APPLIED HARMONY
The beta version of appliedharmony.com was launched in December, 2014. It is a project based on exercises which its founder, Sergio Lasuén, has used for more than ten years in his harmony classes.
appliedharmony.com is a free website whose main feature is that users can improve their relative pitch using multiple choice exercises based on excerpts of popular music songs.
From a scholarly point of view, this website starts from the synchronic approach to teaching tonal harmony, which justifies the appropriateness of using any tonal example in any tonal harmony class from the outset (if you want to know more about the synchronic approach to teaching tonal harmony click here, please). Later, at the advance level, examples that exceed the boundaries of tonality may appear.
It is expected that the final version will be launched in 2016. New utilities for self-taught musicians as well as music teachers will be included.
RESEARCH GROUP ON DIGITAL AUDIO OF THE ELECTRONIC ENGENEERING AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ZARAGOZA
Sergio Lasuén has worked with this research team, under the direction of Dr. José Ramón Beltrán, on three projects:
- “¿A qué suenan las nanopartículas?”[What do nanoparticles sound like?].
In collaboration with the Nanotechnology SAMCA chair of the University of Zaragoza. Sponsored by the Institute of Engineering Research of Aragon and the CAI Foundation. March 17th, 2016; CAI Luzan (Zaragoza). Research project directed by Dr. José Ramón Beltrán. Music producers: Sergio Lasuén and Carlos Hollers. Download: Article (in Spanish).
- “Project Mudéjar for Technology, Art and Music”, developed in 2007 funded by the Department of Science, Technology and University of the Government of Aragon. In this project he completed musical counseling tasks, composing and editing, as well as carrying out the production and musical direction of the project.
Videos: Report on TV, Romanos Premiere, Torre de San Martín Premiere. Photos: Concert, Project Premiere. Press: Article. - “Soundification of human genome”, developed in 2003-2004, where he served as musical consultant and composer. Download: Article; Project Premiere.
MUSICAL ANALYSIS IN GLOBAL CREATIVE PROCESSES
One of his most significant lines of research exploring the music which interacts with other artistic disciplines within interdisciplinary works, and more specifically, which has been created by global creative processes (Link in Spanish: definition of Global Creative Processes). All this is reflected in a threefold approach:
- a) His “PhD”, co-directed by Xosé Aviñoa, Christiane Heine and Josep Lluís i Falcó, which analyzes the harmony used by various Spanish film composers of the nineties in order to establish links with other not strictly musical elements. It was read in December 2016, achieving the highest mark: sobresaliente cum laude (Link: TESEO). A book based on this dissertation, titled La armonía en las bandas sonoras del cine español de los noventa [Harmony in Spanish Soundtracks of the Nineties], is expected in 2018, published by Letra de Palo Editions.
- b) The subject Análisis musical en Procesos Creativos Globales [Musical Analysis in Global Creative Processes], implemented at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Córdoba since academic year 2010-11 and taught by Sergio Lasuén for two academic years. After changing its name to Proyectos Creativos Interdisciplinares: música y otras artes [Interdisciplinary Creative Projects: Music and Other Arts], this subject has also been taught by Reyes Oteo and Isaac Tello.
- c) The implementation of these approaches through the various projects promoted by the association Intercrea Cordoba.
INTERCREA CÓRDOBA ASSOCIATION
InterCrea Cordoba is a cultural association whose main purpose is to promote the creation, production, release and propagation of interdisciplinary creative projects involving artists actively conected to the cultural, scientific and intellectual society of Cordoba. Furthermore, showing special interest to those creative projects proposed by emerging artists, talented youngsters who, in many cases, cannot develop their ideas due to technical issues or because of production tasks.
It was established in December 2010 by creators and teachers of art education with a long career, coming from a wide range of artistic disciplines and with very different conceptual and aesthetic ideas. The first board of directors consisted of teachers from the Conservatory of Music of Córdoba, Sergio Lasuen (Chair) and Isaac Tello (Vice-Chair); teacher of the School of Drama Elena Caro (Secretary) and teachers of the Conservatory of Ballet Alberto de Paz (Treasurer) and Ana Lia de Paz (Vocal).
In its first year, 2011, four projects were premiered (Mousiké, A la deriva, Atheós and Herederas), proposed by active or recently graduated students of different schools of art education in the city, involving the collaboration of more than eighty people, including musicians, actors, dancers, a flamenco dancer, a painter, singers, composers, a choreographer, writers, stage directors, music directors, graphic designers, lighting technicians, sound technicians and producers. In the following years, some of the better known interdisciplinary performances were premiered during Escena Viva Season, including Musiteca, Proyecto 3C, Polisense and La Hoja.
Link: www.intercrea.org