Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Under The Sun: Songs From Ecclesiastes, Emma Kay Smith

Honors Theses

Historically, artists in all spaces have gleaned inspiration from the text of the Bible in order to communicate meaningful stories. The book of Ecclesiastes is particularly rich in its images and themes, and it warrants profound creative contemplation. This project documents the process of crafting 1960s-style folk songs based on this often confounding and ever-beautiful text. This process included close, meditative listening to the works of great songwriters from the 1960s folk era such as Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen and culminated in the live recording of four folk songs, compiled in the demo-EP Under the Sun: Songs from Ecclesiastes. …

I Don't Have A Clue: A First-Time Director's Guide By A First-Time Director, Isabella Owen

Honors Theses

This thesis is a resource for a first-time director of theatre written by a first-time director. The survival guide format outlines the basics of what you need to know before you start directing.

Grasping The Intangible: The Perseverance Of Physical Music Media In A Digital World, Sam Youmans

Honors Theses

Music is a unique economic good with several interesting characteristics: as an art form, its value is immensely subjective and changes with the culture; it is most widely consumed via online streaming platforms but still embedded onto physical formats and sold through retailers; and the United States music business had to pivot through substantial economic disruption at the turn of the century with the advent of peer-to-peer file sharing. Given the digital world in which we live, this thesis explains why people still purchase music on physical formats. This is accomplished by discussing revenue data from the past few years, …

Teaching Music In The Age Of Zoom: How To Run A Multimedia Piano Studio, Anna Grace Leicht

Honors Theses

This work explores the effects of Covid-19 on teaching and details how to set up and market an online piano studio.

The Hidden Voices: Peggy Gilbert And The International Sweethearts Of Rhythm, Katelyn Still

Honors Theses

Women throughout history have had to contend with sexism and racism. A woman's voice was restricted and viewed as inferior in the south. This treatment was magnified in the world of jazz. Jazz was viewed as a boisterous male art form where a demure woman did not belong. A woman's musical voice, her form of expression, was often discredited by the public. Since women's talents were discredited, their musical voices were often hidden from history. This paper shines a light on the suppression of the female voice while uncovering the successful women of Peggy Gilbert and The International Sweethearts of …

Benefits Of Music Therapy When Used Collaboratively With Language Therapy, Rebekah Grace Oliver

Honors Theses

Music is a large aspect of every culture. Music can calm a child in distress, create friendships, give people a way to express themselves, and even define the differences between generations and cultures. Famous Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen once said, “Where words fail, music speaks.” Researchers have studied how music can influence a person’s ability to absorb knowledge, as well as induce fluent speech for a stutterer. However, the effects of music therapy in combination with language therapy for children with language delays have not been studied to their fullest extent. For the past year and a half, I …

A Musical Exploration Of 'Yes And...': History And Applications Of Free Musical Improvisation For College Students, Amy Lytle

Honors Theses

As music majors at universities, students often spend hours a day focused on improving their musical skills. They work on advancing on their instruments, further understanding advanced music theory, memorizing entire works for music history exams, improving their artistic interpretation, increasing their precision, and more. They spend so much time focusing on how much they need to improve while not appreciating where they currently are in their skills or the application of those skills.

It does not have to be this way.

I was inspired to further study free improvisation because I learned firsthand how truly freeing it can be …

Heirs To Those Before Us: An Exploration Of The Influences On A Young Artist, Hannah Saunders

Honors Theses

The central concept of this thesis all started in March of 2018, when a friend of mine recommended I listen to Joni Mitchell's album, Blue. I loved it immediately. There was something raw and honest about the words she wrote and something fresh about the melodies. Nothing was forced; everything was natural. Not only did I love it, but the melodies constantly swimming around in my head started to sound similar in style. The recitative-like rhythms and the flowing melodies had worked their way into my head. So I started to wonder- how can I use this in my …

Bruised But Unbroken: Cultural Responses To The Irish Troubles, Cassandra Young

Honors Theses

Music and art can be very effective mediums for individual expression, both in personal life and for political thought. It is something that many people can relate to, can reach the heart more directly than mere words, and carries a wide range of unspoken meaning and significance without being reduced to clumsy language. Where words are useful to express ideas, music and art can often convey emotion more effectively and can be very effective in inspiring action or shaping thought. For this reason, these mediums have been and are often used to engage with or reject political discourse great effect. …

The Kodály Method And The Levels Of Biblical Learning: Teaching Theology And Hymns To Children, Kimberley Attaway

Honors Theses

Hymns have played a vital role in the church by reflecting the theology and worship practices of its congregation. This paper explores the Kodály Method and the Levels of Biblical Learning and their respective sequences for teaching music and theology, as well as how they could be effectively combined with hymns to educate children in the church. In doing this, children are provided with a strong foundation of theology and music while preserving an important aspect of the Southern Baptist heritage.

