Course Unit Form
Course unit title:
Improvisational Practices (Optional Course Unit)
Code of the scientific area:
Mus
Duration (annual, semester or term):
Annual
Total student workload (total hours):
260.0
Contact hours:
In-person (P) - TP-0.0; PL-30.0
% of distance-learning contact hours:
0.00%
ECTS credits:
10.0
Responsible lecturer and corresponding teaching load in the course unit:
António Augusto Aguiar - 10.0h
Other lecturers and their teaching load in the course unit:
Learning outcomes and their compatibility with the teaching method (knowledge, skills and competences to be developed by students):
O1 - Develop and master technical and interpretive competences in improvisation. O2 – Explore fundamental concepts for real-time creation. O3 – Broaden the performer's aesthetic-performative and conceptual universe. O4 – Experiment with building artistic communication through practical and operational premises.
Syllabus:
CP1 - Exploration of improvisation styles and practices in different historical and cultural contexts. CP2 - Development of knowledge and specific improvisation technical skills for each instrument or voice. CP3 - Exploration of different forms of musical creation and interpretation through the practice of various forms of openness. CP4 – Improvisation of exploratory creative proposals under external constraints, with control of space, memory, form and time.
Demonstration of the coherence between the syllabus and the course unit's learning outcomes:
CP1, which explores improvisation styles and practices in different contexts, is linked to O1, ensuring technical and interpretive mastery. Knowledge of cultural roots provides an essential foundation for improvisation.
CP2, focused on technical development for each instrument or voice, addresses O1 and O2, promoting technical refinement and real-time creation, broadening improvisational fluency.
CP3, dedicated to diverse forms of creation and interpretation, relates to O1 and O3. Technical development sustains O1, while O3 expands the aesthetic universe, favouring a richer musical language.
CP4, which works with creative proposals within controlled constraints, addresses O1 and O4, consolidating technical competences and stimulating artistic experimentation.
The integration of this content ensures a balance between technique, concept and creativity, promoting dynamic learning aligned with contemporary artistic practice.
Teaching and learning methodologies specific to the course unit, articulated with the pedagogical model:
The teaching and learning methodologies of this course unit are aligned with the programme's pedagogical model, which favours laboratory practice as the central axis of training. Improvisation is approached as a dynamic process integrating experimentation, critical reflection and technical refinement, promoting the performer's autonomy in real-time musical decision-making.
method: practice-based learning - strategy - development of individual and collective improvisational processes in a laboratory context - tools - supervised rehearsals, improvisation exercises with specific constraints, analysis of performance recordings - students explore different improvisational approaches, testing creative and methodological solutions in real time, integrating improvisation into their musical discourse
method: collaborative teaching - strategy - sharing of collective processes and experimentation with group musical interaction - tools - guided improvisation sessions, active-listening practice, real-time feedback - interaction between performers develops in-the-moment musical perception, favouring adaptation, musical dialogue and joint decision-making
method: applied artistic research - strategy - reflection on the improvisational process and experimentation with new creative approaches - tools - recording and analysis of rehearsals, documentation of creative processes, use of technologies supporting improvisation - improvisation is approached as a research laboratory, allowing students to analyse their own creative process and identify patterns and strategies applicable in different musical contexts
method: immersive teaching - strategy - artistic residencies and real-time improvisation projects - tools - real-time performance, interaction with guest musicians, experimentation with improvisation in different spaces and ensembles - the immersive experience allows students to apply the knowledge acquired in real performative environments, encouraging spontaneous creation and adaptation to different artistic challenges
method: problem-based learning - strategy - identifying and resolving technical and expressive challenges in improvisation - tools - exercises responding to sound stimuli, improvisation under stylistic constraints, experimentation with different formal structures - developing the capacity to solve improvisational problems strengthens students' autonomy and their preparation for professional performance contexts
These methodologies ensure a solid training path, allowing students to develop a creative and reflective approach to improvisation, consolidate their artistic identity and acquire competences essential to real-time performance practice.
