the
case by describing the context, the analysis of documents and the gathering of data
(directly observing classes, interviewing students and music teaching staff). The
Atlas.ti software is used to analyze the data and the theoretical triangulation and the
investigators. It analyzes aspects like the profile of the student body and the teaching
staff, the balance between the musical contents and the didactic content, the use of
ICTs, the development of creativity, the autonomy and the presence of diverse music
and cultures. It concludes that the teaching of music does not seem sufficient to
implement its knowledge in Primary classrooms. Factors such as the overwhelming
number of students, the use of non-specific classrooms or the lack of quality music
references present tension points on this initial training.
1 Introduction
The musical training received by the general teachers in Spain produces a great
academic interest, for it encompass the whole of the academic offer acquired by
all the teachers during their university studies. This training is common to all the
Primary Education Teacher Bachelors’ program, whether it is the general teachers
or to those who will later pursue the Musical Education mention. While midst of
the educational reformation Spain’s general education is undergoing, it is suitable
to know how the future teachers in the field of music are being trained and in what
measure this training is adapted to the needs and demands of the educational and
social reality.
Y. Blanco-García (B) · A. Peñalba

University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
e-mail: yurima.blanco.garcia@uva.es
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_14
276 Y. Blanco-García and A. Peñalba
During several decades the general teacher’s musical training has been oriented
towards a very theoretical musical education, that revolves around reading music,
unattached to classroom’s real needs. The hardship in understanding the musical
language by an untrained student body has influenced the subject of Music and
made it feared, not enjoyed and, in some occasions, rejected. With the opening
of a new university bachelor degrees—conceived as part of the European Higher
Education Area (EHEA) around 1999—the competencies of the musical subjects,
that the general teaching students must receive, have changed: they have adapted to
the real professional needs of these future teachers and, therefore, have adapted too
to the demands of society and the economy of knowledge. Despite this adaptation,
nowadays musical training remains wanting (Blanco Garcia & Peñalba, 2020).
Considering the case study as an investigation of a singular reality, of a particu-
larity (Simons, 2011), in this chapter we address the training of Primary Education
general teachers in the Faculty of Education of a Spanish public university (anony-
mous). This Campus trains general teachers exclusively (some of the students follow
the double Bachelor degree on Early Childhood and Primary Education), therefore
the mention on Musical Education is not included in the educational offering. The
syllabus for the Primary Education Teacher Bachelors’ program has 240 university
credits, and is a four-year program; the one being analysed here includes two manda-
tory Music subjects: Fundamentals and Didactic Strategies in Musical Education
(FDSME) and Artistic Creation, Visual and Musical Culture (ACVMC).
The present paper starts by describing the context where the training of the future
teachers takes place. In the case demarcation there is an analysis of aspects such as:
the student body’s profile, as well as the teaching staff’s, the classroom as a learning
space and the particularities of Musical teaching. The series of questions presented
seek to deepen the knowledge in this educative reality, among other things: the
equilibrium between the didactic or the musical content, the use of the information
communication technologies (ITCs), the development of creativity, the students’
autonomy and responsibility and the presence of music belonging to diverse cultures
and time periods.
This study frames a national investigation project “Teacher training and music
in the knowledge” (Profmus, 2017) which’s objective is to examine the training of
teachers in the subject of music, through the analysis of the syllabuses, life histories,
case studies during initial training, second cycle training and permanent training of
the Music teacher; all of which provides a context in the realities presented by the
current education and society.
1.1 Methodology
The investigation of case studies is approached from an interpretative paradigm

perspective, for it recognizes the complexity and the multidimensionality of social
situations. The interpretative approach, in which the goal of an investigation is not
The Music Training of General Primary Education … 277
to make predictions, but to understand the phenomenon and the implication of those
taking part in it, as Denzin and Lincoln (2000, p. 3) state:
Qualitative research is a situated activity that locales the observer in the world. […] This
means that qualitative research involves an interpretive, natural settings, attempting to make
sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.
Qualitative investigations emphasize the comprehension of socio-educational

phenomenon, more than in its explanation and the design of the investigation is
emerging (Stake, 2010), which is to say that it is being constructed while the investi-
gation advances. It is holistic, contextual, participative and emphatic (Stake, 1995).
The investigator keeps in direct contact with the implicated people, taking part in the
studied reality.
The data collection technique associated with the qualitative methodology
provides information on the concrete situations and contexts, allowing an exhaustive
description and recreating the sensation of knowing the case (Bresler & Ardichivili,
2002). In this study direct observation, interviews and document revision have been
used. The first one allows to obtain information about the subtle elements that take
place in the teaching-learning context, in more depth than the ones obtainable form
teaching guides, audit plans or interviews. These non-participating observations have
been registered in observation diaries. Semi-structured interviews have been applied
to the prior mentioned subjects teaching staff and to a group of students in these
subjects. These have been registered in audio format and transcribed for their subse-
quent analysis. Lastly, documents such as degree’s verification memories, teaching
guides and other classroom documents.
All data has been transcribed and integrated into the software ATLAS.ti (version
8). The data is then reduced and codified, later the data is clustered until superior
categories emerge and relations are established. A data triangulation has been made
using different data collection strategies (observations, interviewing and document
analysis). An investigators’ triangulation has also been done, for, in this case, the
information has been discussed by two investigators. Finally, a theoretical triangula-
tion is done (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000) that consists in the use of different theoretical
perspectives to analyse the same data pool. The observations about both mandatory
subjects in the syllabus: Fundamentals and Didactic Strategies in Musical Education
(FDSME) and Artistic Creation, Visual and Musical Culture (ACVMC). In the case
of FDSME there has been 2 sessions of classroom observations (there was no access
to any other class) and one formative session (visit, and student body performance,
to the Tyl Tyl theatrical company), there were 7 interviews to the student and the
analysis to the subject’s educational programme. Regarding ACVMC, 5 observation
sessions took place, one interview to the professor, 5 interviews to student and the
document analysis to the subject’s educational programme.
Finally, the emerging categories where used both for the analysis phase and for
the presentation of the results, reduced to abbreviations throughout the text, these
are: student interviews and corresponding consecutive number (S.I. 1, 2, 3, etc.);
professor interview (P.I.): observation’s diary and the related date (example: O.D.
24-9-2019).
2 The Context
Palencia’s Faculty of Education belongs to the so known “peripheral campuses” of

the University of Valladolid. Said campuses are characterised for being in a city
other than the University’s headquarters, and they are normally smaller centres, with
less student. The teaching staff is constituted by a scarce number of professors (only
one at present), and some tenured University Lecturers, tenured Education College
teachers, Hired Doctors, Assistant Professors and Associates. The Music area is
comprised by one tenured University Lecturer, two Associated Professors, one of
which is a doctor and a certified Assistant Professor. The percentage of Associated
Professors in the Faculty is very high and a great part of the teaching falls upon their
shoulders.
Palencia’s Faculty of Education has been training teachers for over 160 years
and for the last two decades it has also trained Social Educators. It has been a
Faculty since the year 2015, for until that moment it had the category of College.
From the organization point of view, the dean’s team is constituted by one dean,
an academic secretary, the Internships and University Extensions’ vice dean, the
Academic Planning and Institutional Relations’ vice dean, and the Students’ vice
dean. The centres’ operation is organized around Commissions that meet themselves
periodically, independently to the meetings of the Faculty’s Board. In addition to these
there are the committees comprising the teachers, students and graduate students of
each of the Degrees offered by the Faculty. The Faculty’s regulation was passed by
the Government Council’s Permanent Commission, during the session of the 14th of
March 2014, that regulates the working of the government’s governing bodies.
La Yutera’s Campus is located in the outskirts of the city of Palencia, where the
old Yute fabric was, now a rehabilitated building with classroom, meeting rooms,
computer rooms, offices, music classrooms, gym and Psychomotor education rooms,
reprography, cafeteria, public parking lot, library and study lounge. It is placed in a
natural environment, close to parks and the Carrion river that goes through the city.
2.1 Degree Offering
At Palencia’s Faculty of Education offers Degrees in Early Childhood Education,

Primary Education and Social Education. The Early Childhood teachers are respon-
sible for the first school and, though the 0–3 and 3–6-years old cycles are not manda-
tory education, a great percentage of children between 3 and 6 years are in schools.
The Faculty offers a path for integration from the first courses and a specialization
in both fields where its investigation has focused: initiation to Foreign language
(English) — being one of the few centres in Spain where a Mention in English
Language is offered—; and since the school year 2014–2015, a Mention in Artistic
Expression and Communication and Motility, a fundamental area of practical work
with children in stage.
Primary Education teachers are in charge of the basic and mandatory teaching
to those between 6 and 12 years of age. The focus is put in the areas of experience
and expression and in transversal subjects that complete the official curriculum for
this educational sage that needs both general teachers and tutors. Specialist teachers
convey subjects such as Music, Physical Education and English. Palencia’s Faculty
of Education allows teachers to specialize through two mentions: The Mention on
Physical Education and the Mention on Foreign Language (English). There is an offer
too in the innovative working line as a specialist worker: the specific training that
requires the teaching staff responsible for the bilingual teaching (in accordance with
the European regulation CLIL/AICLE). Another modality offered since the school
year 2013/14 is the Combined Studies Programme in Early Childhood and Primary
Education. Said degree allows students to obtain a double degree in five school years.
Lastly, the Social Educator is responsible for generating a more welcoming social
context. Given the complexity and diversity of the current society there is a need for/in
Education professionals who can anticipate the social and educational demands and
who can work in contexts of social exclusion, community development, citizenship
participation, international cooperation and social and community attention, either
in orientation teams or in the educative system. To this we add the particularity of
belonging to an Autonomous Community with an elevated adult population who
need training throughout their life.
2.2 Master Studies
The Faculty of Education also includes a Generic Module of the Secondary Manda-
tory Education and High school, Vocational Training and Foreign Language Teacher
Master. They are currently working on the creation of a syllabus for an Educational
and Socio-community Intervention master’s degree.
2.3 Practicum
Every degree contemplates mandatory internships in its syllabus, that take place in
facilities outside the University, whether in Early Childhood Education centres or
Primary Schools or in institutions that contemplate and need the competencies of
Social Educators. The Faculty has a broad net of partner institutions.
2.4 Internationalisation
From the teaching internationalisation point of view, the Faculty has a net of agree-
ments with different Spanish, European, U.S. and Oversees Universities with whom
there is an existing agreement within the Mobility Program. There are agreements
with Germany, France, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom
and Turkey in particular.
2.5 University Extension
The offer in activities from the University Extension, as responsible for the society’s
cultural development in which its inserted, includes: (1) “Afternoons of Education at
la Yuntera” (A proposal related to all three Degrees, some in the form of seminars and
others carried out in specific occasions, organized when purposed by the teaching
staff, by the students or by different institutions. This is a novel initiative, praised
and recognized by all as a step forward towards educational innovation and lifelong
education): (2) “Weaving knowledge: a Social Investigation permanent seminar” (it
conveys all the educative and social investigation experiences to help the analysis
and the intervention in the working environment, by initiating a process open to
the exchange of ideas, based in the transdisciplinary study); (3) “Edu Fab-Lab” (a
laboratory dedicated to the production, investigation and diffusion of educational
and cultural projects. It explores the forms of collaborative experimentation and
learning, with the intention of articulating the productions of the university world
with the experiences in the professional sphere and the educational industry).
3 The Case: Training General Teachers at Palencia’s

Faculty of Education
3.1 The Students
The profile of the university’s students has changed in the last decades. An increase
in the access of young people to Superior Education can be appreciated as well
as a greater diversification in social affiliation (Rodriguez Espina, 2015). From the
generational point of view, classrooms are, primarily, constituted by what it is called
“generation Y ” or “millennials”, which is to say, those born between the 1980s and
the 2000s, they are defined by the use of digital technologies, mobile devices and the
instant communication through social networks.
Nevertheless, during the last decades Teaching Degrees studies have shown a
growing number of students outside this age frame. In particular at Palencia’s Faculty
of Education, one may find in any course older people that come from the working
world or previous studies that allow them to validate them to the current degrees.
A question of interest in this section is related to the students’ previous musical
training. The students reflect a very scarce information or life experiences related to
previous stages. Based on their answers, they considered that they have received to
scarce information in the Primary and Secondary school stages:
I had Music in the 1st and 2nd years of Middle school, then I had no other training in that
field. I don’t believe it was adequate, we simply listened to some classical music melodies
and learnt songs to play with the flute, in my opinion, the Music that is taught isn’t too useful,
the subject should be presented in a different way. (S.I. 8)
Regarding the access profile to Superior Education there are five identified ways
to access, from which the most representative is the one corresponding to the High
school Evaluation to Access University (EBAU in its Spanish acronym). Other ways
include systems before EBAU, such as education cycles from LOGSE and LOE,
High school and Selectividad. Regarding the origin, most of them live in the city
of Palencia, followed closely by Valladolid (the closest province to the Palentine
capital), a smaller number of students from close by municipalities or other towns
either belonging to the Autonomous Community or not. As a part of the Erasmus
programme, an alumnus comes from Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo
(Italy). Homogeneity is however appreciated among the students.
As specified by the teachers, getting to know the students’ profile is important to
establish the most effective way of communicating in the classroom, distinguishing
some particularities as references for the classroom and knowing their motivation
towards toe subject:
In the first class I always ask them to introduce themselves and tell me what their relationship
with music has been […] well, there are some with ballet, dance, others who have studied
piano, solfeggio, others are monitors, others sing… Almost all of them have experience with
children, but more from the point of view of sport, some play the guitar, some give dance
classes, some play the bass. […] Very few have ever been taught at a music school, either out
of interest or because their parents have bought them a guitar… There have been exceptions,
there is one who plays the dulzaina and is a musician who goes to the villages, he is part of
a company… Another who plays the saxophone and so on, but well, that’s more or less the
average. (P.I.)
The question about do they relate to music is understood by the students solely
in the sense of playing a musical instrument or singing. To note among the ACVMC
students: guitars (2), Ukulele (1), bass (1), Saxophone, drums (1), violin (1), piano
(1), singing (1) and coral practice (2). One student has had Solfa classes in her
village. It is also standing out the non-recognition of a training in the subject of
Music in the previous educational stages. They can barely remember the previous
experiences, except for two female students that remember performing in the school
coral and even, one student, got self-defined as “arrhythmic”, while talking about her
going through music class in Primary School. As a distinctive case, there was one
outstanding student because of his vocal interpretation abilities at beatboxing (S.I.
1).
It significant that the students can’t relate its interaction with music as a living
fact and consubstantial to their musical consuming habits. Most move actively in a
musical environment, whether it is through music reproduction (in the car, in mass
media, YouTube channels and other platforms where they can stream music), daily
activities, while exercising, among others, either individually (though headphones or

when using music to concentrate a study) or in social spaces. In general, they consider
themselves sceptic towards the question, as if music were a distant place and is only
accessible to those who possess the interest, the knowledge and the aptitudes for it.
The grade of interest for the subject of FDSME seems volatile, on one side, some
answers leads to a dismissal on the value of the professional orientation towards
another speciality, Corporal Expression Didactics in this case:
Personally, on the subject of music, if you can then get the Mention, I think it’s fine to get
some general notions… I am particularly interested in corporal expression rather than music,
because I don’t see it as useful. It is also because I am personally not interested in it, I am
convinced I am not going to pursue a career in Music, but anyway, it is fine to have some
basic notions. (S.I. 2)
Nevertheless, they show a bigger compromise while taking part of pre-

professional activities in the non-formal education scope. A great part of the students
has served as leisure time monitor for children or are working in sport entertainment
with groups of children (primarily football or handball) In a smaller scale, a part of
the group is balancing their studies with tutoring children and another part declares
not taking part in any activity outside their Degree studies.
3.2 The Teaching Staffs
The teachers are combining teaching at a university level with other professional
activities. In both cases they work as teachers: one as a singing teacher and the other as
a piano and Degree and Master teacher at a private University. Their experience in the
Primary Teacher Degree and, specially, teaching the subjects that are being analysed,
comprises four years. This shows a stability and continuity in the project/syllabus
knowledge and the experience in class, which can contribute to the quality in the
teaching process.
Regarding their musical training, they both possess qualifications from the
Advance Conservatory of Music, one in Singing and the other in Musicology.
Regarding their professional experience, the FDSME teacher possesses an extensive
experience as a lyrical singer and choir director. This artistic activity is complemented
with her collaboration in the socio-educative areas and cultural institutions and her
work as a teacher in the Dramatical Art College of Castilla y León. The experience of
the teacher in ACVMC is related with the artistic teaching, either in Conservatories
or in informal education centres. Doubtlessly, all the formative, teaching, artistic
and investigation experiences form the teachers contribute to a better quality and a
transfer of knowledge in their classroom application.
During the interview, the ACVMC teacher considered she had a good training to
teach this subject, despite when asked what field would she like to get more training
on she makes a special remark in her interest in receiving a broader educational and
technological training:
Well, I would like to have more training in pedagogical methods applied to music […] The
whole subject of technology is quite interesting for me and I am not very familiar with it.
[…] So I know what I want to use it for, but I don’t know about these technologies, these
software, how to interact with them… and I would like to do it, I have it as something to do,
something pending, but I need time myself. (P.I.)
The students consider that the teaching staff has a good training to convey the
lessons. As a student puts it “I think yes, truly the teaching staff that conveys the
lessons is very qualified” (S.I. 9).
3.3 The Music Classroom as a Place of Learning
The music classroom is a place of 100m2 and is exclusively used to teach music.
There are two parts separated by a projecting screen. School musical instruments
ready to be used can be found in the back part. The classroom has another space
where the chairs with an incorporated table are distributed, set out in a circle, so that
the students can see each other when they intervene (O.D. All the sessions except for
15-10-19 that was taken to another classroom). The centre of the room is left open
for practical activities that require movement. There are two computers a desktop
and a laptop. Said computers have internet connexion and specific sound software
such as Cubase.
There are school musical instruments such as small wooden percussion ones
(wood block, claves, guiro, temple-blocks or castanets) or metal ones (triangle, jingle
bells, rattles, rattlesnakes and bells); instruments with plates (xylophones and metal-
lophones); tambour, tambourines, kettledrum, snare, djembes, baschet structure,
popular instruments (guitar, harmonica); claims of various types, sound mobiles,
boomwhakers, glasses, harmonic tubes and a vertical piano, among others. There
is also a recompilation of sounding bodies organized using F. Delalande (1995)
proposed categories.
In addition to this, there are also printed materials (scores, musicograms, diagrams,
bibliography); songs (lullaby, nursery rhymes, popular, from the world, of cultured
music, of popular music and different style auditions); audio-visual; stories (musical,
interactive and to voice). There are also a series of not specifically musical materials
but that are used in some activities: cloth, paperboard, puppets, coloured salts, paints,
coloured chalk.
The classroom has a small annexed room where students can record sounds,
practice a part of a musical piece or experiment with a table of light, as can be seen
in the next image (Fig. 1).
The music classroom is common to all the subjects in this area, which renders
impossible its availability at all times. When it comes to FDSME, its classes take
place in another classroom for general teaching (classroom A-18) Since it is set
with tables the beginning time is spent in putting the furniture aside and in opening
the central space for the practical activities (O.D. 14-10-2019). It has a computer
(with internet access), an audio and video player and a screen to amplify it. In the
Fig. 1 Listening activity with the light table
observed sessions there were no musical instruments used, but the content arose
from the activities related to the voice and the body, as well as from the viewing
of audio-visual examples. It isn’t the ideal space for a music class, for there are no
sonorous bodies or instruments there that are needed to exemplify, accompany or
realize compositions in the classroom; neither is the excess of furniture adequate for
the realization of choreographies or other activities that require movement.
Despite the rooms being spacious, the groups of both subjects are quite numerous,
which makes the development of activities involving movement and that need of
displacement difficult. The theoretical classes are very overcrowded—during the
2019–2020 school year, 72 students enrolled the Primary Education Teacher Bach-
elors’ program in FDSME and 57 in ACVMC—and a lack of concentration and
general rumble is perceived in the classroom that makes the work in it complicated
(O.D. 24-9-2019: O.D. 8-10-19).
3.4 Teaching
The Primary Education Teacher Bachelors’ program that is offered in Palencia

(University of Valladolid, 2010) only includes two already mentioned Music subjects
in the syllabus—FDSME and ACVMC—respectively taught in during the first term
of the 2nd and 3rd year. Both are mandatory, and belong to the didactic and disci-
plinary module and, regarding the credits, FDSME has 6 ECTS, while ACVMC has
4ECTS, this last subject is shared with the Arts Expression area.
The basic competencies that sustain both subjects are related to the requisites of the
Orden ECI/3857/2007 Act, form the 27th of December (Spain, Ministry of Education
and Science, 2007). Regarding the specific competencies, it is based in two main axes:
(1) Understanding the principles that contribute to the cultural, personal and social
education from the art’s perspective: (2) Manage the teaching-learning processes and
the musical, art and visual education fields, that promote positive and creative activ-
ities orientated to an active and permanent participation in these artistic expression
forms. According to these last competencies its development entails to know the
Art subject syllabus for schools; acquiring resources to enhance participation in the
musical and art activities inside and outside the school; and to develop and evaluate
the syllabus content with proper teaching resources (University of Valladolid, 2020).
While FDSME is oriented to develop the specific objectives and contents of the
musical training, ACVMC seems to be more oriented towards the Artistic Education
aspects, as a reflection of its affiliation to the mandatory teaching of the Art and
Visual area. Nevertheless, both show a synergy with the contents of the syllabus
in force in Primary Education (Spain. Ministry of Education, 2014) and it offers
didactic resources and strategies for its application in the classrooms.
4 Results
4.1 Is the Musical Training Enough?
One of the main questions emerging from the data analysis is in what measures are
the subjects of music guaranteeing the needed competencies, abilities and knowledge
to become a Primary Education teacher. Is the training of a general teacher enough
or, on the contrary, is it insufficient and a broader deepening is needed?
The analysis of the documentation shows that the contents and the way of eval-
uating it are routed towards the acquisition of the competencies. However, while
the subject of FDSME is taught during the term and has 87 h of teaching, ACVMC
only has 20 h, concentrated in the 8 first weeks of the term. Although the first is
focused in a broader technical and musical expression training, the other subject is
focused towards the creative development and the comprehension of the music and
the audio-visual languages. In the second, a great number of the training activities
revolve around the use of music as a tool more that around the study of it from a
technical point of view (O.D. 24-9-19; O.D.22-10-19). The teaching relates directly
the contests of the learning activities with the Primary Education syllabus (O.D.
1-10-19).
Concerning the first subject, the students are divided with their assessment. Some
consider that the training is basic and enough.
You’ve got the tools, they have given you the tools, whether you use them or not, that’s up
to you. (S.I. 1)
I don’t think the Music I’ve learnt in Primary and Secondary school is worth much (right now,
I only remember the notes to one melody that I learnt by heart for a flute exam), however,
the subjects I have had in University have added some more. (S.I. 8)
However, other students consider that to be able to make a proper musical inter-
vention in the classroom a longer training time would be necessary. And they question
mainly the multimedia classes.
I believe that the Music subjects that we’ve had in University have provided us a low
percentage of knowledge to become primary teachers, it isn’t enough. I don’t think they
should be taken off all together, but that they should be taught in another way, with smaller
groups, because one can work better. (S.I. 8)
The teaching staff considers that the training would improve with more hours.
Nevertheless, considering the subject of FDSME is complete and gives more depth,
and the subject of ACVMC is scarce, while well-designed and useful (P.I. 1).
FDSME’s teaching staff’s point of view agrees that the subject’s scarce time is
insufficient to train general teachers. Some limitations lead to the number of students
and, therefore, the impossibility of working in a more individual and systematic way.
The teacher’s opinion is that “it’s impossible to cover” everything that the training
of a general teacher’s training comprises in this subject, therefore the objective is to
“open little windows” for their personal and professional development in the Primary
classroom.
4.2 Didactic Content versus Theoretical Content: Where Is

the Balance?
It is important to ask oneself: Do the music subject provide a relevant role to the
musical contents in opposition to the educational ones? In the study context the
students are asked about this relation. Precisely because of their condition as general
teachers, the students agree with the fact that the didactic component should have
more weight than the musical one: “Since we are pursuing a Bachelor in Education,
then music should be more didactic” (S.I. 1).
However, the impressions on the developing of the subject shown an equilibrium
between both components or even a bigger weight in music: “[We have received] a
bit more of musical content, but I believe that it’s more or less balanced” (S.I. 5).
In the FDSME class the teacher shows an interest towards both contents. Looking
at the didactic aspect, her discourse meets the reflection on the conducted activities,
how they would adapt to a primary class, how to present different development levels
for the practical exercises, in sump, its possible pedagogical application. Neverthe-
less, the technical-musical content takes the centre stage or, at least, the students need
a greater weight in the didactics: “I believe it’s the other way around. There should
be more didactics, at a University level, because later on you can train yourself more
on the musical subject (S.I. 5)”.
With reference to the weight of the technical musical or didactic training, it is

interesting to ask how does this subject work regarding the musical training in the
previous years. Besides this fragmentation in learning and practice in school music,
it is positive that the students attribute a novel character to the received content: “I
don’t remember being taught any of this when I receiving music class in Primary. I
think they’re new things, because all the things we did here in class I had never done
before” (S.I. 4).
4.3 Technology as a Mediator in the Learning Musical

