HarMA+

European landscape of teaching practices and pedagogical innovation in HMEI’s –
Harmony and Music Analysis fields

KA 203 Erasmus+ Programme
Strategic Partnerships for higher education
Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices.
ID Project : 20PS0002

This project created by Salvatore Gioveni (Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles) promotes cross-border collaboration in the field of music theory through sharing knowledge and transferring pedagogical innovation. It thus responds to a lack of centralised sources and framework to deepen reflection by means of cross-disciplinary study at European and international level. There is a significant wealth of educational practices from one country to another in this sector, especially in terms of harmonic musical notation and analysis. However, Music HMEI’s are facing the nonexistence of a European network for pedagogical staff in music theory so far in order to share their pedagogical practices. To improve the situation, the project will, among other things, develop
4 intellectual outputs (IO) led by the following partners:


IO 1 – European digital platform
IO 2 – An European bibliography
IO 3 – A repository of courses’ descriptions
IO 4 – A multilingual glossary of basic terms

This project answers the need to develop collaborative tools, share knowledge and transfer pedagogical innovation in the very specific field of music theory in higher music education institutions throughout Europe by working towards a pedagogical rapprochement. These courses are often the object of pedagogical reflections but there’s a lack of a centralised source and framework to support this reflection by means of cross-disciplinary study at European and international level. A certain pedagogical adaptability must lead teachers to reopen their pedagogical perspective and to teach their students using other methodologies or at least share them. The project intends to tackle the question of the transfer of practices and methodologies between higher music education institutions (HMEI), in particular for music theory courses. Indeed, there is a significant wealth of educational practices from one country to another in this sector, especially in terms of harmonic musical notation and analysis.

Nevertheless, in order to share their methodologies and their own practices through a comparative platform, HMEI are facing the nonexistence of a European network for pedagogical staff in theoretical subjects such as harmony, musical analysis, ear training, solfeggio, specific to the realities and practices of HMEI’s. We know that there are national music theory societies or congresses for theorists but the HarMA+ project offers a unique place for exchanging good practices and teaching methods.  It will establish a unique platform landscape of this European diversity, as well for non-musicologists or non PhD theorists in HMEI’s and small institutions. The project try therefore to reach this community  in order to increase transfer knowledge.

These HMEI, however, have an increased need to develop their internationalisation and therefore develop a network between teachers to look for other sources and practices and update their own courses content or develop new music theory subjects in their institution.

The project, targeting music theory departments’ community (institutions, teachers, students and professionals) in HMEI’s will pursue the following objectives:

  • Collect, analyse, share, compare and transfer the pedagogical practices of the music theory courses among HMEI in Europe
  • Create a meeting and exchange room for teachers of these disciplines in order to encourage the confrontation of practices and the development of joint tools
  • Create a reference platform for music theory lessons
    Maintain and develop the place of music theory courses in the curricula of the various higher education institutions concerned
    Maintain, develop, modernise, update and promote music theory courses and their curricula
  • Develop a network of teachers of theory courses in musical fields
    Foster and strengthen the links between higher education institutions, research and professional musicians in the field of music theory in Europe
  • Foster and strengthen the internationalisation of higher music education institutions

Our partnership is aiming to develop, within this project, several intellectual outputs and activities to reach results following the project’s objectives. We plan to particularly work on innovation in the area of music theory to:

  • Develop an online exchange platform on harmony and music analysis – IO 1
  • Develop a dynamic European bibliography – IO 2
  • Develop a catalogue of new methodologies and practices – IO 3
  • Develop a multi language terminology dictionary in music theory – IO 4
  • Organise 1 training for staff and 1 intensive programme for students
  • Organise 1 dissemination conference and 1 final conference gathering at least 200 participants coming from HMEI’s across Europe and beyond
  • Foster transfer of new methodologies and practices into music theory courses
  • Strengthen the internationalisation of each participating institutions
    Develop a network between teachers to look for other sources and practices
  • Update their own courses content or develop new music theory subjects in their institution

The project intends to have a wide impact mainly at national and European – International level by giving the HMEI’s in Europe providing music theory courses online tools to help the music theory community (students and staff) to find resources, new methodologies and courses content to reinforce the skills of the teaching staff and the students.

