In this page concise information on the distinguishing courses of the master’s program in Music and Acoustic Engineering are given. For complete information visit the programme description at this link, selecting “School of Industrial and Information Engineering” and “Music and Acoustic Engineering in the the “School” and “Programme” dropdown menus, respectively.
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (1st year, 1st semester) and MCR (1st year, 1st semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10
Language: English
Subdivision: 2 modules, integrated course
Short description: Programming languages, which are the elective tools for designing and implementing computer applications, are also gaining traction as cognitive tools that pave the way to unprecedented expressive possibilities. Ranging from scripting formalisms for automating and creating abstraction by controlling music equipment and artistic software, to tools that allow us to perform interactive “coding” for live artistic performances, programming languages are becoming an essential tool for artistic expression and production. In this course we will introduce and work with different languages and the main techniques that will allow us to use them for production, tool design and building, as well as live performance.
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (1st year, 2nd semester) and MCR (1st year, 2nd semester)
CFU/ETCS: 5 (1 of which is innovative teaching)
Language: English
Subdivision: mono-disciplinary course
Short description:This course covers a wide range of fundamental topics on computer music, with particular reference languages and technologies used for musical representations; to the expressive control and to the interaction design.
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (1st year, 1st semester) and MCR (1st year, 1st semester)
CFU/ETCS: 5 (1 of which is innovative teaching)
Language: English
Subdivision: mono-disciplinary course
Short description: Rhythm and tonality are an integral part of all forms of interpersonal communication. Prosody and rhythm in verbal communication, for example, are what charges language with emotional content. In music such elements come devoid of specific semantic meaning, yet they are able to elicit strong emotional reactions. Music, in fact, is the ultimate language of emotions. It comes with a rich language and structure, which is important to understand from a functional standpoint if our ultimate goal is to develop advanced applications related to music. In this course we discuss the structure and the language of music, from early music cognition and perception to harmonic, rhythmic, structural, and tonal modeling. We introduce and analyze the language of music from a “structured” scientific standpoint. In particular, we discuss various aspects of functional rhythmic modeling and functional harmony; elements of structural and melodic composition; as well as elements of arrangement and orchestration. We then discuss how such models can be fruitfully employed to develop advanced applications of music information retrieval, music complexity assessment, stream personalization and more.
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (2nd year, 1st semester) and MCR (2nd year, 1st semester, only first module)
CFU/ETCS: 10 (2 of which are innovative teaching)
Language: English
Subdivision: 2 modules, integrated course
Short description:
This course is aimed at providing the necessary background and expertise for developing software applications supporting and enhancing artistic and creative performances, installations, etc. The course covers multi-modal applications, with particular emphasis on music production and performance. The first part of the course will be devoted to developing methodologies for developing software devoted to multimodal interactive applications, involving various platforms of interest (e.g. EyesWeb, Supercollider, Processing, Openframework, ) based on a wide range of multimodal sensors (cameras, microphone arrays, Z-cameras, bio-sensors, motion sensors, etc.). In the second part of the course, specific collaborative projects will be developed in class and part of the classes will be offered with innovative didactic modalities (e.g. “flipped classroom”).
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (1st or 2nd year, 2nd semester) and MCR (2nd year, 2nd semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10 (2 of which are innovative teaching)
Language: English
Subdivision: 2 modules, integrated course
Short description:The aim of the course is to provide an engineering knowledge on transducers, devices, electronic circuits and systems used for the acquisition, processing, recording and broadcasting of audio signals. The electroacoustic characteristics of the microphones, the properties of the semiconductor devices used in the audio circuits will be studied and the main amplification and processing stages of the acoustic signals will be analyzed. The electronic noise will be studied and the problems related to low noise and minimal distortion electronic circuits will be dealt with. The architecture of a professional console will be studied in detail. The main configurations of the power output stages will be presented by analyzing their static and dynamic characteristics.
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (1st year, 1st semester) and MCR (1st year, 1st semester)
CFU/ETCS: 5
Language: English
Subdivision: mono-disciplinary course
Short description: The propagation of sounds and vibrations in fluids and solids is at the basis of most of the phenomena related to musical instruments, building and environmental acoustics, noise and vibration from machinery and industrial products. In this course, we will cover the fundamentals of acoustics, starting from the basic description of oscillations and wave motion, the normal modes of strings and membranes, to the propagation of sound in gas media and the description of reflection, transmission, absorption, and scattering phenomena during sound propagation.
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (1st year, 1st semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10
Language: English
Subdivision: 2 modules, integrated course
Short description:The course covers the fundamental tools of digital signal processing applied to audio, still images and video sequences. In the first part, it addresses topics related to signal analysis by means of both deterministic and statistical methods. In the second part, it covers coding of multimedia signals providing an insight on widely-adopted international coding standards such as those developed by JPEG, MPEG and ITU-T.
Pre-approved study plans: MMI (2nd year, 2nd semester) and MCR (2nd year, 2nd semester)
CFU/ETCS: 5
Language: English
Subdivision: mono-disciplinary course
Short description: this course offers the students the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired during the studies in practical applications, with laboratory experience. The aim is to develop a project. The projects will be presented in a final conference at the end of the course.
Pre-approved study plan: MMI (2nd year, 1st semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10 (2 of which are innovative teaching)
Language: English
Subdivision: 2 modules, integrated course
Short description: Music production technologies are in constant evolution, but they all share common features/issues related to data organization, visualization, responsivity, etc. Acquiring a deep practical understanding of the hardware and the software components that are involved in a music production, whether in a live setting or in a production studio, is essential to the definition, the design and the development of innovative music production technologies. In this course the student will be able to acquire the necessary background on music production technologies from expert music producers and technologists and in direct contact with production environments. The course includes the development of specific collaborative projects, and part of the classes will be offered with innovative didactic modalities (e.g. “flipped classroom”).
Pre-approved study plan: MCR (2nd year, 1st semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10
Language: English
Subdivision: 2 modules, integrated course
Short description: This course focuses on acoustic musical instruments and offers all the tools that are needed for understanding, characterizing, designing and improving them. After describing their structure and function, we describe the physical and mathematical modeling of the sound generation mechanism, as well as the acoustic radiation. We then show how to characterize their vibrational and acoustic behavior through vibro-acoustic measurements. The course focuses also on the electric equivalent of musical instruments. Finally, we show how to characterize their timbral behavior based on techniques of machine intelligence.
PSPA: MCR (2° anno, 1° semestre)
CFU: 5
Pre-approved study plan: MCR (2nd year, 1st semester)
CFU/ETCS: 5
Language: English
Subdivision: mono-disciplinary course
Short description:
Noise levels have become an issue for urban communities for many years due to the rapid growth of air and ground traffic densities. Additionally to these noise sources, many other machines producing significant noise levels surround our daily activities and contribute to deterioration of quality of life. A quite large part of this noise is generated by vibrating structures and manufactures have considered the noise level of their products as a relevant design parameter. Therefore, the demand towards reliable and computational efficient numerical simulation programs is strongly growing, so that these tools can be used within a virtual prototyping development cycle.
In this course we present the state-of-the-art overview of numerical schemes to efficiently solve the acoustic conservation equations (unknowns are acoustic pressure and particle velocity) and the acoustic wave equation (pressure or acoustic potential formulation). Thereby, the different equations model both vibrational and or induced sound generation and its propagation. The course will contain both the physical / mathematical modelling, advanced numerical schemes, such as higher order and spectral finite elements elements as well as discontinuous Galerkin methods to solve the underlying partial differential equations together with their implementation focusing on relevant practical applications.
Pre-approved study plans: MCR (2° anno, 1° semestre)
CFU: 10
Language: English
Subdivision: 2 modules, integrated course
Short description: The course is compound of the integration of two modules, MODULE 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF ROOM ACOUSTICS, and MODULE 2: ACOUSTICS OF LISTENING SPACES, which provides basic knowledge and application rules for the acoustic design of closed spaces.
MODULE 1: FUNDAMENTALS OF ROOM ACOUSTICS
This course aims to provide the basic knowledge and tools that are needed for the analysis of the various stages of acoustic spatialization in enclosures, from generation; to propagation; to reception; to perception; in various human activities. This course will enable students to gather an in-depth understanding of acoustics phenomena in encosures (buildings, auditoria, etc.) and, in particular, to understand definitions and physical concepts behind the various related acoustic features. Physical modelling and mathematical formulation for analysing the sound will be also covered.
