Digital Commons Network^™

A Study Of Selected Vocal Works By Shande Ding: The Mysterious Sound Of Flute And Poems On Western Yunnan, Chuyan Luo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study aims to delve into and interpret “The Mysterious Sound of Flute” and “Poems on Western Yunnan” from a singer’s perspective while also providing guidance and recommendations for other performers. The research encompasses the history of Chinese art songs, a biography of Shande Ding, and an introduction to his compositional style. A comprehensive examination of each song includes background information, song analysis, translation, a Chinese lyric diction guide, and performance suggestions.

Art songs constitute a significant genre in music composition, and Chinese art songs have yielded numerous outstanding composers and captivating works over the years. Among these composers, Shande …

Reasoning The Voice: Toward A Diagnostic And Prescriptive Technique In The Teaching Of Singing, Carlos E. Santelli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Voice pedagogy literature often draws a parallel between a doctor’s ability to diagnose illness and prescribe treatment, and a voice teacher’s ability to identify vocal obstacles and design solutions. The core of these parallel procedures lies in an ability to utilize critical reasoning skills within highly specific contexts. Medical literature describes this as “clinical reasoning” and has studied it as a learned process. Voice pedagogy literature has traditionally described this as an innate process which is solely developed through experience. This document broadly examines the ways in which medical literature has broken down clinical reasoning into specific cognitive processes and …

Symphony No. 1 And The Development Of New Techniques In Contemporary Music Composition, Eric Lacy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The initial part of this dissertation is a symphony. Symphony No. 1 consists of three movements. Each movement begins with a monumental gesture designed to make a bold and unforgettable statement. Within each movement, there is an interesting array of harmonic and rhythmic schemes. In Symphony No. 1, the diametrically opposed concepts of “simple” and “complex” are featured prominently. These concepts are contrasted thematically, rhythmically, and harmonically. The next part of this dissertation establishes the existence of certain obstacles facing contemporary composers and the benefits of developing new techniques in composition. The music of György Ligeti and Arvo Pärt are …

On The Use And Development Of The Pentatonic Scale Through The Works Of Antonín Dvořák, Andrew W. Brinkman

LSU Master's Theses

Concepts related to style change have been discussed thoroughly by theorists such as Leonard Meyer and others. In the case of Czech scholar, Antonín Dvořák, this change relates directly to his pentatonic style. While many musicologists suggest that the composer's travels to the United States in the early 1890's had a profound effect on the birth of his pentatonic style, this thesis posits that Dvořák's pentatonicism is apparent from even his earliest works. In examining evidence of this pentatonicism it becomes clear that, for Dvořák, there are two types: thematic and cadential. Thematic pentatonicism arises from themes of works or …

Musicking New Orleans Street Musicians: A Methodology For Writing About Music, Savannah Cadi Rose Ganster

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This project argues for the use of performative writing as a methodology for writing about musical performances. An analysis of recent scholarship on music and musical performances written by performance studies scholars supports the use of performative writing in texts that address musical performances. In order to further this methodological claim, this study uses performative writing to document both historical and present day accounts of musical performances of street musicians in New Orleans. Utilizing Foucault’s theories on and Roach’s model of genealogy, Bruner’s notion of reflexive ethnography, and Small’s concept of musicking, I theorize, on a meta-methodological level, that performative …

Listen, Sing And Learn: The Effects Of Musical Activities On Phonemic Awareness In The Foreign Language Classroom, Kelli White

LSU Master's Theses

Traditionally, there has been a lack of emphasis placed on proper second language (L2) pronunciation in recent theoretical perspectives on foreign language pedagogy. Pronunciation is important because it is indicative of a learner’s level of phonemic awareness, an important component of second language acquisition. Inaccurate pronunciation (and therefore poor phonemic awareness) is often the result of a lack of training in this area due to the focus on grammar and syntax in many language classrooms. One often-neglected method of training students in L2 pronunciation discussed in some theoretical literature is the use of authentic materials in the form of musical …