Bridging The Gap: A Study Of Compositional Similarities Across Time, The 'Realization' Techniques Of Johann Sebastian Bach And Louis Armstrong, Erin Cheshire

Honors Theses

This study is an examination of certain compositional techniques during the Baroque and jazz eras and how there are unexpected similarities throughout. The premise of this argument draws attention to the notion that, although the world has changed, this particular compositional technique has remained relatively unaltered. Given the aesthetic differences between these two compositional styles, the unlikely conclusion is that some aspects of music truly never go away, they simply change procedures.

By examining the emergence of the figured-bass style in the Baroque period and certain notational features in jazz, the evidence will trace the origins of these compositional techniques …

Joik As The Golden Thread Of Sami Revitalization, Tori Bateman

Honors Theses

When studying music, it is important to understand its role in the change and continuity of culture. This understanding can be achieved by studying music as an element of peoples' collective identity and how it affects the variability of this identity. Through this, we can discern specific aspects of ethnicity, origination, and nationalism in an ever-changing globalized society. As seen in the Sami people of northern Scandinavia and Russia, where joik tradition is practiced, the relationship between the social identity of indigenous people and music is especially important, as these cultures are rapidly changing and adapting to a globalized society. …

Going Mad: A Comprehensive Study Of The Mad Scene In Gaetano Donizetti's Opera, Lucia Di Lammermoor, Rachel Nicole Harris

Honors Theses

A study of the Mad Scene from Gaetano Donizetti's (1797-1848) opera Lucia di Lammermoor.

Piano Performance Injuries And Preventions, Kristin N. Cordell

Honors Theses

Strength, flexibility, coordination, and determination are all words that come to mind when describing an athlete. Not only do these words apply to athletes, but also to musicians, especially pianists. Each of these characteristics must be found within a pianist in order to achieve success. Although musicians may not look like athletes with large, bulky muscles, they should be considered musician athletes as well.

Just as athletes can become injured during practice or performance, so can pianists. The difference is found in the methods of training each use. Athletes often undergo extensive training to prepare their bodies for intense performance. …

Mime: The Musical, Aaron House, Matt Landers

Honors Theses

This is a script, including scores and lyrics, for a new musical.

Premise Listening is the key to harmony. Those who do not listen to others provoke disorder, chaos, and war; but a listening ear brings peace, love, and happiness.

Cast of Characters Siga -A rebellious mime prince, who believes in talking and especially singing; Rayrna -The beautiful princess of Speak City; King- The old fashioned king of Speak City; Queen- The King's nagging wife; Advisor- The King's evil advisor, who wants to marry Rayma; Guard 1- One of the King's guards; Guard 2- Another Guard; Guard 3 - One …

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 …

Music Enhances Learning, Amanda Richardson

Honors Theses

"Music Enhances Learning" represents the motivation for my thesis study. The twenty-first century begins with research that affirms the role of music in brain function before birth through childhood and into adulthood. My research analyzes the effects of musical stimulation on the prenatal fetus and the postnatal infant . The main body of the research focuses on how music improves learning in the preschool, school and college settings. The studies I compiled investigate supporting evidence that music increases intelligence, leads to cognition and basic skills development, and raises academic achievement scores. My research explains the importance and benefits of music …

Masterpiece: Computer-Generated Music Through Fractals And Genetic Theory, Amanda Broyles

Honors Theses

A wide variety of computer-generated music exists. I have writ.ten a program which will generate music by using genetic theory and fractals. The genetic theory is used to mold input pieces into a musical motif. The motif is then elaborated by the fractal formula into a composition. A brief introduction to the world of genetic theory and fractals is given. Analysis of a musical work produced in this manner shows coherent patterns and also emotion.

Radio's Influence On Music From 1919 To 1926, Aaron Hawley

Honors Theses

Advances in technology have dramatically changed the lives of Americans throughout the twentieth century. Many of these advancements have become commonplace. For instance, the words "airplane," "computer," "radio," and "television" were not common a hundred years ago. Today, even small children know the definitions of these words. In addition, as new technologies develop, methods of accomplishing tasks change. These changes are then incorporated into our normal way of life. This gradual development causes many people to fail to consider the true implications of the technology on their way of life. Aspects of American's lives that used to be considered luxuries …

Bach's Theocentric World View, Jarrell M. Lyles

Honors Theses

Bach's life spanned the gulf between the old-world age of faith and the new-world age of reason. seventeenth-century Germany, especially those portions with a strong Lutheran influence, remained strangely isolated and insulated against the rising storm of skepticism and inquiry, raging elsewhere in Europe. The full force of the Enlightenment broke suddenly over Bach during his latter years in Leipzig, where the younger generation was growing less sympathetic to the ideals of art Bach and others of his generation cherished.

