Theory and Methods of Music in Media
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course develops theoretical-methodological and historical-cultural competences concerning the interactions between music and media in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The course aims to enable students to comprehend and critically interpret musical texts, practices and discourses in past and contemporary (multi)media contexts. To this end, the course draws on theoretical paradigms developed in film music studies, popular music studies, cultural musicology, as well as in media and performance studies.
The course aims to enable students to comprehend and critically interpret musical texts, practices and discourses in past and contemporary (multi)media contexts. To this end, the course draws on theoretical paradigms developed in film music studies, popular music studies, cultural musicology, as well as in media and performance studies.
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will have acquired theoretical-methodological awareness regarding some cultural practices and processes that underpin musical creativity in media contexts. This will be achieved with particular reference to each year's changing monographic topic.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course is structured in an introduction and two parts:
0. Introduction: Music and its media
A. Music and phonographic media
B. Music and audiovisual media
The first part (A) explores the main creative, aesthetic, productive, and fruitive implications of sound recording on musical practices in the 20th and 21st centuries, considering aspects of the transition from analog to digital from a theoretical and historical-cultural perspective.
The second part (B) reflects on the specificities of audiovisual mediatization in the field of music, considering musical and sound practices in cinema, television, and music videos, with references to the field of video games.
The course will combine theoretical insights, historical summaries, and critical-interpretative analyses of specific case studies.
0. Introduction: Music and its media
A. Music and phonographic media
B. Music and audiovisual media
The first part (A) explores the main creative, aesthetic, productive, and fruitive implications of sound recording on musical practices in the 20th and 21st centuries, considering aspects of the transition from analog to digital from a theoretical and historical-cultural perspective.
The second part (B) reflects on the specificities of audiovisual mediatization in the field of music, considering musical and sound practices in cinema, television, and music videos, with references to the field of video games.
The course will combine theoretical insights, historical summaries, and critical-interpretative analyses of specific case studies.
Prerequisites for admission
For a full and satisfactory comprehension of the classes' contents, it is advisable to have a basic knowledge of musical theory and awareness of the research tools of musicological research. To strengthen the above skills, students are encouraged to attend the workshops "Formazione musicale di base II" and "Strumenti e tecniche della ricerca musicologica (STRiM)".
Teaching methods
The course alternates lectures and discussion sessions drawing on the weekly assignments. Assignments include readings, listening to selected tracks and watching clips. This is a course which requires students to engage with scholarly readings from a variety of fields (musicology, media studies, semiotics, performance theory, history of technology), part of which in English. For this reason, attending the classes is highly recommended.
Teaching Resources
Each part of the course is accompanied by a selection of essays uploaded to the course website or linked to Minerva's bibliographic resources.
The lecture slides (with integrated hyperlinks to audio-video materials) and the in-depth analyses uploaded to the course website are an integral part of the course preparation.
ATTENDING STUDENTS must prepare for the oral exam by studying their notes, slides (with associated multimedia content), essays, and supplementary teaching materials.
Part A
- Théberge, P. (2020). Transitions: The History of Recording Technology from 1970 to the Present, in: A. Bourbon, in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Music Production, ed. S. Zagorski-Thomas, New York-London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 69-87.
- D'Amato, F. (2009). Musica e industria. Storia, processi, culture e scenari, Roma: Carocci, pp. 63-110 (Cap. 2: Storia).
- Spaziante, L. (2007). Sociosemiotica del pop. Identità, testi e pratiche musicali, Roma: Carocci, pp. 131-162 (Cap. 7: Testualità sonora: dalla scrittura alla lettura).
- Lacasse, S. (2000). "Intertextuality and Hypertextuality in Recorded Popular Music," in: The Musical Work: Reality or Invention?, ed. by M. Talbot, Cambridge University Press, pp. 35-58.
- Auslander, P. (2021). In Concert: Performing Musical Persona, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, pp. 87-127 (Chapter 5: Musical Personae).
- Sanden, P. (2013). Liveness in Modern Music: Musicians, Technology and the Perception of Performance, Routledge, 2019, pp. 1-45 (Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: A Theory of Liveness in Mediatized Music)
Part B
- Buhler, J. and D. Neumeyer (2014). "Music and the Ontology of the Sound Film: The Classical Hollywood System," in The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, ed. Jim Buhler, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 17-43.
- Smith, J. (2014). "'The tunes they are a-changing': Moments of Historical Rupture and Reconfiguration in the Production and Commerce of Music in Film," in The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, ed. Jim Buhler, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 270-290.
- Hubbert, J. (2014). "The Compilation Soundtrack from the 1960s to the Present," in The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, ed. Jim Buhler, Oxford University Press, pp. 290-318.
- Kassabian, A. (2001). Hearing Film: Tracking Identifications in Contemporary Hollywood Film Music, London: Routledge ("Listening to Identifications: A Prologue"), pp. 1-14.
