Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Popular Music And Sociocultural Empathy In The Elementary Classroom, Kelsey M. Packman

Masters Theses

This qualitative ethnographic study explores the undocumented effects of popular music on elementary students’ social and cultural empathy. Previous studies have explored the effects of popular music on adolescent and college-age students, but no study has researched these effects in the elementary classroom. This study aims to show that learning about socially-relevant popular music in a social setting advances students’ sociocultural and musical development. The researcher recruited eighty elementary-aged students from a private school in the Las Virgines School District in Los Angeles to participate in this study. The participants were sorted into subgroups by grade, and each subgroup was …

The Impact Of Popular Music Education In Building And Maintaining Rural East Tennessee High School Band Programs, Christopher L. Metcalfe

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Despite existing research in popular music education, a gap exists in the literature concerning popular music education for rural East Tennessee high school band programs. The purpose of this qualitative research was to address the history of societal acceptance of popular music styles as well as changes within the field of music education philosophy that allowed for popular music study. A review of music education literature concerning popular music education and praxis was conducted to find applications for rural East Tennessee high school band programs. Further research was conducted through student and band director surveys which were distributed to rural …

The Thrill Is Here: An Instrumental Case Study Of The Pinetop Perkins Foundation Workshop Experience, Spencer Lewis Byrd

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This instrumental case study aimed to discover blues music education's pedagogy, content, and teaching strategies. This was accomplished by examining authentic blues teaching through the lenses of music learning theory, the Danielson framework for teaching, and the spiral curriculum. The study built on literature relating to the historical, musical, and extra-musical contexts of the blues, popular music, community music, and workshop settings. The Pinetop Perkins Foundation’s Workshop Experience served as the single case for investigating authentic blues music education. Nine instructors, two students, two interns, and two board members participated. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, live observations, and video …

Fourth-Grade And Fifth-Grade Cover-Band Classes: An Action-Research Project Inspired By Popular Music Education And Music Learning Theory, Julia Turner

Theses and Dissertations

I facilitated “Fourth-Grade and Fifth-Grade Cover-Band Classes,” a popular music education-, informal music learning-, and music learning theory-inspired action-research project. The purpose of this action-research project was to examine the facilitation and learning processes used by my students and me when engaged with those music learning approaches and theory. The guiding questions for this study included: 1) How do I use and adapt principles from modern band (2023), Green (2008; 2014), and Gordon (2012; 2013) to prepare my facilitation of a popular music project for my fourth-grade and fifth-grade students? and 2) How do my fourth-grade and fifth-grade students engage …

A Model For The Development Of A Popular Music Listening Curriculum, Micki Michele Berlin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Secondary schools in Texas typically only offer performance-based ensembles to students as their music options. These classes require public performances, extracurricular time commitments, and financial obligations. Because of these and other issues, many students select non-music classes to fulfill their fine arts graduation requirements. Although it can be passive in nature, listening is how most people interact with music. Unfortunately, listening-based curricula are rarely available to secondary students. Where music appreciation classes are offered, the music studied is often outdated and unfamiliar to students. This qualitative study identified the pedagogical components present in an existing classical music listening curricula. These …

Teaching Children To Sing: An Eight-Week Study, Kathleen Ruth Riggs

Masters Theses

Teaching children to sing is both a powerful and practical way to enhance their quality of life. With careful instruction and a playful approach, children can be taught foundational singing skills, and develop a love for singing at a very early age. In many schools today, children learn songs in music classes but are not taught how to sing. Over the course of eight weeks, twelve children ages five to ten were taught to sing using Susan Kenney’s natural singing method detailed in “Seven Steps for Developing Successful Singing and Listening Habits.” Children participated in two group lessons and six …

Guide To The Reginald L. Davenport House Music Collection, Columbia College Chicago

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

Reginald L Davenport came of age to the sound of hot mixing Chicago radio DJs during the 1980s and he carried his love of house music to the United Kingdom when he left home to serve in the armed forces abroad, DJ’ing around England when he wasn’t on base. The collection contains flyers primarily from the United Kingdom of house music venues in which he DJ’ed, tapes of his mixes, and documents related to his work.

