Digital editing of music 3106-CEMUZ-F
The course will explore the issues surrounding digital editions, with a
particular focus on critical editions. The principles of classical music
editing and their application in digital formats will be covered. Detailed
discussions will address the differences between traditional critical
editions and digital editions. Students will become familiar with the most
popular music editors (Dorico, Sibelius, MuseScore) as well as web-
based editors (VerovioHumdrumViewer) and Open Source software used
for rendering scores from source code. During the course, various digital
music notation formats (MusicXML, MEI, MIDI, EsAC) will be presented
and their utility in different contexts discussed. The core component of
the course will be the rules and syntax of the Humdrum format, combined
with practical exercises.
Students are asked to bring their own laptops with Windows 10 v.1903 or
later, Linux (Mint v.21 or later, Ubuntu 18.04 or later), or macOS. If
students interested in enrolling are unable to meet this requirement, they
are asked to contact the Student Affairs Director of the Institute of
Musicology for assistance. The computer should also have internet
access. If possible, students should ensure the installation and
configuration of a certificate enabling access to the eduroam network.
A basic knowledge of musical notation is required for the course.
Type of course
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
The student knows the types of music editions and can indicate
key methodological differences.
The student understands what a digital music edition is and how
it differs from traditional editions.
The student is familiar with software used to create music
editions and digital music notation formats.
The student understands the syntax of the Humdrum format.
The student knows how to create metadata and build music data
collections.
Skills
The student can encode a complex musical composition in the
Humdrum format.
The student can use tools that automate the editor’s workflow.
The student can apply source criticism tools.
The student can create and search file metadata.
Assessment criteria
Attendance: Up to two absences (excused or unexcused) are
permitted. Each additional absence, up to a maximum of three
per semester, must be made up. In case of extended absence,
students must contact the instructors.
Assessment: Based on a submitted semester project.
Bibliography
Caldwell, John. Editing Early Music. Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1985.
Grier, James. The Critical Editing of Music: History, Method and
Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Huron, David, and Craig Stuart Sapp. “Humdrum: The Humdrum
Toolkit for Computational Music Analysis.” Accessed April 25,
2025. https://www.humdrum.org
Konik, Marcin, Craig Stuart Sapp, and Jacek Iwaszko. “Polish
Music Heritage in Open Access.” Journal of New Music
Research, 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09298215.2025.2487093
Pugin, Laurent, and Jacek Iwaszko. “Cyfrowe Generowanie
Partytur Kompozycji Fryderyka Chopina.” Studia Chopinowskie
11, no. 1 (2024): 48–67. https://doi.org/10.56693/sc.137
Ricciardi, Emiliano, and Craig Stuart Sapp. “Editing Madrigals in
the Digital Age: The Tasso in Music Project.” In Music Encoding
Conference Proceedings, edited by Elsa De Luca and Julia
Flanders, 25–40. https://doi.org/10.17613/17a5-2b65
Sapp, Craig Stuart. Verovio Humdrum Viewer Documentation.
https://doc.verovio.humdrum.org
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: