Digital Commons Network^™

Developing A Systematic Approach For Teaching Beginning Improvisation Using The Concert Percussion Ensemble, Ian Mcclaflin

Dissertations

Typically, when studying percussion at a University, a student is required to be proficient at multiple aspects of percussion (snare drum, mallet keyboards, drum set, hand drumming, etc.) and work through multiple method books and solos on the different instruments. This often leaves little to no room for the study of improvisation on their instrument.

Examined in this study are the following points pertaining to the state of teaching improvisation:

• There is an apparent lack of improvisation in the classroom
• Teachers often feel unprepared in teaching improvisation
• Improvisation is most commonly associated with jazz
• Both teachers and students tend to …

Editing The Double Bass Concerto Of Antonio Scontrino, Roberto Pineda

Dissertations

Antonio Scontrino (1850-1922) was an important Italian Romantic composer, virtuoso double bassist, and respected pedagogue who is relatively unknown outside of the Italian musical community. His compositional output is prolific and includes string quartets, operas, symphonies, concerti, solo pieces, songs, and religious works. Indeed, Scontrino was a compelling composer who deserves more attention from the international musical community. In addition to his compositional expertise, he was an artful double bass performer whose works for the instrument, while distinctly idiomatic, are compositions of high quality.

This dissertation provides a description of the composer’s life and the events that transpired around Scontrino …

A Study Of Select World-Federated International Piano Competitions: Influential Factors In Performer Repertoire Choices, Yuan-Hung Lin

Dissertations

In the last ninety years, international music competitions have increased steadily. According to the 2011 Yearbook of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC)—founded in 1957—there were only thirteen world-federated international competitions at its founding, with at least nine competitions featuring or including piano. One of the founding competitions, the Chopin competition held in Warsaw, dates back to 1927. The number of world-federated international competitions has since increased to 122 in 2019, with a total of fifty-nine piano competitions (thirty-two dedicated solely to piano). More and more, pianists strive to participate in several competitions in order to win a …

A Narrative Case Study Of Transfer Students In Instrumental Music Education, Ashley Glenn

Dissertations

Transfer students in music fields face challenges that are different from other fields of study. Research has shown that transfer students in music are expected to acclimate and operate as upperclassmen with minimal onboarding while also potentially having to retake courses they received credit for at the community college level. This study examines the experiences of five transfer students in music education through the lens of Schlossberg’s transition theory and Dewey’s model of transaction. Building on existing transfer student research, it asks: what do transfer students experience in terms of acceptance and self-integration, and how do these experiences affect transfer …

Instructor Perspectives And Jazz-Related Courses For Undergraduate Music Majors At Nasm Accredited Colleges And Universities, David Carter

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to describe instructor perspectives and curricular content of jazz courses within undergraduate instrumental music education programs at selected colleges and universities accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM). Respondents (N = 69), comprised of music department chairpersons or suitable jazz education music faculty, answered 16 Likert-type and open-ended content questions that asked about jazz-related course offerings and faculty member perspectives. Likert-type items allowed participants to indicate their level of importance ranging from Not Important (1) to Absolutely Essential (10) and level of agreement ranging from Strongly Disagree (1) to …

A Survey Of Modern Companion Pieces Outlining Specific Compositional Similarities Between Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem And Mack Wilberg's Requiem Aeternam And Let Peace Then Still The Strife, Joel Dunlap

Dissertations

Companion compositions can best be described as musical works composed to specifically coordinate in conjunction with a preexisting musical work. For the sole purpose and intention of complementing or coalescing with another work, the two companion compositions could share similar subject matter, choral/vocal or orchestral themes, and motifs, length, text treatment, context. Evidence in this survey will expound upon various examples of companion compositions from prominent modern-day composers.

