Arts and Humanities Commons^™

An Examination Of Maria Schneider’S Big Band Artistry Through The Lens Of Wind Band Arranging, Amy Birdsong

Dissertations, 2020-current

Within the world of instrumental music there tends to be strict adherence to styles and genres that have historically been connected to a standard collection of instruments. Wind ensembles are expected to perform contemporary art music, orchestral transcriptions, or military marches, with little expectation of individual creative interpretation. Jazz ensembles, or “big bands,” are expected to perform styles of music such as “swing,” which cannot be properly notated using western notation, while also being rigidly glued to reduced instrument choices, repetitive chord cycles and standard song forms. While wind ensemble performers are confined to read and perform all aspects of …

The Art Of Sustaining Orchestras Through Intentional Educational Experiences, Kimberly Souther

Dissertations, 2020-current

The purpose of this study is to identify the most current and successful advances in audience engagement that champion connection and result in sustainability through purposeful educational experiences.

The Symphony Orchestra currently serves an audience which represents a multiplicity of perspectives, background, and understanding. In an era of expanded canon and outreach to local communities, the orchestra must acknowledge that change is necessary if we are to truly create fulfilling experiences for our listeners. Unfortunately, many orchestras fail to connect their outreach to the concert hall, woefully categorizing their patrons into pre-determined subsets. What if all patrons were trusted with …

A Survey Of The Comparative Performance Demands Of Performing Mozart’S Fourth Horn Concerto On The Natural Horn And Modern Horn, Brandon Garrison

Doctoral Projects

The four horn concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are fundamental standards of horn repertoire. Since the production of Dennis Brain’s early recordings in 1953, many virtuoso horn players have recorded these concerti on the modern horn. However, there are few professional recordings made on the natural horn. Though Mozart’s four horn concertos are prominent in horn study across the world, they are rarely executed with correct performance practice techniques. In my presentation, I will demonstrate passages from Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 4 to survey the challenges when performed on natural horn versus the modern horn. It is important to understand …

Crossing The Pond: The Influence Of Southern Appalachian Old-Time On Contemporary Irish Music, Amanda Morgan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Numerous studies examine Irish traditional music influencing old-time music, but few examine the influence of old-time on contemporary Irish. As our societies become more global, folk music travels faster and becomes more open to influence. Thes influences can be heard in the music of “Alfi” and “Lankum,” two ensembles steeped in Irish traditional music.

This study defines common musical elements of old-time and examines the use of those elements in two recordings: Alfi’s, “Jubilee” and Lankum’s, “The Old Man from Over the Sea.” Much of my data comes from interviews with Irish and American musicians and my own professional knowledge, …

Electromagnetic Field Analysis, Materials Characterization, And Advanced Modeling Of Modern Guitar Pickups, Luis Alonso Villarreal

Theses and Dissertations

This Thesis establishes the foundations of modern guitar pickup theory, enhancing current pickup design by an increase in voltage output, reduction of DC resistance, and a reduction of production costs. This research investigates factors that have received insufficient attention, such as the performance of different magnetic materials, magnet geometry, bobbin geometry, metal effects, etc. An equation to calculate the output of guitar pickups is developed. Additionally, this work constructs a modern pickup using the techniques developed in this thesis incorporating theory and advanced modeling techniques to simulate changes in performance and interactions with different magnetic materials and geometries. The new …

The Power Of Female: The Representation Of Female Composers Through A Senior Flute Recital, Savannah Palmer

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

In a prominent number of musical performances, the number of female compositions being performed is small. The dominance of male composers throughout time has created a barrier that prevents female composers from being represented in the music community. Female composers possess great creativity and virtuosity in their compositions, yet gender bias impacts their representation in music repertoire, specifically flute repertoire (Fairouz, 2017). With less than 6.10 percent of female compositions being programmed in concerts and recitals, members of various communities are lacking exposure to the powerful musical works that women create (Peters, 2016). To empower female composers and demonstrate their …

Performative Mixing For Immersive Audio, Brian A. Elizondo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Immersive multichannel audio can be produced with specialized setups of loudspeakers, often surrounding the audience. These setups can feature as few as four loudspeakers or more than 300. Performative mixing in these environments requires a bespoke solution offering intuitive gestural control. Beyond the usual faders for gain control, advancements in multichannel sound demand interfaces capable of quickly positioning sounds between channels. The Quad Cartesian Positioner is such a solution in the form of a Eurorack module for surround mixing for use in live or studio performances.