Process
The use of technologies is especially important in the subject of ACVMC. The

projects the students conduct need access to the information and the digital and
technological means that allow them to develop three group projects. Taking the first
project as an example, the creation of a soundscape (Schafer, 2013), they could not go
without these resources: a recorder to record the selected sounds (normally they use
their own smartphone); a software for music editing (Audacity is the most commonly
used); access to google maps to mark the geographical spaces; the Microsoft office
program to elaborate the project’s presentation and a music player to play the audio
in class (O.D. 24-9-19).
In the classes, the ICTs are used as a support resource to screen the slides and
to show the audio-visual examples. The Moodle platform is used as a base to fill
the bibliography in, the class presentations, the exchange of information, as well as
the submission and assessment of activities. Nevertheless, the students perceive the
presence of the ICTs in the classroom as superfluous: “There is too much (presence),
for example the singing videos that you can see on the internet and in social media”
(S.I. 9).
Their criteria demand a greater presence of the musical practice in class and fewer
contents based in audio-visual examples.
We use the ICTs a lot, to listen to melody pieces, to watch videos, to create content (sound-
scapes)… Nowadays they play a very important role, but it is also used to use instruments,
our bodies, school materials… To feel the rhythms, the melodies in another way, as to feel
that it is true that you are creating and listening to something real. (S.I. 8)
Certainly, the ACVMC class bases most of its methodology in master classes,
where audio-visual resources are commonly used to expose content. However, most
of the weight from the ICTs is observed in competencies that the students develop to
carry the class practices out or the projects both individually and in groups. Mean-
while, the subjects or FDSME also uses the visualization of examples as a part of the
teaching method in the classroom. The student’s response the link between the ICTs
and the musical education they receive from the subject is perceived as wanting:
“No, nothing at all… It’s only used to play videos on the internet, but to carry out
projects with the ICTs, no, nothing!” (S.I. 7).
4.4 Are Students Trained in Creativity?
Both subjects of music in the Primary Education Teacher Bachelors’ program are
designed in different ways. FDSME is oriented towards basic musical training, while
ACVMC is projected to develop the interdisciplinary competencies with visual an art
education. In this sense, the second subject seem more oriented towards the creative
processes. The reference pedagogical models used in the classroom are based in
some creative pedagogue such as R. Murray Schafer.
There has been observed several activities to develop creativity in the classroom,
such as the creation of soundscapes based on images (O.D. 24-9-2019), the creation
of landscapes based on different subjects (O.D. 1-10-2019), the art creation with
music using a table of light (O.D. 15-10-2019), or the creation of a musical story
with Chinese shadows (O.D.22-10-2019).
In this sense the students perceive the interdisciplinary situation, from a creative
point of view, as an enrichment: “It’s a very important point that the music can be
worked in an interdisciplinary way with other subjects […] in enriches the students
and allows them to experiment, to promote their creativity” (S.I. 9).
One of the most creative projects of this subject is the production of a short audio-
visual film that integrates every acquired competency in the subject and that also
allows to relate the musical and the art aspects: “The projects that we make in groups
made a lot of sense, since we had to see our creative side, our visual side (images
and videos) and the musical side” (S.I. 8).
The perception of the teacher is that the creative competencies are oriented, not
to teach music in a creative way, but to develop the creativity while using music as
a tool:
Not for them to be music teachers, because that’s not the idea […] but so that they can
do something with their phone in their classrooms or to create something with them. Or
also something with their voice […] so that they can make their own improvisations. Or do
something altogether, with corporal percussions. (P.I.)
The subject of FDSME, while oriented towards a sufficient technical and didactic
music training, the also present creative activities. An example of it are the sessions
dedicated to the sound exploration with the body, in this case, the corporal percussion
accompaniment (O.D. 14-10-2019). Besides the creativity, there is also a need for
organization, team work, autonomy, the exploration of the body as an instrument
and synchronization There are several combinations that are admitted such as had
games, snaps, percussion on the thighs or different dispositions (sitting, standing, in
a line, using chairs, etc.). The class is divided in two roles, for each team is in charge
of observing one of the groups and then, represent with non-conventional graphs the
“composition” they have observed. It is a mix process of interpretation-creation and,
on the other side, coding-decoding of the sound choreography.
However, in this kind of activities there is an attitude of inhibition from the
students that can be observed, which, in fact produces some low-quality presen-
tations. Precisely it is one of the teacher’s pointed out objectives in this type of
practices: “To lose inhibitions”, “see oneself in another”, “walking in a Primary
school student’s shoes” (O.D. 21-10-2019). The creative activities and the musical
interpretation in the classroom need a compromise and an active implication by the
students. For this it is important to overcome shyness and understand these practices
as learning exercises that prepares them to carry out your work as a teacher.
Besides the good designing, the lack of time in the subject and the overcrowding in
the groups causes that, sometimes, some creative activities are developed superficially
only. In the session where the light tables where used to create an art form, inspired by
music, the activity was only perceived as an anecdotal experience (O.D 15-10-2019).
It would be necessary to present different listening activities, with more reduced
groups, with a clearer teaching intention, so that this practice could have a deeper
impact in the students.
4.5 Autonomy and Responsibility
The evaluation activities are presented in the subject as a part of the realization of
group work projects. ACVMC’s final project is based on the great communicative
and formative capacity of the audio-visual means, searching to comprehend how they
function and their pedagogic capacities in order to use these languages properly in
the schools.
The project consists in the production of a video made out of images and
sounds/music that exposes or analyses a current topic from a critic point of view. It’s
important that all the group members make a previous reflection on the topic, in order
not to fall into a matter that is anecdotal, superficial or without judgement. They elab-
orate a rubric that, in the subject of Music, it includes the capacity of experimenting
with the meanings of music and image; that the used music presents the maximum
amount of function regarding the image and the mastery of the concept they worked
on in the subject, among other things. The knowledge of the rubric promotes respon-
sibility and autonomy in a way. The groups must debate, make decisions, organize
themselves, design a temporality and give form to a final project.
The teacher underlines different competencies that they develop during the project,
whom promote autonomous, critical and responsible work. It is however perceived a
lack of follow-up on this project during the course and, specially, a lack of feedback
that it is however present in other projects. Students submit their audio-visual project
once the course is over, they don’t get to know what their colleges have submitted, and
they only receive a final grade. The teacher establishes that she is reformulating this,
but she considers that in eight weeks of course it is difficult to organize it otherwise.
The students value continuous evaluation as a way of adapting the teaching person-
ally: “I think that continuous evaluation is very good, where you can penalize the
teaching of each student based on his or her possibilities. Through exercises, practices
and team work” (S.I. 9).
4.6 Beyond the Occidental Cultured Music
One of the problems presented nowadays musical education is that it is still pinned
to the tradition of occidental classical cultured music, an in this sense, it leaves aside
other cultural music that doubtlessly contribute to widen the concept of music and
the possibilities that it offers to understand other cultures, other creative languages
and other forms of art.
In this sense, the subject of ACVMC draws upon many musical languages. Besides
the mentioned soundscape and the use of sonorous bodies for musical creation, it uses
the referent of contemporary music, world music and popular music. The students
mark this idea: “Yes we’ve heard a bit of everything and I think that it’s very good
to get familiar with the different styles of music that exist” (S.I. 10).
The teacher also refers to it:
Yes, I always try to put examples of other cultures. For example, one of the examples of the
use of the voice in Inuit singing. Or when I play one of Murray Schafer’s works, that is also
occidental culture, but it belongs, lets say, to the high area of Montreal in Canada. Or when
we play some African music, or also a contemporary theme. We played some musical things
form the second part of the XX century form Pierre Henry. ¡Ah! When we do the project
about silence I play the one of John Cage. Also, try to keep not just a geographical opening
but also of times. (P.I.)
5 Conclusions
The teaching of mandatory subject for general teachers does not seem sufficient
for the student body to have a training with which to implement their practice in
the Primary Education classroom. It needs to include the training options in the
artistic education area and, specifically, musical, as a part of a more humanistic
syllabus (Aróstegui, 2006). Nevertheless, they are basic, and they address different
and complementary issues: technical music and audio-visual creative aspects. The
students’ perception over the balance between didactic or properly technical-musical
content seems in even.
The larger groups and the use of non-specific classrooms is a handicap for the
teaching quality and practice. The use of technologies is perceived in occasions as too
intensive, and some students would value more the practical work with instruments
or with their body. In a way, the overcrowding of the groups pushes to use the ICTs
in that sense.
There is an opening towards creativity in the concept of music that can be observed.
Broadening these notions in the classrooms is fundamental, but an important lack
is perceived in the quality musical references in the student body. They make us
question ourselves about in what means do “other music” have to be included when
there is a “more convenient music syllabus”. In any case, the time that the subjects
have does not seem sufficient to give the necessary referents and the necessity of
designing a new autonomous study plan beyond the classroom is presented, to boost
the university’s musical life and to offer tools for lifelong learning.
The case study doesn’t attempt to generalize (Simons, 2011), however, the data
collected in the present study shows a specially interesting reality to understand
other essential questions about the articulation of the syllabus, to know the inno-
vative teaching techniques, to acknowledge the tension points and the need of an
academic order, of resources or suggested medium- and long-term training practices
that contribute to a better musical training of our general teachers.
Acknowledgements This work is part of the R&D project EDU2017-84782 “Teacher training
and music in the knowledge” (Profmus, 2017), financed by the Ministry of Industry, Economy
and Competitiveness, State Programme for the Promotion of Scientific and Technical Research of
Excellence.
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Artistic Music Projects and Their
Educational, Cultural and Social
Relevance
Alberto Cabedo-Mas, Noemy Berbel-Gómez, and Maravillas Díaz-Gómez
Abstract This chapter reflects on the use of music to offer children and young people
opportunities for effective social and cultural integration into their communities.
Throughout the text we will discuss the aims and challenges of community music
today and we will also explore different programs to review their power for social
and personal transformation, highlighting the possibilities of art and music making
for social transformation beyond the classroom. We will discuss some examples in
which music education has been used as a service for the community. Finally, the text
gives voice to two ongoing research projects funded by the Ministry of Economy and
Competitiveness of Spain. They are social projects with artistic aims and pedagogical
nature that are currently being developed in two Spanish autonomous communities.
By exploring these projects the chapter concludes reinforcing that some experiences
with art, through creative processes of active participation, are capable of contributing
to the construction of a social fabric that reinforces the neighborhood, the educational
and cultural contexts, while at the same time consolidates music and art didactics
adapted to current social challenges.
A. Cabedo-Mas
Universitat Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana, Spain
e-mail: cabedoa@uji.es
N. Berbel-Gómez
Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma, Spain
e-mail: noemy.berbel@uib.es
M. Díaz-Gómez (B)
Universidad del País Vasco, Leioa, Spain
e-mail: maravillas.diaz@ehu.eus
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_15
294 A. Cabedo-Mas et al.
1 Introduction
In March 2006, Viseu (Portugal) was the location for a meeting between the pres-
idents1 of three renowned international associations with a firm commitment to
education through art. These associations were the International Society for Music
Education (ISME, www.isme.org), the International Society for Education through
Art (InSEA, www.insea.org) and the International Drama Theatre and Education
Association (IDEA, www.idea.org). The purpose of this meeting was to define an
integrated strategy that could respond to “a critical moment in human history: social
fragmentation, a dominant global culture of competition, endemic urban and ecolog-
ical violence, and the marginalization of key educational and cultural languages
of transformation”. Each organisation, in its respective sphere of reference—music
education, education through art, and drama, theatre and education—provides invalu-
able support and stimulation for all educators with a concern for constructing knowl-
edge. Their mission is to contribute to improving the quality of education in the arts
and, therefore, the general education of children and young people throughout the
world. The outcome of this meeting was a joint declaration that would establish a
global alliance for arts education “based on principled and sustained dialogue […]
aimed to accelerate the implementation of arts education policies internationally”.
The declaration called on UNESCO to meet its responsibilities to place arts educa-
tion at the heart of “a world agenda for sustainable human development and social
transformation” (Joint Declaration, Viseu, Portugal, 4 March 2006).2
In addition, the Road Map for Arts Education was drawn up as a consequence of
discussions and reflections within the frame of the First World Conference on Arts
Education held in Lisbon (Portugal) from 6 to 9 March in the same year. The resulting
document focuses on the strategies required to introduce and promote arts education
in the learning environment and to meet students’ needs for creativity and cultural
awareness in the twenty-first century. The road map aims to guarantee the human
right to education and cultural participation, to improve the quality of education, and
to promote the expression of cultural diversity. Other considerations of note are the
introduction of the arts in all school curricula, as well as in non-formal education.3
The Second World Conference on Arts Education was held four years later in Seoul
(Republic of Korea), from 25 to 28 May 2010. The outcome of this conference was
the “Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Arts Education”, which calls on
UNESCO member states, civil society, professional organisations and communities
to recognise its ruling goals:
GOAL 1: Ensure that arts education is accessible as a fundamental and sustainable
component of a high quality renewal of education.
1 Gary McPherson (president of ISME) Douglas Boughton (former president of InSEA) and Dan
Baron Cohen (president of IDEA).
2 http://insea.org/sites/default/files/uploads/zzz/Joint_Declaration_2006.pdf.
3 http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/CLT/pdf/Arts_Edu_Roa
dMap_es.pdf.
Artistic Music Projects and Their Educational … 295
GOAL 2: Assure that arts education activities and programmes are of a high quality
in conception and delivery.
GOAL 3: Apply arts education principles and practices to contribute to resolving
the social and cultural challenges facing today’s world.
Following the Second World Conference on Arts Education, the UNESCO
General Conference of 2011 proclaimed an International Arts Education Week to
be held annually each May. It was marked for the first time in May 2012, in the
UNESCO headquarters and all member countries were invited to join this initiative,
which attracted participation from artists, educators, researchers, NGO represen-
tatives and international associations. In her address, Irina Bokova, the Director-
General of UNESCO, told attendees that “Arts education is a key to training genera-
tions capable of reinventing the world that they have inherited. It supports the vitality
of cultural identities by emphasizing their links with other cultures, thus contributing
to the construction of a shared heritage. It helps to form tolerant and dynamic citizens
for our globalizing world”.
As well as the valuable UNESCO reports, a broad literature grounded in empir-
ical evidence testifies to the importance of art and culture in education and its direct
relationship with human development, which it achieves by promoting cultural diver-
sity, intercultural dialogue and social cohesion. Knowledge about the arts and their
practical application in the classroom provides us with unique perspectives on a
wide variety of subjects and proposals that might not be acquired in other areas of
learning. Furthermore, as Maravillas Díaz (2014, p. 17, our translation) notes, “It
is an unequivocal error to consider that the only active agent in education is the
educator. The teacher acts as a mediator between society, the community, the family,
educational policies, teaching curricula and study programmes”; high quality arts
education cannot be rooted solely in the classroom, but must involve coordination
between formal and non-formal education and at the same time it requires multiple
cultural environments and spaces.
2 Community Music Initiatives in Education
A clear engagement with the concept of music education committed to the principles
set down in the UNESCO goals, and that is also, as Díaz (2014) states, dedicated to
coordinating actions in formal and non-formal education environments by opening
up educational and cultural spaces outside the school, involves adopting initiatives
that take community music-making into account. Adopting and adapting educational
models that embrace artistic initiatives with and from the community can be a way of
ensuring accessible and democratic music education that is committed to reality and
oriented to improving social well-being and harmonious coexistence among people.
Community Music activities do more than involve participants in music-making; they provide
opportunities to construct personal and communal expressions of artistic, social, political, and
cultural concerns. Community Music activities do more than pursue musical excellence and
innovation; they can contribute to the development of economic regeneration and can enhance
the quality of life for communities. Community Music activities encourage and empower
participants to become agents for extending and developing music in their communities.
In all these ways Community Music activities can complement, interface with, and extend
formal music education structures. (International Society for Music Education, 2021)
The above extract defines the vision of the International Society for Music Educa-
tion’s (ISME) Community Music Activity Commission (CMA). The ISME under-
stands community music as an essential channel for music education that demands
the attention of educators in the twenty-first century.
The notion of community music comes from the idea of community arts, directly
linked to the concept of local communities, which spring from art-related actions,
intended for civil society and undertaken by members of a community of participating
citizens. In his book Community, Art and the State: Storming the Citadels, the artist
Owen Kelly (1984, p. 1) defines community arts as “a general term for a group
of cultural activities which the practitioners recognise as having common features
but whose precise boundaries remain undrawn”. The educator Lee Higgins, in turn,
argues that community music is based on the principle that everybody has the right and
the ability to make, create and enjoy their own music and, in doing so, to participate
in the musical and creative life of their communities.
The concept of community art and with it, community music, did not appear in
general artistic discourse until the 1960s. The term was first coined in the United
Kingdom, against a background of growing cultural diversity resulting from post-war
immigration to the country and burgeoning civil society anti-establishment protests.
However, some authors argue that evidence of community arts initiatives can be
found as early as the nineteenth century (Comte and Forrest, 2012).
Community arts challenge the distribution of cultural resources, and more signif-
icantly, the legitimacy of institutions that claim to judge what has artistic merit and
what does not. This widespread idea provoked a fiercely defensive response from
the art establishment, which argued that community art was simply “bad art”. The
art establishment’s discourse on community arts always centred on artistic quality,
not the art itself, and the battle was over who had the right to determine its value(s).
When it rejected a work on artistic grounds, the institutional art world was not only
attempting to defend certain ideas about art, but also its own authority as the judge
of its value.
In this context, numerous authors from the fields of ethnomusicology and educa-
tion have studied musical discourses, but without uncoupling them from the commu-
nities in which they were produced (see, for example, Christopher Small [1977],
Margaret Mead [1970], Martí [1995]). Today the field of community music is closely
linked to education.
From a pedagogical perspective, the main purpose of community music is to
construct spaces for participation where initiatives to improve the lives of individuals
and communities are generated through artistic creation and practice. It is therefore
not only education for music but also education through music; and every community
initiative is fully aware of the importance of striking the right balance between these
two positions.
Community music aims to generate collective actions in which artistic experience

is shared among all members, thereby deconstructing outdated notions that only
those who know about art can or should create it, and promoting access to everyone
who wants to enjoy it. It could be said that socio-musical projects offer an ideal
setting for engendering new open pedagogies in music education (returning to the
pedagogical discourses of the mid-twentieth century), and ensuring that new sectors
of the population gain access to music education.
Group music making is understood as an artistic tool, but also a means of fostering
social cohesion. Making music together can generate a sense of belonging to a group,
firstly because the pursuit of musical purpose, of artistic excellence, combines efforts
towards a common objective and opens up an infinite number of communication chan-
nels between those who participate and create music together. Secondly, as thinkers
like Hegel have argued, music can be a means through which we transmit emotions,
since music is a language of feelings, charged with expressiveness (Hormigos Ruiz,
2008, pp. 186–187, 209). And thirdly, music is part of our aesthetic dimension and
our cultural heritage, which is why we can identify with it; moreover, the experi-
ence of making music can help us discover that we are both equal and different.
The educational task of community music in this context must strive to ensure that
diversity means difference and not inequality.
Education cannot exist with its back to society. The reality of education, formal
and non-formal, is that we must face the social challenges in our environment. We
now understand that conceptual learning is only one part of education, and that
educational spaces must ensure that people learn to live together, through a critical
and compassionate lens.
Today, music education, through the individuals concerned about learning and
teaching music, is faithful to these principles, and in consequence, myriad fascinating
initiatives are emerging from very different perspectives that give real meaning to the
notion of artistic music projects and their educational, cultural and social relevance.
The structure of the International Society for Music Education is based on a
series of working commissions corresponding to the main streams of contempo-
rary music education. One of these specific commissions, as mentioned above, is
the ISME Commission on Community Music Activity, which together with the
other comissions, holds its biennial meeting a few days before each ISEM World
Conference.
Perhaps one of the most relevant examples of socio-musical initiatives at an inter-
national level is the philosophy of El Sistema Nacional de Orquestas y Coros Juve-
niles e Infantiles de Venezuela (National Network of Youth and Children’s Orchestras
of Venezuela, or El Sistema) and, even more so, the programmes deriving from this
initiative that have been adapted in numerous and varied geographical and social
contexts, each with their own individual character. The ISME has its own El Sistema
Special Interest Group, an international forum of music educators and researchers
who meet to debate not only the principles of the Venezuelan El Sistema, but also
how they are adapted to each of the scenarios in which El Sistema-inspired projects
have been undertaken. Its present convener is the researcher Andrea Creech, and its
members include professionals such as Geoff Baker and Richard Hallam from the
UK, Magali Kleber from Brazil, Graça Mota from Portugal and Eva Saether from
Sweden.
In addition, the number of conferences, seminars, meetings and other encounters
on the question of community music is also rising. One example is the Social Impact
of Music Making (SIMM), whose SIMM-posium has been held in different places
such as London (UK), Porto (Portugal), Bogotá (Colombia) or Brussels (Belgium),
among others. Another specialised community music centre is the International
Centre for Community Music in the UK, led by Lee Higgins, professor and former
president of the ISME between 2016 and 2018; there is even a Musicians without
Borders, which although not on the same scale as Doctors or Reporters without
Borders, is a growing movement.
Community initiatives with social implications now occupy a significant place
in the educational sphere. While this is undoubtedly a relevant subject, it requires
careful and conscientious study. To this end it is crucial to start with a solid research
base from which to rigorously analyse the educational practices and the effects these
initiatives have on the participants, whether they be the immediate beneficiaries of
the programme, educators or society in general. Although information is available on
the subject, and valuable books and articles have published highly significant results,
much remains to be explored in this field, and researchers should be encouraged
to share their findings with the larger scientific community. Only in this way can
we move towards increasingly robust and efficient models. Sharing does not imply
simply publishing promotional reports describing these actions and initiatives; rather,
it means scrutinising what is actually happening at the heart of these socio-musical
initiatives in order to observe their real effects (even if they do not always meet
expectations), question what each initiative specifically sets out to do, and encourage
exchanges with other professionals to foster mutual learning. In sum, sharing means
allowing ourselves to interrogate our own educational practices.
3 Collaboration and Cooperation Relationships. Research

and Shared Benefits of Knowledge: Artistic Music
Projects
As a result of the UNESCO proposals, and in accordance with the ideas expounded
above, which reflect our activity as educators with a desire to respond to today’s
educational challenges, we presented two projects that have now been approved
and funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.
Both projects run for three years, from January 2018 to December 2020. At the
time of writing these projects are still ongoing and we have no final results as yet;
however, we are able to report on a wide range of proposals and encouraging outcomes
that confirm we are working in the right direction and motivate us to continue. In
describing the projects below, we respond to three questions that we consider crucial
to their philosophy.
3.1 R&D&i Project Re-inhabiting the Neighbourhood:

Processes of Transformation and Empowerment Between
University-School-Society Through Artistic Practices.
UniESocied-Art
This project starts from the hypothesis that experiences with art, through creative
processes of active participation, can help to construct a social network that
strengthens the neighbourhood, educational and cultural fabric. Its contribution to
social transformation and citizen empowerment is pursued through three objectives:
to design an artistic transdisciplinary socio-educational intervention programme
based on the interconnections between university, school and community; to imple-
ment this programme in a disadvantaged marginalised neighbourhood (Nou Llevant-
Soledat Sud, Palma, Spain); and to evaluate the implementation of the programme
and its impact on the educational, artistic, social and cultural environment.
3.1.1 Situation at the Start of the Project, What Changes Are Desired
and Who They Will Affect
The research project ‘Re-Inhabiting the Neighbourhood: Processes of Transforma-

tion and Empowerment between University-School-Society through Artistic Prac-
tices. UniESocied-Art’ draws on learning gained through the experiences of the
Grupo de Investigación en Arte y Educación (GRAiE, Research Group in Arts
and Education) and its Laboratorio de Música y Arte (Mus&Art LAB), affiliated
to the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB). This learning has grown out of joint
projects between the university, schools and the local area, based on artistic practices
and taking a transdisciplinary approach. The direct contact with artists and experts
capable of transmitting their working practices to children and future primary and
secondary school teachers is particularly noteworthy. A joint evaluation of two of
the previous programmes carried out with all the stakeholders involved exposed the
educational, cultural and social needs that we aim to address through the present
R&D&i project.
The interdisciplinary research team is made up of researchers from the areas of
education, human geography, music, the plastic and visual arts, design, philology
and drama, architecture, and educational technology at the Universitat de les Illes
Balears and other local and national institutions. International researchers from three
Portuguese institutions also participate, namely, CIPEM/INET-md (Centro de Inves-
tigação em Etnomusicologia—estudos de Música e Dança) at the Politécnico do
Porto; Universidade de Évora; and the Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco—
Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas. The project has the support and express interest
of the Balearic Islands Regional Government’s Department of Education and Univer-
sity, Palma City Council, Mallorca Island Council, primary and secondary schools
in the neighbourhood where the project takes place, neighbourhood associations, the
Krekovic Museum and the Faculty of Education (UIB).
The project aims to generate a working structure that can respond to the needs
identified and demonstrate ways and action strategies through which the potential
of art can be exploited to develop transformative and empowering practices. Our
proposal is to work through artistic practice and transdisciplinarity, and to adopt a
horizontal collaborative operational structure involving all the stakeholders (teachers,
artists, students, neighbours and student teachers, among others).
New forms of socio-educational intervention are explored that are able to trans-
form the school and its relationship with its immediate environment—the neighbour-
hood—and society in general. Only by intervening in the specific environment of the
neighbourhood, through immersion in the territory and participatory artistic prac-
tices, can multifaceted visions be generated that are able to stimulate the reflective
processes necessary to help improve the community in its diversity and its wealth of
identity.
For this reason, the present study is grounded in the conviction that artistic practice,
transdisciplinarity and collaboration can be powerful tools to motivate processes of
educational innovation in initial teacher training and in social transformation in disad-
vantaged marginalised contexts. The setting for the present education programme is
one of the most rundown districts of Palma, located on the edge of the city: Nou
Llevant-Soledat Sud. This district is undergoing a process of social and urban trans-
formation, and the reality facing its population is both complex and problematic,
which presents major challenges to the project.
The project has two spheres of action: one in the teacher training degree at the
university, and the other in the schools in the Nou Llevant-Soledat Sud neighbour-
hood. Direct work in the schools and intervention in the student teachers’ initial
training are both required to ensure that future primary school teachers’ learning
experiences are based in real contexts. To this end the school and the university need
to join forces to design open, flexible and collaborative educational spaces within
this context. As Jiménez (2011) points out, the school’s position as the only site of
learning has been eroded, since children and young people have access to informa-
tion through a whole range of more diverse media. The challenges facing formal
education today call for a reappraisal of the current educational institution and a
new type of educational practice. There is growing awareness in art education of the
important role it can play in the formal education system, since both professional
circles and life in general demand creativity, and the ability to transform, adapt,
innovate and develop skills for communicating and acting in translocal, culturally
diverse contexts.
3.1.2 Expected Achievements and Who Is Likely to Benefit
This research aims to achieve outcomes that have an impact on the community
through art, on the crosscutting competencies of future teachers, on the students’
competencies, and on the university-school-society relationship. These outcomes
will have a direct effect in educational, artistic, social and cultural spheres in Palma.
Interventions to transfer the project outcomes will focus on spreading the impact at
a broader national and international level by suggesting strategies to implement the

results.
The research objectives led to a methodological approach that in this case provides
in-depth detailed information about the situation in the neighbourhood, its resi-
dents and the school students involved in order to propose educational solutions.
These solutions include improving coordination among the stakeholders—univer-
sity, school, neighbourhood community, artists and technicians—so as to raise the
sense of belonging and citizen empowerment among children and adolescents, and
provide educators with valuable resources.
At the scientific-technical-artistic level, the research team will publish results
demonstrating the changes effected both in the physical settings and territories, and
in the learning acquired to empower those who live there. This area of work makes a
valuable contribution to present society in Spain, where stigmatised neighbourhoods
are still to be found. The social integration of our local communities must be fostered
in order to gradually achieve the development and well-being of all. And in this
endeavour, art is a powerful driver of social transformation.
3.1.3 Participation of the Education Community in Carrying Out

and Evaluating the Project
All the artistic-educational interventions are the result of the collaboration and coop-
eration between university students, primary and secondary school students, coordi-
nators and/or artists/experts, cultural associations and residents, to generate knowl-
edge that is shared in multiple directions. Our work is based on research method-
ology grounded in the arts in which contributions from the stakeholders involved in
the evaluation play a useful part.
The present project is doubly ambitious since in aiming to develop collabora-
tive practices between art and education, a new agent is added to the complexity of
the relational strategies between artists and teachers—namely, future educators, the
teacher training students. In the frame of participatory action research and following
a horizontal approach, the various stakeholders participate in the design, imple-
mentation and evaluation of each artistic-educational action in the programme. The
primary school students and the university students will work together on sessions
in the open space of the neighbourhood, in the primary and secondary schools and
in the Mus&Art LAB (UIB) on the university campus.
New technologies play an instrumental role in the project by providing tools for
knowledge about the district and in visualisations through geolocated maps, virtual
reality, QR codes and so forth. The public display of this R&D&i project is a vital
part of the intervention as it socialises both the process and its outcomes. To this end,
the project will be made visible through exhibitions staged throughout its duration.
The school students will design and produce the final exhibition of the educational
material developed in the various activities, which will be shown in the Krekovic
Museum. Augmented reality, computer programming and the design and creation
of an interactive 3D model of the neighbourhood will be used to create a new re-

presentation of the neighbourhood integrating the artistic interventions undertaken;
a re-presentation that emerges from a new gaze, a collaborative reflection and at the
same time an interactive and audiovisual artistic experience (Berbel-Gómez et al.,
2019).
3.2 R&D&i Project Multidimensional Analysis

of the Socio-Educational Impact of Community Music
Initiatives and Service Learning in the School: The
MUSIQUEM Programme
The main aim of the MUSIQUEM programme is to exploit the opportunities music
offers as a channel for communication, positive coexistence and intercultural under-
standing. This initiative aims to support educators, in direct collaboration with
teaching professionals from art, music and corporal education and artists in resi-
dence in the classroom, with tools that promote the education of values both inside
and outside the classroom through service learning projects and community music
activities undertaken in formal and informal educational settings.
3.2.1 Situation at the Start of the Project, What Changes Are Desired
and Who They Will Affect
The project originated with the creation of a new research group made up of members
from the fields of music education and pedagogy at the Universidad Jaume I de
Castelló (Spain), entitled Arte, Educación y Sociedad (Art, Education and Society,
EDARSO), and which has spawned various projects on the subject with distinct
pedagogical and research approaches. Within this frame, the Musiquem!: Haciendo
música comunitaria en las escuelas (Let’s music! Making community music in
schools) initiative is based on two firm convictions: first, that everyone must be
given the chance to develop their artistic skills, and second, that the role of arts
education must be continuously interrogated, as this is the only way to advance
towards a holistic education which prepares individuals to live and get along with
others in the twenty-first century.
One of the main challenges to current music education is how to integrate the
cultural and musical diversity that educators face in their environments (Green, 2009).
While it must not be forgotten that the key focus of music education should be to
facilitate knowledge about music, make music and actively listen to music, it is
equally important to promote experiences in which music is an element of inclu-
sion towards diversity and that can enhance harmonious coexistence. At the same
time music should be pursued as a bridge between the school and its surrounding
community.
Through Musiquem, children are given the resources to help them develop their
social, communication and relational skills. Making music is thus combined with
education in values to strengthen the connection between the school community and
its immediate reality. To this end, the aim of the Musiquem programme is to create an
orchestra in a primary school in the city of Castelló in which the students participate
by playing musical instruments (violins and cellos), aided by the joint efforts of the
school’s teachers and the involvement of specialist musicians (violinists and cellists).
The primary school is located in the centre of the city and the school’s community
is largely made up of families with scarce economic resources, from diverse cultural
backgrounds and in some cases at extreme risk of social exclusion. Although the
school is not sited in the typically disadvantaged neighbourhoods on the edge of the
city, its image has been questioned in recent years and it has been threatened with
closure. Improving this image is therefore one of the challenges the programme aims
to tackle.
By forming school music groups, Musiquem hopes to foster the democratisation
of artistic-music practice in contexts where such knowledge and experiences are
not accessible to everyone. The school’s active participation with the community,
with people from other diverse realities, and in exposing the potential of working
collectively are therefore motivated through community endeavours in shared music-
making spaces.
3.2.2 Expected Achievements and Who Is Likely to Benefit
The first aim is to promote music education among third to sixth grade primary
school students through playing musical instruments. Their artistic expression and
the development of their social, communication and relational skills will also be
stimulated by their participation in the orchestra. Secondly, continuing professional
development for teachers is also provided through collaborative work with artists in
residence in the school’s classrooms. A third objective is to encourage community
participation in school projects by building collaborative links between the school
and its surroundings (the neighbourhood), for which service-learning methodology
is used. This helps to revitalise the culture of the environment in which the students
live and, therefore, increase the visibility of both the school and the community. To
this end, the project is promoted and brought into the community through concerts,
seminars, meetings, open days and other activities and performances.
The project involves seventy students from the third, fourth and fifth grades of
primary school, aged between eight and eleven years old, who are expected to be
among the main beneficiaries. Additionally, the project hopes to define effective
collaborative teaching models between educators and artists in residence that will
enrich both the professional development of the music teachers and the educational
abilities of the musicians and artists (Cabedo-Mas et al., 2019). At the same time
opportunities are being opened up for collaboration with other musicians and visual
artists participating in the project, Castelló city council, other national organisations
involved in community music projects, the city’s conservatory and music schools in
the area, and civic, social and cultural associations and centres in the neighbourhood
(senior citizens’ day centre, the museum, commercial establishments, neighbourhood
associations, etc.).
3.2.3 Participation of the Education Community in Carrying Out