MODULE 2: ACOUSTICS OF LISTENING SPACES
This course is aimed at acquiring the necessary knowledge in acoustics for the design of acoustic environments (buildings, auditoria, listening rooms, etc.) in compliance with the requirements set forth by the community and users. The acquired competence includes understanding the impact of noise from internal and external sources and the use of theoretical and empirical methods to design environment with satisfying sound insulation against noise. Physical modelling and mathematical formulation for analysing room acoustics quality (i.e. indoor sound quality) will be also covered.
Pre-approved study plan: MCR (1nd year, 2nd semester) and MMI (1st year, 2nd semester)
CFU/ETCS: 5
Language: English
Subdivision: mono-disciplinary course
Short description: The objective of this course is to provide the students with knowledge about advanced methodological and technological topics that are relevant to music and acoustic engineering
Note: the instructor of this course is a visiting professor from international universities. A new instructor is appointed periodically. The detailed program undergoes some modifications. Visit the programme structure for updated info.
Pre-approved study plan: MCR (1st year, 2nd semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10
Language: English
Subdivision: integrated course, 2 modules
Short description:
This course focuses on the analysis of signals (sound, acoustic pressure, voltage, images, etc.) and the systems that act on them (acoustic resonators and environments, circuits, mechanical devices, etc.). We concentrate on the Fourier Transform and Linear-Time Invariant Systems, providing the fundamental mathematical tools for sampling, manipulating, preserving, and interpreting information signals.
The course is divided in two modules. Module 1 is dedicated to continuous-time (analog) signals and systems. Module 2 focuses on discrete-time (digital) signals and systems.
Pre-approved study plan: MCR (2nd year, 2nd semester) and MMI (1st year, 2nd semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10
Language: English
Subdivision: integrated course, 2 modules
Short description:
This course covers a wide range of advanced topics of digital signal processing for the analysis of audio signals. Using signal processing concepts and tools such as windowing, overlap-and-add, Short-Time Fourier Transforms, uniform and iterated filterbanks, polyphase processing, time-space processing, and statistical signal processing, we approach a variety of problems that are typical of sound analysis applications such as feature extraction and sound annotation, digital audio restoration, acoustic beamforming, source separation and localization. The course also addresses topics on digital signal processing for the synthesis/generation of timbres and sounds; for sound spatialization/reverberation; and for a high-end rendering of audio signals. Using signal processing concepts and tools such as Short-Time Fourier Transforms, uniform and iterated filterbanks, polyphase processing and space-time processing, we discuss a variety of applications such as musical sound synthesis, digital audio enhancement and improvement, multi-channel processing, acoustic beamforming and projection using speaker arrays, active acoustic conditioning, wavefield synthesis and holo-acoustics.
Pre-approved study plan: MCR (2nd year, 1st semester).
Note: the course is offered in the Bovisa campus. Students in Cremona will have the possibility to attend classes through teleteaching facilities.
CFU/ETCS: 5
Language: English
Subdivision: monodisciplinary course
Short description: The goal of the course is to introduce students to advanced knowledge related to acoustic and vibrational phenomena taking place in road and rail vehicles. The course covers both interior noise in passenger compartments and vehicle exterior noise, with its related environmental impact. It presents analytical/numerical models and experimental techniques to investigate the main sound sources and vibroacoustic paths influencing the acoustic performance of ground vehicles, in terms of both exterior noise pollution and interior NVH comfort. Each topic is treated both theoretically and practically, through traditional lectures, experimental/computer labs, and dedicated seminars.
Pre-approved study plans: MCR (1st year, 2nd semester) and MMI (1st year, 2nd semester)
CFU/ETCS: 10
Language: English
Subdivision: integrated course
Short description: The aim of the course is to introduce students to the fundamentals of vibration theory of lumped-parameter systems and to the vibroacoustic analysis of continuous structures. Both analytical/numerical models and experimental techniques are covered and particular attention is given to examples and applications, especially in the field of string musical instruments. Each topic is treated theoretically and practically, through traditional lectures and experimental/computer labs.