Digital Commons Network^™

Common Injuries Of Musicians, Lynette Lukomski

Honors Theses

Musicians face many challenges throughout their careers; dealing with an injury should not be one of them. Unfortunately, studies show that up to seventy-five percent of musicians suffer playing-related injuries. These injuries can retard musical growth, can take time out of practices and performances, and may cost a musician his/her job. Fortunately, many non-invasive treatments can be used if injuries are diagnosed quickly, and prevention techniques are available to prevent an injury from ever occurring. Factors such as age and genetics (physical and mental characteristics inherited from parents) should be considered as well when a musician decides his/her practice schedule. …

Freedom Now!: Four Hard Bop And Avant-Garde Jazz Musicians' Musical Commentary On The Civil Rights Movement, 1958-1964., Lucas Aaron Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this study, I examined musical recordings from the jazz idiom that relate to events or ideas involved in the Civil Rights Movement during the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s. The study focused on the four following musicians' recordings: Charles Mingus, Fables of Faubus; Sonny Rollins, The Freedom Suite; Ornette Coleman, Free Jazz; and John Coltrane, A Love Supreme. The study relies primarily on the aforementioned recordings, critics analysis of those recordings, and events that took place during the Civil Right Movement.

The study concludes that these recordings are not only commentary about ideas and events but …

Preferences Of Chinese Alzheimer’S Patients For Music Therapy Activities: Singing, Instruments, Games, Dance/Movement, And Composition/Improvisation, Karen Kwok

Masters Theses

This research, based on Brotons and Pickett-Cooper’s 1994 study, examined the preferences of Chinese Alzheimer’s patients for music therapy activities. Fifteen Chinese senior residents residing in a Toronto, Canada ethnic nursing home participated in this study. Five different language and culturally appropriate music therapy activities were used, which included singing, dance/movement with music, musical games, instrument manipulation and improvisation/composition. Subjects met in small groups of 3 for a total of five 30-minute sessions in two weeks. During each session, one of the five music therapy activities was presented. At the end of each session, subjects were asked to state how …

Current Practices, Preparation, And Demographics Of Music Therapists Working With School-Age Clients Who Have Severe, Profound, And Multiple Impairments, Erin Dalby

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) which music therapy techniques may most effectively assist school-age clients with severe, profound, and multiple impairments to achieve certain goals; (b) assess whether music therapists currently feel that they were prepared to adequately serve the target population; and ( c) describe the demographics of music therapists who work with the target population. A researcher-designed questionnaire was completed by music therapists who served school-age clients who have severe/profound and multiple impairments. Results indicated that the use of singing and therapist-composed music were the most effective methods to develop nearly all types of …

Help!: An Annotated Bibliography Of Resources For The Beginning Choral Conductor, Bonnie Marie Ashby

Theses and Dissertations

This bibliography is intended as a resource for choral conductors at the beginning of their journey of musical and personal development. While this project cannot possibly cover every aspect of or resource on choral music, it is a beginning. I admit I have spent more time researching my personal weaknesses and have not covered as thoroughly areas in which the choral conducting program at Brigham Young University is exceptionally strong. Even so, I hope this compilation will help address common challenges of beginning choral conductors.

The bibliography is divided into sections by topic, with additional sections on Internet sites and …

The Drawing Of The Three, John Griffin

Masters Theses

The Drawing of the Three is a work in seven movements scored for full orchestra. The title, along with the movement names, are derived from the novel The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King. This composition can be viewed as a "sequel" to my earlier piece The Gunslinger, inspired by the first book in King's "Dark Tower" series. Unlike the previous work, the music is not intended to be a literal programmatic representation of the book's plot. Rather, its purpose is to musically depict the personalities and inner conflicts of the characters in the …

Omen, Tao-Hsing Wang

Masters Theses

The arrangement of this composition is based on chamber orchestra. The piece which is very classical structure was written not only by the harmonic theory of chromaticism and mode mixture but also by a sort of contrapuntal skill for its essential musical languages by me. In addition, the music form of the whole piece can be described as three movements with one introduction, though it should be played without any interruption or break between each movement.

As the title "Omen," we can find that there is a crucial harmonic motive, augmented triad, hidden in the introduction of this piece, and …

Melodia: An Online Web-Based Program For Teaching Melodic And Rhythmic Dictation, Aaron Tauchen

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

Sounds From The Valley : A History Of The U.C./U.T.C. Band, 1923 To 1979, Charles Christian Leonard

Honors Theses

This writer found a frustration while researching and writing this history. The things one really wants to know about cannot usually be found. Will Durant wrote in The Story of Civilization: Civilization is a stream with banks. The stream is sometimes filled with blood from people killing, stealing, shouting, and doing things historians usually record-while, on the banks, unnoticed, people build homes, make love, raise children, sing songs, write poetry, whittle statues. The story of civilization is the story of what happens on the banks. You will find some interesting events in the following pages, but you will not find …

Music Technology In The Classroom, John A. Manseau Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

The last twenty years have exhibited unprecedented growth of music technology in the fields of commercial music, professional recording studios, personal home studios, and music education in the public school music classroom. With the establishment of school district programs providing students with access to computer technology from state lottery monies, music classrooms are now receiving their own computers and music software. Music software in the marketplace provides challenges to teachers and their efforts to integrate technology to their classroom instruction. How music educators determine what software is needed, what is appropriate, effective, and within their music budget is still a …

Music As A Bridge To Literacy For Young Deaf Children In Classrooms, Fara Wilson

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

This thesis examines the relationship of music to literacy development for young deaf learners through the use of a theoretical conceptual study. Theories from six different areas of research literature (music and learning, musical intelligence, music and literacy, music and school learning, and music and deaf education) were compared to the experiences of deaf people through an autobiography and interviews. The connection of all three sources of data encourages further research on the potential impact that music may have on a deaf child’s literacy development.

Music Therapy And Social Skills In Young Children With Disabilities: A Survey Of Music Therapy Practitioners, Sayaka Abe

Masters Theses

Music therapy services have been utilized as one of the related services that may be necessary to assist young children with disabilities in the accomplishment of their educational goals. The purpose of this study was to examine (a) how music therapy services are used in early childhood settings and (b) how music therapy interventions aid in the development of social skills in young children with disabilities. An original survey instrument was sent to music therapists who were members of the American Music Therapy Association and had indicated that they worked in early childhood settings. The survey was sent to 423 …

A Survey: Contemporary Music Therapy Practice With Individuals Diagnosed On The Autism Spectrum, S. Alie Chandler

Masters Theses

A variety of music therapy approaches and techniques for working with individuals with autism spectrum disorders have evolved out of the creativity of the profession, the influence of different music therapy approaches, as well as the influences of other treatment and educational theories. This study includes a review of the music therapy literature concerning this population as well as a description of common educational programs and other treatment techniques influential in this field. The underlying question of this study is how these diverse methods are being incorporated and integrated into current music therapy practice to best meet the needs of …

An Analytical Study Of Concerto For Piano And Orchestra, Op.13, By Costa Rican Composer Carolos Enrique Vargas, Manuel Matarrita

LSU Major Papers

Carlos Enrique Vargas Méndez (1919-1998) was one of the most influential and versatile Costa Rican musicians of the last century. His work involved many areas since he was an accomplished pianist and organist, conductor, composer, arranger, editor, pedagogue and musicologist. However, Vargas’ work as a composer is perhaps the least researched and most neglected of the music disciplines he embraced. This research will focus on one of Vargas’ most important compositions, his Piano Concerto Op. 13, composed and premiered in 1944. The monograph is divided into four chapters. The first chapter includes a synopsis of the history of composition in …

An Introduction For The Singer To The Solo Vocal Works Of Nigel Butterley With Particular Emphasis On His Works Between 1976 And 2003, Alison Rosemary Mccubbin

LSU Major Papers

For years, Australian composer Nigel Butterley (b.1935 ) has composed a variety of types of composition for voice which are little-known outside of Australia, but which nonetheless merit consideration and performance. This dissertation is an effort to introduce more performers to his work, and to facilitate future performances of it. Central to any performance of his works is an understanding of his desire to integrate the poetic and textual structures of the original pieces into his own musical setting of those pieces, and in so doing to highlight the themes of the originals. Performers can gain insight into the significance …

The Influence Of Bulgarian Folk Music On Petar Christoskov's Suites And Rhapsodies For Solo Violin, Blagomira Paskaleva Lipari