and Evaluating the Project
To date, various studies have analysed educational community art programmes, but
most of them do not carry out a systematic rigorous evaluation of the benefits deriving
from them (Dillon, 2006). Our three-year project engages with the whole primary
school community and incorporates a method for evaluating the programme (Cron-
bach et al., 1980; Pérez Juste, 2006). Various techniques are used to gather informa-
tion with which to analyse a series of dimensions across the educational community
(students, teachers, families and community). One of the main strengths of our study
is the systematic evaluation of all these dimensions on three separate occasions (at the
beginning, during the second year and at the end the programme), thereby providing
an objective assessment of the programme’s impact.
The interdisciplinary Musiquem team’s members include the school’s teaching
staff—teachers and the school’s management team—and the research team from the
Universidad Jaume I, also interdisciplinary and made up of professionals working
in music education, pedagogy, corporal expression and service learning. The musi-
cians in residence, a key element in the process of designing and implementing the
programme, are active members of the research project and as such, participate in
both the educational and research aspects of the project, collaborating on the research
design and approach, gathering and analysing the data, and evaluating the results.
Finally, as this project is framed within the participatory action-research model
(Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988), students, teachers and the education community are
encouraged to actively intervene in designing and evaluating the programme.
It is crucially important that once the research ends, the educational community
take control of the project and explore ways of continuing with it. The continued
experience gained over the two years will enable the teachers to revitalise the music-
making sessions. The musical instruments will remain in the school’s possession,
and at the same time, it is hoped that the programme will help to raise awareness of
the importance of art in education, as well as improve the image of the school and the
community, with the result that more families will enrol their children in the school.
If the number of children enrolled in the school increases, the previous threats of
closure may dissipate, and the school may serve as a model for similar educational
programmes in other educational institutions. At the same time, the sustainability of
the project will facilitate longitudinal studies that could have significant results in
the field of education.
Finally, it is important to highlight that these ongoing projects contribute directly
to solving the social and cultural problems facing today’s world, the reason behind
UNESCO’s promotion of artistic musical education in formal and non-formal envi-

ronments that help to bring about the necessary renewal in today’s education
systems.
Acknowledgements This research was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innova-
tion and Universities, the State Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF) through the projects Re-Inhabiting the Neighbourhood: Processes of Transforma-
tion and Empowerment between University-School-Society through Artistic Practices. UniESo-
cied-Art <EDU2017-84750-R> (MINECO/AEI/ERDF, EU) and Multidimensional analysis of the
socio-educational impact of community music initiatives and service learning in the school:
the MUSIQUEM programme <EDU2017-86311-P>. The study also received funding from the
Universitat Jaume I through the project Analysis of classroom practices and their impact on
socio-educational variables of students in musical spaces. A study from an inclusive intercultural
perspective (UJI-B201-16).
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The Peripheral Curriculum: Music
Education as a Way of Transformation
and Social Justice in Children’s Lives
Maria Helena Vieira
Abstract At the root of public education is the concept of equal access to learning
for all citizens, no matter what their social background might be. Public school
is, therefore, the center that attracts those that society left in the margins, bringing
them closer to a path of equity and justice. Music education, within the spectrum
of arts education in Portugal, is far from being offered on a basis of equal access
and remains in a peripheral position in the curricular structure despite an apparently
complex educational organization. It is undeniable that there has been progress in
the past 40 years; between 2008 and 2010, specifically, the number of students in
the specialized branch of music education increased 70%, from 17,282 to 29,645
(Feliciano, 2010, p. 2); this, in turn, meant, for instance, that more students started to
have access to learning how to play music instruments. However, it is also undeniable
that not only that number is in fact insignificant in the national panorama, but also
that things have gotten worse at various levels after 2010. This article reflects upon
the philosophical reasons for the specific structure of the Portuguese system of music
education and aims at questioning the roots of inequality in children’s access to music
learning in Portugal.
1 Introduction: About Equality
The idea that public education should offer equal opportunities for learning to all
citizens is at the root of the concept of public education itself. The foundations
for this equalitarian perspective may be found in different theoretical and religious
principles, as Formosinho and Araújo summarized so well:
This work is funded by Portuguese National Funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a
Tecnologia - within CIEC (Child Studies Research Center of Minho University) with reference nr.
UID/CED/00317/2019.
M. Helena Vieira (B)

Child Studies Research Center (CIEC), Institute of Education of Minho University, Braga,
Portugal
e-mail: m.helenavieira@ie.uminho.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_16
308 M. Helena Vieira
The philosophical foundations of equality are related to the Kantian belief in the rationality
of respect for all people; a more utilitarian perspective defends that treating people as equals
is the best way to maximize happiness. The religious point of view of Christians considers
equality a consequence of humans being sons and daughters of God, while Thomas Paine’s
Rights of Man, in 1791 gives a historical justification for equality: “the whole history of
creation and traditional narrative (…) agree in establishing that (…) all men are created
equal and have the same natural rights” (…). In fact, all of these are versions of a moral
motivation to achieve equality, in the name of which political leaders should move from
the recognition of moral equality to the effective creation of some type of equality in the
lives of those governed (…). Helvetius explains that the causes for inequality (…) result
from chance, that is, from different opportunities of education, and that it is possible to
“model a plan” of public education that should diminish them (…). According to him, the
key or solution is, therefore, in the “good” common organization of men and in the power
of education. (Formosinho & Araújo, 2007, p. 308 (AT)1 )
Although Formosinho and Araújo (2007, pp. 308–310) underline that there is
a great difference between equality and administrative standardization, they do call
attention for the need to provide countries with “equalitarian measures of educational
policy” (p. 309). They mention the fact that even when formal access to education
is guaranteed to all, there are still differences in the quality of the buildings, of the
equipment, and of the educational and human resources. For this reason, however, it
seems that most of the concerns about the dangers of creating standardized systems of
education (that do not fit the variety and richness of the population, of their qualities,
desires and ambitions) should vanish in face of the facts of reality: administrative
standardization is never capable of eroding the differences between the human beings
involved in the processes of education; therefore, the most standardized system will
always be confronted with the qualitative differences between teachers, schools,
buildings, resources, cultural traditions of specific regions, a.s.o. In a word, the fear
of standardizing should never be an obstacle to the fight for equality and democrati-
zation. The (today) obvious truth that all people should learn how to read should not
be doubted on the grounds that students should not all read the same authors, or read
them at the same time. Being able to read, period, is more important. First things
should come first.
The basic imperatives for public education deserve, therefore, full attention. Rela-
tivistic points of view, such as Walzer’s (1999, p. 19) do not seem adequate for the
provision of basic principles of educational equality. Walzer defends that the princi-
ples of justice are plural in themselves and in their form. He believes that different
social goods should be distributed for different reasons, through different procedures
and by different agents. He also believes that all these differences are a result of the
understanding of the social goods themselves, an understanding that is the inevitable
product of a particular historical and cultural moment. Therefore, he advocates that
there has never been a unique criterion (or a unique group of interrelated criterions)
for any distribution. Merit, qualification, lineage, blood, friendship, need, free inter-
change, political loyalty, democratic decision: all these have occurred, according to
Walzer, amongst with other factors, in difficult coexistence, and invoked by different
competing groups (p. 18).
1 (AT)—Author’s translation.
The Peripheral Curriculum: Music Education … 309
At the opposite end of this perspective the author of this article considers that there
should be coherence between legislated equality of rights and public education. In that
sense, the perspective of “universalism” of John Rawls (1993), according to which it
is, in fact, possible to describe “minimum principles of justice” in any sphere (despite
the differences pointed out by Walzer) emerges as most significant and predictably
relevant in terms of social impact. These “minimum principles of justice” may be
found, according to Rawls, if one starts out by dialogue and accordance between free,
well-informed and responsible people. It is possible to define a minimum profile of
individual dignity (economic, educational and cultural dignity, among others), a
profile that no social structure should disrespect. It is in the light of this universal
and humanist perspective, and in the light of the belief that music education is a right
and a basic need of all citizens (and not a luxury) that music education should be
developed in public schools. In fact, as Licínio Lima (2000, p. 71) pointed out, it is
imperative to understand that the organization of the educational system is itself a
means of justice and democratization or, on the opposite, a means of injustice and
limitation of the access to culture:
[i]t is necessary not to ignore that the organization and the administration of educational
organizations becomes, immediately, implicit pedagogy (and hidden curriculum); that exer-
cise, which is not neutral or instrumental, promotes values, organizes and regulates a social
context in which one socializes and becomes socialized, in which rules are produced and
reproduced, and in which powers are exerted. Therefore, it is a very demanding action in
political and ethical terms, particularly from the moment that we demand that it promote the
democratic potential, the potential for autonomy and citizenship, for tolerance and respect
for human rights […]. (AT)
Artistic and music education are referred to in Portuguese educational legislation

as a universal right of all citizens. However, the fact that music education is tradi-
tionally seen by governments as a “relative priority” (that is to say, a right of all
citizens—as mentioned in Law-Decree 344/90—but a secondary right as it seems—
as the difficulties in access to it suggest) has possibly slowed down the advocacy
for the right to music learning. In fact, the first level of culture should probably be
survival. The Portuguese philosopher Agostinho da Silva seems to have understood
this well, when he was working as secretary of state culture in Santa Catarina (Brasil),
where he stopped subsidizing artists in order to create training workshops for the poor
and illiterate. However, today more than ever before, it is understood that arts can
also be leverage for economy and employment (apart from their intrinsic value).
Placing art in the arena of dispute of a radical theory of justice, as Young proposed
(1990) seems, therefore, to be outdated, if not in practice, at least in political
discourse. Reducing justice to the “distributive paradigm” of equal rights seems inap-
propriate, according to Young; justice should be alert to differences among people.
Cultural differences are among those differences. In this respect, the perspective of
the rights to culture and arts education as a right of “oppressed minorities” emerges as
necessary but also as outdated. Necessary from the point of view of curricular prac-
tices (since many citizens do not have access yet to the works of Bach, Brueghel,
Emanuel Nunes or Lempicka in the same way they have access to the works of
Camões, Pessoa, Cervantes or Shakespeare); outdated, however, because the polit-

ical discourse assumes music education as an absolute universal right, independently
from personal or cultural characteristics of citizens. The problem is, therefore, one of
political nature, and of law enforcement. To consider the right to culture and to arts
education as a right of “certain minorities” (even, as in Portugal, when designated
as “specialized” or “vocational”, in conservatories and academies) may perpetuate a
“minority” (or “minor”) vision of the role and value of culture and art in society. It
might also legitimate differences in rights at a level in which the “minimum principles
of justice”, in Rawlsian terms, have not yet been achieved.
Young is aware of that risk, of the possibility of the affirmation of the differences
leading to the confirmation and even reinforcement or exclusion of those differences.
For that reason he affirms that “cultural and democratic pluralism demands a dual
system of rights: a broader system of rights that are the same for everyone, and a more
specific system of policies concerning the rights of specific groups” (1990, p. 174).
This article is focused on the rights that are or should be the same for everyone, in
what music education is concerned.
2 About Repertoire and Participation, Music Listening

and Music Making
The branching of the Portuguese educational system in a generic system of music

education (basic and secondary schools that all citizens attend) and a specialized
system (conservatories, academies and professional music schools) has created two
very different groups of citizens: one group that is able to play instruments, read
notation, play and sing music together, and even (in some cases) compose music,
and another group that has been taught mostly to merely listen, appreciate and some-
times comment on the music they listen to. The reasons for this division, according
to Vieira (2014, pp. 61–71) go back to Baumgarten’s Aesthetica (1750) and to a
perspective of aesthetics that started to focus on the “theory of taste” and on what
should be sociologically “acceptable”, instead of on the subject’s personal experience
of art and art making. In his Critique of Aesthetic Judgement Kant, in fact, alerted
for this problem of severing the artistic object from the subject who apprehends it.
From this point on music stopped being learned as a language is learned (and in
collaborative and friendly social contexts) and started being learned almost exclu-
sively through mimesis and repetition (in competitive and specialized educational
systems). This breaking point in the history of music education was a result of ratio-
nalistic Illuminism and generated a cult of repertoires (of the “acceptable canon”,
of the worshiped “work of art” that is to be perpetuated and enshrined) instead of
the development of a functional perspective on the use of music as “language” or
autonomous ability of aesthetic communication.
On the other hand, educational systems that are subdivided in so-called “generic”
or “general” subsystems and “specialized” subsystems usually tend to attribute music
listening and music appreciation to the former and music making to the latter. The
great challenge in music education today seems to be the move from the cult of
repertoires (the listening of repertoires in the generic systems or the performing
of repertoires in the specialized systems) to the ability to use the music language
in a functional way through active participation. The center of music learning is
music making (as the most relevant pedagogues have pointed out); therefore, music
listening, music appreciation or music reproducing, important as they might be,
remain in the margins of the learning phenomenon.
The process of democratization of the access to music education in Portugal
has developed mostly through two curricular strategies since the 1980’s (Vieira,
2011): the “articulated system of education” (Portuguese: “Regime Articulado”) and
the “cultural enrichment activities program” (Portuguese: Actividades de Enriqueci-
mento Curricular or AEC). The “articulated system of education” was first promoted
in 1983 (Law-Decree 310/83, Art. 6, nr.1) in order to reinforce the connections
between the general and the specialized schools, particularly in what the students’
attendance was concerned. The “articulated system” allows the student to study in
both schools (dividing the school schedule between the so-called “regular subjects”
in the general school and music subjects in the conservatory or academy), and
it represented a great increase in the number of students in conservatories and
academies up to today. (In fact, this articulated attendance regime is presently
growing, although slowly, and many conservatories are reaching new general schools
with their projects). It also represented a clear improvement in terms of expansion of
specialized music teaching and instrumental music teaching towards the sphere of
the general schools. This means that more students started to have access to the study
of music instruments and this fact is quite visible in Portuguese society today. The
university music degrees and music education degrees are receiving a remarkable
affluence of candidates as a result of this expansion of the specialized music educa-
tion system through the articulated regime of student attendance with the general
schools.
This desirable approximation between the generic and the specialized branches
of music education has been studied by Pacheco (2008) in the case study Masters’
research project “Music Education in Articulated Attendance at the Vale do Sousa
Conservatory: Vocational or Generic Function?” (AT). Articulated attendance is seen
in this case study as an optimal way to foster democratization of music education
under the present circumstances in the country.
The “cultural enrichment activities program”, on the other hand, as a music educa-
tion democratization strategy, emerged tentatively in the Basic Law of the Educa-
tional System (Law-Decree 46/86), (Portuguese: Lei de Bases do Sistema Educa-
tivo”), and evolved through the years, under different legislative improvements, up
to its effective creation with Despacho 12591/2006 (Ferreira, 2009); however their
optional nature in the curriculum and their identification with the general schools
traditional pedagogical strategies has not generated the same interest in the students
and their parents.
The concept underlying these “cultural enrichment activities” was the offer of
“extra” artistic education, sports or foreign languages to the students in the general
schools. The legislation instructed, for instance, that the students must continue to
attend music in their regular generalist classes with the general and/or the specialized
teacher, but also have access to optional music classes in the context of the “cultural
enrichment activities”, usually after school hours. Ferreira (2009) has concluded that
the optional and leisure nature of these activities, alongside the fact that they tended
to replace the regular compulsory music instruction in the general schools has in
fact led to a decrease in the presence of music activities and music education in the
schools, thus constituting a step back in the democratization process. In a word, the
1980s and the 1990s have witnessed both improvements and failures in the process
of democratizing music education, and of making a consistent and systematic music
education curriculum more open to all students in the country.
3 About the Democratization of Music Education Through

Instrumental Music
Despite the ever-increasing number of students enrolling in conservatories and

academies under the “articulated system”, particularly after Despacho 12591/2006,
the fact is that the majority of students only has access to the music education offered
in the general schools which is taught by a generalist teacher. Despite the dilution
of differences between music education in the general schools and in specialized
schools due to the increasing similarities in teacher training degrees for the different
branches of music education (Law-Decree 79/2014), the fact is that teachers still tend
to conform to the generic or the specialized branches and adjust their teaching strate-
gies and pedagogical goals according to different ideals of education and different
programmed social purposes. Despite the issuing of laws that encompass all branches
of artistic education and try to promote the aesthetic education of all citizens, apti-
tude detection, and the democratization of artistic performance practices (such as
Law-Decree 310/83, Law-Decree 344/90 and Law-Decree 6/2001), the fact is that
the pedagogical practices in music education classes in the general schools remain
quite different from the pedagogical practices in music classes in conservatories
and academies. This is awkwardly so also at the elementary school level: general
schools provide “general music education” (focused mostly on aesthetic contempla-
tion and criticism as well as on knowledge “about” music) and specialized schools
provide “specialized music education” (focused on vocal and instrumental competi-
tive performance, even at an early age). This fact contradicts the traditional concept of
“specialization” itself: in other school subjects specialization is a natural autonomous
choice and a consequence of a few years of study and vocational pondering and
counseling (Vieira, 2008, 2014). In music, children can officially choose special-
ization (or have someone choose for them) as early as 6 years old, when they can
enroll in a conservatory or official academy, if selected for one of the few vacancies.
This, of course, bears no relation with children’s music aptitudes and their detec-
tion. However, it shows that the specialized system of music education is built upon
an innate perspective of talent, a perspective that has been justifying the attempt to
minister a specialized training as soon as possible to the supposedly talented chil-
dren. Brito and Vieira (2017) have studied the shortcomings of the specialized music
education school network in Portugal and the types of student selection promoted
in specialized schools. The results show that the quest for innate talent seems to be
undermining the specialized system’s expansion and the process of democratization
of access to music education itself.
The major difference between music education in general schools and in special-
ized schools can be found in instrumental learning. General schools rely on the
paradigm of aesthetic education (Reimer, 1989); specialized schools are focused
mostly on performance (Elliott, 1995). General schools promote aesthetic contem-
plation of the work of art, aesthetic understanding of an outside object; specialized
schools promote the production of the work of art itself, aesthetic creativity and
the embodiment of the art piece. The concept of music as a sort of “external body
of knowledge” than can be understood and appreciated by everyone without actu-
ally learning how to play, sing, read or compose music should be rejected on the
premises of philosophical incongruence and, ultimately, social inequality. Children
don’t go to school to learn how to recite poetry before learning how to master their
own native language; they don’t go to school to watch sports activities and to learn
about them. When music education systems, subsystems or schools teach children
to only memorize or “recite” music instead of promoting its functional use they are
privileging “product” over “process”, “past” over “present”, “object” over “subject”,
and they are forcing music to remain in the periphery of the curriculum.
References
Brito, H., & Vieira, M. H. (2017). Once upon a time there was a maltese cat who played the piano and
spoke french: An overview of Portuguese music education student selection process in public
specialized music schools. Revista de Estudios e Investigación en Psicología y Educación, 4,
134–139.
Elliott, D. J. (1995). Music matters. A new philosophy of music education. Oxford University Press.
Feliciano, P. (2010, Abril). Reforma: Mais alunos no ensino especializado de música. In Boletim dos
Professores nº 18: Ensino Artístico Especializado de Música (pp. 2–3). Ministério da Educação.
Ferreira, S. R. (2009). Implicações educativas das práticas informais no contexto das Actividades
de Enriquecimento Curricular. O projecto artístico Grande Bichofonia (Unpublished Master
Thesis). Mestrado em Estudos da Criança, Especialidade de Educação Musical. Universidade do
Minho, Instituto de Estudos da Criança.
Formosinho & Araújo (2007). Anônimo do século XX. A construção da pedagogia burocrática.
In Formosinho, Kishimoto, & Pinazza (Org.). Pedagogia(s) da Infância. Construindo o Futuro
(pp. 293–328). Artmed Editora.
Lima, L. (2000). Organização escolar e democracia radical. Paulo Freire e a governação
democrática da escola pública. São Paulo: Editora Cortez.
Pacheco, A. J. (2008). O ensino da música em regime articulado no Conservatório do Vale do
Sousa: função vocacional ou genérica? (Unpublished Master Thesis). Mestrado em Estudos da
Criança, Especialidade de Educação Musical. Universidade do Minho, Instituto de Estudos da
Criança.
Rawls, J. (1993). Uma teoria da justiça. Presença.

Reimer, B. (1989). A philosophy of music education. Prentice-Hall.
Vieira, M. H. (2008). The Portuguese system of music education. Teacher training challenges. In
Local and global perspectives on change in teacher education international yearbook on teacher
education. Proceedings of the 53rd World Assembly of the International Council on Education
for Teaching, pp. 639–646.
Vieira, M. H. (2011). Instrumental group teaching. An agenda for democracy in Portuguese Music
Education. In Proceedings from the 15th Biennial of the International Study Association on
Teachers and Teaching: Back to the Future. Legacies, continuities and changes in educational
policy, practice and research, pp. 796–801. Braga, Universidade do Minho, 4–8 Julho.
Vieira, M. H. (2014). Educação musical para todos: por uma política de participação no ensino
da música. In M. H. Vieira & A. Cachada (Coord.) (Pensar a Música II, pp. 61–85). Sociedade
Musical de Guimarães e Universidade do Minho.
Walzer, M. (1999). As esferas da justiça. Em defesa do pluralismo e da igualdade. Editorial Presença.
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Legislative References
[2014] Law-Decree 79/2014 of May 14th (regulates teacher training qualifications for pre-school,
basic and secondary education).
[2006] Despacho 12591/2006 of June 16th (creates the Cultural Enrichment Activities; this Law
was later replaced by Despacho 14460/2008).
[2001] Law-Decree 6/2001 of January 18th (reorganizes the Basic Education Curriculum and defines
the main competences to be developed).
[1990] Law-Decree 344/90 of November 1990 (Regulates artistic education in pre-school, school
and extra-school levels).
[1986] Law-Decree 46/86 of October 14th (Basic Law of the Educational System).
[1983] Law-Decree 310/83 of July 1st (Regulates the Teaching of Music, Drama and Dance).
A Holistic and Multidisciplinary
Approach to Children Music Education
António João César and Luísa Correia Castilho
Abstract The idea for the development of an action research methodology work
about the possibilities of implementing a holistic approach in music teaching is the
result not only of the indispensable academic reflection, but also of the professional
experience of the authors as researchers and teachers in the area of music teaching.
The following research questions (1 and 2) and objectives (3 and 4) were addressed:
(1) how to implement a holistic and multidisciplinary music didactic within the
scope of musical training classes at elementary education level? (2) how effective
and relevant is the implementation of a holistic and multidisciplinary music didactic
within the scope of musical training classes at elementary education level? (3) to
adapt, create and implement a diverse set of exercises and procedures potentially
conducive to a teaching-learning experience based on a holistic and multidisciplinary
setting; (4) to evaluate the effectiveness of these exercises and procedures, taking into
account, inter alia, students learning progression and motivation. Although the small
number of students participating in this work doesn’t allow any kind of scientific
generalization of the research outcome achieved, the data obtained seems to reinforce
the effectiveness of holistic procedures, especially in terms of students’ interest and
motivation.
1 Introduction
This article was written following an action research methodology project imple-
mented with a musical training class (4th grade elementary education level) in Castro
Verde section of the Regional Conservatory of Baixo Alentejo (a private specialized
music education school, located in the southern interior of Portugal). The class was
composed by nine students, four boys and five girls, aged between nine and ten years
A. J. César (B) · L. Correia Castilho

Portugal
L. Correia Castilho
e-mail: luisa.correia@ipcb.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_17
316 A. J. César and L. Correia Castilho
old. All students were enrolled in three disciplines—musical training, ensemble and
instrument (one student enrolled in flute, two students enrolled in guitar, one student
enrolled in percussion, one student enrolled in piano, one student enrolled in trumpet
and three students enrolled in violin).
According to our previous academic and professional experience, we considered
that a substantial part of the musical literature published during the early twenty-first
century in Portugal aimed at elementary music education level students, as well as
many of the traditional methods of teaching music, produced insufficient results,
especially in terms of motivation, involvement and knowledge acquisition. Actively
seeking to understand how students learn, we have developed and implemented a
diversified set of exercises and routines. In an attempt to promote students’ interest,
attention and involvement, we have created metaphors and interconnections between
various areas of knowledge, namely literature, painting, history, physical education,
sciences and mathematics. The musical exercises conceived, ended up activating
different forms of knowledge and abilities other than those strictly related to musical
training. The results achieved were absolutely encouraging.
In this article we present the resulting work, leveraging this theorico-practical
reflection as a fundamental pillar for the consolidation of our previous teaching-
learning experiences, continuing to develop new methodological approaches, as well
as an updated and problematizing professional self-awareness.
2 Problematic and Objectives
In the context of the problematic proposed in this study, we sought to investigate the
following research questions: (1) how to implement a holistic and multidisciplinary
music didactic within the scope of musical training classes at elementary education
level? (2) how effective and relevant is the implementation of a holistic and multidis-
ciplinary music didactic within the scope of musical training classes at elementary
education level?
In order to address the research questions presented, the following research objec-
tives were formulated: (1) to adapt, create and implement a diverse set of exercises
and procedures potentially conducive to a teaching-learning experience based on a
holistic and multidisciplinary setting; (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of these exer-
cises and procedures, taking into account, inter alia, students learning progression
and motivation.
3 Traditional Education vs. Holistic Education
What sets apart an educational model considered to be “traditional” from another one
considered to be “holistic”? What are their intrinsic characteristics? What are their
advantages and disadvantages? Although there is no unanimous academical opinion
A Holistic and Multidisciplinary Approach … 317
regarding this matter, we will briefly present some lines of thought highlighting some
aspects that seems to us as being broadly consensual within the scientific community.
3.1 Traditional Education
There is no simple and exhaustive definition of what can be considered a tradi-

tional education model. In any case, according to Cook (2004), there are three lines
of thought often used to theoretically frame traditional teaching models—cognitive
psychology, behaviorism and constructivism—as well as some structural charac-
teristics commonly present in most institutions associated with educational tradi-
tional models, namely: (1) the adoption of a teaching-learning model centered on the
teacher; (2) the curriculum based on isolated disciplines; and (3) the basic impor-
tance given to knowledge measurement through evaluation tests. According to Hirsch
(2001), traditional education systems are also characterized by: (1) establishing same
academic objectives for all children; (2) focusing on activities developed in class-
room, mainly around academic, organizational and disciplinary issues; (3) using
much of lesson time in teaching and learning specific tasks; and (4) frequently
evaluation of students’ performance.
According to Newby et al. (2000), cognitive psychology was a major influence
in the establishment of traditional education philosophical principles. In this sense,
there is an approach that the author designates as an informational perspective—an
educational standpoint that conceives teaching-learning process as a gradual increase
of knowledge memorized by the student. Within the scope of this approach, we find,
then, a school that is dedicated mainly to increase or change the body of knowledge
stored in student’s memory. Thus, the main responsibility of the educator becomes
then to create conditions that help the student to receive, encode and decode infor-
mation (Newby et al., 2000). Therefore, the teacher role consists especially in that of
a predetermined curriculum creator or implementer. This curriculum is processed a
posteriori by the student practically in the same way a mechanized and cold computer
processes any given set of data. Hence, the teacher usually assumes an information
manager role, establishing connections between subjects and helping the student
in the retrieval process of memorized information. Still, according to Newby et al.
(2000), the main responsibility of the student in the context of the educational infor-
mational perspective is to actively synthesize information through the use of cognitive
supports provided and developed by the educational system or by itself. In short, the
informational perspective stands for that, according to Cook (2004), the student’s
brain is conceived as a kind of computer, capable of being programmed, where the
information is then processed. It is a rigid and teacher-centered mechanistic model,
which delegates total responsibility on the teacher for the contents’ organization,
completely excluding learners from that process.
Another significant theoretical influence framing traditional educational models
is, according to Cook (2004), behaviourism. According to this perspective, the
purpose of the educational system will then be to modify students’ behaviours. The
behavioural model stands that the teacher must control all dimensions of the teaching-
learning process, establishing, inter alia, the educational objectives and guiding
students towards objectives fulfilment. In the context of a behavioural perspective,
the teacher main responsibility should be, then, to organize classes enhancing and
maximizing students’ content learning processes, with special emphasis on the estab-
lishment by the teacher of concrete learning objectives to be achieved by students.
Within the lines established by this model all knowledge begins and ends in the
teacher. According to Newby et al. (2000), a behavioural perspective of education
assumes that the environment presents an antecedent (A) that stimulates behaviour
(B) and, in turn, it is followed up by certain consequences (C) which determines, then,
whether the behaviour is repeated or not. According to this principle, the behavioural
theory argues that learning occurs when the student behaves consistently according to
new models learned. This process is called modelling—the reinforcement of succes-
sive approaches, having an end to a certain desired behaviour, that is, the instal-
lation of new responses through positive reinforcement. According to behavioural
perspectives, the modelling process allows teachers to gradually change learners’
behaviour until the learning goal is finally achieved. Here, again, students have an
obvious passive role since the teacher alone determines the educational objectives to
be achieved, as well as the didactic strategies to be followed.
According to Cook (2004), constructivism contributed also significantly to the
academic framing of traditional educational models, possibly being one of the theo-
retical frameworks that most closely relates to the holistic models. According to
Newby et al (2000), constructivists argue that knowledge is a construction that is
born through the subject’s experience, and it can be gained in countless ways, namely
through the interaction of the student with objects, situations or other students. Also,
according to Newby et al (2000), constructivist perspectives on education argue that
learning is determined by a set of complex interactions between student’s a priori
knowledge, its social context and the problems to be solved. Thus, the role of the
teacher will then be mainly to present the student a set of situations that allows one to
gain experience and build, consequently, new forms of knowledge. Although through
this approach the student acquires knowledge based on problem-solving and realistic
teaching-learning situations, it still remains a teacher-centered approach, since in the
end it is up to the teacher to create the aforementioned problems and teaching-learning
situations.
Eric Donald Hirsch, one of the main traditional educational models advocates,
affirms that schools with better results tend to favour, for example, the learning of
contents such as phonetics, the memorization of the multiplication table and the use of
standardized tests (Hirsch, 1999). He also stands for that schools who achieve better
results regarding equity among their students are those who implement conservative
methodologies based on a demanding curriculum and on the disciplined repetition of
concepts, examples and practical problems. According to Hirsch (1999), traditional
educational models favour the success of all students, regardless their socio-economic
contexts of provenance. The author also argues that all children should go through an
educational system that compels them to sit, stop and listen carefully, seeking, thus,
to memorize information transmitted by the teacher (Hirsch, 1997). Regarding the
importance attributed by traditional educational models to evaluation tests, Hirsch

