Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Self-Compassion And Perfectionism In College Music Students: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study, Celeste Uhl

Honors Projects

Perfectionism is a complex and multidimensional psychological phenomenon which is a proximal predictor for music performance anxiety, a risk factor associated with poorer musical performance. While existing literature emphasizes music performance anxiety as a deleterious outcome of perfectionism, less information exists regarding the relationship between perfectionism, self-compassion, and performance. There may be high levels of non- self-compassion in this population due to a folk belief that being self-critical is the best path to optimal performance. This study used a single-subject design to explore how self-compassion and perfectionism were related and if the use of daily self-compassion exercises would be linked …

Edmonds, John Buell, 1945-2020 (Mss 742), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 742. Manuscript of Called, Justified, Glorified, and Gay: The Fictional Memoirs of Gospel Singer, Josephus Hezekiah Carson, by John Edmonds, a memoir based on the Bowling Green, Kentucky native’s life as a gay, African-American gospel singer. Includes a proposal for marketing the book, and several handwritten notes and lyrics. This material contains graphic sexual content.

Musical Legacy Projects (Fa 1387), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1387. Audio interviews conducted by WKU oral history students in spring 2022 for the South Central Kentucky Music Project, centering on musicians in Bowling Green and surrounding counties.

Female Trombonists' Experiences Of Gender Bias, Em Poff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Female trombonists are underrepresented throughout the United States especially in collegiate teaching positions. Is the underrepresentation of female trombonists as professional musicians and teachers causing less females to pursue playing the trombone? After discussing the expected roles of females and acceptable instruments for women to play during the 1800’s, this document mentions many women who were able to surpass the norms of female musicians and make their own musical choices. The purpose of this study is to discover if there is any relevance of gender bias towards female trombonists in society today and potentially determine how these biases affect their …

Jussi At Carnegie Hall, Harold Sokolsky

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Every classical lover knows about Carnegie Hall, the historic concert hall at Seventh Avenue and 57th Street in New York City. Designed in a Neo-ltalian Renaissance style by William B. Tuthill, the building opened in May 1891 and was eventually named for the industrialist Andrew Carnegie, its builder and original owner. Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky served as guest conductor during thc hall's opening week, and since then virtually every important American and visiting musician has performed there. The hall was the longtime home of the New York Philharmonic until that orchestra moved to Lincoln Center in the 1960s.

Jussi Björling With Ivor Newton At The Piano

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Royal Albert Hall

Jussi Björling (by arrangement with Harold Holt Ltd.) with Ivor Newton at the Piano.

Programme and Words of Songs.

Happy Encounters With The Björlings, Ray Harsant

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

In 2001, my wife Elizabeth and I attended the JBS-USA Conference in Minnesota. For the benefit of the Jussi Björling Appreciation Society in the UK, Anders Björling put up for sale a lovely picture of Jussi and Ann-Charlotte Björling at the piano together, along with the actual tie that Jussi is wearing in the photo. These items are now framed and are a key part of our sitting room. They serve to remind me of several very special Jussi-memories.

A Musical Weekend In Washington, Janel Lundgren, Editor

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

“It was a wonderful idea to bring JB Society members together for an outstanding performance with the National Symphony Orchestra with such great singers. The dinner at the Kennedy Center was quite enjoyable, met some interesting people and had a good time.

A Longtime Member Recalls The Roots Of Her Fascination With Jussi, Vicki Wallshein, Dan Shea

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The Directors of our Jussi Björling Society-USA had their annual meeting in Washington DC last November, and the delightful Vicki Wallshein attended several sessions with her mother, Dixie. One of the main social events was Sunday brunch at the DC Army and Navy Club, hosted by Carol Pozefsky, where we had good opportunities to swap notes with others about how Jussi Björling had entered our lives! Vicki had this especially charming story:

Announcing The Member Marketplace!

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

JBS-USA is happy to offer a new, free service to our members. On our website, we now have a new page called Member Marketplace, a place for our members to offer up for sale, swap, or donation, any music-related items or collections they might have which they now want to “offload”. Only members of the Society may post items. Buyers, however, may be anyone from the general public who visits our website.

What Becomes Of My Jussi Stuff?, Walter B. Rudolph, Contributing Editor

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Regrettably, there is no Jussicology or scholarship in what I’m offering. But it is timely. We, as the Jussi Björling Society-USA, are occasionally approached by people with Björling recordings, seeking an afterlife, or an off-load, of their collections. Major repositories are systematically turning away such collections. And now, on a larger scale, we have joined the struggle to preserve the invaluable resource of the Swedish Record Archive.