Results of the project will be available for free in a digital format, and integrated into the digital platform – IO 1 to ensure their visibility and a wide exploitation by the institutions organising music theory courses.

We are particularly proud of our 5 project’s partners and IT Team without whom we would not be able to make true this European KA203 project ! 

HarMA+ Information Flyer

Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles

The Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles originally opened in 1813 as a singing school under the Napoleonic Empire in Bruxelles, and was subsequently a Royal School of Music, founded in 1826 by William I of the Netherlands, and the school has officially existed in its present form since 1832. As an institution offering university-level education in music and theatre, the Conservatoire acquired its royal status, amongst other reasons, thanks to the international status of successive directors such as François-Joseph Fétis, François-Auguste Gevaert, Edgar Tinel or Joseph Jongen.

Initially founded to train students for the opera – very in vogue at the time – the singing school established in Brussels in 1813 offered classes in singing and music theory. Thanks to its considerable success, the school rapidly developed and added classes for other instruments, and in 1826, at the instigation of the government of the Netherlands, it became the Royal Music School. The 1830 revolution interrupted the work of the royal school, and the representatives of the City of Brussels were forced to temporarily close the school in 1831, but it reopened in 1832 under the name "Conservatoire royal de Musique de Bruxelles". The committee designated to administer the school named the Mons-born musicologist and teacher François-Joseph Fétis (1833-1871) as the first head of the new institution. He had been a pupil and then teacher and librarian at the Conservatoire de Paris, and his ambition was to raise the young Belgian Conservatoire to the same standing as that of Paris, in particular by putting together an eminent teaching faculty, and by developing an orchestra which would be made up of teachers and students at the Conservatoire and would be dedicated to rediscovering and performing early music. His successor, François-Auguste Gevaert (1871-1908), had a background as a musicologist and was a great organiser, and further increased the prestige of the Conservatoire: new courses and scholarships were introduced, the current building was constructed, and a musical instruments museum was founded. Under his leadership, the concerts of the Conservatoire were opened up to international and contemporary composers, and acquired an unequalled prestige. The third director, Edgar Tinel (1908-1912), gave a new impetus to the teaching of theory, and created the opera course, while Léon Du Bois (1912-1925), despite being head during the difficult years during and following the first world war, managed to maintain the high level of education and also established a course in music history. Joseph Jongen (1925-1939) was the head who moulded the course at the Conservatoire into the form that we recognised today. He was succeeded by his brother Léon Jongen (1939-1949) and then Marcel Poot (1949-1966). In 1966 the institution was divided into two language sections, each with it own director; Camille Schmit (1966-1973) for the francophone section, and Kamiel D'Hooge (1967-1994) for the Dutch-language section, leading to the duplication of the administrative departments alongside the theory and practical courses. Shortly afterwards, the two schools parted ways completely, each acquiring a separate, autonomous status within their own federal state. In 1988, a jazz department was established. In 2001, the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles adjusted its work in line with European standards to offer 'licence' degrees in two fields of music and acting. In 2003, the current director Frédéric de Roos took office. One year later, in line with the Bologna reforms, the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles started awarding Master degrees. This artistic education at the highest level is supported by being given in combination with a more general university-level education. Since 2009, the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles has been associated with La Cambre, the national school of visual arts, and l'INSAS, national institution of performing arts, and the three schools together form ARTes, the platform of the three arts colleges of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels, each of international standing and located in Brussels, which together offer access to courses of study in all artistic domains.

As an institution offering university-level education in music and theatre, the Conservatoire acquired its royal status, amongst other reasons, thanks to the international status of successive directors such as François-Joseph Fétis, François-Auguste Gevaert, Edgar Tinel or Joseph Jongen.

Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem

The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest is the only music academy in the world founded by Franz Liszt.The renowned piano virtuoso, composer, conductor, teacher, author and philanthropist established the institution in 1875. As one of the world’s finest music academies, it offers a full spectrum of music education. The Academy incorporates the Liszt Memorial Museum and Research Centre, the Kodály Music Pedagogy Institute and the Kodály Museum and Archives. The Liszt Academy is also recognised as a world-class concert centre with its unique acoustics and exquisite interior.

