Music Practice Commons^™

The Makings Of An Ep: From Silence To Portable Sounds, Emily Ream

Senior Honors Theses

The creation of an EP is a process that requires skills in multiple areas. Once, creating an EP was only available to those who garnered resources and support from a record label. However, an increasing number of aspiring musicians are writing, recording, and making their music available for download or purchase without the assistance of a record label. Doing this successfully and excellently requires application of knowledge in areas such as literature, theology (for Christian artists), music theory, music technology, and marketing. This thesis will describe one process used to turn inspiration into a tangible product that one can purchase ...

The Partimento Tradition In The Shadow Of Enlightenment Thought, Deborah Longenecker

Music and Worship Student Presentations

This presentation investigates the relationship between partimento pedagogy and Rameau’s music theories as influenced by Enlightenment thought. Current research on partimento has revealed its importance in Neapolitan music schools of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Along with counterpoint, partimento was a core subject in the study of composition in the Neapolitan schools; however, as pedagogy and theory began to be influenced by Enlightenment ideals such as the scientific method or a preference for clear systemization, the partimento tradition began to wane. In this presentation, I examine Rameau’s music theory as an example of Enlightenment thought in music, juxtaposing ...

Achieving And Maintaining Flow During Practice And Performance, Jenna Klein

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

Flow, also referred to as being “in the zone,” is a state of total absorption in an activity where an individual’s risk and skill are in balance. This mental state is sought after by many musicians for its positive effect on performance. Flow has been described as leading to a loss of self-awareness, changes in the perception of time, the ability to play effortlessly, a sense of calm, and confidence. Flow is characterized by changes in brain function. Complete, undistracted concentration on one activity allows the left, more analytical side of the brain to rest, while the right, more ...

A Blend Of Traditions: The Lute’S Influence On Seventeenth-Century Harpsichord Repertoire, Audrey S. Rutt

Musical Offerings

The close relationship between the harpsichord and lute traditions is commonly claimed but rarely elaborated upon, and many experts disagree on the manner in and extent to which the two are related. Often, texts covering the early harpsichord literature will limit discussion of the lute’s influence to a brief mention of the style brisé, if the important connection between the two traditions is even mentioned all. The lute’s impact on the harpsichordists of the seventeenth century is not a facet that can be ignored; rather, an understanding of the lute tradition is essential to an understanding of the ...

New Compositions For Percussion Duo, Andrea Venet

Showcase of Faculty Scholarly & Creative Activity

The submitted videos are a representation of recent performances and world premieres of commissions by Dr. Andrea Venet’s percussion duo, Escape Ten. Escape Ten is an ensemble in residence at the UNF School of Music with Dr. Annie Stevens (Virginia Tech). The first video is of a new composition, 2300 Degrees, by Ivan Trevino. Trevino held a musical residence at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY and was greatly affected by observing glass blower Lino Tagliapietra work. Ivan states “In order to recreate the feelings I felt while watching Lino work, I decided to create a piece ...

Theatre In Worship: A Curriculum For Teaching Theatre In The Local Church Music Ministry, Brandon Cox

Masters Theses

Music has been a part of church worship for many ages, and no doubt, music education programs can produce leaders within the church who are capable and effective within music ministry. Even so, many are expected to not just lead worship and music, but to develop a program and direct seasonal productions. Many worship leaders have been trained through music programs, but may not have extensive experience in theatre. Typically, part of a worship leader’s weekly duties entail preparing orders of worship, music rehearsals, staff meetings, visiting members of the congregation, studying, reading, writing music, communicating with the pastor ...

Does College Prepare The Worship Pastor, James Cooper

Masters Theses

This study shows the relevance that musical skills, theological knowledge and ministerial experience provide in the encompassed ministry of a worship pastor and focuses on how colleges and universities prepare these ministers for a life called to service of the King. The literature reviewed showed an overwhelming response to the worship pastor being qualified in three areas: Musical Ability - there are certain aspects of this ministry that require the worship leader to be able to handle various musical situations. While these ministers need not be piano prodigies, it does require them to be able to lead musicians effectively and lead ...

Developing A Natural And Relaxed Approach To String Playing - Part 2, Tomas Cotik

Music Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland State University professor Dr Tomas Cotik gives an introduction to kinesthetic feelings and demonstrates techniques and exercises

"Performance Practices In Johannes Brahms's Chamber Music" By Clive Brown, Neal Peres Da Costa, And Kate Bennett Wadsworth, Michael Musgrave

Performance Practice Review

Michael Musgrave discusses Clive Brown, Neal Peres da Costa, and Kate Bennett Wadsworth's 2015 work.

Brown, Clive, Neal Peres da Costa, Kate Bennett Wadsworth. Performing Practices in Johannes Brahms's Chamber Music. Kassel, Basel, London, New York, Praha: Bärenreiter, 2015 [2nd printing 2016].

Developing A Natural And Relaxed Approach To String Playing - Part 1, Tomas Cotik

Music Faculty Publications and Presentations

Portland State University professor Dr Tomas Cotik gives an introduction to kinesthetic feelings and demonstrates techniques and exercises.