(1999) argues that standardized tests are one of the most valid tools that exist to
measure concepts such as justice and excellence in education. Finally, Hirsch (1996)
defends the curricular structuring of educational models in independent disciplines.
For the author the competences that he considers essential are, namely, the abilities to
read, to write, to communicate, to learn, to analyse, to understand and to manipulate
mathematical symbols, competences that psychologists consider to be specific of a
given domain. Therefore, a traditional educational model that, on one hand, provides a
detailed curricular guideline and, on the other hand, allows the student to concentrate
exclusively on the specificities of a given subject, will then be, according to Hirsch’s
view, of an extreme importance to student’s success.
3.2 Holistic Education
According to Kovalik and Olsen (2002), the principles inherent to holistic educational
models are not new. Several educators have developed and applied a varied set of
strategies and methodologies that we can consider close to the holistic principles.
However, they have done so generally in a very intuitive way, without any kind
of scientific support. According to Miller (1990), holistic education is not a new
orthodoxy, but rather a rich and varied set of educational perspectives that underlines
the unique creativity and uniqueness inherent to any individual or community.
According to Cook (2004), the main theoretical and philosophical bases of holistic
education can be found since the eighteenth century Rousseau’s theories to the mid-
twentieth century Dewey’s perspectives. During the 1980s, Rousseau and Dewey’s
ideas began, according to Miller (1991), to gain the contours of a coherent theoretical
movement, conveyed mainly through intellectuals from various fields of knowledge
such as psychotherapy, medicine, physics, biology, religion, philosophy, economics
and political theory. According to Miller (1990), it is widely accepted by the scien-
tific community that the reality of things can only be known with some degree of
uncertainty and, above all, through the intersection of multiple and complementary
perspectives. Consequently, Miller (1990) seeks to apply a scientific basis to the
holistic belief that the best form of teaching-learning is the one which establishes
connections between the educational curriculum and the surrounding world outside
the school.
According to Cook (2004), holistic educational models simultaneously invite
both advocates of traditional educational models and advocates of various reformist
lines in the field of educational policies to change their theoretical perspective from a
fragmented curriculum view to another one that takes into account all students’ needs.
What are, then, the main characteristics of holistic educational models? According
to Cook (2004), there is no consensus among researchers and teachers about a single
set of characteristics that can universally define a holistic educational model. In any
case, the author points out three aspects that he considers mostly consensual: (1)
the focus on a globalizing perspective of the child, involving the student as a whole
(mind and body) in the teaching-learning process; (2) the concept that all aspects
of reality are related and interconnected, and, therefore, should be presented in an
integrated—not fragmented—way; and (3) the transformation of students’ reasoning
models from a fragmented logic to a perspective in which interrelations between all
aspects of reality are seen in a globalizing, self-conscious and emotionally active
way.
According to Miller (1991), holistic educational models do not emphasize curric-
ular determination of facts or skills that adults should teach to children. Instead,
they focus mainly on the establishment of teaching-learning communities in which
the student is stimulated to develop an engaged, creative and inquisitive perspec-
tive towards the world around. Thus, a holistic education system is not particularly
concerned with cultural literacy. Above all, it tries to promote a healthy attitude of
curiosity that allows the student to continuous learn autonomously throughout life
and in any context. The objective of this model is mainly to help the students not
only to deepen their self-awareness, but also their knowledge of society and the
world around them, understanding their interconnections. For Gibson and Peterson
(2001), holistic education models are also characterized by emphasizing an attitude
of seeking knowledge through experimentation and test of ideas, establishing, in this
sense, an environment that privileges a certain degree of freedom, permeated with
passion and joy. In this way, the importance of diversity in holistic education systems
is clear. According to Flake (1993), there is a huge diversity among educators and this
is considered an advantage since any ecological system that presents strong rates of
diversity inherently enhances a certain degree of stability. Thus, as opposed to what
usually happens in the rigid teacher centered traditional models, one of the greatest
attractions of holistic teaching models are the focus on the child and, consequently, the
hindering of any kind of previous teaching-learning style formatting. In the absence
of the need to follow up on a rigid, inflexible and predetermined curriculum, the
educator who operates within the principles of a holistic teaching system gains, thus,
an enormous freedom to create meaningful contents and associations in a flexible
and functional way.
There is a clear agenda inherent to holistic education philosophy. According to
Miller (1990), holistic teaching models cannot, by themselves, solve the problems
of our contemporaneity. However, together with other essential changes, they can be
absolutely instrumental in confronting a certain alienation which, in Miller’s opinion
(1990), is largely caused by the fragmentation of knowledge, individuals and society,
being their intrinsic organic relationships often ignored. Also, according to Miller
(1993), holistic teaching models are characterized by intellectually based knowl-
edge on a diverse set of critical, inquisitive, comprehensive, flexible and creative
approaches, thus allowing the teacher to help the student to find the most favorable
teaching-learning path.
3.3 Traditional Education Holistic Critique
According to Gibson and Peterson (2001), the criticism presented by holistic educa-
tors to traditional educational models are based mainly on the following points: (1)
lack of interconnection between school, families and communities; (2) persistence
in the adoption of disjointed, purposeless and boring didactic strategies, many times
disconnected from real life, as well as from students’ own family and social expe-
riences; (3) the need to implement more democratic and inclusive decision-making
processes, involving more actively the whole school community, both students, fami-
lies, teachers and non-teaching staff; (4) the segregation of students with differenti-
ated learning styles, often including them inadequately in programs for students with
special educational needs; and (5) the lack of awareness for school social and political
context, particularly the growing inequality between different schools and commu-
nities, as well as the constant pressures to carry out standardized tests that, according
to the author, divide students, families, communities and education professionals
according to “race” criteria, socio-economic status and aptitude.
In traditional educational models the measurement of knowledge through tests
often assumes an absolutely central and structuring role. According to Clark (1991),
these models strongly contributed to the development of test teaching-based systems
that emphasises types of knowledge that can easily be demonstrated and quantified.
Consequently, a teaching-learning approach based mainly on the implementation
of evaluation tests has a considerable influence on class activities, overwhelmingly
predetermining and controlling the knowledge teachers transmit to students, often
misusing and reducing concepts such as understanding, wisdom, joy of learning and
thinking to measurable behaviours such as writing, reciting, identifying, enumer-
ating, comparing or differentiating. Therefore, an educational system based mainly
on tests may eventually eliminate all knowledge that cannot be categorized or reduced
to multiple choice answers or any other objective measurement modality.
According to Sorokin (2000), traditional educational models’ main functions have
been to “dump” predefined content on students, as well as to model their behaviours
in a certain way. In traditional educational models, teacher assumes the teaching-
learning process central role. On the contrary, the holistic models, argue that the
centrality should be repositioned on the student, leaving up to the teacher the task
of facilitating the knowledge acquisition process and not so much the task of trans-
mitting predefined contents. Thus, it is clear that traditional educational curricular
models are not, as a general rule, conceived regarding students’ individual expecta-
tions. Instead, they emphasise the conformation of teaching-learning processes to a
trending homogenizing line of action in which the test-based evaluation systems are
conceived somehow as a corollary of supposed rigor and effectiveness. According
to Gibson and Peterson (2001), this standardized testing-based system ends up
annihilating what they believe should be the main goal of any honest educational
system—the idea that it is possible to understand and transform our world.
According to holistic educators, another problem with traditional educational

models lies in the excessive emphasis placed on memorizing simple and decontex-
tualized facts. According to Anderson (1991), although many teachers recognize the
pertinence and the need to create a dynamic and active teaching-learning context, the
memorization of facts continues to play a major role in many didactic approaches.
This procedure may, in the author’s opinion, be directly related to the standardized
testing system. For holistic educators the facts should be taught, but always intercon-
nected and in articulation with other ideas and facts, so that the student can perceive
and appreciate the complexity of the whole.
The holistic criticism of traditional educational systems also points out the finger to
a certain degree of narrowing down not only the knowledge, but the students’ person-
ality as well, thus, leading to serious consequences in their adult life. According to
Kessler (1993), an increasing number of teachers recognize that students’ personal
growth based exclusively on a formal academic educational path, necessarily entails
flaws in his development both as an individual as well as a member of society. The
academic performance itself, as well as his human relations, self-esteem and the
character of the student are all affected when the complexity of the person as a whole
is neglected in the educational process. Instead, the holistic educator seeks to educate
the student as a whole, modifying the way of thinking so that one can develop tools
allowing to solve new problems in future contexts, in a dynamic, autonomous and
creative way.
Holistic educators consider also that, from a sociological standpoint, traditional
educational models, on the contrary to what academics such as Eric Donald Hirsch
claim, do not promote social equity. Although a school is supposed to be an educa-
tional institution preparing all students, traditional educational systems end up condi-
tioning, according to Cook (2004), their future social roles. In Bourdieu (2000) theo-
ries, traditional educational systems help perpetuate the pre-established social order,
strongly promoting the social reproduction of previous structures.
Finally, what solutions do holistic models advocates in order to solve traditional
educational models’ problems? A truly holistic restructuring of education would be
absolutely profound, redesigning virtually every aspect of traditional educational
systems. According to Miller (1991), almost all traditional educational systems
assumptions would certainly be altered, namely the main objectives, the curricular
contents, the architecture of the classroom, the architecture of the school, as well
as the roles of students, teachers and school administrators. Also, according to the
perspectives expressed by Miller (1991), it is necessary to point out that the changes
holistic educators advocate do not resemble anything else tried before by previous
educational movements. These changes—resulting from previous research into the
nature of intelligence, thought and teaching-learning processes—would be in their
essence structural to the whole educational system, and are based on a substantially
different set of philosophical principles and scientific paradigms than those on which
traditional educational models are based on.
4 Holistic Oriented Didactic Intervention
Towards the achievement of the first proposed research objective—to adapt, create
and implement a diverse set of exercises and procedures potentially conducive to a
teaching-learning experience based on a holistic and multidisciplinary setting—the
activity “Os Sabichões” was conceived, programmed and implemented: a cooper-
ative game with computer support, digital projection and sonorization in which all
students participate, trying to discover pairs of “musical heroes”—diverse performers
and composers, of both genders (male and female), regarding various historical eras,
nationalities and musical styles, hidden behind eighteen numbered cards displayed
sequentially on the digital board (Fig. 1). Each “musical hero” is always associ-
ated with a musical work (Fig. 2) and a “musical challenge” (Fig. 3). The results
achieved with this activity were excellent and were accompanied by a sharp increase
in all parameters observed in the class while the project was implemented, namely
students’ interest, motivation and involvement. In the design and implementation
of the activity “Os Sabichões” the following points were taken into account: (1)
the holistic approach to lesson planning; (2) classroom space management; (3)
student-teacher relationship dynamics; and (4) curriculum dynamics.
With regard to the first point—the holistic approach to lesson planning—it was
necessary to solve a curious problem: how to fit into the conventional lesson plans,
usually formatted in a rigid and homogenizing way, a lesson structured according to
a holistic teaching philosophy that seeks to be flexible and respectful towards both
students, teachers and educational communities heterogeneity? We recall now the
aforementioned perspective of Sorokin (2000), considering that the main functions of
traditional educational models have been, above all, to “dump” predefined contents
Fig. 1 “Os Sabichões” initial game screen with 18 visible cards

Fig. 2 Game screen associated with the audition of Mozart’s Serenade in G major, K. 525, Eine
kleine Nachtmusik, one of “Os Sabichões” game’s exercises
Fig. 3 Game screen associated with an excerpt from the “musical challenge” proposed in one of
“Os Sabichões” game’s exercises
on the students, as well as to model, in a certain way, their behaviors, contrary to

what is advocated by the holistic models considering that the centrality should be
repositioned on the student, whereas the teacher should, above all, to facilitate the
acquisition of knowledge and not so much to behave like a curriculum transmitter.
Although in this work we have achieved the necessary leeway to implement some
holistic teaching models characteristics, it is also true that it was developed and
implemented within an educational context mostly based on assumptions and prac-
tices somehow associated to traditional education systems, namely: (1) the adoption
of a teacher centred educational model; (2) the curriculum structured in isolated
disciplines; (3) the basic importance given to the measurement of knowledge acqui-
sition through evaluation tests; (4) the establishment of the same academic goals for
all children; (5) the focusing of classroom activities mainly around academic, orga-
nizational and disciplinary issues; (6) the use of much time in teaching and learning
specific tasks; and (7) the frequent students’ performance evaluations.
In order to holistically influence the lesson plans, the following guidelines were
established: (1) the adoption of a teaching-learning model where both teacher
and students are central; (2) the set of contents structuration based on school
subjects interconnection; (3) the basic importance given to children’s development,
establishing a self-reflection teaching-learning model based on the observation of
students’ individual parameters like attendance, punctuality, behaviour, interest,
motivation, participation, concentration, teamwork, comprehension of contents and
school progression; (4) freedom in the establishment and planning of objectives and
curricular contents according to a logic based on flexibility and functionality for
all children; (5) focusing the classroom activities mainly around songs, exercises,
stories, games, dances, reflections, questions, movie viewing, song listening and
other diversified activities, often arising both from the awareness that arises from
the human relationship established between teacher and students, as well as from
the daily situations experienced or reported in the classroom which may potentially
stimulate the domains of contemplation, emotion and reasoning; (6) using most of
lesson time in experimenting, testing and enjoying the proposed activities; (7) the
adoption of a continuous students’ performance observation strategy instead of the
adoption of a frequent standardized assessment tests strategy; (8) focusing lesson
strategies on a global perspective of the child involving students as a whole (mind
and body) in the process of teaching-learning; (9) conceive that all aspects of reality
are interrelated and interconnected and should therefore be presented as such, in an
integrated way and not in a fragmented one; and (10) the transformation of students’
reasoning models from a fragmented logic to a perspective in which they are progres-
sively able to grasp the complexity of the interrelations between all aspects of reality
in a globalizing, self-conscious and emotionally active way.
With regard to the second point—classroom space management—we tried to
avoid the conventional lined up distribution of students, often promoting a certain
inequality, and favorized, instead, a reorganization of the classroom space consid-
ering, above all, the following guidelines: (1) organization of students in a comfort-
able way, taking into account aspects such as lighting, adaptation to the proposed
activities and the physical posture of the student; (2) the need for the digital board
to occupy a central and equidistant place relative to all students; (3) the existence of
a free space in the center of the classroom in which both students and teacher can
move easily; (4) placement of the piano allowing an easy, close and immediate inter-
action between the teacher and the students; and (5) the creation of an environment
conducive to the implementation of all the guidelines aforementioned in the holistic

approach to lesson planning discussion, taking into account, inter alia, the creation
of an organized, humanized, quiet and stimulating classroom space in which both
sound, image, word, movement, expression and introspection lives in harmony with
a healthy physical, psychological, cognitive and social development of all students.
With regard to the third point—student-teacher relationship dynamics—we sought
to guide the didactic intervention according to the following holistic educational
models principles: (1) to stimulate in the student an engaged, creative and inquisitive
perspective towards the world around, trying, as teachers, to avoid as much as possible
a merely instructive posture in favor of an attitude that makes students’ curiosity stand
out, enabling them, in the long term, to continue learning autonomously throughout
life and in any context; (2) to help students not only to deepen their self-knowledge,
but also to deepen their knowledge of society and the world around them, under-
standing, inter alia, its interconnections; (3) to emphasize an attitude of seeking
knowledge through experimentation and the test of ideas, establishing, in this sense,
an environment that privileges a certain degree of freedom, permeated with passion,
joy and diversity; (4) to intellectually base the knowledge vehiculated in the class-
room on a diverse set of critical, inquisitive, comprehensive, flexible and creative
approaches, thus enabling the teacher to effectively help the student finding the most
favorable teaching-learning path; (5) to refuse a widespread attitude of using memo-
rization as the main didactic tool; (6) to refuse an educational model that transforms
the classroom into an overly authoritarian and disciplinary place; (7) to establish and
develop a safe, familiar and affective classroom environment; (8) to refuse the tradi-
tional “prison guard” teacher role, assuming, alternatively, the role of an educational
space manager in order to not overload the child with instruction and supervision
routines; (9) to respect and understand the child simultaneously as a child and as a
singular individual, not as an adult; (10) to adopt as a teacher the role of a monitor
and motivator of learning, avoiding pressuring or forcing the child into a certain
degree of performance guided by a previous set of rules or within a pre-established
time window; (11) always stimulate cooperation and mutualism between students
in order to provide them a growth opportunity based on the concept of community;
and (12) respect the individual pace and characteristics of each child ensuring the
success of all.
With regard to the fourth point—curriculum dynamics—we have articulated and
integrated several subjects and objectives, not only those found in Regional Conser-
vatory of Baixo Alentejo curriculum used with children attending the 4th Grade
Elementary Education level musical training classes, but also some of the official
Portuguese Ministry of Education contents and objectives found in the 4th Grade
Elementary Education curricula, approved by legal order no. 6944 A/2018 of July
19, in the subjects of Portuguese Language, Mathematics, Nature and Sciences,
Artistic Education, Citizenship, Physical Education and English Language (http://
www.dge.mec.pt/aprendizagens-essenciais-ensino-basico).
In order to answer the first research question—how to implement a holistic and
multidisciplinary music didactic within the scope of musical training classes at
elementary education level?—several procedures have been developed. Firstly, the
musical training lessons were observed in a non-participant way. We tried, above all,
to understand and analyze the previous lessons’ structuration, their impact on the
students, as well as to better understand their school routines, procedures, activities
and exercises. It was clear for us, on one hand, the excellence of the class in param-
eters like “behavior”, “attendance” and “punctuality”. On the other hand, it was also
clear for us what seemed to be the class most problematic aspect—the low levels
achieved in the parameter “interest, motivation and involvement”. We sought, then,
to reflect on the strengths and on the weaknesses detected trough out the observed
lessons, conceiving a diversified holistic set of activities and exercises that could,
eventually, stimulate the parameter “interest, motivation and involvement”.
Secondly, several informal conversations were held with the Elementary School
teachers of all students involved. These conversations took place briefly, and it was
then possible to better understand how different subjects’ curricula were implemented
daily in Elementary School. It was also possible to obtain a copy of each official
4th Grade manual students use daily in classes (Portuguese Language, Nature and
Sciences, Mathematics and English Language). These manuals allowed us to analyse
both the curricula, exercises and procedures used daily by elementary school teachers
and revealed to be of a tremendous value in the game “Os Sabichões” process of
construction and curricula interconnection.
Thirdly, the students were interviewed with the objective of better understand
their relationship with school subjects, with general aspects of teaching-learning and
school (Table 1), as well as their conceptualization of the ideal school (Table 2).
Consequently, in the game “Os Sabichões” the school subjects mentioned by the
students were implemented with special attention. The categories resulting from
the students’ answers were also taken into account. Thus, the general aspects that
children least enjoy at school (namely, the behavioral profile of some teachers, phys-
ical violence, verbal violence, indiscipline, non-compliance with rules and hygiene),
as well as their conceptualization of the ideal school (aesthetic dimension, organi-
zation, hygiene, reduction of various forms of violence, the socioaffective dimen-
sion and behavioral profile of teachers and staff) gave rise to the adoption of the
following perspectives and procedures in implemented activities and exercises: (1)
the teacher’s adoption of an empathic, clear, assertive and reassuring behavioral
profile; (2) the rejection of any type of physical, psychological or verbal violence
among the students; (3) the establishment of a good classroom environment based on
the enforcement of simple, clear and direct rules of participation and intervention; (4)
the creation and maintenance of an aesthetically pleasing, organized and sanitized
school space; and (5) the promotion of a classroom environment that emphasizes and
values the relationships of friendship, mutual respect and teamwork.
5 Conclusion
After this project implementation and consequent analysis of the collected data and
observations, the following conclusions were inferred: (1) the juxtaposition of the
Table 1 General aspects that students like less at school

General aspects that students like less at school
Categories Interview quotes Occurrences
Teachers’ behavioral profile Student 7: (…) when teacher gets angry 4
(…) Because the small children and the
others are always talking at the same
time!
Student 1: (…) when they make lots of
noise and teacher gets angry.
Student 3: (…) I also don’t like to be in
a class where the teacher is a little
nervous (…).
Student 6: To see the teacher unnerved
(…). When teachers get angry with
others (…).
Physical, psychological and/or verbal Student 6: (…) to see others beating 3
violence others, and saying naughty names (…).
Student 3: If someone wants to beat me,
they tell me that so I can challenge them
for a fight. I don’t like this (…).
Student 3: When in the middle of the
lesson (…) they start to call themselves
naughty names (…).
Indiscipline and non-compliance with Student 6: (…) to see others behave 2
rules badly…
Student 3: When (…) they start
interrupting the lesson all time and then
it’s only at the end that we have just
5 min or sometimes less to do the things
we had to do. Then we start getting
behind schedule on the subjects we
should learn and I also don’t like when
the teacher is not in the room and she
goes to the bathroom or talk to other
teacher and some kids throw things on
the floor, screaming, dancing, making
jokes and making naughty gestures.
Food Student 7: I like everything! Except the 1
food! (…) It tastes badly!
Hygiene Student 6: (…) the dirty tables on the 1
cafeteria.
Table 2 The ideal school as conceptualized by the children

The ideal school as conceptualized by the children
Improved aesthetics, organization Student 1: I would like to have the 6
and hygiene school painted.
Student 6: (…) If the school were all
“smooth”, if it was all perfect, brilliant
(…).
Student 3: (…) all being tidy (…).
Student 1: I would like that it doesn’t
looked so much like a prison! (…) At the
entrance the windows are like prison bars
instead of having glasses.
[Student 1: I would like that it doesn’t
looked so much like a prison! (…)]
Student 7: I agree!
Student 3: (…) The cafeteria should be
cleaned (…).
Less physical, psychological and/or Student 7: (…) I don’t like one 3
verbal violence thing—violence.
Student 6: (…) I would like no one
would beat no one and no one would get
hurt (…). Because it happens all the time
and there’s a diabetic boy in my class and
they’re always making fun of him. In the
3th grade they were always making fun of
him and saying he was fat, diabetic and
all that. But then the ancillary workers
were always grounding them, but this is
still happening in the 4th grade (…) once
in the cafeteria there was this boy who
threw Bernardo—who is a deaf boy with
no hearing—to the ground and started
hitting him and then he had to be treated
with ice on his legs and arms. That’s why
we have a psychologist in our school.
Student 3: (…) I would like also the
students behaving themselves better (…).
Sometimes in the middle of the lessons
they swear (…). And this also happens
because we play football and someone
loses and everyone starts making fun of
each other (…). And there’s this kid who
can’t hear at all and has a [hearing]
problem and they all made fun of him and
beat him. They’d come up to him and say,
“So, you’re not listening to anything?!”
(continued)
Table 2 (continued)
The ideal school as conceptualized by the children
Socioaffective dimension Student 7: I’d like to see my friends (…). 2
Student 1: In trumpet class, I wish there
was one more student.
Teachers and staff behavioral profile Student 3: I would like that the ancillary 1
workers and the teachers didn’t get angry
so often (…).
observation of classes taught according to a traditional model with the observation

of classes taught according to a model of holistic influence (Fig. 4) suggests that the
latter seems to induce a generalized increase in all parameters observed, especially
in the parameter “interest, motivation and involvement”; (2) the students interviews
highlighted the tendency for them to establish a positive relation with school when
they consider themselves good at what they do, when classes are considered fun, when
there is some degree of novelty in the contents and in the way lessons are presented,
and when the contents, methods and objectives are challenging; (3) the students
interviews highlighted the tendency for them to establish a negative relation with
school when it mediates violent behaviors, indiscipline, ugliness, stress, dirtiness,
mess and socioaffective exclusion; (4) the efficacy and acceptance of the didactic
game “Os Sabichões” among the school community was stated. This game, is to be
understood mainly as an attempt to improve the weakest parameters observed in the
Fig. 4 Observed and taught lessons analysis

class—namely interest, motivation and involvement—making use and drawing on

the diversity of previously gathered educational materials and as a reflexive reaction
to the questions raised by the students in the interviews conducted.
Thus, in a summarized way and taking into account the foregoing discussion—
how to implement a holistic and multidisciplinary music didactic within the scope of
musical training classes at elementary education level? Firstly, observing, analyzing
and problematizing the daily teaching-learning practices. Secondly, working as a
team with other teachers, continuously building a sharing environment, exchanging
and interconnecting a wide set of diversified forms of knowledge and information.
Thirdly, by dialoguing with students, in particular about their relationship with
general subjects, the general aspects of learning-teaching, the general aspects of
the school, as well as about its conceptualisation of the ideal school. Fourthly and
lastly, putting into practice, testing and operationalizing a multiple set of activi-
ties and exercises, seeking to establish several interconnections in a simple, harmo-
nious and humanized way, crossing different school curriculum domains as well
as different forms of knowledge with the curriculum of musical training classes at
elementary education level. In this work the musical training classes were under-
stood and approached not as a curricular musical domain closed on itself, adopting
and repeating contents and practices of the past without any kind of self-reflection
or self-criticism, but, instead, the musical training classes were here understood and
approached as a dynamic, conscious, flexible and effective window of opportunity
to foster on children a rich and meaningful musical experience.
Regarding the second research question—how effective and relevant is the imple-
mentation of a holistic and multidisciplinary music didactic within the scope of
musical training classes at elementary education level?—the following conclusions
were drawn: (1) the sharp increase of all observed parameters seems to corroborate
the holistic teaching models effectiveness and pertinence thesis in order to provide
students a motivating, effective and humanized experience; and (2) the students
seemed to relate in a positive way to the holistic teaching-learning model, mani-
festing in the interviews their empathy with the proposed activities and considering
very interesting the curricula interconnections. Some children also mentioned they
considered this experience to be a good framing for teamwork, getting the oppor-
tunity to know each other better, forming closer friendships, creating thus, in their
opinion, a good opportunity to highlight the best of each one of them thanks to the
diversity of the exercises and activities carried out.
Finally, we would like again to emphasize that the small number of students
participating in this project doesn’t allow any kind of research outcome scientific
generalization. However, the data obtained seems to enhance the holistic procedures
effectiveness, especially in terms of students’ motivation, interest and involvement.
We consider that the most significant achievement of this project was, perhaps, the
quality and effectiveness of the methodologies and approaches implemented in the
game “Os Sabichões”, an activity that cannot certainly be understood as the only
structuring element of teaching-learning procedures, but simply as a practical and
effective didactic tool, developed mainly with the purpose of stimulating students’
interest, motivation, concentration and involvement, thus promoting their progression
in the teaching-learning processes through, in this particular case, a set of approaches