Diffusion/mixing methods for live multichannel immersive music often rely on the repurposing of hardware …

A View From Within: Timbre As An Analytical Tool In Contemporary Viola Music, Ash Mach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Timbre is an elusive musical parameter that musicians, physicists, and cognitive scientists have been grappling with for centuries. While timbre can roughly be defined as an auditory attribute that distinguishes one tone color from another, this definition does not capture the complexities of sound and our perceptions thereof. Research on timbre has flourished since the 20th century, however, timbre studies has largely gone unnoticed within the viola community. This study, “A View from Within,” helps close the gap between timbre studies and viola repertoire scholarship by presenting analyses of three pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries through a timbre …

Music As A Tool For Ecstatic Space Design, Pranav Amin

Masters Theses

Music and architecture share a sacred bond across cultures. Their histories intertwine and together, they shape ritualistic, religious, and popular practices. As one of the few remaining avenues of universal transcendental experiences that have been so integral to humans, music’s ability to create ecstatic spaces is ever more necessary for the modern human. This thesis uses spatial, artificial intelligence, visual, and aural tools—while engaging in a dialogue between rationalist architecture and shamanic conceptions of spaces—to create an ecstatic space that seeks to reimagine the union of music and architecture. It reveals new ways in which this union can be experienced …

Historical Narrative In The Music Of Sid Meier’S Civilization Vi, Alec Larner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a 2016 strategy video game in which the player leads a historical civilization from 4000 BC to the present. The Civilization series is the subject of much scholarly writing, especially its representation of history and non- Western cultures. My work builds on Karen Cook’s research (2014) on the technological progress and American hegemonic identity signaled by Civilization IV’s soundtrack. I argue that the music in Civilization VI contributes to a Eurocentric teleological progress narrative of history inherent in the structure of the game: the idea that history is a story of inevitable and positive …

Cyberinet: Integrated Semi-Modular Sensors For The Computer-Augmented Clarinet, Matthew Bardin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Cyberinet is a new Augmented instrument designed to easily and intuitively provide a method of computer-enhanced performance to the Clarinetist to allow for greater control and expressiveness in a performance. A performer utilizing the Cyberinet is able to seamlessly switch between a traditional performance setting and an augmented one. Towards this, the Cyberinet is a hardware replacement for a portion of a Clarinet containing a variety of sensors embedded within the unit. These sensors collect various real time data motion data of the performer and air fow within the instrument. Additional sensors can be connected to the Cyberinet to …

The Wind Band Music Of Steven Reineke: A Study Of Three Of His Musical Compositions, His Characteristic Sound, And The Inspiration Behind His Works, Eric Stark

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this project proposal is to examine the music of Steven Reineke. The study will investigate and discuss the background information of three pieces and find common compositional elements used by Mr. Reineke. The study will also include rehearsal and performance considerations of each work. Form graphs and conducting analysis will be included. Other information presented in this study will educate the reader about the life of Mr. Reineke. The goal of this thesis is to help band instructors with rehearsal guides and performance instructions for Heaven’s Light, The Witch and the Saint, and Pilatus: Mountain of Dragons …

Canadians Redefining R&B: The Online Marketing Of Drake, Justin Bieber, And Jessie Reyez, Amara Pope Ms.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In a country that long failed to accept, include, and institutionalize R&B music as part of Canadian culture, musical artists Justin Bieber, Drake, and Jessie Reyez have successfully broken-down barriers by having successful careers as racially diverse Canadian R&B artists. This qualitative study surveys the literature on classifications of the R&B genre and of Canadian identities in popular media. The theoretical framework of discourse analysis is used to conduct a brief episodic history of Canadian R&B and to evaluate how the music genre “R&B,” is traditionally associated with people who have "Black" and "American" identities, and how a “Canadian” identity …

A "Rock To Lean On": Young Singers' Experiences In A Community Choir In Louisiana, Yulene Velásquez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to investigate young singers’ experiences in the Livingston Parish Children’s Choirs organization (LPCC), a community-based children’s choir program in Denham Springs, Louisiana. I investigated the impact of those experiences on the children’s lives inside and outside of the ensemble from the perspective of the artistic director and co-director, parents, and the singers themselves.