Those who wish to understand Johann Sebastian Bach must first understand his world view, the lens which colored his perception …

Living Out The Romantic Heroic Ideal: An Interpretive Study Of The Life And Work Of Edgar Allan Poe And Robert Schumann, John Alexander Dribus

Honors Theses

In 1849, a man was found destitute on the streets of Baltimore and died neglected, a few days later. Likewise in Germany, only seven years later, another great man died in an insane asylum after starving himself to death. Both men were under the age of fifty when they died, and both men had had a profound effect on the artistic world of which they were a part. Yet they met fates that were anything but glamorous. Destitute and abandoned, both died in obscurity. One was a poet and the other a composer. They lived on opposite sides of the …

One For The History Books Or The Trash? Changes In American Piano Literature, S. Andrew Granade

Honors Theses

Since the eighteenth century, the piano has been one of the dominant instruments for musical expression. In numerical terms, only the symphony orchestra can boast a larger repertoire than the piano. Most of that vast amount of literature was composed during the nineteenth century. At the beginning of that century, technological advances allowed piano makers to add more notes to the instrument's range and more strings to existing notes to strengthen the sound and timbre they produced. In its basic design, that of small hammers striking three strings each, the piano is a percussive instrument. The advances of the nineteenth …

Folk Music In The Ouachita Mountains, Shayna Rachel Sessler

Honors Theses

The Ouachita Mountain Region of Arkansas, neglected in much formal research, has a rich and active heritage of folk music which should be made accessible.

Speaking And Singing: How Speaking On One's Optimal Pitch Affects The Singing Voice, Cindy Hood

Honors Theses

The fields of vocal pedagogy and speech pathology are often thought to be completely separate entities. This misconception has existed for decades and continues to inhibit the vocal growth of the voice student. The student is not permitted to explore the benefits that could come from a combined application of the two fields of study. This is due to the fact that a large number of voice teachers refuse to acknowledge that the scientific study of speech pathology even remotely applies to the study of the ''singing" voice. Richard Miller ( 1986) states:

There is a breed of singing teacher …

The Effects Of Noise And Music Upon Task Performance, Tina Johnson

Honors Theses

Forty-eight subjects from a university general psychology class took a series of four timed arithmetic tests of two differing complexities. Vocal music was played during half of the tests while instrumental music was played during the other half. Results were analyzed for the number of problems correct, number attempted and percentage of problems answered correctly. Results showed that subjects in the instrumental music condition had a significantly higher number of problems correct and attempted than the vocal condition, but the percentage correct was not significantly higher. Results for task complexity showed difficult problems had a significantly lower number correct and …

Music And Computers, Roger O'Neel

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Danmono: A Type Of Japanese Koto Music, Jonathan Richard Besancon

Honors Theses

Sokyoku (koto music) in Japan before the end of the seventeenth century is represented by only two genres: sets of solo songs with koto accompaniment which are called kurniuta, and koto solos called danrnono. Danrnono and kurniuta were the beginning of the sokyoku tradition which developed through the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868). It is the solo genre of sokyoku, the danrnono, which is the subject of this study. This genre is the most important of the few examples of Japanese music which are independent of literary influence. The danmono repertoire is also rather curious because it is limited today to only …

The Recorder, Sally Mccarty

Honors Theses

The musical instrument known as the recorder has been used since ancient times. During the earlier periods of music history, the recorder was considered to be as important an instrument as any other, although today it is played mainly as a hobby. Most of the information gathered together in this paper concerning the recorder is the opinion of certain authors and that acquired from my own observations. It is not known how much is based on fact and how much is opinion.

Teaching Music Concepts Through Games, Gennie Eldridge

Honors Theses

The purpose of this Honors Project is to derive games and visual aids to help a child learn different musical concepts. From my own experiences of being a student and from teaching piano, it is my opinion that the more creative and versatile a teacher is, the more a child will learn. By using a little imagination and/or improvising on already well-known games, such as BINGO, any teacher can make his or her teachings more of a learning experience for the child. It is a well-known fact that children dislike practicing, but by presenting different concepts in a way that …