strongly influenced by holistic educational perspectives.
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Teaching Piano Through Letters:
An Innovative Educational Tool by Carl
Czerny
Giovanna Carugno
Abstract This paper aims at analyzing the ten letters published by Carl Czerny on
the art of playing the piano. These letters constitute an epistolary work intended
to accompany Czerny’s School of Piano, as a guide for every budding pianist. The
choice of the letters, instead of a treatise, allowed Czerny to use a style of writing
that put the teacher in dialogue with his ideal pupil. In this sense, the letters were
conceived to meet the needs of the new class of music amateurs, growing between the
18th and the nineteenth century. Thus, the letter becomes a new teaching instrument,
that facilitates the learning of practical (fingering, improvisation, ornamentation)
and theoretical (musical writing and reading, harmony) elements, also underlining
the importance of selecting the piano repertoire, that should be inspired by general
principles of proportionality and progressive increase. For their features, the letters
by Carl Czerny represent the work of a pioneer of piano pedagogy, based on a
learner-centered approach, which makes them worthy of specific consideration by
contemporary musicologists and piano teachers.
1 Introduction
Carl Czerny was not only a notable pianist and composer, but also a piano teacher,
renowned in the whole European territory. As one of the most productive and influen-
tial Austrian musicians of the nineteenth century, he showed a relevant commitment
in the development of piano teaching and playing. Czerny’s ability to play piano
came to light during his early childhood. The composer started to study music under
the guidance of his father, Wenzel Czerny, a Bohemian violinist who provided piano
lessons and repaired musical instruments to economically support his family (Bell,
2004). Wenzel was “a demanding but experienced and unordinary thinking teacher”
(Kvasnikova, 2015, p. 522) for his son.
G. Carugno (B)
“Giuseppe Martucci” Conservatory of Music, Salerno, Italy
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_18
334 G. Carugno
The young Carl had not only the opportunity to be instructed by his father, but
also to assist him while “playing and instructing” other pupils “on a daily basis”
(Larson, 2015, p. 2).
Besides Wenzel, a variety of musicians influenced the training of Czerny as a
pianist. Ludwig van Beethoven was his teacher for two years, from 1801 to 1803.
Therefore, historical sources demonstrate that Czerny had many chances to meet
Muzio Clementi and Johann Nepomuk Hummel between 1801 and 1804.1
Both expressed words of encouragement and motivated Czerny in pursuing his
career.
Like his father, Czerny started to teach piano very soon, at the age of fifteen. He
provided lessons with a strict schedule, for about twelve hours every day (Czerny &
Sanders, 1956, p. 313), and he organized concerts the best students, to be held at his
own house (Ferrati, 2011).
Among Czerny’s pupils, were Sigismond Thalberg and Stephen Heller. This latter,
some lessons, was not able to afford the high fees required by his teacher and decided
to study with Anton Halm (Barbedette & Borthwick, 1877).
Czerny quickly earned a great reputation for his teaching method, to the point that
also Beethoven had asked him to teach piano to his nephew, Karl.
In 1819 Czerny was entrusted with the teaching of the enfant prodige Franz Liszt,
who had learned a lot from the great composer. Czerny describes this pupil as “a
pale, delicate-looking child […] while playing swayed on the chair as if drunk”, so
he “often thought he would fall to the floor. Moreover, his playing over, his irregular,
careless, and confused, and he had so little knowledge of correct fingering that he
threw his fingers over the keyboard in an altogether arbitrary fashion” (Czerny &
Sanders, 1956, pp. 314–315).
Liszt “was taught [by Czerny] to think, and to think independently, about piano
playing” (Walker, 1988, p. 72), and he was grateful to his teacher, as demonstrated by
the fact that he dedicated to Czerny the 24 Grandes Études pour le piano, published
in 1839, in Vienna, and then in Milan and Paris (Fig. 1).
Some of the pupils of Czerny became teachers, like Theodor Kullak—who was the
founder of the Berlin “Stern” Conservatory, in 1850, and of the Neue Akademie der
Tonkunst, established in 1855 as a private music education school (Soderlund,
2006)—and Theodor Leschetizky (Leffler, 1998). These instructors had the merit to
pass the legacy of Czerny’s way of teaching and conceiving music to the following
generations of pianists.2
1 Czerny participated in the musical environment of Vienna, being introduced to talented pianists
and composers that attended the recitals organized by the wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Constanze Nissen (Czerny & Sanders, 1956, p. 308), as was the case of Hummel.
2 (Liszt described this meeting in a letter send to his piano student Ilka Horowitz-Barnay in 1875.
He underlined the patience and positive attitude of Czerny, valuing the capacity of his master in
motivating him. Liszt wrote: “I was about eleven years of age when my venerated teacher Czerny
took me to Beethoven. He had told the latter about me a long time before, and had begged him to
listen to me play sometime. Yet Beethoven had such a repugnance to infant prodigies that he always
had violently objected to receiving me. Finally, however, he allowed himself to be persuaded by the
indefatigable Czerny […] I somewhat shily, Czerny amiably encouraging me” [Knittel, 2003, 19])
Teaching Piano Through Letters … 335
Fig. 1 Drawing by Rudolf

Lipus (1940), representing
Carl Czerny while
introducing his pupil Franz
Liszt to Ludwig van
Beethoven
2 Czerny’s Teaching Style
Czerny composed a lot of works for his pupils. His early piano teaching style was
largely inspired by the models of Beethoven and Clementi, as highlighted by Czerny
himself: “I became familiar with the teaching method of th[e]s[e] celebrated master
[Muzio Clementi] and foremost pianist of his time, and I primarily owe it to this
circumstance that later I was fortunate to train many important students to a degree of
perfection for which they became world-famous” (Czerny & Sanders, 1956, p. 313).
The influence of Beethoven on Czerny’s approach to piano teaching is evident
in the crucial role recognized to the study of technique and articulation. Beethoven
recommended to the young Czerny to follow the indications contained in the Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Versuch über die wahre art das vlavier zu spielen, playing
the scales in all the keys and practicing for obtaining a good use of the thumb. In
the same way, Czerny assigned to Liszt “massive doses of endurance exercises”,
to develop the technical skills to play the scales, while observing rules of “correct
fingering, […] strict rhythm, and […] tone production” (Walker, 1988, p. 72).
Later, Czerny proposed to his student to play a selection of pieces, ranging from
his piano sonatas for four hands to various arrangements of Beethoven’s and Mozart’s
compositions.
Notwithstanding this apparent strictness, Czerny highly considered the personality
and the musical tastes of his pupils. For this reason, Hinson (1985, 16) stated: Czerny
“did not believe in method because he felt that each student was different and no one
method would be correct for all”. In other words, Czerny adopted his own teaching
style, which cannot be defined as a “method”, in the pure sense of this term. He
learned from his teachers and he perfected their advices in a creative and original
way. As a matter of fact, “the development of the craft of music was maintained by
[…] reproducing the rules handed down by masters, elaborating them, and inventing
new ones” (Gellrich & Sundin, 1993, p. 140).
336 G. Carugno
As emphasized by Howard (1952), Czerny wrote not only exercises, but also
compositions to meet specific needs of his students.
The selection of the repertoire for each lesson was inspired by the idea of
answering the necessities of the moment, providing to each pupil appropriate musical
stimuli and tasks.
Therefore, Czerny put in action a sort of “empathetic teaching”, believing that
“a reserved but friendly, amiable attitude without a minimum sign of impatience is
always the most efficacious way with pupils […] It bends even the most extravagant
temperament to obedience and attention; from the most docile to the most obstinate”
(Hinson, 1985, p. 18).
A general overview on the way in which Czerny intended the piano teaching can
be re-built by taking in account the exercises and études composed with a pedagogical
aim, which represent the most relevant part of his piano production (Finizio, 1950).
These works are contained in well-known collections, such as the School of virtuosity
(Opus 365), the School of velocity (Opus 299), and the School of the left hand (Opus
399), that have been widely played nowadays, as a part of the repertoire included in
the Conservatory’s piano programs.
Czerny embedded the compositions for his pupils with some principles—such
as the consolidation of the velocity of fingering and the strengthening the sound
control—, with the aim to expand their technical and musical abilities.
He was very attentive in valuing the natural inclinations of his students, “allowing,
for example […] different fingerings for differently made hands” (Mather, 1970,
p. 30).
For the attention he paid to the technical aspect, “Czerny has become associated
with repetition, routine, predictability, and the most mechanical definitions of musical
skill. But Czerny, at a pivotal point in the instrument’s history, created the basics of
technique so that the average student and future piano owner could play” (Botstein,
2004).
In these terms, Carl Czerny can be considered as the father of modern piano
technique and pedagogy.
3 The Letters to a Young Lady on the Art of Playing

the Pianoforte
The Letters to a young lady on the art of playing the pianoforte were published in
Vienna in 1830 by Anton Diabelli3 with the original title Briefe über den Unterricht
auf dem Pianoforte. An English version of the Letters was edited by the music writer
3Anton Diabelli was not only a music publisher, but also a musician and a composer. He motivated
Czerny to write music for dilettanti and to print and sold it. The first publication by Czerny for the
Diabelli & Co. publishing house was the Brilliant Rondeau on Cavatine de Carafa à quatre mains
(Opus 2), a short and easy piece composed by the Austrian master for his piano students.
James Alexander Hamilton4 and published in 1840 by Robert Cooks in London,5

followed by the publication of a separate work which contained only the second part
of the full collection, constituted by letters n. 7 (Rudiments of Thorough-bass), n.
8 (On the Formation of Chords), n. 9 (Continuation of Thorough-bass), and n. 10
(On Extemporaneous Performance).6 This publication was preceded by an American
edition of the work, diffused in New York by Hewitt & Jaques between 1837 and
1841.7 The Letters to a young lady on the art of playing the pianoforte represent
a literary work and an ideal guide for every budding pianist in learning to play the
instrument. They provide both practical (fingering, improvisation, ornamentation)
and theoretical (musical writing and reading, harmony, figured bass) indications.
As pointed out in the Preface, the Letters were intended to accompany Czerny’s
Pianoforte school (Opus 500)8 as a supplementary work.
Czerny wrote: “The Publisher of my Great Pianoforte School, Op. 500, have
expressed to me a wish that I would explain, under the epistolary form, and in a
concise, clear, and familiar manner, the peculiar mode of proceeding in the instruction
of my pupils, and of leading them forwards step by step, which I have employed
during my long career as a teacher of the pianoforte; and that, in so doing, I would
fully detail all those minute particulars which, from their nature, could not well find
a place in a pianoforte school” (Czerny, 1840, IV).9 Such an explicit reference draws
a line of connection between the content of the Pianoforte School and the Letters.
These two works were both the result of the long teaching activity undertook by
Czerny and they are a source of invaluable knowledge for the readers.
4 Hamilton was born in London in 1785 and died in the same city in 1845. He was “son of a dealer in
old books, and was largely self-educated”, studying “the books in his father’s shop and acquir[ing] a
knowledge of languages and particularly of music” (Golby, 2004). Hamilton translated a lot of works
by composers of different nationalities. Among these, he particularly praised the compositions by
Carl Czerny, listed in a comprehensive work, titled Catechism on the art of writing for an Orchestra,
and on playing from score, published in London in three editions (the last one, in 1841).
5 Information about the English editions of the Letters were briefly reported by Damschroder and
Williams (1990, p. 62). In the title page of the first London edition appears a reference to a French
reprint, made by the Parisian publisher S. Rishault.
6 The title of the work, published by Cooks in 1946, and edited by Hamilton, was Letters on
thorough-bass, with an appendix on the higher branches of musical execution and expression.
7 All the quotations from the Letters included in this article should be referred to the London edition
of the work, that faithfully reproduces the German text.

8 The Pianoforte-Schüle was published by Wolfenbüttel in 1830, before the Letters. It was a collec-
tion of three volumes, containing theorical and practical instructions for the beginner pianists (the
title specifically referred to a theoretisch-practische school of piano), as well as small exercises and
studies. Both a copy of the first printed edition of this work and one of the Letters are preserved
in Munich, at the Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek. The Pianoforte School appeared in London in
1839, sold in an English translation by the same publisher of the Letters (Robert Cooks), with the
title Complete theoretical and practical piano forte school: from the first rudiments of playing to
the highest and most refined state of cultivation with the requisite numerous examples newly and
expressly composed for the occasion, opera 500 (see Czerny, 1839).
9 The request of the publisher of the Pianoforte School shows the potential value of the Letters
as a commercial musical product to be proposed to a large platea of consumers, from women to

dilettanti.
338 G. Carugno
In the Preface, Czerny specified the aim of the Letters: “Through these letters are
written as a kind of appendix to my own Pianoforte School, still they may be used
with equal advantage along with any other method; and may therefore, perhaps, be
considered as a not unwelcome assistance to pupils in general” (Czerny, 1840, p. V).
Czerny chose to publish a series of “short, friendly, and cheerful” (Czerny, 1840,
p. IV) letters, instead of a treatise—the kind of work used from the Medieval era to
transmit the musical knowledge—, to communicate instructions and suggestions to
the reader. He utilized a simple writing style, which put in dialogue the “ideal” teacher
of piano with his pupil (Caldarola, 2010). The fictional atmosphere is created by an
imaginary conversation between two parts, being supervised by the intervention of
the “local piano teacher”, a figure that is not being directly addressed in the letters”,
but “constitutes a crucial third party who can observe the pupil closely and carry
out the author’s disciplinary orders almost telepathically” (Björkén-Nyberg, 2019,
p. 128). By “constructing this dialogue within the guise of ‘real time’ brings weight
and believability to the claims of progress it lays out, and this both reinforces Czerny’s
status as a pedagogue and implies that equal diligence [by the pupil] will achieve
equal results—thereby, finally, enhancing the commercial viability of the Letters”
(Davis, 2008, p. 74).
3.1 The Addressee of the Letters
As stated by Czerny in the Preface of the work, the Letters are addressed to an
imaginary girl of about twelve years old, who started to play the piano. The girl,
called Cecilia, is “talented and well-educated”, and lives outside of the city, in a
country place (Czerny, 1840, p. IV).
Such a portrait reminds to the typical student of piano of the nineteenth century,
an era in which was common for a teacher to train young ladies belonging to the
medium-class, since piano lessons represented an important part of women education.
In fact, “adolescent girls were ideally suited to take over musical tasks, through
which they not only performed an important service for the family, but also developed
their own wifely and mothering skills” (Davis, 2008, pp. 69–70).
Evidence of this phenomenon can be found in the musical iconography. Many
painters of that time represented scenes of women that play the piano: a noteworthy
example is constituted by the painting of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, titled Two young
girls at the piano (Fig. 2).
The piano “was not only an emblem of social status, it provided a gauge of a
woman’s training in the required accomplishments of genteel society. Its presence
or absence in the home could be a sign of social climbing, security of status, or loss
of place” (Burgan, 1986, p. 51).
In addition, this instrument was “the most available […] for reasonable price”
and it “could harm the [woman] less than any other instrument, because it required a
natural posture, balance in use of arms/fingers, not particular strength of the breath”
(Vanoni, 2017, p. 6).
Fig. 2 Pierre Auguste

Renoir, Two young girls at
the piano, 1892
Considering this context, Czerny’s Letters were an instrument to educate to the

art of the pianoforte the young women of the medium class.
Historical research reveals that, among Czerny’s pupils, appeared a lot of young
women10 : one of them, Anna Caroline de Belleville—also known as Ninette de
Belleville, to whom Fryderyk Chopin dedicated his Waltz Opus 70, n. 2,—became a
great pianist, attending Czerny’s classes for more than three years, between 1816 and
1820. Czerny introduced her to Beethoven; thus, she had the opportunity to “heard
him to improvise on the piano” (Fuller-Maitland & Lamb, 2001). The Austrian
teacher affirmed that she “was a rare musical talent, and since it was her father’s
wish that she devote herself to a musical career, […] a student whose numerous
public performances augmented [his] reputation, which by that time was already
considerable” (Czerny & Sanders, 1956, p. 313). After all, in his first letter, Czerny
defines piano training as “one of the most charming and honorable accomplishments
for young ladies, and, indeed, for the female sex in general” (Czerny, 1840, p. 2).
10 Davis (2008) supposed that this was the reason for which Czerny preferred to address his Letters
to a woman.
340 G. Carugno
3.2 Structure and Content of the Letters
The collection is organized as a series of letters, corresponding to progressive lessons

of piano.11 Czerny considered a timeline of around one year and a half for his ideal
piano course. A length of about two months separated one letter from the other,
to give to the reader enough time to put in practice the indications learned in each
lesson.12
In this perspective, the Letters pursue the aim to lead the pupil in the prac-
tice of piano playing, following a step-by-step approach, inspired by a principle
of proportionality.
The collection is opened by the First rudiments of the piano, illustrated in the first
letter; namely, the knowledge of the keys and the notes. Differently from the first
volume of the Pianoforte School, in which Czerny explained the same rudiments by
providing a picture of the keyboard, in the Letters the author created a less formal and
friendly atmosphere, enriched through ironic comments on the notions.13 One of the
first indication that Czerny gave to Miss Cecilia is to assume a proper posture at the
piano. He illustrated the appropriate position of the feet and of the forearms. Since
the piano overcame the harpsichord in the musical environment of the nineteenth
century, a different use of the body of the performer was required.
As specified by Mather (1970, p. 29), “the body has to become the servant of
the piano, as the piano is the servant of the music”. Some preliminary suggestions
can be also found in the first volume of the above-mentioned Czerny’s Opus 500. At
the beginning of the first lesson, under the heading Position of the body, and of the
hands, Czerny remarked the importance of assuming a correct posture at the piano
for a good performance (Czerny, 1839, p. 1).
He affirmed that “[i]t is not merely that an awkward position is disagreeable and
ridiculous, but it also impedes, if not prevents, the development of a free and elegant
style of playing” (Czerny, 1840, p. 4).
After suggesting how to place the fingers on the keyboards to obtain a good sound,
Czerny explained some elements of music theory, such as the names of the notes and
how to read them.
11 While the lessons in which is divided the first book of the Pianoforte School are nineteen, those of
the Letters are ten. In fact, the epistolary work summarizes concept already illustrated in Opus 500,
that usually contains headings which are similar to those chosen by Czerny to title each letter (for
example, On Graces or Notes of Embellishments is the title of the sixteenth lesson of the Pianoforte
School and partially that of the Letter IV of the collection addressed to Miss Cecilia). This element
should be read as an attempt made by the author to guide the reader of the Letters and to establish,
at the same time, an ideally link with the exercises, studies and notions provided by the Pianoforte
School.
12 Czerny observed: “It is further assumed that each letter follows that which immediately preceded
it, after a lapse of about eight or ten weeks; so that the pupil may have sufficient intermediate time
to learn all the rules which are laid down, and to avail herself of them in her subsequent practice”
(Czerny, 1840, p. IV).
13 Czerny defined them “the only really tedious and unpleasant points in learning music” (Czerny,
1840, p. 3).
An important advice that Czerny provided to his pupil is to copy the musical
scores and write under the notes their names, to better facilitate the process of music
memorization, following the idea that “notes are much easier to write than letters”
(Czerny, 1840, p. 7).14
Reading the first letter makes immediately evident that the rules suggested by
Czerny does not only reflect the playing style of his time but are still the basis of the
piano training, being easily found in contemporary educational works for the young
pianists.
In the other letters, Czerny focused his attention on music theory and practice.
In the second letter, titled On touch, tone, and the mode of treating the pianoforte,
he introduced to Miss Cecilia some basic information on the touch and on the passage
of the thumb. In addition, he pointed out the importance of the “principle of equality”,
dividing it into three different categories: “equality of strength”, “equality in point of
quickness” and “equality in holding the notes down” (Czerny, 1840, p. 16). Czerny
better specified this principle by observing that “the five fingers are by no means equal
to each other in natural strength. Thus, for example, the thumb is much stronger than
any of the other fingers; the first finger is much stronger than the little finger, and
the third finger, on the contrary, is, with almost every person, the weakest of all. The
pianist, however, must know how to employ these various degrees of power, so that
in playing the scales all the fingers may strike their appropriate keys with perfect
equality of strength; for the scales sound well only when they are played in every
respect with the most exact equality” (Czerny, 1840, p. 16).15
In the third letter (On Time, Subdivision of the Notes, and Fingering), Czerny
spent some words on the duration of the notes and on the importance to count the
value of them while playing a piece, making differences between “counting aloud”,
that could be problematic and could hinder the freedom of interpreting the piece, and
“counting in idea”—or in the mind (“mentally”)—, as the best solution to remember
the rhythm (Czerny, 1840, p. 22).
Czerny advised against “beating the time with the foot”, considering it as “a
bad habit”, difficult to be changed (Czerny, 1840, p. 22). Finally, he suggested to
Miss Cecilia to adopt an appropriate fingering an to observe the initial tempo of the
composition, without accelerating or slowing it during the performance.
The fourth letter concerns the Expression, and graces or embellishments. Czerny
recalled to his pupil the importance to study with perseverance, three hours a day,
14 Copying music represents a useful exercise in any stage of learning. Czerny himself started to
study orchestration by making copies of “many J.S. Bach fugues, Scarlatti Sonatas and other works
by ‘ancient’ composers. He describe[d] learning orchestration by copying the parts from the first
two Beethoven symphonies, and several Haydn and Mozart symphonies as well” (Lindeman &
Barth, 2001).
15 The relevance of the technique to enhance the equality between the fingers and the ability of
dexterity was also underlined by Czerny in his biography. The author affirmed: “Since I knew
from numerous experiences that geniuses whose mental gifts are ahead of their physical strength
tend to slight solid technique, it seemed necessary above all to use the first months [of lesson] to
regulate and strengthen his mechanical dexterity” (Czerny & Sanders, 1956, p. 315). It is important
to remind that Czerny dedicated one of his work to the art of finger dexterity: Opus 740 (Die Kunst
der Fingerfertigkeit), a collection of fifty studies in the brilliant style, published in Wien in 1844.
342 G. Carugno
“of which about half an hour shall be appropriated to the exercises, as much more to
playing over the old pieces, and the remaining time to the study of new compositions”
(Czerny, 1840, p. 29).
Then, Czerny declared that “expression, feeling, and sensibility are the soul of
music” (Czerny, 1840, p. 29); so, it is necessary to reproduce them by observing
the marks of expression and articulation—as forte, piano, legato, staccato—and by
playing the ornaments in a correct way. The ornaments are defined by the master “the
flowers of music” (Czerny, 1840, p. 33) and contributed at enriching the performance.
The fifth letter (On the Keys, on Studying a Piece, and on Playing in the presence
of others) contains a list of useful expedients for practicing and preparing public
performances.
In this context, Czerny defined in the sight-reading one of the most important skill
for a good pianist. He also underlined the importance to read “in all the keys”, as “one
of the most necessary acquirements for a pianist” (Czerny, 1840, p. 35). The author
pointed out the risk of time wasting while studying a complex musical composition.
To avoid that, he introduced Miss Cecilia to the “art of studying”,16 suggesting some
simple steps: (a) reading and decoding the musical signs on the score; (b) playing the
piece slowly; (c) deciding and fixing the fingering; (d) “gain[ing] a general insight
over the whole”; (e) studying the difficult passages separating them from the whole
piece and, only when well learned, in connection with it.
In the idea of Czerny, these passages take few days of practicing.
Next, “the whole piece must be played over quietly and composedly, but at the
same time attentively, and without any distraction of ideas, till we are enabled to
execute it without trouble, and in the exact time indicated by the author” (Czerny,
1840, p. 37).
The performance in front of an audience is considered by Czerny an occasion to
stimulate the pupil in practicing more and with passion.
He suggested to Miss Cecilia to learn some little pieces to be play by heart and to be
properly prepared for the recital, to gain confidence in playing in front of a public.17
During the recital, the pianist should play “with tranquillity and self-possession,
without hurrying, without allowing […] ideas to wander, and more especially without
coming to a stand-still; for this last is the most unpleasant fault which we can commit
before an audience” (Czerny, 1840, p. 40). Czerny gave importance not only to
the way of playing, but also to the general outline of the performance. From his
16 Czerny highlighted that “[t]here are pupils who study […] compositions attentively enough it
is true, but so slow and with such frequent interruptions, that these pieces become tedious and
disagreeable to them before they have half learned them. Such pupils often take half a year to learn
a few pieces tolerably; and, by this wasteful expenditure of time, always remain in the back-ground”
(Czerny, 1840, p. 36).
17 In the opinion of Czerny, it “is very necessary” to “study and commit to memory a good number
of little, easy, but tasteful pieces” and “to be able to play them by heart: for it appears rather childish
to be obliged, for every trifle, to turn over one’s collection of music; or, when in a strange place, to
be always obliged to draw back, with the excuse ‘that you cannot play any thing by heart’” (Czerny,
1840, p. 41). Czerny pointed out that some of these compositions are included in his Pianoforte
School and suggested to Miss Cecilia to start every public performance playing a short prelude
selected from that collection.
indications, emerges the idea of the pianist as an artist that utilizes the body and the
instrument as a medium to communicate a message to the audience.
The pianist should keep his hands warm and should choose an appropriate dress
for the occasion. It would be desirable that the pianist could play the instrument with
which is “well acquainted; for an instrument, of which the touch is much lighter
or much heavier than that which one is accustomed to, may very much confuse a
player” (Czerny, 1840, p. 40).
The sixth letter, titled On the Selection of Compositions most suitable for each
Pianist, deals with the choice of the repertoire. According to Czerny, the selection
should be not limited to the études composed by the most famous pianists of his
time (e.g., Cramer and Bertini), but should be enlarged at including short pieces (like
rondos, sonatas, variations, etc.), appropriate to the technical level of the pupil. At
the first stages of piano practice, does not make sense to propose to the pupil “grand
and difficult pieces by Chopin, Hiller, Hummel, Henselt, Kalkbrenner, Liszt, Potter,
Thalberg”: Czerny recommended Miss Cecilia “to study at some future time, when
[her] execution shall have reached a very high degree of excellence”, since “most of
these pieces are splendid bravura-compositions, intended rather for highly cultivated
players, and for public performances, than for the instruction of those […] have still
to climb many steps to arrive at perfection” (Czerny, 1840, p. 44).
Letters number seven, eight and nine cover the most relevant issues of the studying
of harmony, such as the intervals, the formation of chords and the importance to
properly realize the figured bass, as an important skill for improvising, “playing at
sight, and accompanying” other musicians or singers (Czerny, 1840, p. 55). Czerny
provided not only written explanations of the notions, but also included in the text
some images and tables to indicate chord sequences.
In the last letter, after spending some words on the art of music, defining as a
language used by the human being to express feelings (Czerny, 1840, p. 78), the
author gave to Miss Cecilia some information on how to improvise at the piano.
Improvisation tawhen “nothing is been written down before, nor previously prepared
or studied, but which is merely the fruit of a momentary and accidental inspiration”
(Czerny, 1840, p. 78): these are the cases of Extemporaneous performance, as the title
of the letter suggests. In the idea of Czerny, improvising is an art and many masters
of his time, “such as Beethoven and Hummel, have particularly distinguished them-
selves in it” (Czerny, 1840, p. 78). Czerny believed in the capacity of every musician
to improvise18 ; in that, what distinguishes a dilettante from a professional pianist is
the complexity of the improvisation result and the technical skills implemented in it.
18 He was “convinced that any body, who has attained to more than a moderate skill in playing, is
also capable, at least to a certain degree, of acquiring the art of playing extemporaneously […] for
this purpose it is requisite to commence this sort of practice at an early period” and “to indefatigably
apply the experience […] gained by studying the compositions of others” (Czerny, 1840, p. 79).
344 G. Carugno
4 Final Remarks
The Letters to a young lady on the art of playing the pianoforte represents the literary
trace of a pioneering approach in piano teaching. This work is inspired by ideas that
are still applied in the piano pedagogy field, being extremely useful to tackle not
only the repertoire of the nineteenth century (Bräm, 2012), but also the exercises,
that were “embraced with […] enthusiasm” by the piano students of Czerny and his
contemporaries (Gellrich & Parncutt, 1998, p. 5).
In the words of Czerny, the letters constitute both a guide to introduce beginner
students to the “earliest rudiments” of the piano knowledge, and a tool to accom-
pany advanced pupils in the “highest stage of cultivation” of the instrument (Czerny,
1840, p. V). The letters give to the students the chance to become more aware
of the importance of some aspects, such as fingering, touch, sight-reading and
improvisation.
From the methodological side, they are the witness of the early development of the
learned-center principle, a basis of the contemporary instrumental music education.
Czerny dedicated the same attention to the theoretical and practical aspects of
piano playing, adopting a mixed method as that used nowadays in piano courses.
Then, the Letters follow a principle of proportionality and progressive increase, that
should inspire every teaching activity. They are also “universally oriented”, since
they are only ideally addressed to a young lady: they could be read and operationally
applicated—quoting Czerny—by “pupils of every age, and in every stage of their
progress” (Czerny, 1840, p. V). A key-concept emerged from the Letters is the
principle of “repetition”, not only of the exercises, scales and arpeggios, but also of
the pieces. This principle accompanied the idea of a daily piano practice or routine,
without neglecting the artistic value of playing the instrument in public (Rattalino,
2008).
Thus, the Letters face the challenge to encourage the pupil to practice and
to perform in front of an audience, providing appropriate suggestions for these
occasions.
In light of that, the Letters to a young lady on the art of playing the pianoforte
should be re-discovered and re-valuated by piano teachers and pupils. This work
demonstrates the intense dedication of Czerny not only to the art of playing the
pianoforte, but also to the art of teaching music. Czerny’s commitment to these arts
facilitated the growth of the “musical alphabetization” of the bourgeoisies’ class and
the valorization of many gifted piano performers (Ferrati, 2011, p. 43). The letters
have been conceived as an instrument to contribute to this process. Their success19
19 This success is proved by the high number of reprints and translations of the Letters, that circulated
from 1842 also in a Russian version, printed in Saint Petersburg with the title Pis’ma Karla Cherni,
ili Rukovodstvo k izucheniiu igry na fortepiano ot nachal’nykh osnovanii do polnago usovershen-
stvovaniia s kratkirn obiasneniem generalbasa (Damschroder & Williams, 1990, p. 62). Various
composers and piano pedagogues took inspiration from the literary work by Czerny. For instance,
the pianist Nathan Richardson, defined Czerny’s letters “genial and instructive” in his New Method
for the Piano-forte: An improvement upon all other instruction books in progressive arrangement,
adaptation and simplicity, published in Boston by Oliver Ditson in 1859.
played a fundamental role to rehabilitate the figure of Czerny, which was for a long
time obscured by critics and negative opinions20 or considered less important when
compared to his master Beethoven.21
In conclusion, the Letters to a young lady on the art of playing the pianoforte
assigns to Czerny a place among the most prominent pedagogues in the field of
piano teaching.22
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Transtherapy of Music as a Benefit
Beyond Ears and Senses
Hermes de Andrade Júnior and Tamar Prouse de Andrade
Abstract Transdisciplinarity is a challenge to our style of living and a great relief

in the sense of being an opportunity to attach, to consider differences and methods
previously judged despicable and to have keys to the intended solutions of balancing
in a world of complexities. A brief conceptual and empirical review is developed
that seeks the transdisciplinary nexus in the connection with the social sciences and
health areas, crossing references of musical applicability in the junction of musical
aesthetics and functionality with medical science and with their experiences with
the sacred. It aims to strengthen the transdisciplinary epistemological basis with the
musical component, amplifying the discussion about the supreme benefit of the use
of music as a therapeutic, in the most varied faces of medical science. In the field of
medical ethics, this work hopes that music will be massively included as a powerful
“transtherapeutic” resource that transcends standardized models of health systems
and reaches everyone in the medical-professional sense.
1 Introduction
Transdisciplinarity is a challenge to our style of living and a great relief, in the sense
of being an opportunity to attach and consider differences and methods deemed
despicable, and to hold the keys to the desired balancing solutions in a world of
complexities, once which seeks the resumption of the encounter of science with art
and with the sacred, better qualifying us for the increasing crises of the millennium.
Transdisciplinarity refers to what is at the same time between the disciplines,
through the different disciplines and, in addition to all the disciplines, showing a
categorical non-linear and quantum behavior.
As its goal is to understand the present world and one of the imperatives for
this is the unity of knowledge, it brings a reinforcement to the methodological and
epistemological challenges of our era.
H. de Andrade Júnior (B) · T. P. de Andrade

