The aim of this course is to enhance the hearing sensitivity to sound, environment, body, matter, and creativity. We will discuss the various possibilities of listening and hearing: in the closest range (architecture of the ear) and the furthest, abstract, and symbolic sense (harmony of the spheres).
We will rehearse various listening practices, imagine the possibilities of expanding the boundaries of hearing and listening, and experiment with field recordings and sound works. During the course, students will be required to submit several exercises and read and listen to materials on a regular basis.

Theoretical and applied knowledge of acoustic principles and processes, investigation of the world of various musical instruments, planning and building acoustic instruments from all categories. We will study the techniques, materials and tools required for building an instrument, and students will build instruments according to their technical capabilities.

In this course we will study and play the musical system of the maqam. We will get to know the scales and their behavior, as well as the microtonal characteristics of the Egyptian maqam, and develop skills for listening to and playing music based on the maqam system. The course combines, in addition to the practical aspect, an introduction to the history of classical Egyptian and Mediterranean Mizrachi music, aiming to enrich the musical and historical understanding and knowledge of the students of the cultural “here and now” from a local perspective.

Introduction to the theoretical fundamentals of Western music. The course aims to link the theoretical dimension to musical practice through skills such as reading and writing musical notes, singing in solfège, developing inner hearing, and composing and executing monophonic and duophonic works. The course aims to familiarize students with the tonal sound system through folk melodies and religious chants, and through a methodological study of counterpoint. Students will acquire the relevant skills for performing a wide variety of artistic practices. The course encourages critical thinking in relation to questions of aesthetics composition.

The course provides students with an extensive comprehension in sound design in the digital world, by means of a synthesizer and diversified synthesis techniques (subtractive, additive, Wavetable, granular synthesis) as well as sounds from the real world (sampler). The course aims to grant students a conceptual comprehension of personal sound design that will expand their musical toolbox and the boundaries of their creativity. The course is based on the software Reaktor and Ableton Live.

Preliminary acquaintance with musical composition as the organization of sonic materials, while the central issues are those that have concerned composers in the past and present: which material to choose, and how to begin, continue and finish. Students will be introduced to the sonic materials at hand – sounds originating in musical instruments, electronic sounds, sounds originating in the environment (soundscape), and sounds with a predefined pitch and those without it. In addition, we will study their qualities – pitch, duration, tone.
After familiarizing with the sonic materials and their qualities we will experiment with basic manners of organization such as repetition and change, multiphonic, counterpoint and harmony. Meanwhile, we will stress composition as a means of self-expression and personal creativity, enabled by choosing the work materials and practices.

The study of rhythm through percussion. The work will focus on the individual and group playing various percussion instruments and executing rhythm and groove segments.

The birth of music: between rite and regime, the romantic spirit, change, rebellion, protest, energy – what is the revolutionary impulse? Various approaches to revolution: the emotional origins of free music, the revolutionary origins of sound-centered music.

The aim of the course is to learn and practice recording, production and sound processing techniques and skills in the studio and stage environment. Participants will undergo theoretical classes accompanied by practice throughout the entire year, in order to familiarize with the existing technology in the modern studio. At the end of the course, students will submit a musical work that they produced by pre-planning and implementing the toolbox they had acquired throughout the year.

Basic tools for musical work in the digital world. Through the study of the leading software in the domain of electronic creation, Ableton Live, we will get to know the fundamentals of MIDI, sequencing, sound design and sound processing. In addition, we will gain experience in working with controllers and sound cards in live shows, where digital work is integrated.

We will deepen our understanding of two sonic unites: music based on field recordings – we will study its theory, music, and technique; and the structure of the speaker – from inside to outside, from technology to artistic utilization.