Digital Commons Network^™

Mexica Music, Tizoc E. Ramirez-Marquez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper explores the society of Mexica, or the Aztecs, and some of the instruments that were produced in the civilization and used in today’s compositions. The history and their creation mythology will also be deliberated for those individuals who do not know this information of the culture. In the history, the subjects of the Mexica constructing a giant city in a lake to the conquest that was lead by Hernan Cortez will be discussed. The creation story will also exhibit the ideology of the Mexica and how their culture is sustained before the conquest. In the music section, the …

A Proposal For The Inclusion Of Jazz Theory Topics In The Undergraduate Music Theory Curriculum, Alexis Joy Smerdon

Masters Theses

The demands of the twenty-first century require musicians to be more stylistically versatile since there are more opportunities for performance when musicians are familiar with not only classical but also jazz and popular music. Understanding the theory behind jazz and pop styles will help prepare the musicians for these opportunities. Since all music students take music theory, it is in the students’ best interest for teachers of theory to include jazz theory topics in the classical music theory curriculum. The purpose of this thesis is to propose the inclusion of jazz theory topics in the undergraduate music theory curriculum. To …

Music And Language Development: Traits Of Nursery Rhymes And Their Impact On Children's Language Development, Ashley Lauren Gonzalez

Music

From birth--possibly even before birth--the amount and array of external stimuli profoundly affect a child’s cognitive and linguistic development. In addition to verbal communication from parent to child, singing proves to be an integral aid to a child’s development of speech and language, allegedly due to repetitions of words and rhythms. Nursery rhymes are, from infancy, among the most commonly presented forms of musical stimulus for children. The repetitive nature of the nursery rhymes undoubtedly supports language and speech development, but various characteristics of nursery rhymes, specifically pitch interval, meter, phrase length, contour, and harmony, also contribute substantially to the …

Pianote: A Sight-Reading Program That Algorithmically Generates Music Based On Human Performance, Drew Schulz

Master's Theses

Sight-reading is the act of performing a piece of music at first sight. This can be a difficult task to master, because it requires extensive knowledge of music theory, practice, quick thinking, and most importantly, a wide variety of musical material. A musician can only effectively sight-read with a new piece of music. This not only requires many resources, but also musical pieces that are challenging while also within a player's abilities.

This thesis presents PiaNote, a sight-reading web application for pianists that algorithmically generates music based on human performance. PiaNote's goal is to alleviate some of the hassles pianists …

A Comparative History And The Importance Of Chamber Music, Aaron M. Sacks

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone presentation focuses on the role of chamber music in both social and academic contexts. Using examples from the past five centuries and including local examples, parallels and divergences are drawn to points of most import. The spotlight is upon three areas: a) what the role of chamber music was in the past, compared to today; b) why it is an important genre, to both musicians, as well as non-musicians, and c) in what ways more exposure to the form can be built. Much of the focus is on composers and their influence, but the impact of and upon …

Playing A New Tune: Breathing Life Into Winthrop University’S Academy Of Music, Megan Fleagle

Graduate Theses

Since the Academy of Music was founded in 1975, the organization has provided music lessons to pre-college students in the York County, SC area. It is the objective of the Academy of Music to rebuild its music program, and eventually expand to once again include instruction in the other artistic areas lost since 2008. To help achieve this goal, the Academy of Music will need a strategic plan to act as a compass to help guide the organization as it navigates the challenges it will face along the way. By following the method outlined in this thesis, organizations similar to …

An Annotated Bibliography And Performance Commentary Of The Works For Concert Band And Wind Orchestra By Composers Awarded The Pulitzer Prize In Music 1993-2015, And A List Of Their Works For Chamber Wind Ensemble, Stephen Andrew Hunter

Dissertations

The purpose of this document is to assemble into one resource the concert band, wind orchestra, and chamber wind ensemble compositions of the 23 composers who were awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music between 1993 and 2015. The Pulitzer Prize in Music is given annually to an American composer in recognition of distinguished achievement in composition of a work that received its premiere during the previous year. Timothy Mahr completed this study on composers who received the Prize from 1943 to 1992. This is a continuation and replication of that study, following Mahr’s procedures.