The LPCC was founded in 1991 by Barbara Walker and her mother, Regina Walker. According to Barbara Walker, the mission of the organization is “to prepare children to go out and be lifelong singers.” This choral community is characterized …

Practical Podcasting: A Technical Guide To Producing Studio-Quality Podcasts, Jacob Sarmiento

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

Podcasting exists at the intersection of the technical aspects of audio engineering and disciplines such as journalism and story-telling. Podcasts at KCPR, the student radio station, cover a wide range of topics including the soundscape of the DIY music scene in San Luis Obispo (SLO) on SLO-Fi, the intricacies of navigating SLO on Cal Poly 101, the best of Cal Poly Athletics on The Gallop, and the voices of underrepresented populations on campus on Different Matters. KCPR utilizes podcasts to entertain and inform its audience of the various experiences possible as a Cal Poly student. As a student-run entity, KCPR …

Rearranging: Songwriting With Multi-Genre Influence, Ryan Elliott

University Honors Theses

This craft essay examines the inspiration and creation of the song "Rearranging," which was written, recorded, and produced by Ryan Elliott in his home studio over the course of four months. The project's goal was to create a piece of music that challenged the songwriting conventions in modern popular music, while also exploring the fluidity of genre in modern music. The final piece of music is over 22 minutes in length, and explores a variety of styles within the spectrum of rock, pop, and jazz music. With lyrics attuned to the simultaneous anxiety, responsibility, and power of being a young …

Play Makes Perfect: An Exploration Of Game And Play Elements In Composition And Performance, Gabrielle Chou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation aims to explore the intersection of play and games in Western classical music and define a new category of pieces, “ludic pieces,” which contain play structures and game mechanics within their composition. Starting with surveying perspectives in ludology and ludomusicology, including those by Roger Caillois, Johan Huizinga, Jesper Juul, Katie Salen, and Eric Zimmerman, I will examine various definitions of a “game” and what its qualifying aspects are. I will then turn to music and consider pieces that interact with play and games without containing game structures, including examples of musical humor and pieces which evoke the imagery …

Stop Not Writing Songs: Using Time And Collaboration To Overcome Self-Doubt, Imposter Syndrome, And Writer's Block, Carley Baer

University Honors Theses

The inner critic is a common foe within creative disciplines, and with it comes a host of internal obstacles such as anxiety, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, writer’s block, and more, that cause stress and conspire to keep artists from realizing their full creative potential. In this paper, I utilize research methods as well as self-reflection to consider how songwriters can implement the external constraints of time and collaboration to get around internal obstacles and introduce more freedom into the creative process. I examine the strategies of quantity over quality, maintaining an improv mindset, and amending expectations to explain how the inner …

Jeff Scott’S "Startin’ Sumthin’, Composed For The Monmouth Winds," Transcribed For Full Wind Band, Trevor Butts

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this project is to create a wind band transcription of a work for a chamber music ensemble by Jeff Scott. Jeff Scott creates works that he considers “Urban Classical Music”. These works are rooted in European traditions and informed by his African American culture. His music is unapologetically influenced by the cultural experiences of his diverse, urban environment upbringing.

This project is intended to contribute to the overall body of wind band literature, specifically the body of wind band literature composed by underrepresented composers. There has been a lack of representation of African American composers throughout the …

An Introduction To Five Selected Modern Korean Art Songs, Gagok, By Composers Guisook Lee And Jiyoun Chung, Ji Hee Kim

Dissertations, 2020-current

Modern Korean art song, Gagok, is the Western-style vocal music genre that developed in the twentieth century in Korea, predominantly through the influence of western music curricula in missionary schools and the presence of Korean military bands. These influences led to the first generation of Western music leaders who contributed to the birth of Gagok. As a result, this new genre rapidly became popular and continued to be developed despite the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945) and up to the present day. Since the birth of Gagok, two divergent compositional styles have emerged.

This DMA document aims to introduce professional …

Elsewhere: In Defense Of Daydreaming, Alex Braden

MFA in Visual Art

Much like music, organic life is an absurd, improbable, and serendipitous instance. I set circular, electric, acoustic, and magnetic forces in motion and allow them to coalesce freely in the hopes of synthesizing unexpected moments of beauty, connection, and harmony.