"I Want To Take You Higher": Popular Music Museums As Social Fields For Legitimizing Popular Music Memories, Olivia Paige Zinn

Senior Projects Spring 2023

This paper is an ethnographic and interview-based study of popular music museums in the United States. I observed that curatorial practices in pop music museums aligned with two major goals -- education and entertainment. These curatorial practices worked within the goals of the social field of museums as well as responded to the legacy of cultural hierarchy. I ultimately find that popular music museums are sites for legitimizing Americans' memories of and taste for popular music, rather than merely sites of music history education or entertainment.

The Techne Of Youtube Performance: Musical Structure, Extended Techniques, And Custom Instruments In Solo Pop Covers, William O'Hara

Sunderman Conservatory of Music Faculty Publications

They begin with a note, a chord, the tap of a button, or the triggering of a loop: through progressively layered textures, samples, and extended performance techniques, solo cover songs on YouTube often construct themselves piece by piece before the viewer’s eyes and ears. Combining virtuosity and novelty in a package ready-made for viral online popularity, this recent and rapidly growing internet phenomenon draws together traditions old and new, from the “one man band” of the nineteenth century, to the experimental live looping of 1980s performance art, to contemporary electronic music. Building on a number of recent studies that examine …

The Popular And The Sacred In Music, Jacob Johnson

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

A book review is presented for Antti-Ville Kärjä, The Popular and the Sacred in Music, London and New York: Routledge, 2022.

Qui Té Por Dels ‘Rosalía Studies’? Guia De Perplexos, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Molt a principis dels anys noranta del segle XX, quan jo començava a veure la possibilitat de doctorar-me, la musicologia era, si se’m permet una caricatura, una disciplina de capellans i arxivers. A l’Estat Espanyol, per exemple, la carrera oficial encara no existia, si bé hi havia estudis i tesis a algunes escoles de doctorat de filologia o història de l’art. El mot «musicologia», de fet, ni tan sols era acceptat o pràcticament acabava d’entrar en alguns diccionaris prescriptius. Sense estudis reglats, els aspirants a musicòlegs emulaven la feina, la metodologia i les temàtiques dels seus mestres.

Experiencing Sonic Change: Acoustic Properties As Form- And Meter-Bearing Elements In Popular Music Vocals, Kristi D. Hardman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes sound qualities in popular music vocals and examines the relationship between sound qualities and other musical structures, including beat, meter, and form. I use the term sound qualities to refer to those aspects of a sound that help us distinguish one sound from another. In this dissertation, I focus specifically on loudness, noisiness, brightness, and vowel quality. Listeners often attend to the vocals while singing along to their favorite popular song. Additionally, the voice is extremely malleable, which means that sound qualities regularly fluctuate in the vocals. This makes popular music vocals a good case study for …

Corine Lanier Adams Music Education Collection, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection contains materials created and collected by Corinne Lanier Adams in her role as a professional music educator in Evans County, Georgia. Materials are dated 1877 to 1951 and include elementary educational materials, school papers, sheet music on popular music, especially of the 1920s and 30s, music books, school plays, and an assortment of magazines.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Predicting And Composing A Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 Single With Descriptive Analytics And Classification, Matthew Deamon

Honors Projects

In late 20^th and early 21^st century Western popular music, there are cyclical structures, sounds, and themes that come and go with historical trends. Not only do the production techniques utilized reflect technological advancements (the Yamaha DX7, the Roland 808, etc.), the art form reflects contemporary cultural attitudes through lyrics and stylistic choice. Through this lens, pop songs can serve as historical artifacts for their unique ability to captivate listeners based on their generally acceptable and familiar elements, both upon release and with future audiences. It raises the questions: “Can a chronological analysis of artistic choices reveal trends …

Comfort Food For The Ears: Exploring Nostalgic Trends In Popular Music Of The Twenty-First Century, April K. Balay

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will examine trends in twenty-first-century American popular music characterized by a sonority sometimes labeled “retro” or “vintage,” the production of which, I contend, often corresponds to periods of cultural upheaval, and social, political, and economic change. Engaging specifically with music produced during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the economic recession of 2008, and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, my work will strive to update the dialogue between music in this century with the styles of the past that it recalls. By examining music beginning in the year 2001 and analyzing airplay charts and recording techniques, I …