A brief biographical sketch will be …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Relationship Between K–12 Music Educators And Collegiate Music Education Researchers And Instructors: Is There A Disconnect?, Meghan Kilpatrick Sheehy

Dissertations

Many researchers in a variety of fields have reported on disconnect between researcher and practitioner (Barry, Taylor, & Hair, 2001; Buysse, Sparkman, & Wesley, 2003; Fox, 1992; Fuchs et. al., 1996; Graham et. al., 2006; Hattie & Marsh, 1996; Lang, Wyer, & Haynes, 2007; Rynes, Bartunek, & Daft, 2001). In music education, this topic is frequently discussed (Brand, 1984, 2006; Byo, 1991; Flowers, Gallant, & Single, 1995; Hedden, 1979; Nelson, 2011; Paney, 2004; Radocy, 1983) but evidence is still primarily anecdotal (Nelson, 2011). The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure the relationship between K–12 music educators and collegiate …

Program Notes And Translations, Kelly Frailly

Honors Projects

This project consists of program notes about sixteen pieces of music that I publically performed on April 10th, 2016. These notes are comprised of research done about each piece on the program, its composer, the history of the era in which the song or aria was composed, and an analysis of the text. The pieces ranged from Baroque operatic arias all the way to twenty-first century musical theater works. I have also included translations of all of the foreign language pieces.

Effect Of Self-Evaluation On Jazz Improvisation Achievement, Ollie Eugene Liddell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Creating And Performing A Composition For Tuba And Piano, Joel A. Ragona

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this creative thesis, I compose and perform a six movement art composition for tuba and piano. The reason for this performance and composition is two-fold. First, I am able to express myself in a way that other methods do not allow. Second, I reinforce important skills that will be vital in my future teaching career. To create the composition, I use various compositional methods, but I mainly adjust the composition by listening to it using piano and online compositional software. Preparing the composition for performance requires that I practice for multiple hours and find an accompanist who will perform …

Challenges In Beginning Trombone Pedagogy, Robert Sobnosky

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The development of strong fundamental skills is essential for success on any instrument. Beginning wind players must be carefully monitored so they can develop the good playing habits and basic skills that form the foundations of strong musicianship. Each instrument presents its own unique challenges. The trombone could be considered the most unique of the beginning band instruments due to size, slide, and technique. These challenges can lead to a number of problems that music educators must be able to recognize and correct. For this project, six music educators with experience teaching beginning trombone students were interviewed about common problems …

Fundamentals For Horn Students, Kierstin Jenkins

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Many band directors find teaching horn to be intimidating. Through extensive research, this project has compiled some of the best exercises to help horn players improve and explains the rationale behind them. The written work contains information and descriptions about the different fundamentals that horn students need in order to be successful and develop good tone quality. The appendix includes examples of these exercises so that an educator has resources to teach his/her horn students. The fundamentals included are: breathing, buzzing, long tones, flow studies, lip slurs, and pitch.

Practising Jazz Performance: An Investigation Into The Process That Underpins Optimal Instrumental Practice In The Jazz Idiom, Christopher J. Tarr

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Little formal research has been undertaken into the processes associated with jazz improvisation, particularly those associated with practising to become an elite jazz improviser. This study seeks to understand the role of instrumental practice, particularly physical practice strategies and the associated mental states, in the development of jazz improvisers. Interviews were conducted with six improvisers of various ages, instruments and backgrounds. The study identified a number of strategies specific to jazz practice that differed from traditional practice strategies described in Western art literature, particularly in relation to the importance of the ear-to-instrument connection. Accordingly, the study sets out a series …