Musical Play Across Ethnic Boundaries In Western Jamaica, Ronald Eric Dickerson

LSU Master's Theses

An ethnography of music, ritual, and festival in western Jamaica, this thesis reports on fieldwork performed in St. Elizabeth and St. James Parishes between June 2002 and January 2003. Featured field sites include rural dancehall events, Kumina performances, Accompong Town's Maroon Heritage Festival, and a Rastafarian music and nutrition festival called "The Supper of Rastafari." Building an account of these and other sites of cultural performance, this study focuses on social connections between groups of participants, traced through poetic, historical, and personal relationships among performers, especially across boundaries of ethnic, stylistic, or religious difference within Jamaica's national cultural identity.

The History Of Russian Vaudeville From 1800 To 1850, Alexander V. Tselebrovski

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

 There is no significant scholarly work on the history of the Russian vaudeville. The author of the dissertation makes an attempt to explore the history of vaudeville in Russia from 1812, when the first original vaudeville was written by A. Shakhovskoi, to the 1850s, when vaudeville as a genre was finalized as a form and brought to its classic completion. Two phases of the history of vaudeville in Russia, aristocratic and democratic-raznochinnyi, are considered in close connection with the political, social, and cultural events of Russian society of the time. The first phase embraces the period from 1812, when …

An Examination Of Two Contemporary Techniques In Five Works For Solo Bassoon: Descriptions And Performance Suggestions., Steve Vacchi

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Much of the literature for solo bassoon of the past few decades is partially dependent upon the player's ability to use contemporary techniques. While it is atypical for an entire composition to rely on such devices, a significant volume of recent solo literature may be unplayable to those who have not mastered them. My aim is to help solo bassoonists in perfecting two specific contemporary techniques: fluttertongue and singing while playing. Though quite standard for other woodwind instruments such as the flute, these techniques have not been adequately described for bassoonists. The repertoire chosen for this project represents works for …

Tonal Structure In The Mazurkas Op. 50/I Of Karol Szymanowski., Thais Egydia Perkins

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) is generally considered to be one of Poland's most significant composers after Frederic Chopin (1810-1849). His work represents a nationalistic link between Chopin and the twentieth-century Polish school, which includes Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) and Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933). Szymanowski's twenty Mazurkas, Op. 50 (1922-1924), are an important contribution to piano literature because they demonstrate the first true development of the genre after Chopin. Written during Szymanowski's 'Nationalistic' period (1920-1937), the Mazurkas reflect the composer's intent to utilize elements of Polish folk music in a twentieth-century musical context, thus contributing to the development; of the modern Polish nationalistic …

The Piano Improvisations Of Chick Corea: An Analytical Study., Daniel Alan Duke

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Though the number of theoretical studies of jazz has increased in recent years, detailed analysis has been applied to only a small fraction of the body of jazz music. Chick Corea's Piano Improvisations are of particular interest: high quality transcriptions are available, the pieces have never been dealt with in detail, and they embody an intriguing mixture of classical and jazz styles. Analysis of Corea's Piano Improvisations raises issues as to what methods are appropriate in the analysis of jazz. There are currently two, somewhat conflicting, schools of thought. Some believe that analytical techniques traditionally applied to classical music (e.g. …

Twentieth-Century Flemish Art Song: A Compendium For Singers. (Volumes I And Ii)., Paul Arthur Huybrechts

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Although much has been written concerning the vocal music of the great Flemish composers of the Renaissance, very little information is available about the Flemish composers of art song since the establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1830. This unique country is half French-speaking and half Flemish-speaking. With this division has come a constant battle of language and culture. Initially, the composers of art song set French texts. Flemish composers, however, wanted to establish a truly Flemish music. They began to unite the people of Flanders through songs setting Flemish texts, eventually helping to raise the Flemish language and …

A New American Development In Music: Some Characteristic Features Extending From The Legacy Of Charles Ives., Joan Kunselman Cordes

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of "Music Achievement" Test Scores Of Fourth-Grade Students Taught By Two Different Methods: Kodaly ("Threshold To Music") And Traditional ("Making Music Your Own")., Marvin Albert Mcdaniel

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.