- Herzog, A. (2009). Dreams of Difference, Songs of the Same, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press (chapter 1, "Illustrating Music: The Impossible Embodiments of the Jukebox Film"), pp. 39-72.
- Vernallis, C. (2013). Unruly Media: YouTube, Music Videos, and the New Digital Cinema, Oxford: Oxford University Press (chapter 10, "Music Video's Second Aesthetics?"), pp. 207-233.
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS, in addition to the essays indicated for attending students and in place of the slides, must prepare the following volume:
- Cecchi, A., a cura di (2019). La musica tra testo, performance e media: forme e concetti dell'esperienza musicale, Roma: NeoClassica.
The lecture slides (with integrated hyperlinks to audio-video materials) and the in-depth analyses uploaded to the course website are an integral part of the course preparation.
ATTENDING STUDENTS must prepare for the oral exam by studying their notes, slides (with associated multimedia content), essays, and supplementary teaching materials.
Part A
- Théberge, P. (2020). Transitions: The History of Recording Technology from 1970 to the Present, in: A. Bourbon, in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Music Production, ed. S. Zagorski-Thomas, New York-London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 69-87.
- D'Amato, F. (2009). Musica e industria. Storia, processi, culture e scenari, Roma: Carocci, pp. 63-110 (Cap. 2: Storia).
- Spaziante, L. (2007). Sociosemiotica del pop. Identità, testi e pratiche musicali, Roma: Carocci, pp. 131-162 (Cap. 7: Testualità sonora: dalla scrittura alla lettura).
- Lacasse, S. (2000). "Intertextuality and Hypertextuality in Recorded Popular Music," in: The Musical Work: Reality or Invention?, ed. by M. Talbot, Cambridge University Press, pp. 35-58.
- Auslander, P. (2021). In Concert: Performing Musical Persona, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, pp. 87-127 (Chapter 5: Musical Personae).
- Sanden, P. (2013). Liveness in Modern Music: Musicians, Technology and the Perception of Performance, Routledge, 2019, pp. 1-45 (Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: A Theory of Liveness in Mediatized Music)
Part B
- Buhler, J. and D. Neumeyer (2014). "Music and the Ontology of the Sound Film: The Classical Hollywood System," in The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, ed. Jim Buhler, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 17-43.
- Smith, J. (2014). "'The tunes they are a-changing': Moments of Historical Rupture and Reconfiguration in the Production and Commerce of Music in Film," in The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, ed. Jim Buhler, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 270-290.
- Hubbert, J. (2014). "The Compilation Soundtrack from the 1960s to the Present," in The Oxford Handbook of Film Music Studies, ed. Jim Buhler, Oxford University Press, pp. 290-318.
- Kassabian, A. (2001). Hearing Film: Tracking Identifications in Contemporary Hollywood Film Music, London: Routledge ("Listening to Identifications: A Prologue"), pp. 1-14.
- Herzog, A. (2009). Dreams of Difference, Songs of the Same, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press (chapter 1, "Illustrating Music: The Impossible Embodiments of the Jukebox Film"), pp. 39-72.
- Vernallis, C. (2013). Unruly Media: YouTube, Music Videos, and the New Digital Cinema, Oxford: Oxford University Press (chapter 10, "Music Video's Second Aesthetics?"), pp. 207-233.
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS, in addition to the essays indicated for attending students and in place of the slides, must prepare the following volume:
- Cecchi, A., a cura di (2019). La musica tra testo, performance e media: forme e concetti dell'esperienza musicale, Roma: NeoClassica.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam is oral and consists of a discussion of the topics covered during the course and an assessment of knowledge of the bibliography and course material.
The following will be assessed: the ability to critically rework the topics covered in the course; the ability to reason and connect heterogeneous content in proposing personal interpretations; the appropriateness of linguistic and terminological expression.
Examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or learning disabilities must be agreed with the instructor, in consultation with the relevant office.
International and incoming Erasmus students may take the exam in English. The request must be submitted to the instructor at least 15 days before the selected exam date.
The following will be assessed: the ability to critically rework the topics covered in the course; the ability to reason and connect heterogeneous content in proposing personal interpretations; the appropriateness of linguistic and terminological expression.
Examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or learning disabilities must be agreed with the instructor, in consultation with the relevant office.
International and incoming Erasmus students may take the exam in English. The request must be submitted to the instructor at least 15 days before the selected exam date.
L-ART/07 - MUSICOLOGY AND HISTORY OF MUSIC - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Corbella Maurizio
Professor(s)
Reception:
Thursdays, 10:00-13:00, upon appointment. Meetings will either take place in presence or via Microsoft Teams.
Office of the professor, Via Noto 6 (1st floor)