LSU Major Papers

Petar Christoskov, born in 1917 in Sofia, is among the most prolific of Bulgarian violinists, pedagogues and composers of the twentieth century. Christoskov’s Suites and Rhapsodies for solo violin represent both an internal evolution of Bulgarian music and an incorporation of the Bulgarian musical tradition into the larger world music scene. Bulgaria’s folk musical tradition was routinely infused and enriched over the course of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Christoskov’s efforts were presaged and made possible by a host of earlier composers and performers. But the evolution of the Bulgarian style was also shaped by larger historical trends and …

Balkan As A Metaphor In The Film Composition Of Goran Bregovic, Nela Trifkovic

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The focus of this paper is the film composition of composer Goran Bregovic (born 1950) and the country of his birth Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia has undergone many major political changes over the past century and its ethno-political history over the past fifteen years could be considered as one of the most turbulent of our time. The aim of this thesis is to uncover the conceptual principles behind Bregovic’s unique approach to soundtrack music in order to create appropriate musical analogies in film composition. Bregovic’s musical career in the iconic Yugoslav rock band Bijelo dugme (White Button), his interest in the traditional …

A Historical Approach To Training The Vocal Registers: Can Ancient Practice Foster Contemporary Results?, Taylor Lee Ferranti

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A review of the extant vocal literature containing the writings of Tosi, Mancini, and Garcí­a, shows that the topic of vocal registration appeared to be at the core of their training procedures. The essence of their vocal instruction centered around how the registers coordinated, separated, and developed to form the functional basis of a sound technique. However, of all the topics that encompass historical pedagogy, none will confound the diligent voice teacher more than the topic of vocal registers. For this reason, contemporary pedagogy has developed certain methodologies that appear to be at odds with the historical approach to training …

An Original Work: "Brothers And Sisters" And Songs From Letters By Libby Larsen : An Analysis, Andrea J. Mitternight

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part is an original composition by the author entitled "Brothers and Sisters." The orchestra piece is an expressive program symphony in three movements. The first movement features sections of driving rhythms and fluctuating meters. Two new sections, more reflective and stable in nature, offset the more volatile sections. Herein lie moments of steady and unchanging rhythms and a sense of constancy. The movement ends with a return of the furious instability heard in the previous sections. Unlike the first movement, the second begins with a more somber mood. The introduction exposes the …

The Organ Works Of Fela Sowande: A Nigerian Organist-Composer, Godwin Simeon Sadoh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fela Sowande (1905-1987) has a huge compositional output including orchestral and vocal works. However, his organ music outnumbered the totality of his compositions. His organ pieces represent a truly intercultural music in which distinct tripartite cultural idioms are evident—Nigerian, African American and European. Works of this nature serve as creative source materials for aspiring composers, performers, scholars, music educators, and students in Africa and the world. This composer, folklorist, and music educator was born into a well-known music family in Nigeria. He was active in radio broadcasting, Yoruba folklore and mythology, indigenous music research, Nigerian art music, performance, orchestral conducting, …

Symphony No.1 - A Symphony Of The Christ, James White Hellums, Iii

LSU Master's Theses

Symphony No. 1- A Symphony of the Christ is, in a general sense, a programmatic orchestral work recounting the life of Christ. This is not to say that every musical device or motive represents something explicitly, rather that the music of each movement suggests the overall mood and feeling of its subject matter. The first movement, subtitled “Christ our God to earth descendeth,” corresponds to Christ’s birth. The second movement, subtitled “Dwelt among men, our example is He,” concerns His life and ministry. The third movement, representing His suffering and crucifixion, is subtitled “See, from His head, His hands, His …

Piano Pedagogy In Arkansas During The Twentieth Century, Martha L. Smith

Honors Theses

Arkansas proudly stands beside larger states in offering quality piano instruction. Pianists from Arkansas have been successful on the national scene in performance as well as in teaching, and students from Arkansas have been accepted into well-respected music schools and into the studios of renowned teachers worldwide. Piano pedagogy in Arkansas is built upon a strong foundation of well-educated teachers who have raised the level of music education in the state.