University of Vigo, Doc CREA S2i, Pontevedra, Spain
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_19
348 H. de Andrade Júnior and T. P. de Andrade
Since disciplinary research relates at best to one and the same level of reality or,
in most cases, it refers to only a fragment of a level of reality, transdisciplinarity
concerns the dynamics generated by different levels of reality at the same time.
But although it is not a new discipline or a new superdiscipline, transdisciplinarity
is nourished by disciplinary research. That is: disciplinary research is enlightened
in a new and fruitful way by transdisciplinary knowledge, not being conflicting, but
complementary. Thus, transdisciplinarity is linked to both a new vision and a lived
experience. It is a path of self-transformation oriented to self-knowledge, to the unity
of knowledge and to the creation of a new art of living (Nicolescu, 1996).
In order to contextualize the musical applicability of the human being in the trans-
disciplinary proposal, Thomas de Aquino (1225–1274), through the study of the work
of Aristotle (384–322 BC), recognizes in his notions the possibility of reconciling
two tendencies seemingly antagonistic to faith and reason (Aquino, 2005).
To conceive human nature from a Creator (the origin of the Sacred), to understand
it in its deprivations and possibilities, in its acts and powers, where spirit and matter
constitute a substantial unity, matter participating in the life of the spirit, that of life
material, can still be absurd for hegemonic science.
For example, the human body has systematically become the object of worship,
a marionette of innumerable devices of power, scientific research, industry, systems,
technologies, manipulations and high negotiations. A culture of modeling of physical
form multiplies itself in gyms, surgeries, body-buildings, applications, appliances,
vitamins, aesthetics, gastronomy, media, publications, in short, the success of this
narcissistic self is the image of the vanity of vanities.
The beauty of physical appearance took on the connotation of good. Man has been
reduced to his physiology, movement to mechanical functional impulses, feeling to
chemical reactions, thought to a network of synapses, mind only a byproduct of
these and so we can understand success. This heavy criticism for the ephemerality
and superficiality of our time goes by the disregard of re-integrating the human being
in its aspects, physical, aesthetic, intellectual, emotional and spiritual.
At the intellectual level, systemic thinking takes into account the complexity of
the relationships between the most varied phenomena, inserting uncertainties and
antagonisms, which is one way of dealing with superficiality.
In opposition to the reductionist paradigm of knowledge, which only recog-
nized order as the principle of explanation, systemic thinking is constituted from the
associative interrelationships between the notions of system-interaction-organization
(Morin, 2005).
It is a paradigm that faces the idea of disorder and indeterminacy. Morin empha-
sizes that the disorder brings uncertainty because we no longer have an algorithm
and because we do not find a deterministic principle that allows us to know the
consequences of this or that phenomenon (Morin, 2003).
The underlying research questions that motivated this study are: Why is music not
massively used in health institutions if music reaches so many dimensions of living
things? Is it because it is not necessarily adopted as public policy in all institutions?
What is the reason for its limitation in a prescriptive way? Is there a shortage of
capable professionals to understand and apply their principles for therapy? Is it
Transtherapy of Music as a Benefit … 349
because music would be cheap and easy enough to not make big profits for big
business owners?
Here there will be no answers to such questions, but there will be more argu-
ments for strengthening musical applicability as therapeutic. Thus, this paper intends
to discuss using a conceptual review and showing the results who indicates that
complexity of music allows to make an interdimensional transit that here is consid-
ered an applied transtherapeutics of music in the following perspectives of appeal:
(1) in the conception of a human being endowed with body, soul and spirit through
which music reaches the direction of fully recovering it, (2) at the intersection of
formal disciplines in the social sciences, health and music itself, leading to a consid-
eration that music arrives through vehicles of communication and is the object of
semiology in the sense of deciphering meaningful signs, mediated by varied cultures;
(b) for the goals sought by many health disciplines, some of them already resulting
from mergers, to be satisfied by the contextualized music therapy and by the music
itself; understanding its peculiarities always acting within the theory of complexity
that defy melodies, harmonies and rhythms in methodologies supported by aesthetic
elements and intelligent textures for the act of curing or preventing, in an increasingly
consolidated therapy; (3) in the inclusion of music with definitive incorporation of
medical ethics and (4) in the recognition that the megadimensions of science, art and
the sacred will naturally be connected in a dynamic transdisciplinary process.
2 Background
2.1 Edgar Morin’s Theory of Complexity
For a long time, but firmly in the eighteenth century, the validation of scientific
knowledge was based on the rational empirical procedure in which observation,
experience, and reason grounded the whole activity of science. Founded on the three
fundamental pillars of knowledge (order, separability and reason), scientists from
various areas tried to explain all phenomena and thus understand the world.
However, from the beginning of the twentieth century, tragic events such as world
wars occurred in parallel with important discoveries in the field of physics, having
revolutionized the field of order and certainty, introducing disorder and uncertainty
as elements incorporated into research. Thus, a theory of complexity arises as a
result of this and other advances in knowledge, opposing the Cartesian principles of
fragmentation and compartmentalization of knowledge. It proposes a reconnection
of these, thus providing a new way of looking at and interacting with a world in which
there is no “single, last, sure foundation of knowledge” (Pena-Vega & Nascimento,
1999, p. 22).
Morin’s theory of complexity consists of systemic thinking, the dialogical prin-
ciple, and the hologramatic principle. Systemic thinking seeks to interconnect
the parts, reducing the distance between them, which enables a joint thinking
(system), without losing sight of all its components. The system is a non-hierarchical,
non-totalitarian concept, open to “politotalities”, a complex concept that Morin
(2005) called unitas multiplex. The above terms form a macroconcept, so that each
concept can not be dissociated from the others, always referring to each other. The
System, therefore, constitutes an ambiguity, unstable, in which each and every part
is constantly associated and dissociated by the unpredictability, instabilities and
polidependences that constitute it (Sá, 2013).
The dialogic principle is one of the foundations of Cartesian thought and is at the
heart of dichotomous thinking when it is operated by binary classical logic, that is,
true or false, reason or emotion, and so on.
This classical logic led to the compartmentalization of knowledge, making it diffi-
cult to dialogue between disciplines, stimulating a rigid disciplinary structure with
well-established fixed boundaries and an increasingly fragmented view of knowl-
edge. Thus, under classical logic, reasoning is non-contradictory, valuing objectivity
and non-contradiction, excluding interaction between opposites.
In contrast to this logic, Morin elaborates the idea of complexus. Complexus is
what is together and is the fabric formed by different threads that have become one
thing. That is, all this is intertwined, everything intertwines to form the unity of
complexity. However, “the unity of the complexus does not destroy the variety and
diversity of the complexities that have woven it” (Morin, 2005, p. 188).
For complexity, thinking is always multidimensional and integrative, encom-
passing the most diverse knowledges. According to the author, the dialogical prin-
ciple, therefore, “allows us to maintain duality within the unity. It associates two
terms, at the same time, complementary and antagonistic and dialogical means two
logics, two principles that are united without the duality is lost in this unity” (Morin,
2005, p. 189). The dialogical principle proposes the breaking of the closed spheres of
knowledge, establishing articulations between what was separated in order to better
understand the world.
The hologramatic principle is intimately connected with the former because,
according to Morin (2005, p. 181), “not only is the part in the whole, but also that the
whole is in the parts”. The hologramatic principle seeks a dynamic interconnection
of knowledge through the articulation of binary pairs: simple-complex, part-whole,
reason-emotion.
3 Focus of the Chapter
3.1 The “Trans” Efficacy of Music and Its Complexity I

(Time, Communication, Aesthetics, Texture and What
Transcends)
As an example of the hologramatic principle, in music we experience a time that

Langer calls virtual time, because there occurs a transposition of our experiences
into a pure and articulated way. Tensions turn into musical tensions, content in
musical quality. Music creates the illusion of time lived, experienced, vital, given its
essence characterized by a movement of non-visible forms whose duration can only
be measured by our sensibility, tensions and emotions. The fast or slow movement, the
melody that rises or descends, the chords that run over, happen continuously, without
interruption. There is no time that passes, but time that lasts. Music establishes flows,
a chain of intentions, always in movement (Langer, 1942).
Music also frees us from our frozen mental habits and makes our minds move as
they usually can not. When we are involved in well-written music, we have under-
standings “that surpass those of our worldly existence and are often beyond remem-
brance, when music ceases (unless we remember the music itself). When the sound
stops, we return to our mental wheelchairs” (Jourdain, 1998, p. 383).
Behind the social link created in musical communication is the transcendental,
where values and virtual norms are still signs that have not become signs for anyone.
This is because the sphere of semiotic actuation consists only of fields of being
for myself or of being for the other. The ends of a semiotic square are the field of
pre-signals, which surround semiosis on two sides in the proper sense. However,
this semiosis or process of the corresponding acts and signs can not be understood
without leaving itself, that is, transcending itself, in the same direction as Kantian
analytics (Tarasti, 2012).
The original model can be applied to portray not so much the external communi-
cation that occurs in music, but the internal model, and of course, consists of many
elements that are internalized from the social context, but which also originate from
our personal and inner essence as a corporeal entity. Thus, when used in musical anal-
ysis, it shows us how each act of communication in music contains many levels that
it establishes and also how complex music is ultimately a manifestation of “superior
communication” (Tarasti, 2012, p. 451).
In the fifteenth century, the dominant, highly articulated and rational worldview
remained magical, as scholars bent on trying to understand the universe in terms of
invisible forces that produced results on people with their power of control (Horden,
2000).
One of the studies that sought to understand the spiritual dimension of the question
came from Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), architect of the scientific practice of the so-
called natural magic, who tried to discover and recover the powers of music described
by the philosophers of antiquity. According to Voss, Ficino generated the revival of
Platonic philosophy, translating and editing ancient texts in his search for the secrets
of the therapeutic potential of music. His intellectual goal was to integrate Platonism
and Christianity, and in practice brought a holistic approach to healing which proved
to be an original and advanced way of understanding and acting in the world, weighed
down in his reading of Hermetic, Neoplatonic, and Arab texts combined with his
medical, astrological and musical skills (Voss, 2001; Thram, 2014).
Seeing the human soul as the force that united mind and body, he sought to
harmonize it with the soul of the world or force that would have united heaven
and earth. From his experience as a musician accompanying himself on the lyre
while singing Orpheus’ hymns (he translated them from greek into latin), Ficino
was convinced that the most powerful way of achieving this union or balance in life
was through a careful preparation and performance of the music (Cf. Horden, 2000,
Thram, 2014).
The study of Thram interprets Ficino’s concept of spiritus as a bodily vapor
that acts as connector between the body and the incorporeal soul and serves as an
instrument for sensory perception, imagination, and motor activity. Ficino says that
the therapeutic efficacy of music lies in the body’s ability to hear (sensory perception)
and its ability to transmit what it hears and to influence physical (motor activity),
mental (imagination) potentials, and emotional (incorporeal soul) (Thram, 2014).
Thus, Ficino recognized the biological basis of music therapy in human sensory
and neurological capacities (Gouk, 2004). Curious is that from the published reports
about Ficino’s understanding of how music moves through the body, it seems that his
concept of human spiritus corresponds to what we now know as the human nervous
system, once he realized that the transmission of sound required reception through the
ear, with the auditory nerve leading the sound directly to the brain and consequently
to the whole body (overall effectiveness). However, since the physiology of the
ear and nervous system were not known or understood until several centuries later,
their concepts and terminology seem foreign to twenty-first century readers and
require careful interpretation on the part of historians familiar with the premodern
era (Thram, 2014).
During the beginning of the modern era after the Reformation, which lasted more
than a century after its instigation by Luther in 1517, Protestants and Catholics sought
the proper way for humans to approach the divine, and the role of music in worship
and life was generally a matter of great importance. It was generally known and
believed that in ancient civilization music had great power over morals and human
behavior. What was the source of this power? How could it be restored?
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a fervent lutheran, composer, regent,
chapel master, expert organist and organ luthier. In his work Mass in B Minor, in
several moments, one perceives the character of irreversibility of the death alternating
with the music of the resurrection, that announces a surprisingly new life. There are
difficulties in describing connections between the two, since crucifixion is a tragic
event and the limit of the human world and the resurrection is a spiritual event, even
though it occurs in the human world and is somehow connected with the crucifixion.
Certain aspects of resurrection music play a central role in the Mass as a whole
and focusing on this role makes the problem of describing the connection between
the music of the crucifixion and the music of the resurrection even more intractable.
As a practicing lutheran christian and a traditional family of the same origin, Bach’s
testimony claims to be a witness of Christ.
But such a witness is ambiguous in the sense that the act of writing this music
marks a matter of saying what he believes in, but also of learning for himself what he
believes, and therefore also of deepening what he believes. Because of the surprising
quality of the resurrection event, a strong affective and cognitive component is rein-
forced where emotions and thoughts are involved. Bach is witnessing in a situation
where conclusive material evidence is, in principle, impossible. However, for this
very reason, his testimony can serve as an event of the material world by which the
resurrection can be seriously considered. Without this event, it would be impossible,

in principle, that the possibility or the actuality of the resurrection be transmitted. A
key aspect of Bach’s testimony is that it is therefore pointing to the possibility that
the same spiritual power can enter one’s life through music in a place where novelty
is impossible and turn a situation literally hopeless.
Updates of this possibility include events in which sacrificial love exercises
redemptive power, events in which forgiveness is transforming or in which unex-
pected and imaginative goodness drives out rage and suspicion as well as death
is expelled for a new life and then there is the eternalization of being alongside the
creator. Because the union of the spiritual and the human in the resurrection of Christ
are based on the power of God, they are mutually related. To know the authenticity
of these unions is to know that the power of God, according to the testimony of the
music of the resurrection, is also effective in elevating Christ to a new life. In view
of this mutuality, this work of Bach attempts to elaborate how the meaning of each
event is included in the meaning of the other (Greene, 2010).
Another example of this moving complexity as dialogic and hologramatic is that
of the end-time quatour of Messiaen that attempts to draw the human being’s attention
to its temporal and timeless boundaries. Throughout the movements of his end-time
Quatour, Messiaen (1942) elaborates criteria of composition of a duration without
limits, like the notion of eternity, in the adequacy of the worldview of the sacred.
The sense of the listeners that each note continues at reasonably, in a direction
suggested by the notes preceding, would be impaired. The author used the feature to
produce the effect of reducing predictability and an unquantifiable duration, making
the “now” of “then” impossible. In the first movement, four instruments define a
distinct plane of sound, as four separate refractions of light, and also in the under-
standing that they are the inaudible harmonies of the sky. Each of the four planes of
the work has its own mode of contradiction, and thus the time that shapes the ordi-
nary human experience ends. And so, each has its own way of making the inaudible
audible. The four planes of sound are irrelevant to each other, in the sense that none
of them helps the listener understand the other three. None of them helps listeners
hear the other song as meaningful. The non-quantifiable duration is a first metaphor
for a contrast with conventional time and is an auditory image as something else for
measurable time (Cf. Greene, 2010).
Two-step metaphors occur more and more frequently and become increasingly
important as the Quartet advances. Two layers of song of the birds are joined by
two other layers of sound, the parts of cello and piano. Their music is measured, the
pulses are regular and the focal pulses (downbeats) occur at regular intervals. The
result is that the measurable duration is juxtaposed to the non-quantifiable duration
of the birds. Part of the cello enters the musical texture. Beginning with a pianissimo
harmonic in the weak part of the third beat, it can hardly be heard as the beginning
of everything. It does not articulate a downbeat and is not anachronistic to a down-
beat. It begins without a beginning. The first time hearers know they are listening,
they also know they have heard. Again, but differently, they are in contact with an
unquantifiable duration (Greene, 2010).
3.2 The “Trans” Efficacy of Music and Its Complexity II

(Effects of Music on Plants, Benefits of Intrauterine
and Neonatal Therapy)
Music has a direct influence on plants. Several studies have shown that specific
frequencies of audio in the form of music facilitate the germination and growth of
plants, regardless of the musical genre (Gautama et al., 2013; Sharma et al., 2015;
Jun-ru et al., 2011; Vanol & Vaidya, 2014; Chowdhury & Gupta, 2015; Galiano,
2013; Retallack, 1973; Robertson, 2015).1
On the other hand, noise, which is a non-rhythmic and non-harmonious overlap
of various audio frequencies, had a negative effect on plant growth (Chowdhury
& Gupta, 2015). This observation is similar to the observations of Chivukula and
Ramaswamy (2014) for rock music, which is also not a calming vibration. Increasing
the growth rate in terms of more flowers, leaves, buds, among other parts of
plants suggests that specific audible frequencies, including music, can benefit the
agricultural sector with increased productivity.
At the same time, this may reduce the requirement for toxic chemical fertilizers
and pesticides and thereby reduce environmental pollution and facilitate the well-
being of plants, animals and humans. There is a broad scope for further research
in this interdisciplinary field, where physicists, biologists and agricultural engineers
can actively engage in designing a scheme to nurture this green path of agriculture
(Chowdhury & Gupta, 2015).
“The importance of music and singing addressed to the newborn is not limited
to the relation between baby-parents/responsible” (Ilari, 2002a,2 p. 88). The use
of music and singing has benefited premature and life-threatening infants (Caine,
1991; Moore & Standley, 1996; Standley, 1998, 1999, 2001) and pregnant women
(Winslow, 1986; Klein & Winkelstein, 1996). Musical interventions in preterm infant
incubators have aided in stabilizing oxygen saturation levels (Moore & Standley,
1996), reducing weight loss and reducing stress (Caine, 1991) and reducing hospi-
talization days (Caine, 1991; Standley, 1999). Still in the incubators, the use of
lullabies has reinforced the learning of the sucking act, difficult for many premature
babies. The use of music also helps reduce infant colic, a serious problem that is
faced by several babies and their caregivers.
Singing as therapy is very popularly known. One of the most striking features of
these children’s songs, whether they are lullabies or play songs, is simplicity. Such
songs employ small melodic intervals, fairly simple rhythms and a large number of
repetitions of musical phrases (Trehub et al., 1993), and are considered appropriate
for infants and children in general.
Besides the purpose, what differentiates a lullaby from a play song is the tempo.
Playful songs are usually faster, and feature word games or suggestions of body
1 The credit for this review is from Chowdhury and Gupta (2015, op. cit.).
2 The full credits of this review are from this author, op.cit.
movements that aid the auditory perception and the development of the motor coor-
dination, sociability, language and musicality of the baby. Lullabies, by contrast, are
generally slower because they have the purpose of calming and stimulating sleep.
Curious is the fact that there are lullabies in practically every culture in the world,
and that these songs have common musical elements that are universally recognized
(Unyk et al., 1992; Trehub et al., 1993).
Although the use of music in childhood is universal, there are still those who think
of the baby as a passive and unsophisticated listener. However, in the last decades,
students of the area of perception and musical cognition in childhood have revealed
that, even before the age of one, babies are quite sophisticated listeners (Trehub et al.,
1984; Ilari, 2002b).
The prenatal sound environment and the postnatal musical memory is something
interesting to know (Ilari, 2002b). The human ear develops around the 22nd (twen-
tieth) day of gestation, but becomes functional only from the 25th (twenty-fifth) week
of pregnancy (Woodward et al., 1992).
However, it is from the 32nd (thirty-second) week of gestation that the fetus has the
complete auditory system and listens relatively well, still inside the uterus. Through
experiments using methods such as insertion of tiny microphones into the uterus of
pregnant women in labor or soon after delivery, much important information about
the acoustic-sound environment of the human uterus was obtained.
It is known today that the maternal uterus is quite noisy and contains constant low-
frequency sounds plus cardiovascular, intestinal and placental sounds (Woodward
et al., 1992).
These sounds constitute a kind of acoustic background in which other external
sounds emerge and can be recognized, like some vowels and melodic contours (or
intonation) of speech (ibid.).
Concerning music, there is evidence that some sounds, such as the attacks of
musical notes (i.e., accents), get lost in the acoustic background, but that the balance
between highs, lows and bass and the character of the music undergo minor changes,
not significant from the point of view of experimental statistics. In other words,
the uterine acoustic environment is not silent as many believed, but rather a rich and
unique sound universe that gives the baby a great mix of external and internal sounds.
Interestingly, infants are not passive to the sounds of the uterine acoustic envi-
ronment; on the contrary, they are very attentive to the sound environment, learning
different sounds, music and language.
With only three days of life, infants recognize and prefer the maternal voice to the
voice of another woman (De Casper & Fifer, 1980), recognize stories (De Casper &
Spence, 1986), rhymes, parlors (De Casper et al., 1994) and songs (Lamont, 2001)
heard during the last trimester of pregnancy.
Babies exposed to music during pregnancy exhibit changes in heartbeat and body
movements when the same music is played after birth (Hepper, 1991; Wilkin, 1995).
These studies suggest that musical learning can begin when the baby is still in the
womb.
4 Solutions and Recommendations
4.1 Music Therapy as an Intervention
Present in human history, since the earliest times, music is as important to man as the
presence of water in his life. Where there is water, there is life. Where there is music,
there is movement, awareness, motivation, art, quality of life, hope. Like water, music
penetrates the hardened soils and fertilizes them. In this sonorous-musical universe,
full of vibrations and energies, the therapeutic process through music requires the
presence of a qualified professional who will direct and lead patients to a fruitful
relationship with music, forming a sound identity. The professional music therapist
will have objectives traced and guided in a methodological way to achieve significant
results that encompasses transit environments and transdisciplinary domains.
4.2 Music Therapy as a Relationship Between

the Professional and the Patient
The importance of meeting music with the patient lies in the fact that music facil-
itates rapprochement between people and fosters relationships, opening the way to
empathy. In the encounter of the sounds with the patient also the confrontation with
their subjective contents happens. The music falls on him, penetrating the body and
the psyche.
4.3 Music Therapy for Health Professionals
It is important to emphasize that music also has contraindications, requiring a follow-

up of its therapeutic application. The use of excessive volume in practice, certain
combinations of sound or music compositions indiscriminately can lead to alienation,
passivity, confusion or aggression, among other physiological losses. Remember that
music triggers biochemical reactions.
4.4 The Music Therapist in His Relationship with Music
Since music is the basis of music therapy, there must be constant contact between
this base and the music therapist. No professional will be well qualified if he does
not have durable and qualitative communication with the source of his knowledge.
Although the elements of the therapeutic relationship are found, there are spaces
in which they do not mix, preserving the realities that are distinct from each other.
Music therapy takes place in a global process, which involves the whole being without
swallowing it, without interfering in an invasive way. It is less invasive to access the
individual’s interior through music. The space of each subject is respected and the
therapeutic process contributes to the affirmation of the identity of each one.
4.5 Music Therapy as Caring (Patients, Companions

and Family)
The musico-therapeutic approach is a priority of techniques and actions that are

rooted in the theories and practices of Music Therapy, but motivated to be transcen-
dent and that can surpass expectations. It is not the music therapist who performs
the transformation in the patient’s life, but it is the music-therapy relationship that,
in its dynamics, helps to find the inner keys and motivates them to open and order
the patient’s upset spaces.
4.6 Music Therapy and Bioethics
Medical ethics should not deprive the patient of the benefit of music, since its trans-
disciplinary effects pass through most fields of human health and it is known that
music exerts influence on living beings.
Thus, it refers to practical ethics, which is concerned with right action. According
to the principle of beneficence, health professionals seek the patient’s good, health
promotion and disease prevention. It refers to the action of doing good. The principle
of non-maleficence is related to not causing harm to the patient. It is an abstention, a
failure to do. Neglecting health care is an ethical issue of relevance that is supported by
Bioethics and its principles, especially those of beneficence rather than maleficence.
But there is another problem that is tied to this principle of non-maleficence which
is the omission of a doing, knowing that it is good for the cure and well-being of the
patient. That is why musical knowledge applied to therapy should be taken seriously.
Several evidences point to the noninvasive and painful therapy of music with the
minimum of costs.
4.7 Music Therapy and Its Results
The music therapist leads the patient along the paths of musical language and plunges
him into the harmonious world to clarify and harmonize his weakened space, rescuing
his balance. The therapeutic processes are solid and innumerable, all with the aim
of transforming, in some way, the disharmonious realities brought by the patient,
leading to an empowerment and consequent improvement of their health centers.