Listen Like This: Audiovisual Argument In Rockumentary, Lindsey Eckenroth

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Rockumentaries are commodities that construct authoritative interpretations of popular music history, shaping how we come to know, value, hear, consume, and identify with popular music and those who create it. The arguments rockumentaries make, and the ways they make them, are the subject of this dissertation. Rather than position rockumentary as a genre, I investigate it as a set of representational tendencies to be examined in relation to stardom, authenticity, fandom, the culture industry, and the music(ians) these films represent. My introduction argues that rockumentaries operate according to what I call the offstage pattern, a dialectical structure in which …

Teaching Songwriting And Incorporating Popular Music In Beginning Group Piano, Sarah Andrews

Student Theses

This thesis examines how incorporating popular songwriting is an effective way to teach keyboard skills to music majors in a traditional undergraduate music school. Basic keyboard skills taught in group piano are similar to the skills used in writing and performing a popular song. Connecting students to popular music inspires students and keeps them motivated to practice keyboard skills that are more tedious but considered necessary for learning the instrument. This thesis is divided into two parts. Part I offers the history of pedagogical trends in group piano from the eighteenth century until present day, focusing specifically on practicality, improvisation, …

All Day In The Trey-Fold: Sound, Objecthood, And Place In The Mixtapes Of Dj Screw, Matthew K. Carter

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation traces the impact of the mixtapes of DJ Screw on the emergence of Houston hip hop culture in the 1990s. The relationship between these “screwtapes” and local culture resists demonstration through conventional modes of representational analyses, due in part to the screwtape’s preponderant use of hip hop tracks that originally represent other places. I suggest that representation itself is the result of the structuring tension emerging from a threefold field of representation of sound, objecthood, and place, and that when a hip hop artist or critic or fan claims to "represent" Houston (or any other constituted and constituting …

From Penny Lane To Stranger Things: Technology’S Influence On Music Production, Sami Fong

Backstage Pass

No abstract provided.

Audio Quality As Content: Everyday Criticism Of The Lo-Fi Format, Elizabeth Newton

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines the matter of authenticity with respect to audio recordings. In the early 1990s, the term “lo-fi” (“low-fidelity”) emerged as a label used to categorize many different types of popular music, indicating widespread fascination with what I call audio quality, the perceived character of an audio recording. I define audio quality as the relationship between content and mediation, which varies greatly by circumstance. My archival research of zines, press releases, and correspondence examines this relationship in three case studies: Wu-Tang Clan, Bratmobile, and Elliott Smith. I posit the lo-fi format as a critical structure that emerged in …

Oscar Levant: Pianist, Gershwinite, Middlebrow Media Star, Caleb Taylor Boyd

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following George Gershwin’s death in 1937, his friend and fellow pianist Oscar Levant (1906-1972) constructed a multifaceted professional career across many forms of modern media that not only helped him build and maintain his popular status as a Gershwinite, but also helped establish Gershwin’s piano music in the American concert hall canon. For nearly twenty years, Levant – more often than any other pianist – performed Rhapsody in Blue and the Concerto in F in concert halls, in outdoor stadia, on radio, and in films. He first came to national attention in 1938 as a regular panelist on the radio …

Vocal Styles In Commercially Successful Popular Music In The United States During The 2010'S, Jay Thao

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Vocal performance in commercially successful American popular music during the 2010’s implemented many different vocal techniques. However, the vocal styles that were prominent during this era of music are: vocal breathiness, vocal belts and the usage of the head voice. In this paper, I will examine the vocal styles and performances of pop stars who were influential during the 2010’s. These artists are Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, and Billie Eillish. Through these examinations, readers will have an understanding of the popular vocal styles that were heavily used during this decade of music.