The First Second Caruso, James A. Drake

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

I don’t want to be another Caruso; I just want to be Gigli,” said the tenor who inherited many of Caruso’s lyric roles after his sudden death in 1921. Over the years, other tenors have expressed similar reservations, sincere or otherwise, about the “second Caruso” label which Beniamino Gigli addressed in his memoirs. Yet there actually was a “second Caruso”: the legendary tenor’s son and namesake, Enrico Caruso, Jr., whom I was privileged to meet at a social event in Tampa, Florida.

Revisiting Jussi’S Last New York Recital, Janel E. Lundgren, Dan Shea

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

From Jussi by Anna-Lisa Björling, Andrew Farkas (Amadeus Press, 1996, page 327):

“Jussi closed the autumn tour with a recital at Hunter College on 27 December 1959. His popularity and drawing power were such that he and Schauwecker had been invited back for this ‘concert extraordinary’ only nine months after their previous appearance. It was a capacity house; many people had to be seated on the stage behind him, but as always, Jussi sang at least one number or a couple of encores facing them. Cornell Mac- Neil recalls the night, the last time he heard Jussi sing.

About November 1959, Göran Forsling

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

I have already dealt with the autumn of 1959 in Jussi of the Month November 2018, ( on the Jussi Björling Sällskapet website) but when I now return there it is from a somewhat different perspective, which may perhaps offer a further dimension to the artistry of Jussi. That Jussi’s plans for that autumn were thwarted through illness and limited to a small number of appearances has been mentioned earlier, but it’s interesting to realize that almost all of those appearances were recorded and, at least partially issued on records. On 20 August he gave a concert at Gröna Lund …

Isometric Exercises And Stretching Warm-Up Program For University String Musicians: An Intervention Study, Emma Porter

Honors Theses

In this study, the purpose of this investigation was to find the effects of reducing pain through combining isometric and stretching warm-up exercises for stringed instrument musicians. In Lee’s et al. (2013) study, it showed that about 75 % of musicians have work-related musculoskeletal disorders and experience pain because of playing. In this study, they also saw that string players have the highest prevalence of both musculoskeletal disorders and pain while playing (Lee et al., 2013). In Nawrocka’s et al. (2014) journal article, the study showed the correlation of more pain in musicians that did not meet the recommended criteria …

The Prevalence Of Musculoskeletal Injuries Within The Center For Wellness In The Arts At Marshall University, Colin John Wakeman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: The demands on successful performing artists are two-fold. First, they have to perform at a high skill level for their specific art, such as theater, marching band, dance, and color guard. Second, they need to achieve the aesthetic demands of their discipline. Musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries can impact either or both of these elements and affect their overall performance. If MSK injuries are not addressed early in a performer’s career, they can develop into chronic problems that take performers out of rehearsals, practices, and performances.

Purpose: This epidemiological study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MSK injuries within …

Ridington, Amber Flower, B. 1969 (Fa 599), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 599. Folk studies project titled: “At the Crossroads: Commercial Music and Community Experience The Quonset Auditorium – A Roadhouse on the Dixie Highway” which includes interviews with performers about their time at the Quonset Auditorium in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Interviews may include a brief description of their performances and memories of the Quonset. Ridington used this material for her WKU master's thesis of the same title.

Detours In Music - Podcast, Laura F. Ruple

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The podcast, Detours in Music, aims to inspire, spark interest, and educate its audience of all ages and music levels about a life in music. Each episode includes an interview with someone involved in music at the professional level. The interviews focus on the person's story and the paths and detours their lives have taken them on, leading them to where they are today. The project has been well received, with episodes downloaded on four continents, and a consistent following of listeners. The podcast is intended to help its listeners connect with music faculty members at JMU, gain new perspectives …

Conceptualizing Psychological Performance Enhancement In A Music Domain, Jessica Lynn Ford

Theses and Dissertations

Contrary to sport, the study of performance enhancement in music is at an earlier stage of development in its research, practice, and performer acceptance (Pecen, Collins, & MacNamara, 2016). In the absence of music performance enhancement research, practitioners frequently utilize sport as a template to inform both research and applied practice with musicians to optimize performance (Hays, 2002, 2012). While sport provides an evidence-based framework for studying performance enhancement, musicians have unique performance considerations that differ from athletes (Pecen et al., 2016), and these divergences in domains are not well understood. Using the McLeroy framework (McLeroy, Bibeau, Steckler, & Glanz, …

Focal Dystonia Causes And Treatments: A Guide For Pianists, Juan Nicolás Morales Espitia

Theses and Dissertations

Focal dystonia is a movement disorder that precludes the execution of fine motor skills. Although research on focal dystonia has been intensified during the last few decades, particularly because it has affected eminent musicians such as pianists Leon Fleisher and Gary Graffman, violinist Peter Oundjian, and oboist Alex Klein, there are still several answered questions, as well as numerous misconceptions, commonly associated with this disorder. This document comprehensively explores dystonia’s mechanism of action, causes, potential risks, and treatments. The publicly available statements of three prominent concert pianists who successfully recovered from focal dystonia are also included in this document. Additionally, …

Richey, Nancy Carol, B. 1959 (Mss 690), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 690. Research material collected by Nancy Richey and Carlton Jackson about thumbpicking guitarist Mose Rager for their book Mose Rager: Kentucky’s Incomparable Guitar Master. Includes interviews, news clippings, and correspondence by and about Rager as well as other thumbpicking guitarists, such as Merle Travis, Arnold Shultz, and Eddie Pennington.