Our impressive list of alumni bridges genres, continents and ages. Sir Georg Solti, Antal Doráti, György Sebők, János Starker, György Pauk, Zoltán Kocsis, Dezső Ránki, Péter Eötvös, Miklós Perényi and Éva Marton, amongst others, have had an immense impact on the development of classical music. Programmes are offered in English, leading to BA, MA, DLA and PhD degrees.  The Academy has 12 departments and 24 sub-departments  with approximately 170 professors, 800 students  along with a diverse international student community from over 40 countries ranked as the 30th best performing arts university in the world.  The university boasts with more than 100 Hungarian and international prizes won by students and professors each year. The Kodály Zoltán Musical Pedagogy Institute of the Liszt Academy of Music has been a distinguished international centre for advanced studies in Kodály based music education and music teacher training ever since its opening in Kecskemét in 1975.

The Institute provides graduate and post-graduate training programmes for both Hungarian and international students in the field of Hungarian music pedagogy and methodology based on the music pedagogical concept developed by the renowned Hungarian composer, educator and researcher Zoltán Kodály. Furthermore, The Concert Centre of the Liszt Academy was launched in 2013, on the occasion of the handover of the restored main building. It is dedicated to the organization of the Academy’s rich concert life through the staging of new productions and concerts enhancing the academic life of the university, as well as coordinating guest productions.

Since its reopening, the Liszt Academy has become a significant global concert venue for music old and new, Hungarian and international, hosting the finest soloists, orchestras and composers of our time.

The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest is the only music academy in the world founded by Franz Liszt.

Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanisława Moniuszki w Gdańsku

Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk (aMuz) is one of nine higher music education institutions in Poland. It is situated in Gdańsk, an old Baltic port with wonderful architectural and natural monuments, and beautiful sandy beaches. The Tricity agglomeration, Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia, with over one million inhabitants, is a dynamic cultural hub that offers many artistic events: concerts, performances, and festivals, from early music, through jazz, to ultra-modern avant-garde. Ever since the establishment of the Academy in 1947 its students and alumni have played a significant role in Polish music life, and laurels won in celebrated competitions opened the door to international career for many. Artists educated in Gdańsk can be admired on stages worldwide: they perform in opera houses and musical theatres, they play in well-known symphonic orchestras, they perform as soloists and chamber musicians. Ewa Pobłocka, Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, Stefania Toczyska, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, and Leszek Możdżer are among them. Recordings of ensembles and soloists representing the Academy of Music are regularly honoured with prestigious music awards. In 2014 a recording of Wojciech Kilar’s works (“Angelus”, “Exodus”, “Victoria”) was awarded the “Fryderyk” statuette by the Polish Phonographic Academy. Recordings of Andrzej Panufnik’s solo concerts, and “The Haunted Manor” opera by Stanisław Moniuszko were among others to receive rewarding nominations for the same prize. The before mentioned recordings were also nominated for the International Classical Music Awards (2016 and 2020). The Academy of Music in Gdańsk has built a wide network of international contacts and at the same it takes care to establish cooperation with more academic centres in Europe and the world. Currently aMuz is partnered with almost 100 schools from Erasmus+ Member Countries, including some of the most important centres of higher music education in Europe, such as: Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (Austria), Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz (Austria), Staatlichen Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart (Germany), Royal Danish Academy of Music (Denmark), Guildhall School of Music and Drama (United Kingdom), Conservatoire royal de Bruxelle (Belgium). The Academy also cooperates with schools from outside the European Union, including The Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory (Russia), University of Arts in Belgrade (Serbia), Tbilisi State Conservatoire (Georgia), and Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance (Israel).

Ever since the establishment of the Academy in 1947 its students and alumni have played a significant role in Polish music life, and laurels won in celebrated competitions opened the door to international career for many !

Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia

The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre is a public university offering higher education in all major fields of the musical and dramatic arts at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels. Although with its approximately 550 students, of whom 28% are foreign, EAMT is the smallest among six Estonian public universities and university-level higher education institutions, internationally it can be compared to medium-sized music and theatre academies.