The music therapy literature is filled with great achievements, overcoming limits
and even cures.
Due to the undeniable evidences, it is recommended that music, carefully assisted
by qualified professionals, be incorporated into the propaedeutics and therapy as
a whole, analyzing the cases and situations of their applicability. It would be very
important that it be, given its importance, also incorporated into the bioethical medical
decal in a compulsory manner, tied to all national public health policies.
5 Future Research Directions
Deepening the empirical and experimental studies of music as a strong demonstration

of principles of transdisciplinarity and complexity in movement, is necessary. More
empirical studies that seek to connect living beings with their properties (including
quantum theory and superstring theory) are important projects of the future. Through
the process of discovering causes and cures performed with musical properties many
material resources and human lives will have a quality assured, painless and non-
invasive and inexpensive. Without a doubt, the future in balance.
6 Conclusion
The “trans” efficacy of music and its complexity has been presented slightly in the
form of review in the domains of time, communication, aesthetics, texture and what
transcends, as well as its positive effects on plants and the benefits of intrauterine
therapy and neonatal. This article tried to make believe that the complexity of music
allows to make an interdimensional transit considered as a transterapeutics applied
in the following perspectives of appeal: (1) in the conception of a human being
endowed with body, soul and spirit through which the music reaches the direction
(2) at the intersection of formal disciplines in the social sciences, health and music,
leading to the consideration that music comes through communication vehicles and
is the subject of semiology in the sense of deciphering significant signs, mediated by
varied cultures; (b) the goals sought by many health disciplines, some of them already
resulting from mergers, to be met by contextualized music therapy and by music
itself, understanding its peculiarities always acting within the theory of complexity
that defy melodies, harmonies and rhythms in sustained methodologies by aesthetic
elements and intelligent textures for the act of curing or preventing, in a therapy more
and more consolidated; (3) in the inclusion of music with definitive incorporation of
medical ethics and (4) in the recognition that the megadimensions of science, art and
the sacred are naturally connected in a dynamic transdisciplinary process.
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Development of a Musical Instrument
to Apply to Music Therapy
Beatriz Nunes, Inês Rodrigues, and Adriano Pinho
Abstract Music therapy (MT) helps with various diseases through music, where
the musical instrument is an essential element, defined as the tool of communication
between the patient and the music therapist. Despite the first music therapists began
to appear in the twentieth century, there is still a lack of proper instruments and
solutions more focused on therapy, and it is usually chosen to make changes to pre-
existent instruments. Through research methods, such as bibliographic investigation,
interviews and product analysis, the field of MT was investigated, as well as how it
can be related to design, involving concepts like emotional design, relaxation and
meditation, in order to develop an instrument that can be used in MT sessions, by
both therapist and patient. A swinging wood idiophone was developed with a single
note, through a Design research based on practice, called innovation inspired by
materials adjusting its initial shape and ergonomics according to the desired sound
which aims to prolong and oscillate the sound. This paper presents the investigation
and process since the definition of shape and the inherent concepts of the proposed
product, to the finishes and a brief discussion.
1 Introduction
Music Therapy is defined as a therapeutic relationship to address physical, emotional,

cognitive, and social needs of individuals (What is Music Therapy | American Music
Therapy Association (AMTA) 2020), where the musical instrument is an essential
element, through which the patient expresses himself, and the music therapist makes
his analysis (Norman & Norman, 2011). As referred by AMTA, after assessing
the strengths and needs of each patient, the qualified music therapist supplies the
B. Nunes (B) · I. Rodrigues

University of Porto, Praça Gomes Teixeira, 4099-002 Porto, Portugal
A. Pinho
University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
e-mail: adrianopinho@ua.pt
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_20
362 B. Nunes et al.
indicated treatment including creating, singing, moving to, and/or listening to music
(What is Music Therapy | American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) 2020).
The first music therapists began to appear in the twentieth century, where MT was
applied to soldiers from World War II due to problems acquired on the battlefield—
head injuries and traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder (Oliveira
& Gomes, 2014). Studies have also shown that MT is effective in reducing anxiety,
stress and depression by around 95% (Krauss, 2019).
To that end, it is essential that the instrument corresponds to the needs of both the
patient and therapist. According to Dr. Natália Santos (Santos, 2020) from Benenzon
Center of Porto, for some patients, there are difficulties playing musical instruments.
Therefore, many times, music therapists need to make some adaptations of the instru-
ments to help the use of musical instruments by these patients, like changing the tune
on xylophone—one of the most used musical instruments in the center (Santos, 2020).
MT helps with a wide range of diseases and it seems important to create something
new in this field, since it brings surprise to its patients, and so, motivates and stimulates
the treatment with music (Oliveira & Gomes, 2014). This article seeks to focus Design
on the development of a musical instrument for music therapy in all diseases in which
it applies, integrating concepts such as relaxation and meditation. As so, this article
studies the development of an ideophone that, through the design process, intends to
develop an artifact with therapeutic properties that can be used by both therapist and
patient.
Design can be applied to MT, in these aspects: emotional and affective dimension
of the object, the material, the process, the functional and the ergonomics dimension.
The product can offer an emotional connection through several situations: by its
appearance, where the referred material dimension dominates; for the way it works—
ergonomic for the meanings that are created before the product—emotional and
affective dimension (Alaniz & Biazzo, 2019).
Design can play a significant role in the field of therapy and health due to its
innovative, creative, and strategic process based on the needs of people, transforming
them into a positive experience (Giambattista, 2017), since the experiences gotten
by these individuals increasingly have more meaning in design (Park, 2015).
2 Methodology
The method adopted for the development of this paper consisted of investigating the
field of music therapy and its encounter with Design in the face of existing problems.
First, an investigation was conducted into the subject of music therapy, specifically
into therapeutic vibrations and what they induce in humans, as well as the problems
that the music therapist and the patient face while using an instrument. This was done
through traditional means of research such as bibliographic, analysis of case studies,
scientific and academic journal articles, books, and dissertations. Two interviews
were conducted with music therapists from Benenzon Center of Porto, to understand
the needs of music therapists and patients.
Development of a Musical Instrument to Apply to Music Therapy 363
In the development of the instrument, in addition and simultaneously to the

research, drawing was one of the fundamental tools for finding the solution, as
well as the sound tests. Finishes and shape were continuously tested, since they
were factors that determinate the sound produced by the therapeutic musical instru-
ment that was developed. The method of this project was revised in the strategic
approach to design mentioned by Eddie Norman called innovation inspired by mate-
rials, which is a type of design investigation based on practice—to go on producing
and designing according to the research the criteria of materials, finishes and shape
already mentioned, until reaching the aimed result (Pedgley et al., 2009).
3 Design as a Tool for Music Therapy
As referred to by Norman and Norman (Norman & Norman, 2011), Design is a

tool for innovation and change that enhances the possibilities that result from the
connection between Design and MT.
Emotional design is achieved through attachment, interactions and connections
that come from the strong emotional relation between the user and the object, through
its aging characteristic with time and use, and the meaning that users share with the
product (Moran, 2014). Emotional design can be used in MT through sounds and
senses since it could connect patients and music therapists to the object. Then, it
could allow improvement of the efficiency of the therapy itself since, as described
before, the musical instrument is a link between the music therapist and the patient
(Norman & Norman, 2011). In fact, it is the emotional design that allows users to
communicate with others about the positive experience they had with the object. We
do not need to see two eyes and a mouth on a product to connect with it emotionally:
this is done subconsciously from abstract things like perspective (Walter, 2011).
Note that both design and music can create an emotional link with human beings.
The emotional dimension is central to design: it is from it that we make decisions,
from instincts. Logic does not filter what attracts human beings (Schifferstein, 2011).
For the reasons described, it seems proper that these two aspects come together in
an emotional therapy design. The aesthetic-usability effect is also notable: attractive
things make people feel good, which makes them think more creatively. How does this
make an object easier to use? Simple, making people find solutions to the problems
they face more easily (Norman, 2005, 2013).
From the holistic and emotion, and from its anthropological approach, Design can
contribute to MT practices with a product that is designed for a health disorder in
order to enhance the patient’s therapy effects (Giambattista, 2017), and so it seems
that Design may enhance music therapy’s effects as well.
Thus, the emotional dimension of design is important when applied to a musical
instrument designed for music therapy. Design is fundamentally linked to users’
emotions, and the emotional dimension of products is an important factor for success,
which has been increasingly the subject of research in the Design literature (Alaniz &
Biazzo, 2019). Therefore, if the object for MT is associated with a positive experience
364 B. Nunes et al.
and the feeling of well-being, the user is expected to build memories about the object
creating emotional attachment. This is a key factor that design can apply on a musical
instrument, that along with the multisensorial component may answer to the needs
of music therapy.
Although musical instruments have already been developed for MT, this has been
addressed mainly by the inclusion and adaptation of instruments—adapted music.
Despite the fact that adapted music and music therapy are correlated, they are different
areas. Therefore, the lack of design projects in music therapy may be because the
instruments are perceived as preexisting, already adapted, and with no opportunity
for change (Norman & Norman, 2011).
4 Development
As investigated and described, design can be applied to therapy by music, in these

aspects: the emotional and affective component of the object, the material and process
dimension, the functional and the ergonomics. By analyzing some interventions of
Design in MT, it appears that the ergonomic dimension is one of the possible aspects to
apply to a product, since a product can provoke emotions for the way it works (Alaniz
& Biazzo, 2019). As analyzed, music therapists must consider ergonomics when
choosing or adapting musical instruments for use in sessions, and it is understood
that design can be considered as a possible intervention in music therapy for this
purpose, as well.
Besides the emotional potential of design, music itself can carry emotional mean-
ings: it acts as a means of recovering memories in patients with dementia (Vilar,
2018). Not only Design affects how we see and feel about an object and through
experience creating memories associated with it, but also music can be associated
with an event and a memory and therefore with emotions (Walter, 2011).
Music influences people’s feelings, emotions, and mood. It appears that different
chords are associated with different emotions, where minor chords are associated
with emotions of sadness and the major chords with emotions of happiness (Hagan,
2015). In practice, through some neuroscience studies including neuroimaging, it
is understood that music can change activity in structures of brain cells that are
known to be involved in emotions, like the meso limbic system and the amygdala,
responsible for release of types of neurotransmitters such as adrenaline, and serotonin
and dopamine, respectively (Schaefer, 2017). Music can be used as therapy to release
emotions or as a way the individual learns to relate to others through music (Hagan,
2015). There is a link between music and nervous processing: the psychological
effects of which are proven in its emotional influence and musical memories. In
fact, music can connect people and help create great social cohesion of groups and
motivation to keep interpersonal relationships (Koelsch, 2010), due to the social
function, reflected in interaction between people, that music has.
Yet, the ease of using the instrument may also be an important point in the case
of music therapy. One of the methods used in music therapy sessions is musical
improvisation, and also the non-verbal communication that the patient demonstrates
(Santos, 2020). For that reason, it seems important that patients feel at ease when
playing instruments to express themselves freely to music therapists.
Thus, Design can embrace all its dimensions mentioned before in addition to
emotional meanings of music to create a new product to be used in this therapeutic
context, where it is essential to highlight the process dimension of Design. In this
case, through the process of improvisation and constant redesign, never disregarding
that the shape also changes the sound, it is important to develop a solution according
to the needs of the patients. The multisensory approach to products also highlights
the experience with its users that can be advantageous for people with some type of
sensory deficiency (Schifferstein, 2011).
5 Designing an Instrument for Music Therapy
In addition to the possibility of adapting a certain instrument, other factors influence

its choice by music therapists, such as transport, size, and cost. It is verified that
one of the dynamics of music therapy is to use improvisation of music in treatment
sessions, so that patients express their emotions and have the experience of being
under control of what they play. Then, the musical objects should seek to ease musical
improvisation to the patient, so that it is accessible to people without musical training
and to open the possibility to play freely without the fear of making notes sound
dissonant (Norman & Norman, 2011).
It is important to know that the process of producing a musical instrument, like
manual production, experimentation and improvisation, can be fundamental in the
creative process. As it turns out, the shape influences the sound of the object, and
therefore in the manual process, it is necessary to redraw the object according to
the desired sound. Having already had a pre-conceived formal structure, the shape is
refined until the desired sound is reached (Chimero, 2012). “Sometimes the results
of graceful rethinking can be thought of as magic, because it produces something,
we previously thought to be impossible” [7, p. 53].
As said before, the process dimension of design is crucial, because products origi-
nated by this approach have unexpected results, as they explore a field never analyzed
before (Chimero, 2012)—this can be used in the manual process and design of an
object. Taking this into consideration, it was important to know the characteristics
and factors that influence sound on musical instruments and do some research on
acoustics, materials, and sound, for the development of the therapeutic idiophone.
In its definition, an idiophone is part of a class of musical instruments, in which
resonant material, such as metal or wood produces the vibration of its own sound,
whether through percussion or friction, as in the case of the xylophone and Tibetan
bowls (Idiophone | Definition & Examples, 2020).
One of the characteristics of the greatest influence on sound quality is material.
The material is the factor that makes the design possible—even if it has attractive
natural characteristics, it must be shaped, joined and finished to result in a product
366 B. Nunes et al.
(Edwards, 2003). In the selection of materials for acoustic and sound purposes, it
should be considered the knowledge of a luthier in the processes, materials and
finishes of musical instruments. It is above all an artisanal process, in which it is
necessary knowledge and accuracy in the selection of the most suitable woods, in
the execution of the pieces, in the assembly and in the finishing. It is also imperative
to understand which woods have better sound properties (Brito & Brito, 2009). For
example, maple is one of the woods used, because of its properties like medium
density, and low speed of sound proliferation, between 3 and 4 thousand m/s. (Brito
& Brito, 2009).
Specifically speaking about the idiophones, the greatest influence on sound quality
is reflected in the choice of the mallet, in the same way of the felt quality has in the
hammer of the piano. A harder mallet on its surface produces a more penetrating and
cheerful sound, while a softer mallet produces a melancholy sound more suited to low
notes. The woods that have high density and low sound loss coefficient are the most
suitable for the instruments (Wegst, 2006). It is also important to select the material
to be played, that is, the instrument’s material’s sound, since that is exactly the
definition of the idiophone—the sound produced by the instrument’s own vibration.
In this case, it was intended that the material to be played had an extended sound
(achieved with greater sound propagation), thereby it was done research on the best
materials with that property of sound—bronze.
A sound wave moves through a medium on which the speed of sound depends.
Bronze is one of the materials that, in addition to copper, for example, has a longitu-
dinal sound velocity of 4700 m/s and a transverse sound of 2100 m/s, which presents
greater propagation of sound as it travels a greater distance (Kuttruff, 2007). For that
sound propagation, it was also found that resonance is the energy accumulated in
an object that makes it vibrate. For example, the swing accumulates energy when
it swings, gaining more height. As energy is added (movement of pushing, pulling,
among others) to the natural resonance frequency of an object, energy (verified in the
case of sound waves) accumulates, creating greater resonance and sound oscillation
(Hobbs, 2014). Applying the swinging characteristic to the idiophone thus seems to
have the necessary characteristics so that there is more resonance and oscillation.
The choice of the extended sound characteristic on idiophone was not random,
because there are studies on “Ohm” song—the meditation practice (Brown &
Gerbarg, 2012), in which the individuals who listened to it for 30 min in a row,
showed changes in their electroencephalograms, with an increase in brain waves,
namely the delta and theta, responsible for deep relaxation of the body, and the deep
state of sleep and meditation. By prolonging the “Om”, the individual becomes aware
of the vibrations that travel through the body as he continues to sing, which is also
a method of meditation (Brown & Gerbarg, 2012).
It is also important to say that wood used in musical instruments is an example
of user interaction with technical and aesthetic attributes. It is a material that has a
texture of its own, that others do not have and therefore, it is above all tactile—it is
perceived as being lighter, hotter and softer. It is also associated with characteristic
smells and sounds (Edwards, 2003), and so the multisensory approach of design on
the development of a musical instrument for music therapy with this material seems
Fig. 1 Nautilus’ shell

(Original image by
Scanudas. https://www.flickr.
com/photos/scanudas/289
97290251/)
fundamental. This is the main reason for the choice of wood for the therapeutic
idiophone.
The form is also important when designing a product and a musical instrument.
The study of “Effects of Sound and Form in Design,” by Tyan-Yu Wu and Alan Lee
(Wu & Lee, 2018), shows that from less bulky shapes there is an association with a
lower volume of sound and a sharper tone, while sharpest angles are associated with a
higher volume of sound and a higher pitch, and the more rounded shapes correspond
to a lower sound volume and a lower pitch. So, it is important to consider the user’s
perceptive cognition, to also introduce affordances on the product. To produce any
musical instrument, it is crucial to know that the larger the ringing surface, the greater
the acoustic impedance and so the increase in sound. In the case of metals, the tone
of the organ tubes also depends on the shape and size it has (Raichel, 2006). All
things considered, the material and the process are the factors that most influence
the shape, (Edwards, 2003) and consequently influence the sound.
It was also fundamental to understand some concepts of therapies in this research.
Then, it was perceived that music based on sounds from nature has beneficial effects
in reducing pain and anxiety in patients who have undergone surgery, as it increases
human relaxation (Cutshall et al., 2011). Also, environments rich in images of nature
also have beneficial effects in reducing stress and increasing concentration and atten-
tion—this is called the biophilia effect.1 It is not necessary to be a real environment
to have these effects (Lidwell et al., 2010).
Consequently, the symbiosis between a multisensorial component and the
biophilia effect and swing movement on a musical instrument prove to be a funda-
mental basis in the creation of a therapeutic idiophone merging design and music
therapy.
The Nautilus’ shell (Fig. 1) represents an inspiration for the form of the idiophone
that was developed, because of its aesthetic dimension that may lead to a more positive
experience, as described before.
1 Human tendency to seek nature, becoming fond of it—trend based on genetics (Biophilia Hypoth-
esis | Description, Nature, & Human Behavior, 2019, retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/
science/biophilia-hypothesis, retrieved, 4th May 2020).
368 B. Nunes et al.
6 Project
The creative process along with experimentation were fundamental; a process where
the shape, finish and material of the musical object was determined according to
the desired sound and result, using constant redesign until reaching the intended
objective. The developed idiophone is like a xylophone, but instead of several metal
tubes it has only one suspended tube. The swinging movement was thought to serve
as a basis for the sound to be more prolonged, since when pushing the musical piece,
it is expected that the sound oscillates more. Inspired by the Nautilus’ shell in its
formal concept, the idea of this idiophone that was developed is to also have carvings
inspired by the Nautilus shell pattern. The purpose of the instrument is to prolong
sound frequency with therapeutic properties. The note to reach was the C in the
fifth octave, due to the frequency of 523 Hz, the closest to the frequency (Backus,
1977) that has therapeutic properties-528 Hz (Akimoto et al., 2018). Furthermore,
the swinging movement of the musical instrument creates conditions of resonance,
oscillation, and prolongation, another goal that would determinate the ease of use.
In this case, it was decided that with just one impulse or movement from the user the
idiophone can be used and then adapted to the patient’s limitations.
As said before, one of the goals for the idiophone was also to explore the multisen-
sorial dimension. However, there are still several aspects to investigate like testing
usability along with its users (patients) and test other characteristics like smell with
research of concepts such as aromatherapy and touch with affordances, where the
carvings previously described would act.
Drawing is fundamental to the process (Fig. 2), so that the relationship between
material and production restrictions along with the shape reached the intended func-
tion, always depending on the produced sound. It also seemed fundamental to reflect
on the entire process adopted, as it is part of the record of the evolution of these
products and the method adopted.
On a first phase, the goal was to study and test the relationship between sound
prolongation and the object’s swing movement, as showed previously. After finding
the shape of the idiophone geometrically, was investigated the proper dimensions
for the bronze tube to reproduce the C note in the fifth octave. For this note to be
produced, it was seen that for a diameter of 15 mm, the tube would need a length of
366 mm (Lapp, 2003).
Fig. 2 Study of form through Euclidean geometry

Fig. 3 Conceptual rendering

1
Fig. 4 Conceptual rendering

2
The aim was to simplify the shape drawing it having a basis on Euclidean Geom-
etry. It started by thinking about fixing the tube, and how to integrate the mallet into
the instrument. 3D modeling and renders were performed in the Autodesk Fusion
360 CAD software (Fig. 3, 4) so that it could give some ideas of the shape constraints
and reformulation.
Initially, the prototype was made from sycamore, but then it was realized that birch
wood would be more adequate as it has a higher sound speed than other woods such
as maple and carpino—more resistant and harder woods also used in instruments
(Wegst, 2006).
It is also necessary to understand which processes are part of the construction
of musical instruments, and what factors can influence the sound. For example, the
finishing that is carried out with the luthier’s own varnish is important to ensure the
quality of the instrument’s acoustics. The varnish must have properties such as trans-
parency, brightness, elasticity, flexibility, resistance, among others. The application
is made with several coats, reaching up to 20 and intervals for drying (Brito & Brito,
2009).
There are several finishes for wood that are often used. However, due to the
greatest advantages, it was decided to use shellac. Shellac is a natural resin that has
been widely used due to its excellent properties. It is a resin of animal origin secreted
by insects Kerria Lacca being one of the most used finish for musical instruments
due to the aesthetics of the layer and other factors (Weththimuni et al., 2016). Shellac
is completely non-toxic, which makes it a great advantage over other finishes that
are pollutants. In addition, it has helpful features for musical instruments such as:
excellent bond, do not yellow, does not dampen the vibration of a sounding board,
370 B. Nunes et al.
it is a good sealant not allowing moisture to pass into the wood, and allows later
repairs as the new shellac melts into the old one. It is easy to remove as it dissolves
in alcohol and can be applied in diverse ways, by brush, spray, or fill (Weththimuni
et al., 2016).
Following material selection that was made, there was a search for the best produc-
tion process for the idiophone body, where the tube would resonate. It was understood
that through the CNC (Computer Numeric Control) machine one could test the shape
continuously, as it is a faster and more rigorous process. Prototyping from the CNC
also allowed for rapid repetition of the prototype, so that there was useful time for
redesign and testing.
After finishing the drawing of the idiophone and its geometry, parts were cut
through the CNC: the sides of the instrument with the circular shape, and the lower
circular part. For this first process, plywood was used. To fit the bottom, a groove
was made in the interior of each side, leaving a lower margin so that when swinging
the instrument, there was only one part of contact with the surface—in this case, the
sides. The fact that only the sides have contact with the surface would mean that
there would be no acoustic restraint, since the resonance box was suspended. Before
that, the curved part of the piece was molded: the plywood was bent by pressure and
heat after being wet for 6 h, then, part of the bottom was glued to the sides of the
instrument. To increase the resistance of the piece, two wooden tubes were placed
along the length of the instrument (Fig. 5) between the sides and the curved plywood
bottom that fits that cavity. To test the suspension of the metal tube and its sound,
first, two tacks and a waxed line were used.
It was quickly realized that for the sound to have more length, it could not have
any other moving material in contact—it had to be completely stuck. Thus, two
holes were drilled vertically at both ends of the tube (Fig. 6), where two wooden
pins would fit. In these wooden pins another hole was drilled in its center, this time
Fig. 5 Wooden tubes placed

along the length of the
instrument
Fig. 6 Drilling the tube
in the horizontal direction (Fig. 7), so that the line would support the tube (Fig. 7),
and so that there would be no material that could move and split the sound of the
tube. The line was attached to the improvised studs that were placed on the sides of
the instrument, with the purpose of testing the sound. After that experience, it was
understood that the sound was not broken by the material in contact with the tube
and that the sound went longer.
This first experiment and sound test was done with a copper tube (Fig. 8), since it
was not possible to find a bronze tube with the precise measures that were intended.
Fig. 7 Wooden pin in the

horizontal direction of the
tube to support the tube with
line attached
372 B. Nunes et al.
Fig. 8 Copper tube in

position for the first sound
test with elastic cord solution
It was also agreed to use an elastic cord (Fig. 8) that had sufficient strength when
stretched, since for the sound to last, it was found that it was necessary that the line
was as stretched as possible.
It was also found that a change of material or a different way of positioning
the elements of the instrument influenced the sound: for fixing the tube there was an
attempt to insert a more resistant elastic that passed through the wooden pins inserted
into the copper tube and it was noted that it muffled the sound. Then it was tried to
insert a thin double line—still fixed by the studs: when the line was stretched, the
sound was lost and when released, it gained more sound. However, it was still a very
muffled and uncontrolled sound, because when the tube was played it rotated and
fractionated the sound.
Through various experiments with different lines and systems of fixation, other
metals were tried. It was noticed that using a chrome-vanadium steel key available
at the workshop that a purer, resonant, and prolonged sound was achieved.
Next, various ways of fixation were experimented, like two rubber bands that held
the hole on each side of the key (Fig. 9). These elastics allowed a purer sound, not
breaking it because they did not pass through the metal but held the piece across.
Fig. 9 Chrome-vanadium
steel key test
Fig. 10 Replaced wooden

pin that were chosen in the
initial test
It was also seen that the chrome-vanadium steel key, when touched and fixed with
elastics, allowed it to move around while producing a greater oscillation. In these
conditions, when played the chrome key had 6 s of sound prolongation. As soon as
the first layer of shellac was applied in the prototype the sound extension increased
for 12 s of vibration.
It was understood in practice the importance of the accuracy of the properties of
both the material and finish. To replace the improvised studs that fixed the chrome-
vanadium key, two wooden pins were made (Fig. 10), replacing the pins that had
been thought of initially. This decision was made because after the experiments that
were carried out, it was perceived that there is no need to rotate and stretch the rope
that suspends the metal too much.
It was also noticed that the material of the mallet influenced the sound of steel and
harder wood made the sound sweeter and longer, so it was chosen the use of tacula
wood. The visual balance of the product (Fig. 12, 13) along with its swinging move
allowed the natural fit of the mallet on the idiophone. When placed along the width
of the idiophone, the mallet is held. (Fig. 11, 12, and 13).
Fig. 11 Mallet placed along

the width of the idiophone
374 B. Nunes et al.
Fig. 12 Side view of the

idiophone
Fig. 13 Idiophone final

result obtained
7 Discussion
Even though there is a lack of research in Design in MT, it is understood that Design
can have an important role in the creation of instruments, adapting them to the
different needs and limitations of each patient, responding to both patients and music
therapists. Taking this in consideration, Design can be used as a mediator to MT
and work in the emotional and affective dimension of the object, the emotional
dimension present both in design and in music, the material and process component,
the functional and the ergonomics.
The studies found about vibrations produced by the frequencies of sounds and
their effects on humans, the biophilia effect and the multisensory dimension of objects
are understood as relevant principles to be applied in the design of MT instruments
like the idiophone that was developed. Nevertheless, the limitations found in the
production of the idiophone still need further investigation in their production. In the
design process of the instruments, it is necessary more sound tests, to be refined at
a formal and acoustic level. This includes accuracy in terms of materials, shape and
finishes, since great precision is necessary to produce the desired sound. Improve-
ments can be achieved from the continuation of the development of the object and
further investigation.
As for the future work required for the idiophone mentioned, it is understood
that: it must be tested in a larger dimension in order to recognize if the size can
influence the power and resonance of the sound; it is observed that it is also necessary
to carry out several tests at the sound level and therefore test different fixation of
materials in addition to the elastics that were lastly tested so that the sound is further
refined; it is also essential to test bronze and its resonance properties in comparison
to chrome-vanadium steel; to understand whether the irregular shape of the metal
part is interesting for the produced sound, since from the experience carried out it
was concluded that the fact of being suspended in two misaligned places results
in a different and interesting sound; and at last a comparison of sound should be
investigated between a hollow tube and an asymmetric and closed shape.
In short, one must realize the results regarding the enhancement of therapy and
usability when future tests are carried out with patients, and also test the multisensory
dimension in this case, like the texture from the wood engraving, as well as the aromas
on the olfactive dimension.
According to the context of COVID-19, it was not possible to perform usability
tests with patients, as there was neither time nor availability for this purpose. This
analysis of the results of the prototype and the respective tests allows the identification
of errors and necessary changes to be made in the future. After the sound tests,2 it
was understood that it is necessary to do more experiments and redesign to obtain
the desired sound, since either factor alters it. The fact that it is a very experimental
process prevented that, due to pandemic circumstances, there was not enough time
to reach a final solution. For this reason, the prototype still needs some refinement
in terms of sound and finish. These referred aspects are a focus on future research to
consider.
8 Conclusion
The design by doing process applied, following the Innovation Inspired by Mate-
rials method, in the prototyping phase of the idiophone allowed greater control and
adjustment of dimension, material, shape and therefore sound, being a method that
has been found to be quite effective in understanding the characteristics and differ-
ences of the materials themselves used in instruments, going beyond aesthetics and
ergonomics.
With the realization of this project, it is understood that there is still not much
research in the area of Design in MT, and it is necessary that Design intervenes in
this area, so that one can respond efficiently to the problem since the needs and
limitations of each patient are always different, and also to enhance the effects of
therapy by music. The design “must respond both to patients as well to the music
2Link to the video that demonstrates the sound tests performed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=N1TC7l3U5GI.
376 B. Nunes et al.
therapists, since sometimes they use the instrument in cases of great physical and
motor disability” (Rocha, 2020).
Despite all the existing limitations at work, it was concluded that it was a process
of experimentation and learning. This is what characterizes Design as a disciplinary
area, not only the drawing along the creative and thinking process, but also the
drawing in process and all the constraints that can be found. It is also learned that
it is imperative to use methods of trial–error, sound tests and redesign, taking into
account a considerable knowledge of the physical and acoustic properties of the
materials, finishes, as well as the shape itself, which together these elements open a
wide range of possibilities for new sounds.
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Notes on the Relationships Between
Design and Music
Washington Morales Maciel
Abstract This chapter aims to elucidate the relationships between design and music,
appealing to the conceptual metaphor debate. It considers the epistemological impor-
tance of George Lakoff’s invariance hypothesis on conventional metaphors to crit-
icize the labor of historians of culture who focus on design, visual arts, and music
connections. Given that many relevant cultural historians interpret entire historical
intervals as epochal units by crossing through heterogeneous practices and assum-
ing their discursive identity, this chapter intends to point out how methodologically
conduct the historian across the study of trans-disciplinary connections. As an exam-
ple, this chapter examines the String Quartet op. 7 composition process by Arnold
Schoenberg. Schoenberg’s musical compositions were constituted by a music theory
and also by epistemic virtues based, in turn, on a metaphysical conception of art whose
mayor principle is reducible into the following primary metaphor: an artwork is an
organism. That metaphysical metaphor was precisely the link among different het-
erogeneous practices as design and music. The famous rejection of “decoration” by
rejecting ornaments was founded in Schoenberg’s Vienna in that particular metaphor.
Keywords Metaphor · History · Arnold Schoenberg · Adolf Loos
1 Introduction
There is a common naïve tendency to conceive diverse forms of design in terms