Fine, Elaine - Covid-19 Journal, Elaine Fine

Personal Journals

COVID Diary submitted by Charleston/Coles County, IL resident and musician, Elaine Fine

Do It Yourself: Women And Lgbtq+ Musicians And Promoters In The Diy Midwest Music Scene, Morgan W. Matzen

Honors Thesis

In certain parts of the Midwest “DIY,” or the underground/alternative music scene, there is not enough representation of women, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals in music, whether onstage as a band or musician, or in venue ownership and leadership. This study looks at where these diverse people are, and the setbacks they’ve faced along the way of becoming a musician, promoter or venue owner. Three emerging themes through this journalistic research include all-ages venues and music scenes as integral to getting people involved in music; a “DIY” attitude or ethos as a push for these musicians and promoters to …

Electrodermal Activity During Dissonant Music In Musicians And Non-Musicians, Joshua Chapin

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the subjective emotional and physiological responses to consonant and dissonant music excerpts in musicians and non-musicians. Participants were assigned to one of two groups, high experience (HE) or low experience (LE) based on their level of music experience and education. Participants from both groups listened to the same set of randomized musical excerpts half of which were consonant and half of which were dissonant. Participants self-reported ratings of perceived pleasantness, as well as Electromyography (EMG) and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) data were collected. Average Skin Conductance Responses (SCR) were averaged over all trials …

Developing Musicians Out Of Instrumentalists: A Comprehensive Guide To Improve Intonation Skills In Intermediate Band, Andrew Bryant Smith

Theses

This project will focus on the fundamental skills taught in an intermediate band program and assess skills needed to enhance their musicianship. One of the primary musical components studied is the development of individual and group intonation by utilizing a more concrete focus on the development of fundamental skills associated. The final deliverable focused on the fundamental skills needed to improve intonation. The guide will also include a compilation of instrument-specific strategies and tendencies having to do with the development of the skills outlined.

Black And White Notes: Segregation, Integration, And Urban Renewal Through Pittsburgh's Locals 60 And 471, Nathan Seeley

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores Pittsburgh’s Locals 60, 471, and 60-471 of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) from the late nineteenth century to the mid-1960s. Local 60 was founded in 1896 for white musicians and Local 471 in 1908 for black musicians. While other studies of the AFM take a “top-down” approach, this study examines these Locals from the “bottom-up.” In doing so, it re-examines the causal relationship between music/musicians and the social, political, and economic conditions intersecting with them. This dissertation is built upon seventy-two interviews conducted between former Local 471 members in the 1990s, photographs from Teenie Harris Collection …

Perception Of Mode, Rhythm, And Contour In Unfamiliar Melodies: Effects Of Age And Experience, Andrea R. Halpern, James C. Bartlett, W. Jay Dowling

Andrea Halpern

We explored the ability of older (60-80 years old) and younger (18-23 years old) musicians and nonmusicians to judge the similarity of transposed melodies varying on rhythm, mode, and/or contour (Experiment 1) and to discriminate among melodies differing only in rhythm, mode, or contour (Experiment 2). Similarity ratings did not vary greatly among groups, with tunes differing only by mode being rated as most similar. In the same/different discrimination task, musicians performed better than nonmusicians, but we found no age differences. We also found that discrimination of major from minor tunes was difficult for everyone, even for musicians. Mode is …

Musical Legacy Projects (Fa 1386), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1386. Interviews conducted by WKU students with musicians in southcentral and western Kentucky, a folklore fieldwork class contribution to the Kentucky Folklife Program’s Southcentral Kentucky Musical Legacy Project.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Mbti): Should Musicians Care About It?, Arun Rao

Articles

No abstract provided.

Music Evoked Nostalgia And Mood States, Bailey Schulte

Honors Theses

This study was in collaboration with the study titled “The determinants of affect, emotional arousal, and autobiographical memories” by principle investigator, Edward Roth, and student investigator Alycia Sterenberg. It addresses two questions examining the impact that music evoked nostalgia has on mood states and if this difference varies between musicians and non-musicians. The study included 19 participants ranging in age from 18-28 and used a multilevel model design. Participants completed a Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) pre and post listening to nostalgia evoking music. Results revealed a decrease in negative affect pre to post-test, also showing a difference between …