Founded in 1919, today the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre is a world-class institution boasting an impressive roster of alumni including composers Erkki-Sven Tüür, Helena Tulve and the world's most performed living composer Arvo Pärt, pianists Ivari Ilja, Peep Lassmann and Kalle Randalu, as well as conductors Olari Elts, Tõnu Kaljuste, Anu Tali and Arvo Volmer. The vast majority of the actors performing in Estonian theatres are also alumni of our Drama School. Research into a multitude of subjects takes place under the musicology, education, pedagogy, and dramatic art departments.

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre is a member of many international organisations and an active participant in educational programmes financed by the European Union and the Nordic Council of Ministers. The number of partner universities, including several leading European music and theatre universities, exceeds 140. Short-term master classes by visiting professors have become an integral part of the study programme.

EAMT participates as an organiser or partner in international intensive courses with a number of universities and continues to participate in specialist collaborative networks such as Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Academies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC), Association of Nordic Music Academies (ANMA), European League of the Institutes of Arts (ELIA), European Arts Management Education Network (ENCATC), Arts Management Society (AIMAC), and International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ).

The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre is a world-class institution boasting an impressive roster of alumni including composers Erkki-Sven Tüür, Helena Tulve and the world's most performed living composer Arvo Pärt, pianists Ivari Ilja, Peep Lassmann and Kalle Randalu, as well as conductors Olari Elts, Tõnu Kaljuste, Anu Tali and Arvo Volmer

AEC - Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen

Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) is a European cultural and educational network that represents institutions concerned with high-level training for the music profession. AEC was founded in 1953 and has nearly 300 member institutions in 57 countries. Since January 2013, AEC is recognised as an International Non-profit Association under Belgian law and operates out of offices in Brussels.

AEC is the leading voice for Higher Music Education in Europe, a powerful advocate for its member institutions from all across Europe and beyond. AEC sees professionally focused arts education as a quest for excellence in three areas: artistic practice; learning and teaching; research and innovation. It seeks to foster these elements and to encourage the diversity and dynamism with which they are pursued in different institutions, countries and regions. AEC understands and supports music and arts education, together with cultural participation, as central contributors to quality in human life, and inclusive societies founded on democratic values.

AEC works for the advancement of Higher Education in the performing arts, primarily focusing on music. It does this based on four pillars: * Pillar 1: Enhancing quality in Higher Music Education * Pillar 2: Promoting participation, inclusiveness and diversity * Pillar 3: Strengthening partnership and interaction with stakeholders * Pillar 4: Fostering the value of music and music education in society

AEC operates inclusively, sustainably, efficiently and effectively, enabling communication and sharing of good practices. It provides support, information and expert advice to its members (mainly through projects, communication and events organisation); by engaging in advocacy and partnership-building at European and international levels; and by implementing measures to raise understanding and enhance standards of Higher Music Education institutions across the European Higher Education Area and beyond.

Be a part of our european project !

This European project (KA 203 Strategic Partnership) created by Salvatore Gioveni promotes cross-border collaboration in the field of Music Theory through sharing knowledge and transferring pedagogical innovation. It thus responds to a lack of centralised source and framework to deepen reflection by means of cross-disciplinary study at European and international level.

There is a significant wealth of educational practices from one country to another in this sector, especially in terms of harmonic musical notation and analysis. However, HMEI's are facing the nonexistence of a European network for pedagogical staff in Music Theory so far. To improve the situation, the project will among other things develop several intellectual outputs such as Online Platform (IO 1), an EU Bibliography (IO 2), a Repository Courses (IO 3), a Multilingual Glossary (IO 4) and an Exchange Online Learning Platform.

Besides the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles as leader and manager of the project, the following partner institutions are involved: Music Academy S. Moniuszki Gdańsk (Gdańsk, Poland), F. Liszt Academy of Music Budapest (Budapest, Hungary), Estonian Academy for Music and Theatre (Tallinn, Estonia), HfMTh "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" (Leipzig, Germany).

Submit a course Submit a book

Our partners

©| 2024