Made In Italy: Gli Effetti Della Musica Italiana (T)Rap Sulla Società E Sulla Lingua, Paraskevi Z. Gkana-Alberico

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the history of Italian (t)rap music, and uses the lyrics of famous songs in an attempt to examine the effects the sometimes vulgar and explicit themes, which are usually accompanied by the use of foreign languages, could have on society and the Italian language.

Prescribing Music To Forensic Settings: A Literature Review, Sydney A. Bouchard

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Though prison is inherently musical, evidence-based forensic music therapy is rather understudied. This thesis critically reviews musical experiences in forensic environments and synthesizes its intersection with inmates' psychological distress. Additionally, the literature explores how forensic music therapy can act as a health and social resource for the incarcerated and their communities. Engaging in this work is vital because healthier correctional systems mean healthier communities (Hopwood, 2021). This review synthesizes relevant literature to inform better practices in music therapy, counseling, and healthcare and seeks to popularize discussion around an otherwise unpopular population, incarcerated folx. Emerging themes include (1) incarceration breeds negative …

The Rise Of Wavetable Synthesis In Commercial Music And Its Creative Applications, Garrett Norman Scroggs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wavetable synthesis is a powerful tool for music creation that helps composers and producers develop their own unique sounds. Though wavetable synthesis has been utilized in music since the early 1980s, advancements in computer technologies in the 2000s and the subsequent releases of software synthesizers in the late 2000s and early 2010s has led to the increased presence of wavetable synthesis in commercial music. This thesis chronicles a historical overview of the use of wavetable synthesis in commercial music and demonstrates the accessibility and power that wavetable synthesis delivers in music creation. The demonstration portion of this thesis features two …

"With The Butterfly Sleeves Naka Filipiniana": Contemporary Study Of Filipinx American Women In Popular Music, Georgette Luluquisin Patricio

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines contemporary Filipinx-American women artists and the ways in which they use their music to construct their identity against Western portrayals of the Filipinx/a woman. Unlike other Asian Americans, Filipinx Americans try to attain the status of the "model minority" because they were at one point in history considered US nationals with American training, but they also do not adhere to it in the same way that Japanese and Indian Americans do. The model minority myth is the notion that Asian Americans have to overcome a certain struggle or challenge in order to achieve the American Dream. Of …

The Meanings Of Musics And Technologies In The Twentieth Century: Case Studies In Postwar Pop, Afrofuturist Jazz, And Chilean Electronic Music, Lawton Hall

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes Les Paul and Mary Ford’s high-tech pop, Sun Ra’s proto-afrofuturist jazz, and Chilean electronic music to explore how new modes of musical expression and technological advances were shaped in relation to gender, race, and political policy. Les Paul’s development of new recording techniques reflected postwar attitudes toward scientific progress, and the way he presented these “New Sounds” with his wife Mary Ford reinforced gendered notions of domestic space. Sun Ra’s appropriation of Space Age themes with the Arkestra was a synthesis of 1950s Black radicalism and racial uplift initiatives from his early life in Birmingham, Alabama that …

Give The Drummer Some: A Dive Into Drum Breaks And Drum Break Production, Kyle Kaldhusdal

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper traces the history of hip-hop culture through the evolution of the drum break, the original context of drum breaks in funk and soul music, their influence on DJ culture, and the subsequent impact of drum breaks on music and music production. It follows the development of breakbeat compilations in the 1970s and 1980s, parallel to the development of turntablism and sampling techniques. It also examines in detail how copyright litigation in the 1990s shaped the development of sample-based music genres and created a niche market for originally-recorded drum breaks over the subsequent decades.

Robert Starer And His Music, With A Focus On Solo Works For Trumpet, Allison Mcswain

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Composer Robert Starer was well-regarded in his lifetime but has fallen largely into obscurity. He had a unique and varied background that influenced his compositional style and musical philosophy, but except for his piano music, Starer’s works are largely unstudied. His musical style is complex and substantive, having been informed and influenced by his varied background, but the music is accessible to audiences and players of different levels. Additionally, his pieces allow much choice for the performer through the independence of the writing, free sections, musical accessory options, and performance alternatives, such as reordering movements or varied instrumentation options. This …

The Color Of Sound: An Insight On Chromesthesia, Lupe Rodriguez

Honors Capstones

Many people can see with their eyes, but there are some people who can see through sound. Chromesthesia is when sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color through shapes and movement. The goal of this project is to show what this experience is like and give people an opportunity to experience it in a way themselves.

The Color of Sound Website Prototype

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.