In a newspaper article printed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazelle on June 23, 2004, the author found that piano instructors had changed over the last few decades: "The profession has …

The Cultural Significance Of The Pueblo Indian Flute, Kevin Brewer

Honors Theses

In recent years few other pieces of Native Americana have attracted more attention than the Native American Plains flute. It is widely admired for its beautifully lyric, yet often haunting tone quality. The layperson interested in non-western music can delight in its relative ease of performance, while those interested in Native crafts will find that with basic woodworking skills and a bit of patience a Plains flute is easy to construct. The Native American flute has inspired numerous recordings by such artists as R. Carlos Nakai, Doc Tate Nevaquaya, and the Grammy Award winning Mary Youngblood. There are hundreds of …

An Original Composition, Symphony No. 1, Pollock And An Analysis Of The Evolution Of Frank Zappa's "Be-Bop Tango", William Morris Price

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Part one of this dissertation is an original composition, Symphony No. 1, Pollock. It uses as a conceptual impetus the abstract expressionism of Jackson Pollock’s paintings from the 1950’s. It employs the following instrumentation: (2-2-2-2, 4-3-3-1, 3 percussion, piano, harp, and strings). The work is composed in one movement, which is divided into four major sections (A-B-A/C-B) that are distinct from each other with respect to style and tempo. The first major section of the composition serves as a slow introduction. The second major section serves as a contrast and is based conceptually on Pollock’s abstract works and formally on …

A Basic Interpretative Analysis Of Instrumental Music Education Majors' Approaches To Score Study In Varying Musical Contexts, Jeremy S. Lane

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purposes of this qualitative study were to 1) provide a holistic description of procedures used by undergraduate instrumental music education majors (N = 21) in music score study tasks; 2) examine relationships among these procedures and their use in varying musical contexts; 3) examine relationships among score study tendencies, education level, and overall musical ability; and 4) provide general comparisons of undergraduate music education majors’ score study procedures and those implied by expert conductors’ major disciplinary ways of thinking. Each subject participated in two one-on-one interview sessions with the investigator. During each session, subjects “thought out loud” as they …

An Analysis Of György Ligeti's Nonsense Madrigals, Dennis Malfatti

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

While other contemporary composers have written works called madrigals, Ligeti's Nonsense Madrigals are truly unique as exemplified by the myriad of influences that went into their creation, the technical challenges of their performance, and in the aesthetic result, one which is incomparable to most musical compositions past or present including works by Ligeti himself. Ligeti’s compositional style in these works include the parodying of compositional techniques from the 14th century as well as the rhythmic provocativeness of jazz. The use of parody in these works is compatible with Ligeti’s choice of texts which includes literary parodies by Lewis Carroll. In …

The Church Music Program: The Effect Of Moving From Performance-Based To Education-Based Emphasis In A Church Music Program, Ronald Glynn Sherwin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research project sought to answer the primary research question: What occurs when the music program in a church changes its emphasis from performance to education? This qualitative study of a church choir included participant observation of Wednesday evening and Sunday morning rehearsals over a 12 week period, individual interviews, group interviews, written responses, and written and visual assessment of musical skills. The goal was a rich description of the participants and emerging themes resulting from the shift in emphasis. Analysis of data occurred through inductive processing. Data was initially coded and then the codes were categorized into sub-themes, and …

Singing At Tertiary Level : Training The Female Singer In The First Year Of Studying Voice, Claire Lenyk

Theses : Honours

No abstract provided.

The Significance Of Selected Piano Compositions By Pancho Vladigerov, Boriana Kojouharova Buckles

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines selected compositions for piano by Pancho Vladigerov - the Three Pieces for Piano, Opus 15, Bulgarian Rhapsody, Opus 16, Shumen Miniatures, Opus 29, and Improvisation and Toccata, from Episodes, Opus 36. These pieces strongly represent the various periods and stylistic trends of the composer. They are also among Vladigerov's most popular and frequently performed piano compositions. The first chapter provides a brief biography of Pancho Vladigerov and an overview of his most important compositions. Chapter Two contains an overview of the solo piano works of Vladigerov. Chapter Three examines the selected piano compositions from a formal and …

A Practical Guide To Twentieth-Century Violin Etudes With Performance And Theoretical Analysis, Aaron Michael Farrell

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This document is a partial catalog of what is readily available to violinists for studies relating to twentieth-century repertoire. More studies in this area exist throughout the world, so those presented here are intended merely as a starting point. The document also contains factual information about the studies, as well as performance and theoretical analysis and biographical information about the composers. This information is designed to serve a variety of purposes. The factual and biographical information may be used by the violinist to choose appropriate etudes for himself/herself or a student. Later, the in-depth analysis will assist players throughout the …