Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and… music. No need to look for the intruder, there is none: in the Middle Ages, musical theory was classified in the sciences within the quadrivium, the set of mathematical sciences. “Music is an acoustic phenomenon, the relations between science and music are rich and intellectually coherent”, explains Marie Demeilliez. The lecturer in musicology is responsible for the double degree in physics and musicology at the University of Grenoble-Alpes – one of the two courses that bring this alliance, which is as obvious as it is surprising, up to date.
The first to invest in this land on the border between arts and sciences, La Sorbonne inaugurated in 2010 its double degree in science and musicology. “This course was born out of the frustration of students who, on leaving high school, did not want to separate from two disciplines that were dear to them”retrace Benoît Navarret, co-responsible for the dual science and musicology degree at Sorbonne University.
In 2017, it is the turn of the Grenoble-Alpes University to launch its double degree in physics and musicology. “Music teachers told us that many of their students came from science backgrounds. Grenoble is an ideal place to link the two fields, due to the strong presence of physicists on campus and the sound trades class at the Grenoble Conservatory. Students interested in this opportunity can do practical work there »confirms Marie Demeilliez.
Demanding curriculum
In Paris as in Grenoble, these double licenses attract many candidates: around two hundred, from all over France, for only twenty places. “The selected students have a good level, a good or very good honors in the baccalaureate, with a specialty in mathematics or physics, and a musical practice. They are active and curious: half have the status of high-level athlete or artist, which is much more than in other licenses », details the lecturer in musicology. At the end of the three years of training, its students obtain both a degree in musicology and a degree in physics.
The double license is proving to be demanding in terms of hours and multidisciplinarity, abounds Benoît Navarret: “Our students must be comfortable in musical writing as in mathematics, in harmonization as in mechanics. We are not there to fill the gauge of twenty-four students per promotion, we only select the profiles that we imagine arriving at the end of the three years of training. »
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