The primary objective of this research is to study specific compositional characteristics, correlations, and relationships between Mack Wilberg’s two original compositions – Requiem aeternam and Let peace then still the strife with …

Nadia Boulanger’S Fantaisie Variée Pour Piano Et Orchestre A Study Of A Significant Unpublished Piece, Sarah Elias

Dissertations

The research consists of a brief historical and biographical overview of Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), a main focus of a thematic and motivic analysis of her work Fantaisie variée pour piano et orchestre, along with touching upon the influences of Fauré, Debussy, Widor, Reger, and Franck on its composition, and a mention of the process of obtaining the Fantaisie from the Centre international Nadia et Lili Boulanger. Boulanger produced works in a variety of genres, including: a fugue; more than thirty songs for voice and piano; two completed works for solo piano; three works for organ; several chamber works; three works …

A Performance Guide To Keith Gates's Song Cycle, The Barren One, Analynn Sober

Dissertations

Keith Gates’s song cycle, The Barren One is based on Federico Garcia Lorca’s play Yerma. Originally, Gates had planned to write an opera based on Yerma, but after a religious awakening, he decided to abandon the project. Instead, he took the music originally written for the opera and combined it with songs using Lorca’s poetry to create a song cycle. The knowledge of Gates’s operatic intentions as well as knowledge about the play should be considered when performing this work. This is because the song cycle is a miniature version of the opera and should be performed as …

An Analysis And Stylistic Comparison Of Five Works For Unaccompanied Tuba By John Stevens, Tracy Bedgood

Dissertations

In this dissertation, the five unaccompanied works for tuba by John Stevens are examined. The first half of this project is the analysis. The compositions are introduced with their collected background material, which includes the date of composition, programmatic elements (if any), and the circumstances under which the pieces were written. As each piece is analyzed, examples are provided that reveal the primary form and motivic content. Following the analyses, there is a discussion of style that covers musical language, devices, and a comparison of these elements among the pieces featured in the document. In the final section of the …

Analysis Of A Research-Based Show Choir Competition Adjudication Rubric: Reliability And User Perceptions, Ladona Tyson

Dissertations

A weighted rubric, created in a prior pilot study, used for adjudicating nine show choir competitions was statistically analyzed to determine reliability. A survey and ten interviews with adjudicators were examined to ascertain user perceptions. Results from an intraclass correlation coefficient indicate that the Tyson Rubric has excellent inter-rater reliability. Survey respondents indicated that the Tyson Rubric provides a step towards standardization in the genre of show choir, though improvements were suggested. Interviews were transcribed and coded, revealing themes of bias in show choir adjudication, the need for standardization in the genre, and the need for improved adjudication training. The …

A Performance Guide To Wallace Stevens' Thirteen Ways Of Looking At A Blackbird As Set By Louise Talma, Meredith Melvin Johnson

Dissertations

This dissertation presents a two-fold discourse, first to provide a contextual source for singers interested in 20^th century composer Louise Talma, and second to provide an analytical guide to Talma’s adaption of Wallace Stevens’ poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird for voice, oboe, and piano. Though Talma’s composition never became renowned, it is both a commendable achievement and a highly sophisticated work, interweaving musical creativity with the extra-musical stimuli borne from the personal experiences of the composer.

The body of the document will feature four main chapters. The first chapter will introduce composer Louise Talma, the second …

Music Notation-To-Color Synesthesia And Early Stages Of Music Education: A Grounded Theory Study, Eduardo Sola Chagas Lima

Dissertations

Problem

Synesthesia is a neurological condition characterized by over-abundant neural connectivity between commonly highly specialized areas of the brain. The developmental form of the condition often results in automatic and consistent cross-sensory associations between perceived stimuli and commonly unrelated brain regions. This research contemplates the specific form of music notation-to-color synesthesia and its impact on early stages of music education. Synesthetes with this mode of the condition tend to involuntarily yet consistently associate music-notational concepts with colors, thus rendering their assimilation of these concepts unique and individualized. The purpose of this study is to determine the extent of these individualized …