Grains Without Territory: Voicing Alexander Garsden’S [Ja] Maser And The De-Centralized Vocal Subject, Jessica Aszodi

Directions of New Music

The singing subject is both site-of and author-of her practice. This practice-based, artistic research unpacks the entangled process of making new music, conscious that the performer-author is the site where embodied problem solving takes place. The principal focus of the paper is the author’s realization of Alexander Garsden’s [ja] Maser, for voice and electronics, created by recording and reconstituting vocal elements using traditional compositional and performative methods as well as studio recording and granular synthesis. The author approaches the realization of this new work as an experimental practice in dialogue with theoretical frames that inform and situate the ...

Codex: Embodied Communication In Richard Barrett’S Scores For Improvisation, Hannah Reardon-Smith

Directions of New Music

This paper examines the process of preparing Barrett’s codex V (2007) and codex XV (2015) and their performance on Saturday 18 June, 2016, as part of the Ghent Advanced Master in Contemporary Performance Practice (ManaMa) academy examinations in Brussels, Belgium. This project involved the development of deep collaborative relationships with a number of other performers, the study and interpretation of alternative notational practices, and the invention of a variety of ad hoc solutions to issues of coordination and ensemble unity, with a particular focus on clear physical communication. Reflections on my own process of preparation and rehearsal are supplemented ...

The Performance Conversation: A Pragmatic, Curricular Approach To Speaking From The Stage, Barrett J. Hipes

All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The future of music depends not only upon the musician and his/her pursuit of technical and musical excellence, but also on the performer’s ability to effectively communicate musical ideas with the audience verbally, helping them to connect to the music beyond just a general or analytical level in pursuit of true appreciation. The ability to express multiple layers of the performer’s approach to repertoire, providing each audience with an informed vehicle for their own understanding and examination, is a supremely useful tool for advancing support for music. The intent of this document is to make a compelling ...

Cv, Oscar E. Macchioni

Oscar Macchioni

Redefining The Performance Degree Curriculum For The Crossover Saxophonist, Ian M. Cruz

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Many collegiate saxophone performance degree programs are overwhelmingly classical, adopting from other performance programs in the Western music tradition. However, there is a growing number of saxophone compositions that are “crossover” in nature. Crossover is a term used to describe the fusion of popular music styles in a classical setting. There is also evidence that collegiate music education as a whole is moving towards a more diverse curriculum, which emphasizes ethnomusicology. Due to this trend in composition and education, it is becoming increasingly important that saxophonists have the training of both classical and jazz disciplines.

The problem is that while ...

Duende: Four Preludes For Symphonic Wind Ensemble By Luis Serrano Alarcón: Conductor’S Guide, Spanish Historical Background And Influence, Kenneth Javier Iyescas

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Luis Serrano Alarcón is one of the most important and relevant composers of our time. He is sought after as a composer, lecturer, and conductor throughout the world. His works have been performed in over 30 countries worldwide by some of the leading musical ensembles in the United States, Europe, and Asia, as well as being highly decorated by winning many prestigious composition contests including the International Band Competition Contest of Corciano, Italy.

Born in Valencia, Spain, Alarcón is relatively self-taught in composition, which is a testament to his natural-born gift for composition. His compositional output ranges from the traditional ...

Rustic Roots And Fiddle Hell: An Ethnography Of Fiddle Camps In The Northeastern United States, Flannery Blanchard Brown

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College.

Look At Where You Listen: A Study Of Commercial Music And Mediation, Thomas Walton Moore

Senior Projects Spring 2017

A joint senior project submitted to the divisions of arts and social studies. This project aims to reconsider the 'album' as a format of music distribution that has effects on the consumption-of and relationship-with music as commodity. This project consists of writing and recorded-music-making. Please email tom (at) dpimusic (dot) com for a link.

The Polyrhythms Of The Ear Canal: Investigating The Human Body As An Instrument And Listening Machine Inspired By Hearing, Attention, And Alvin Lucier, Philippa Ruthe Kelmenson

Senior Projects Spring 2017

Halfway into my college career, I was asked if my attention and hearing impairments had ever benefitted me in any way. Although I refused to see it at the time, it is this exact dichotomy between hearing as passive reception and listening as active concentration that informs my musical work. From otoacoustic emissions to tinnitus frequencies, the ear is an active amplifier of its own sounds, acting as an instrument responding to sound information. To distinguish acoustic elements generated outside of the ear from those taking shape within it, we are required to internally perceive all acoustic information. But is ...

When Unexpected Beauty Burns Like Sunlight On The Sea: Songs Of Wintter Watts, Composer And Sara Teasdale, Poet, Casey A. Huggins

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This document is an overview of Wintter Watts’ song settings of Sara Teasdale poems. Watts set 15 Teasdale poems as a part of his repertoire of approximately 200 art songs, both published and unpublished. Included are a thorough investigation of the culture of the period of American history of which Watts and Teasdale emerged as artists, biographies of each artist, with particular emphasis placed on Watts’ life and work, and theoretical and poetic analyses of each piece. Additionally, teachers of singing will find the appendix useful to explore options for student repertoire.