From Michigan With Love, Emma Krug 20

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

“The Cause, It Just Comes First”: Tori Amos And Third-Wave Feminism, Amanda S. Roberts

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation is a textual analysis of Tori Amos as a feminist artist. Because Amos has had a successful and enduring career, she presents a unique opportunity to explore the ways third-wave feminism has influenced popular culture and vice-versa. This dissertation utilizes both a feminist and cultural studies lens to understand Amos, her work, and her fan community as texts. Through a chronological study of Amos’s catalog, I will demonstrate how Amos’s works have adapted to the demands and interests of third-wave feminism, moving from emotional non-narrative, to active political engagement with some mis-steps, and finally to an understanding of …

Guide To The Martin Williams Collection, Columbia College Chicago

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

Martin Williams was a music critic specializing in jazz and American popular culture and the collection includes published articles, unpublished manuscripts, files and correspondence, and music scores of jazz compositions. He wrote for major jazz periodicals, especially Down Beat, co-founded The Jazz Review and was the author of numerous books on jazz.

Ch. 04 - The Pursuit Of Happiness: Music Access In 21st Century America, Carla E. Aguilar

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

This chapter describes policy mechanisms that can be revised to support “music making by all.” Aguilar starts with the normative claim that engagement in music education in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions should encompass opportunities for a range of music-making experiences, especially those experiences that may be ignored or marginalized because of the traditional structure of post-secondary institutions. Broadening choices for musical engagement may provide greater relevance, as well as increased access and participation in learning music by all and for all.

Wild Swans By Elena Kats-Chernin: The Journey From The Australian Ballet To The Uk Dance Charts, Helen Rusak

Sound Scripts

In 2003 composer Elena Kats-Chernin collaborated with choreographer Meryl Tankard to produce Wild Swans, a ballet based upon the theme of Hans Christian Anderson’s enduring tale evoking the sufferings of Eliza’s fate to save her brothers from the evil curse of their stepmother. It resulted in a score rich with a wide range of musical sources underscoring a tableaux of dance and images beautifully evocative of the tale. The work was premiered by the Australian Ballet at the Sydney Opera House on 29 April 2003. This paper looks at the unexpected journey that one of the musical movements from the …

It’S Such A Fine Line Between Stupid And Clever: A Genealogy Of The Music Mockumentary, Michael Brendan Baker, Peter Lester

Books & Chapters

Recognized primarily for its commercial breakthrough, Rob Reiner’s This is Spinal Tap (USA, 1984), the music mockumentary genre comprises dozens of films addressing a range of musical styles and performers in comedic ways. This chapter presents a genealogy of the music mockumentary, detailing its successes, limits, and potential in the contemporary history of film and television comedy. Styled primarily upon the rockumentary genre, the basic premise of the music mockumentary is comedic engagement with the world of popular music through satire, farce, or parody, using the representational strategies of nonfiction. The format leverages the audience’s knowledge of the codes and …

'Calling Out From Some Old Familiar Shrine': Living Archivism And Age Performativity In Bob Dylan's Late Period, Matthew Lipson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The release of Bob Dylan’s 30^th studio album in 1997, Time Out of Mind, marked an unlikely and triumphant return to critical acclaim following years of personal and creative decline. From this point onward, Dylan would maintain a quality of output comparable to his 1960s catalogue and unprecedented among artists in the twilight of their career. The proceeding albums, from “Love and Theft” (2001) to Triplicate (2017) would present Dylan as a living archive of traditional American genres – an intersection through which rock and roll, blues, bluegrass, and vocal jazz would pass. The notion of Dylan as …

Exposing Corruption In Progressive Rock: A Semiotic Analysis Of Gentle Giant’S The Power And The Glory, Robert Jacob Sivy

Theses and Dissertations--Music

English progressive rock band Gentle Giant is catalogued under the progressive (or “prog”) rock genre for a variety reasons, including unique instrumentation, virtuosity, and interesting/unconventional musical attributes. The complexity of their music is often warranted by the sophisticated concepts behind their albums and the deep messages of their songs. The Power and the Glory (TPatG), Gentle Giant’s sixth studio album, is a concept album that emphasizes the rise and corruption of power. What makes their music, especially TPatG, worthy of scholarly attention beyond the simple examination of the compositional techniques employed is the way in which the …