of music and, conversely, it is usual to speak about music through visual design
languages. In our everyday life, that synaesthetic disposition has the extraordinary
power of communicating our visual, tactile, and acoustic experiences while listening
to music, seeing a design piece, or even living a complex artifact combining both
music and graphic elements. In fact, our synaesthetic utterances’ input is a peculiar
amodal experience, mainly when one listens that instrumental or absolute music,
W. M. Maciel (B)
Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78451-5_21
380 W. M. Maciel
whose sounds do not pretend an active visual imagination. According to contempo-

rary cognitive musicology trends, that makes sense because
amodal perception is a key-feature of musical meaning (Kuhl, 2008).
In other words, music perception implies

no distinction between [...] three modes of communication (sensory-motoric, auditory, and
visual) [...] represented as single, amodal gestalt (Kuhl, 2008).
Therefore, communicating our music experiences usually entails a peculiar mental

activity, which cannot be expressed only by appealing to specific musical concepts.
In turn, it is common to refer to images employing some terms imported from music
into our linguistic expressions on the graphic world. For example, when a critic
sees a figurative painting composed of subtle lines suggesting movement and then
says, extraordinary rhythm!. Thus, phenomenologically speaking, verbally conceiv-
ing design pieces by means of the language of music and music works through
design terms does not need any kind of epistemic justification. These interrelation-
ships merely happen in our cognition.
Nevertheless, a phenomenal individual perspective is not enough to defend an
epochal interpretation of history that presupposes immediate connections among
different aesthetic practices. That is the main focus of this chapter, namely, to call
into question precisely those interpretations of history that assume direct connec-
tions among music, visual arts, design, literature, architecture, philosophy, and press.
Toulmin and Janik Wittgenstein’s Vienna Toulmin and Allan (1973) and Hal Foster’s
Design and Crime: And Other Diatribes (Foster, 2003) are clear examples of the
direct extension of that everyday naïve tendency (communicating experiences of
design and music) into the historian theses. As an alternative approach, this chapter
argues that:
1. Historian’s epochal conclusions which involve trans-disciplinary aesthetic remarks
entail that problem called by Theodor Adorno
The conflict between art and the arts (Adorno, 2003)
2. The relationships between music and design are a notable instance of that conflict
3. The debate on the relationships between design and music implies a discussion
about different accounts of metaphor as well as an analysis of historical and
theoretic metaphor use conditions
4. Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet op. 7 composition process is a fruitful case
study of metaphors from which genuinely infer statements about music and
design connections.
This chapter consists of three sections. The section two points out the main epis-
temological problem of historical perspectives in design and music by Hal Foster,
Stephen Toulmin, and Allan Janik. The section three elucidates the epistemological
problem introducing the invariance hypothesis held by George Lakoff and criti-
cized by Ray Jackendoff. Furthermore, the final section explores the central role of
metaphors in Arnold Schoenberg’s String Quartet op. 7: studying design and music
Notes on the Relationships Between Design and Music 381
relationships can be successfully developed by asking for the conventionalization of

metaphors as AN ARTWORK IS AN ORGANISM.
2 Towards the Problem of Design and Music Analogies
Hal Foster’s interpretation of Adolf Loos’s design poetics emphasizes, as always

happens, the architect’s criticism of ornamentation. Foster quotes a famous passage
from “Ornament and Crime” (1908), according to which “the evolution of culture
is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of everyday use” (Loos,
2019). Ornaments are crimes because they are an erotic degeneration that could be
removed for the well-being of society. Moreover, Foster adds another source for his
interpretation of Loos’s ideas, which is appreciated for transcending at least a little
bit the recurrent quotation of that Loos’s essay written in 1908. “The Poor Little
Rich Man” (1900), through a parabolic form, criticizes that is usually considered the
dominant Viennese Zeitgeist, that is, “Art in everything and anything” (Loos, 2003).
According to Foster, the bourgeois was looking to construct his personal identity by
turning into artwork every quotidian object of his everyday life. So, Foster concludes
that Loos’s parable is associable with Robert Musil’s famous novel The Mann without
Qualities (1943): “rather than a man of qualities, he is a man without them [...], for
what he lacks, in his very completion, is difference or distinction.” Foster (2003).
Finally, according to Foster, that in-distinction of bourgeois qualities went hand in
hand with the utilitarian value of objects and the assumed non-utilitarian value of
artworks because “Art Nouveau designers [...] want to infuse art [...] into the utilitarian
object” (Foster, 2003).
In the light of contemporary discussions (Matteucci, 2017), Loos’s criticism of
ornaments is an extraordinary example of artification and aestheticization of every-
day life debate, because for “aestheticization” philosophy intends a loss of sense
of artistry in art and, at the same time, a loss of sense of specificity in non-artistic
practices. That is the case in Foster’s historical appealing to Adolf Loos: the Aus-
trian’s idea of design and art depended on the assumed distinction between, on the
one hand, the aesthetic objects and, on the other, the functional ones to confront the
significant tendency to embellish each and everything trivially, which, for its part,
characterized most of the Jugendstil design (Fujan, 2010). Thus, the explicit interest
in Loos’s ideas is finally an interpretation of history, from which can be considered
to analyze present issues critically. However, the goals of this chapter are not those
final ones by Foster. What I would like to point out is the insufficient epistemic force
of Foster’s conclusions from the set of his historical premises. According to Foster,
Loos was to design “what Schönberg was to music, Wittgenstein to philosophy, or
Karl Kraus to journalism—a scourge of the impure and the superfluous in his own
discipline” (Foster, 2003).
Why do not invert the order of things set out by Foster? Schoenberg was to music
what Loos was to design, Wittgenstein to philosophy, and Kraus to journalism. Imme-
diately, it appears a challenging problem that is not considered by Hal Foster. If music
382 W. M. Maciel
also participated in those Viennese polemics on everyday life’s aestheticization, other

premises are necessary to conclude such an inclusion into Viennese diatribes. It is
not problematic to accept a concept of aestheticization associated with, for exam-
ple, a pair of shoes whose visual properties we could finally trace to a drawing by
Theodor Heine or Gustav Klimt. Nevertheless, postulating the aestheticization in
music implies a study of musical and visual connections.
In Wittgenstein’s Vienna by Stephen Toulmin and Allan Janik, although more
sophisticated than Design and Crime, it also finds a cross-disciplinary connection’s
interest very similar to that shown by Hal Foster:
Our aim is, by academic standards, a radical one: to use each of our four topics as a mirror
in which to reflect and to study all the others (Toulmin & Allan, 1973).
According to the authors, art, design, and music reflect social and political events,
each of these practices is reflected in personal ethoi, and philosophy reflects and is
reflected in all of them. The admirable book’s value is precisely that fruitful approach
to mutual “influences” among diverse disciplines, since as usually happens in the
academic division of labor, theoretical
cross-interactions might have been as significant as their own internal evolution will be
considered only grudgingly, after all internal factors have been demonstrably exhausted
(Toulmin & Allan, 1973).
Just as it is necessary considering, for example, technological developments as the

rotogravure to interpreting visual design’s historical transformations as the emer-
gency of magazines (Gervais, 2015), a deep understanding of Arnold Schoenberg
music requires profound musical knowledge and also extra-musical information. As
Foster concludes cross-disciplinary convergences from Loos and Schoenberg analo-
gies, Toulmin and Janik arrive at their outcomes from statements like the following
one:
Kraus considered himself as doing for language what Loos was doing in the sphere of design-
making people morally aware of the essential distinction between [...] articles for use from
objets d’art (Toulmin & Allan, 1973).
Once again, the cross-disciplinary analogies come into play. Furthermore, looking
for a holistic disciplinary approach is a laudable objective, but it does not achieve
its adequate strategy by mere analogical discursive connections among Viennese
intellectuals.
In the Toulmin and Janik work, the categories that found these analogies are
“inspiration” and “influence”, meanwhile the recurrent use of some expressions or
terms across diverse disciplines, like “ornament”’ in architecture, design, and music,
seems to be a sufficient ground from which inferring an interdisciplinary identity. A
relevant example of that is:
Schoenberg ’s music and painting, like the buildings of Loos and the polemics of Kraus,
were yet another element in the common all-embracing critique of contemporary society
and culture (Toulmin & Allan, 1973).
Indeed, Schoenberg was a prolific music critic and even an acclaimed painter, which
is a fact that cannot be negated to hold any analogy between visual and musical
expression. Nevertheless, against what Foster, Toulmin, and Janik thought, Schoen-
berg’s discourse and music are conceptually different. A historian’s challenge, who
pretends to find a culture’s criticism in something more than only a poetics of music,
is to ask for up to what point heterogeneous aesthetic practices are pointing out to
the same object designed by the same term. Otherwise, theoretically reconstructing
a music poetics would simply substitute what in fact had pretended to complete, that
is, “on the technical problems posed by the apparent exhaustion of the older diatonic
system” (Toulmin & Allan, 1973). Therefore, the challenge is studying the relation-
ships among design poetics, visual art poetics, music poetics, and the relationships
between them and their products to finally studying the connections among these vari-
ous products. Although attacking decoration was indeed usual among many Viennese
intellectuals at the beginning of the twentieth century, as Walter Frisch remarks, “The
unsatisfactory nature of much of the literature on music and Jugendstil stems from
the often unspoken assumption that such terms as line, ornament, and symmetry
are readily transferable to music” (Frisch, 1990). The problem of the arts’ identity
(Adorno, 2003) can be laid out only through researching the historical and theoretical
conditions of those metaphors whose formulations historians and critics have been
usually blithely assumed.
Sometimes historians and critics have reduced design pieces and music works
into the discursive poetics of their authors. Moreover, added to that tendency, an
intuitive lexical identity among heterogeneous disciplines goes with it, which turns
theoretically tempting to generalize an entire cultural frame from all the terms shared
by design, music, and visual art poetics. However, as Frisch reasonably pointed out,
“line in music, by which we usually mean a coherent succession of tones, might
not necessarily fulfill the same technical or aesthetic function as line in a drawing”
(Frisch, 1990). Therefore, conceptual connections among disciplines and the histori-
cal conventionalizations of their metaphorical expressions are part of historians’ and
critics’ tasks.
3 Music and Conceptual Metaphor Theory
This chapter’s central thesis is the following one: the above problem set out by Walter
Frisch can be successfully elucidated if one accepts some cognitive science relevant
accounts. As noted above, historians and critics infer statements on music and design
without considering different connections among socio-political contexts, poetics,
and artifacts. Frisch’s problem formulation seems to point out “gaps” between the
visual and sound realms, and the nature of these gaps would precisely explain histo-
rians’ and critic’s omissions. That needs an example.
For an illustrative proposal, let us postulate definitions of “ornament” from music
and architecture. According to architecture, an ornament is a decorative device,
384 W. M. Maciel
not essential to structure, but often necessary to emphasize or diminish the impact of structural
elements, sometimes with iconographic roles (Curl & Susan, 2015).
For its part, according to Michael Buchler,

In common-practice tonal music, surface-level neighbors, suspensions, escape tones and the
like undoubtedly suggest a hierarchy of structural importance and are therefore essentially
prolongational. When we claim that note x is more structural than note y that ornaments x,
we are effectively saying that x is prolonged (Buchler, 2020).
It follows from both definitions a common element. The architectural use of “orna-
ment” entails a distinction between “essential” and “decorative”. Meanwhile music
ornaments also entail a distinction which opposes “ornamental” to “structural”.
Prima facie, that common distinction is enough to extend every quality attributed
to design into the music domain and conversely. Many architectural aspects allow
that mapping of the source—architecture—and the target—music. For example, as
Larson and Johnson point out, and just to mention a few of them, “span” corresponds
to “interval”, “vertical spatial dimension” to “interval size”, “foundation” to “under-
lying structure”, “arch” to “melodic arch” or “bridge” to “bride” as a passage in
music (Larson & Johnson, 2003).
However, that is extremely curious. If one keeps in mind the spatial character of
the architecture and the temporal one of music, are we talking about the same thing
when we use “foundation” in music and architecture? It seems that some primary
metaphors are assumed as natural ones. As a part of the history and philosophy of
music and design tasks, it is necessary to trace back the different origins behind
our conventionalized metaphors. Therefore, for historians, every basic conceptual
metaphor set should be traced back to its more abstract domains and connections.
As Ray Jackendoff y David Aaron observed:
An initial problem with Lakoff and Turner metaphorical analyses concerns the proper choice
of schema. Lakoff and Turner often assert that a particular metaphorical schema applies, but
do not show why that schema, rather than something more general or more specific, is the
most appropriate. For instance, when Lakoff and Turner invoke the schema LIFE IS A FIRE,
why not LIFE IS SOMETHING THAT GIVES OFF HEAT (more general) or LIFE IS A
FLAME (more specific)? (Jackendoff & Aaron, 1991).
In music and architecture connections, it is evident that it will be possible to construct

metaphors and analogies between one to another, art and music, because it is assumed
that Heinrich Schencker’s theory of music is already expressed in architectural terms.
The question is why that is so. Following Croft and Cruse (2004), the question
consists of asking for the “concept profile” and its “basis” connections. If the source
domain of music is already metaphorically constructed by architectural terms, music
and architectural analogies will be almost literal expressions. So, Jackendoff and
Aaron’s remarks on the invariance principle are reasonable: are there, in the case
of architecture and music, metaphors or mere instantiations of conceptual structures
in two different conceptual domains? Thus historians’ and critics’ question should
be the following one: if actually there are metaphors, what are the historical and
theoretical factors that make the construction of these metaphors possible? However,
it is necessary one step back before reconsidering that question.
Despite these problems pointed out by Jackendoff and Aaron, the conceptual
metaphor theory is very fruitful for solving the gap between heterogeneous disci-
plines. If there were a language and psychological theory whose hypotheses were
beyond the schematic conception of mind and language involved in the gap problem,
there would be no hunting of music and design links. Fortunately, the principle of
invariance, which defines metaphors, and cognitive linguistics and psychology out-
comes, are the best candidates to fulfill the requirements. The gap between design
and music requires two elements: firstly, conceiving the mind as a complex set of
concepts which
are themselves profiled in complex domain matrices, often also abstract and so ultimately
presuppose a large array of basic domains that can be called a domain structure Croft and
Cruse (2004)
and, secondly, conceiving metaphors as a specific conceptual relationship among

profile concepts and frames/bases/domains, in fact, an asymmetrical and partial con-
nection between a source domain and a target one (Lakoff, 1993). By “concept
profile”, linguistic literature means the concept intended by any word, meanwhile
by “domain”, “frame”, or “base” cognitive linguistics intends a conceptual structure
that is presupposed by the profiled concept (Croft & Cruse, 2004). Essentially, one
concept intended by a symbol presupposes another complex net of concepts, which
is frequently called “frame”, “base”, or “domain”. Alternatively, as Croft and Cruse
remark:
In fact, a concept may presuppose (be profiled in) several different domains. For example, a
human being must be defined relative to the domains of physical objects, living things and
volitional agents (and several other domains, e.g. emotion). The combination of domains
simultaneously presupposed by a concept such as HUMAN BEING is called a domain matrix
(Croft & Cruse, 2004).
Like that intended by the symbol “ornament”, every profile concept presupposes
several different domains, and the predicative relationships between the profile con-
cept and its presuppositions can be metaphorical ones. “Ornament” presupposes
“structure”, and both terms presuppose metaphorical links with other domains of
knowledge. That relationship of presupposition obeys
the Invariance Principle: The image-schema structure of the source domain is projected onto
the target domain in a way that is consistent with inherent target domain structure. Mappings
are not arbitrary, but grounded in the body and in everyday experience and knowledge. A
conceptual system contains thousands of conventional metaphorical mappings which form a
highly structured subsystem of the conceptual system. There are two types of mappings:
conceptual mappings and image mappings; both obey the Invariance Principle (Lakoff,
1993).
What makes a metaphor possible is precisely a knowledge presupposed in a set

of domains: a complex net of basic concepts called “source” mapped onto another
domain called “target”, which already contains elements involved in the source and
partially determines the match’s consistency. As remarked above, sometimes histo-
rians and critics assume metaphors as natural expressions already conventionalized.
386 W. M. Maciel
However, as conventional metaphors, those ruling music and design links are possi-
ble because they presuppose a corpus of knowledge, which maps the source onto a
specific domain. The knowledge that links these domains is not essentially consti-
tuted, but historically. Which are the basic metaphors behind the design and music
relationships? What is the corpus of knowledge that makes them possible? Further-
more, which conceptual chains are associating the most abstract basic metaphors
with the most specific music structures? According to the conceptual metaphor the-
ory, the first question proposes a conceptual analysis of verbally expressed metaphors
because they are conceptual relationships, not “figures of speech”. Assuming that, as
Jackendoff and Aaron remark (Jackendoff & Aaron, 1991), there are many metaphor-
ical levels as the basic metaphorical schema that historians and critics should deal
with. The second question points out the diverse domains of knowledge involved in
every metaphorical level expressed in metaphorical speech figures. Also, it points out
the metaphorical presuppositions, which links these possible knowledge domains.
Finally, the third question asked for the specific metaphorical schemes and levels
of knowledge that make possible connections among knowledge presuppositions.
Music receives its non-specific music commands through particular metaphorical
presuppositions, which hinges on metaphorical and non-metaphorical levels. The
next section shows all these three elements functioning together to determine which
metaphorical levels are involved in music and design relationships.1
4 Epistemic Virtues and Organicism in Schoenberg’s Op. 7
This section pretends to reconstruct an interpretation of Arnold Schoenberg’s String

Quartet op. 7 already archived (Maciel, 2020) from the point of view sketched in the
above section. The String Quartet op. 7 composition process gives rich information
on the various metaphorical levels involved in Schoenberg’s music, their fundamen-
tal metaphysical assumptions, and, above all, the set of domain concepts that allow
for the match between the metaphysical presuppositions and the technical music
level. In particular, “musical thought” (musikalische Gedanke) and “basic shape”
(Grundgestalt) associate some epistemic properties entailed in metaphysical con-
cepts as organism with more basic musical concepts as motive, interval, pitch, and
rhythmic figure. So, let us consider some comments by Schoenberg on his own work:
The great expansion of this work required careful organization. It might perhaps interest
an analyst to learn that I received and took advantage of the tremendous amount of advice
suggested to me by a model I had chosen for this task: the first movement of the ‘Eroica’
Symphony. Alexander von Zemlinsky told me that Brahms had said that every time he faced
difficult problems he would consult a significant work of Bach and one of Beethoven, both
of which he always used to keep near his standing-desk (Stehpult). How did they handle a
1 Holly Watkins has written two excellent texts on the current topic (Watkins, 2008, 2011). Both are
extremely relevant to complete the main theses of this chapter, because his interest domains—in a
technical sense—are the metaphors of DEPTH associate with those of INTERIOR and EXTERIOR
in music.
similar problem? Of course the model was not copied mechanically, but its mental essence
was applied accommodatingly. In the same manner I learned, from the ‘Eroica,’ solutions to
my problems: how to avoid monotony and emptiness; how to create variety out of unity; how
to create new forms out of basic material; how much can be achieved by slight modifications,
if not by developing variation, out of often rather insignificant little formulations
Schoenberg (2008) understood his compositions in terms of problems and solu-

tions. What he expresses in that passage are precisely the problems and solutions
implied in his Quartet op. 7. Every problem has a general structure that can be
set out also in very general terms. In the first place, Schoenberg was looking for a
too long sonata piece. Like Franz Liszt, Schoenberg played with extensive musical
forms, particularly the sonata form, without subdividing it into discontinuous parts.
Indeed, String Quartet op. 7 is a non-stop continuous flux of sounds. That is the first
problem’s premise. In the second place, that musical quest could not be achieved in
any which way. The Quartet could not be monotonous and empty. It also should be
varied, but at the same time, being a single unit. It should be reducible to a basic
material and modified over the entire piece. Firstly, the long work extension plus
a pretension of reduction to a “basic material” could produce a monotonous unity.
Secondly, that first sought property plus a musical variety could produce a disjoint
unity. Therefore, a sought extension was not easily compatible with non-monotonic
and varied unity: an identical piece over its development could easily be monotonic
or disjoint. According to Schoenberg:
Intelligibility in music seems to be impossible without repetition. While repetition without
variation can easily produce monotony, juxtaposition of distantly related elements can easily
degenerate into nonsense, specifically if unifying elements are omitted. Only so much varia-
tion as character, length and tempo required should be admitted: the coherence motive-forms
should be emphasized
Schoenberg’s (1967) problem involved in the String Quartet op. 7 is, in fact, an
instance of a bigger problem, namely, understanding music implies repetitions, iden-
tical repetitions could produce monotony, and completely varied passages can easily
degenerate in nonsense. The more extensive a piece is, the more difficult it turns the
equilibrium between monotony and nonsense. These categories are metaphorically
attributed to a musical piece, and particularly “coherence” is a metaphorical predicate
of “music piece”. Thus, the problem and its solution are, according to Schoenberg,
metaphorically articulated. However, why is that so? Coherence, economy, variety,
and unity are particular concepts whose literal predicative domains are usually sci-
ence and philosophy. Every one of these categories is called “epistemic virtue” by
the philosophers of science. They are
the traits of a theory that show it is probably true or worth accepting. Although the identifi-
cation, characterization, classification, and epistemic standing of theory virtues are debated
by philosophers and by participants in specific theoretical disputes, many scholars agree that
these virtues help us to infer which rival theory is the best explanation
Keas’s (2018) advanced here consists of arguing that every schoenbergean epis-
temic virtue is categorically presupposed in a fundamental or basic metaphor, that
388 W. M. Maciel
is, AN ARTWORK IS AN ORGANISM.2 Tracing back that metaphor is the result

of a conceptual analysis of some statements uttered by Schoenberg. Some of his
statements are metaphysical ones, others are specifically musical, and finally, the
third group of statements associates those metaphysical with these musical ones.
Schoenberg’s appraisals of music involve these categories of intelligibility and non-
sense, which are related to coherence as a predicate of a musical idea (musikalische
Gedanke) that is, in turn, associated with basic shape (Grundgestalt). The basic shape
and its variations organize the specific musical rules reflected in the score, namely,
the concrete musical concepts. In that sense, the concept designed by “basic shape” is
presupposed in a literal way by the concrete music concepts. In that sense, the concept
designed by “basic shape” is presupposed in a literal way by the concrete music con-
cept, but, at the same time, their own presuppositions are “coherent musical thought”
metaphors, which are expressions that presuppose others like “functional” and “orna-
mental”. These last two expressions, in turn, presupposes metaphors that mapping
language onto music and, at the same time, join together language to organism.
Therefore, “Basic shape” responds to literal presuppositions as much as metaphor-
ical ones. The backgrounds of Schoenberg’s music aesthetic theory are biological
as well as linguistic. Just to illustrate the organicist backgrounds, one can consider
these brief passages as:
in the succession of motive-forms produced through variation of the basic motive, there is
something which can be compared to development, to growth
According to Schoenberg (1967), musical pieces are organisms, because they have
developmental tendencies, specific nature or essence, and set out some obligations
to composers . Moreover, according Schoenberg (2011) to Schoenberg:
By the position of internal organs—as indeed the external appearance of every well–
constructed organism corresponds to its internal organization, hence the native external
appearance is not to be regarded as accidental
In Schoenberg (2011) this way, “ornament” and “structure” can be mapped onto
the target domain of music, because the chains of presuppositions in Schoenberg’s
music theory were those of speculative biology traced back to Romanticism and
beyond to the Kantian Third Critique and even to Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Neverthe-
less, the most relevant point is not that of the organicist dominant conception of art
and design in Vienna. What makes possible the whole mapping of design concepts
onto the music target domain was the concept of basic shape. Without it, there would
not be any hinge linking the abstract domain of speculative biology and the most
concrete musical concepts.
2 That was already pointed out by Spitzer (2004) and Cox (2016).
5 Conclusions
“The gap problem” has arrived at a tentative answer. Design and music have different
sets of basic concepts, because every domain of concepts presupposed in their respec-
tive concepts profile does not entirely converge with each other. As Walter Frisch
remarked, concepts as “line” in music and visual arts do not profile the same frame
information. That implies an actual gap between these disciplines. Nevertheless,
since composers and designers share common lexical information in their poetics, it
would be very counterintuitive to reject intimate relationships between the artifacts
and their corresponding poetics. In other words, gaps among different disciplinary
poetics imply gaps between specific domain poetics and their respective works. From
these premises, it follows some outcomes. Firstly, the conceptual metaphor theory
gives the primary conceptual tools to recognize the basic presuppositions entailed
in design and music analogies. Secondly, the “ascending” movement from the most
specific disciplinary conceptual domains to less specific ones gives, in turn, informa-
tion on the convergent and divergent epistemic and ontological properties playing a
role in music and design connections. Thirdly, applying that approach in the history
of design and music connections allows for determining the most primary transfor-
mations of frames that make some metaphorical mappings possible. Finally, since
it is possible to determine the concepts of music or design, it is also possible to
explain the links behind the poetics and products, poetics and different poetics, and
different poetics pointing out different products. Although ornaments are not the
same entities in atonal, tonal, and interior or visual design, different metaphorical
presuppositions permit constructing a shared meaningful use of “ornament” in each
practice where the term is employed. The most important task of a historian of culture
will be precisely asking for, on the one hand, the metaphorical base grounding inter-
mediary metaphors and, on the other hand, the connection between the intermediary
metaphors and the most literal profile concepts. Implementing that frame can solve
problems as the relationships between knowledge and art or visual design, or even
those problems entailed in old debates on ideology and art.
Acknowledgements Without the patient and lovely help offered by Luísa Flores Somavilla this
chapter would have been just a forgotten possibility in a PC folder.
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Current Research in Systematic Musicology

Luísa Correia Castilho

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11684

José Francisco Pinho

ISSN 2196-6966 ISSN 2196-6974 (electronic)

centuries is what is proposed in the fourth chapter, in addition to the presentation of an

Castelo Branco, Portugal Luísa Correia Castilho

Music and Sound Creation and Technology

A Review of Musical Rhythm Representation and (Dis)similarity

Music Education and Intersection Areas

Luísa Correia Castilho

Abstract Manuel de Tavares (c. 1585–1638), was a Portuguese composer, born in

1 Manuel de Tavares’s Life

Manuel de Tavares was probably born in Portalegre, Portugal, in 1585, according to

L. Correia Castilho (B)

3 Actas Capitulares, Diocesan Archives of Cuenca, f. 43v e 117.

Table 1 Genre and title of

The diatonic organisation characteristic of the modal system is respected, however

3 The Genres of Liturgical Music and the Description

possibilities of musical dramatization, because of the differentiation between indi-

4 Counterpoint Texture, Types of Writing,

counterpoint. However, a different behaviour from the other voices is repeatedly

Table 2 Voices, clefs, modes, sections

Fig. 1 Jeremiah’s Lamentation (c. 295–308)

5 The Use of the Modality

humiliation, of prostration or of veneration of a superior entity.17 It should be noted

6 Metric Punctuation and Clauses

In the seventeenth century, metric punctuation was achieved through cadences.18

the bassizans clause appears in this voice.

The main types of clause are briefly explained below:

• The extended harmonic clause has two fundamental characteristics: it expresses a

Table 3 Type, number and

Fig. 2 Para-cadence movements (Jesus Nazarenus, c. 15–21)

Fig. 3 St. John’s Passion -C. 139–144

Fig. 5 Matheus Passion

7 Thematic and Motive Materials

Fig. 6 Jeremiah’s Lamentation, c. 1–9

Fig. 7 Jeremiah’s Lamentation c. 175–180

8 The Expressive Relationship Between Text and Music

at two different moments, et in tridium reaedificare illud, the word «tridium»is is

Fig. 11 Lamentação de Jeremias, c.64–69

Fig. 12 Sprevit autem, c. 26–35

Another interesting resource of textual illustration lies in the following example:

Fig. 13 Lamentação de Jeremias, c.246–259

Alvarenga, J. P. (2002). Estudos de Musicologia. Colibri/Centro de História da Arte da Universidade

Sofia B. Dias and Leontios J. Hadjileontiadis

Abstract In this chapter, a bilateral approach is applied to Telemann’s music,

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 31

2 The Research Focus

where s denotes any similarity measure. By definition, the matrix is symmetrical

The contents of a self-similarity matrix can be visualized as a square using different

Chromagram analysis: The chromagram, also called Harmonic Pitch Class

4 Data Characteristics and Implementation Issues

5.1 Axis 1: Music Analysis Results

5.2 Axis 2: Advanced Signal Processing Analysis Results

(a) (b) (c) (d)

(a) (b) (c) (d)

M1 (Grave) M2 (Vivace) M3 (Adagio) M4 (Allegro)

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 6 deepens in the articulation of the spectral flux by zooming at specific

Similarity analysis: Figure 7 depicts the magnified version of the self-similarity

(c) (d) (e)

(a) (b) (c) (d)