Digital Commons Network^™

The Sound Of Adventure: Two Original Compositions That Combine Music, Sound Design, And Post-Production, Inspired By Outdoor Experiences, Jason K. Gibson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composers have been inspired by nature for centuries, but writing music about nature is becoming more popular in our day. Now, under titles like “Landscape Music” and “Environmental Music,” many composers seek to embody the feeling of nature in music. What has yet to be fully developed is how electronic music and landscape music can overlap in the chamber music world. This project culminates in two original compositions, Natural Opposition (ca. six min), and Giants at Night (ca. 15 min), that seek to satisfy the requirements of both realms by combining naturally inspired music with electronic influences. The compositions themselves …

“Native American Folk Song Suite”: A Study Of Traditional Native American Melodies, The Role Of Music In Native American Society, And Its Translation To The Modern Wind Ensemble, Preston Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music holds a sacred place for the many Native American tribes of the United States. Over the past 150 years, ethnomusicologists Dr. Theodore Baker (1851-1934), Dr. Frances Densmore (1867-1957), and John Donald Robb (1892-1989) have preserved these songs by sitting down with indigenous Native Americans and recording their music straight from the source. Through these recordings, these ethnomusicologists created a springboard for composers, including myself, to study the past and create new music that honors the traditions and culture of Native Americans. I have applied my new knowledge of these musical techniques and traditions to create a work for wind …

Mobile Music Development Tools For Creative Coders, Daniel Stuart Holmes

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project is a body of work that facilitates the creation of musical mobile artworks. The project includes a code toolkit that enhances and simplifies the development of mobile music iOS applications, a flexible notation system designed for mobile musical interactions, and example apps and scored compositions to demonstrate the toolkit and notation system.

The code library is designed to simplify the technical aspect of user-centered design and development with a more direct connection between concept and deliverable. This sim- plification addresses learning problems (such as motivation, self-efficacy, and self-perceived understanding) by bridging the gap between idea and functional prototype …

Intrusive Thoughts - Guitar, Voice, & String Quintet, Joseph M. Young

Theses and Dissertations

This four-movement song addresses mental health, specifically that of Obsession Compulsive Disorder and the symptom of intrusive thoughts that are often associated. From the point of view of an individual suffering from OCD, each movement describes the disorder and portrays different stages of dealing with and managing emotions and relationships.

Eclectic: A Recording Project Of Original Crossover Compositions, Chance Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music makers have always borrowed one another’s influences, across philosophies, across culture, and thus, across genres. Since the 1950’s, a time when classical music was at its farthest reach from popular music, the rift between these two “worlds” has shrunk, and music crafters from each category are free to take from the other as they please. As a figure who stands between the cultivated and vernacular traditions, my aim for this thesis is to give an introduction to some of the ways genre hybridization has been achieved since 1950, present a collection of my own compositions (along with recordings) that …

An Analysis Of Musicals By Lynn Ahrens And Stephen Flaherty, And An Original Musical, Fly Like An Eagle, Donna Howard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty have written musicals together for several decades. This thesis contains an in-depth discussion and stylistic analysis of several songs each from Once on This Island, Ragtime, and Seussical – three Ahrens & Flaherty shows chosen specifically because of their variety in style and subject matter. This analysis includes, among other things, the lyrics and lyric setting, textures, harmonic settings, accompaniment styles, rhythms, and harmonic progressions. The central portion of this document contains the music for nine songs of an original musical titled Fly Like an Eagle. This script is written by Daris Howard and is …

Mabalêl., Johannes Visser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The symphonic song, Mabalel, as presented here, is an extract from a larger composition that also forms part of a greater trilogy of songs on South African texts. Throughout the three texts in the trilogy, themes of nature, pre-civilization society, and African tragedies create unification between the works. In Mabalel, a young native South African girl is sent to get water for her village from the river, when she is unexpectedly attacked by Lalele, a crocodile. The beauty of this text not only lies in its metaphorical representation of the (most often unjust) difficulties and tragedies faced daily by rural, …

Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis, Christian J. Jesse

Music Theses and Dissertations

Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis is a nonliturgical concert setting of the evensong canticles, Luke 1:46-55 & Luke 2:29-32, for SATB div. choir, organ, string quintet, and percussion. Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis is approximately 16-18 minutes in duration without break between movements. The text for Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis is from the Book of Common Prayer, according to the use of the Episcopal Church certified as of 2007, with the omission of the doxology. This decision was influenced by nonliturgical concert settings by Gerald Finzi and Arvo Pärt.

Old School For The New School: Discussing The Importance Of Motown Records In American Music History, Crystal Darcell Birdsong

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to look at the contribution of Motown Records within music history and American history, as well as why it should be of great importance to those who study 20^th century music. It tends to be overlooked in the world of academia, despite efforts to bring the subject to the forefront of today’s classwork and courses at the collegiate level. It is not so much that it does not exist, but it is not nearly as prevalent as it should be, seeing as its contribution to music history and history in general is so …

Diy In Early Live Electroacoustic Music: John Cage, Gordon Mumma, David Tudor, And The Migration Of Live Electronics From The Studio To Performance, Lindsey Elizabeth Hartman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research examines early live electronic works by Gordon Mumma, David Tudor, and John Cage—three influential American experimental music composers who designed, built, and recontextualized electronics for live performance—and the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) aesthetic embodied by their instruments and the compositions written for them. This dissertation serves as a presentation of original research into the earliest composers of live electronic works and the necessary DIY approach used in building independent systems. Previous research on the DIY perspectives in music often touch on the grass-roots nature of contemporary electroacoustic systems but there is not yet research specific to the DIY approach taken …

Forward, Backward, Colin Cannon

Theses and Dissertations

The is a piece that explores compositional structure and form. The piece is divided into two movements, “Forward” and “Backward” and may be performed in either order. I like to think of it as a Rorschach inkblot – a reflection of an asymmetrical image creating a symmetrical image.

Core Curriculum For Orchestra, Andrew Thomas Aycoth

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Core Curriculum draws inspiration from the idea of a sound collage that incorporates many specific pieces and techniques that I have encountered or studied during my time in music academia. Nearly everything is derived from something else, often being transformed or altered in some way. From my own private teaching of guitar lessons to analyses of 20th century art music, I tried to represent as much music as possible from these formative years. There are two main features that continue throughout the piece. The first is the repetitive rhythmic figure based on eighth notes that are out of phase, which …