Assessment:
Students will develop an improvisation project, culminating in a public presentation of approximately 15 minutes, in which they will demonstrate the competences acquired throughout the course unit. Assessment will be continuous and based on the execution, completion and discussion of the project.
Assessment Format
Assessment Criteria
1. Qualitative self-assessment. Carried out by the students themselves, encouraging critical reflection on their path, identifying challenges, creative choices and the evolution of the project. 2. Quantitative assessment. Conducted by a panel of three lecturers, who examine the technical, interpretive and conceptual aspects of the work presented.
This model ensures a balance between practice and critical reflection, promoting artistic autonomy and experimentation within the universe of improvisation.
Students who do not pass the assessment may submit a revised version of the assignment by 30 June.
Demonstration of the coherence between the teaching and assessment methodologies and the course unit's learning outcomes:
The teaching and assessment methodologies of the Improvisational Practices course unit are aligned with the learning outcomes, promoting a balance between practical experimentation, technical refinement and critical reflection. The structure of the course favours laboratory practice, ensuring that students develop interpretive and creative competences in real improvisation contexts.
O1, which aims at the development and mastery of technical and interpretive competences in improvisation, is addressed through practice-based learning. Supervised rehearsals and improvisation exercises with specific constraints (M1) allow students to test different approaches and consolidate technical knowledge in real time.
O2, which focuses on exploring fundamental concepts for real-time creation, is sustained by collaborative teaching. Sharing collective processes and active-listening practice (M2) create an environment conducive to experimentation, encouraging interaction between performers and the development of spontaneous musical communication.
O3, which promotes the broadening of the performer's aesthetic-performative and conceptual universe, is addressed through applied artistic research. Documenting creative processes and experimenting with new approaches to improvisation (M3) provide a space for critical reflection and the construction of a personal artistic language.
O4, which stimulates experimentation and the construction of artistic communication through practical and operational premises, is worked on through immersive teaching. Short artistic residencies (M4) allow students to apply their knowledge in real performative contexts, favouring the integration of different improvisation strategies.
Assessment is structured to reflect the diversity of approaches within the course unit. Students carry out an improvisation project culminating in a public presentation, ensuring that the format is adapted to their artistic needs. The assessment structure includes:
live improvised performance - directly assesses interpretive capacity, creativity and discursive coherence in improvisation (O1, O2) oral presentation - allows reflection on creative and methodological choices, reinforcing critical awareness of the improvisational process (O3, O4) qualitative self-assessment - encourages reflective analysis of the individual path, promoting autonomy and aesthetic awareness (O3, O4) quantitative assessment by a panel of lecturers - ensures rigorous judgement, considering technical, interpretive and conceptual criteria (O1, O2, O3, O4)
Bibliography (recommended/compulsory reading):
Aguiar, A. (2012). Forma e Memória na Improvisação (Doctoral thesis). Universidade de Aveiro.
Clarke, E. F. (2005). Generative principles in music performance. In J. Sloboda (Ed.), Generative processes in music: The psychology of composition, performance, and improvisation (pp. 1-26). Oxford University Press.
Haymoz, J.-Y. (2014). Chanter sur le livre: Manuel pratique d'improvisation polyphonique. Éditions des Abbesses.
Kenny, B., & Gellrich, M. (2002). Improvisation. In R. Parncutt & G. McPherson (Eds.), The Science & Psychology of Music Performance (pp. 117-134). Oxford University Press.
Sanguinetti, G. (2012). The Art of Partimento: History, Theory, and Practice. Oxford University Press.
Sloboda, J. A. (Ed.). (2005). Generative Processes in Music: The Psychology of Composition, Performance, and Improvisation. Oxford University Press.
Stone-Davis, F. J. (2023). Improvisation in music and philosophical hermeneutics. Bloomsbury Academic.
Remarks:
This course unit is intended to support doctoral students wishing to carry out projects that explore or include improvisational practices. Content and methods will be adjusted according to students' profiles. The course unit requires a minimum of 3 enrolments to run. The selection of lecturers to teach this course unit will be made based on the students' profile.
