Composition Commons^™

Developing Variation In The Late Work Of Morton Gould And Why It Matters, J. Wesley Flinn

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

American composer Morton Gould (1913-1996) was remarkably consistent stylistically over the course of his compositional career; this project examines certain motivic transformational techniques used in two of his last works, Stringmusic (1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Remembrance Day (Soliloquy for a Passing Century) (1995). These techniques, which can generally be filed under the principle of developing variation, are: 1. Mirroring and reversal; 2. Rotation; 3. Motivic expansion and contraction; 4. Additive sets; and 5. Asymmetric injection. After an overview of each technique, I give a full analysis of the fourth movement of Stringmusic using the approaches described …

Intriguing Interpretation Of Dyads In Common-Practice Tonal Music, Yosef Goldenberg

Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic

The study offers a systematic exploration of situations in which dyads in common-practice tonal music change their meaning, when repeated or as pivots. The most common such situation is thirds that serve as either the upper or the lower pair of consonant triad members, most often with the tonic as one of the options. Sometimes, however, an implied harmony turns out to be dissonant. Occasionally, dyads other than thirds are also subject to reinterpretation. In exceptional circumstances, dyads do not imply complete harmonies.

Using Distributed Techology To Make Music In The Time Of The Attention Economy, Tate Carson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sounds Aware is a mobile web app that allows users to record soundwalks and share them so that other people can experience them. The creator of the soundwalk records their perceptions of the restorativeness of a specific place on the walk, these answers are then sonified for whoever experiences the walk later to hear. Sounds Aware aims to be a social app that is restorative to our attention. It does this by encouraging experience of nature and by using decentralized technology that exists outside of the attention economy.

The attention economy is discussed as a force that exists within much …

Sacred Music In Colonial Era Hispaniola: The Evangelization Of The Taino People, Tito J. Gutierrez

Student Theses

During the 15th-18th centuries, the major European religious orders; the Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, and Jeronymites, journeyed to the newly colonized American territories in an attempt to convert the multitudes of natives peoples living there. Along with prayer books, crucifixes, and religious images, these missionaries brought sacred European music to American shores in an attempt to attract the native people to the Catholic faith.The use of music as a tool for conversion of native people in places such as Mexico, South America, California, and the South West United States, have been well researched and documented. However, the research of the spiritual …

Developing Variation In The Late Work Of Morton Gould And Why It Matters, J. Wesley Flinn

Music Publications

American composer Morton Gould (1913-1996) was remarkably consistent stylistically over the course of his compositional career; this project examines certain motivic transformational techniques used in two of his last works, Stringmusic (1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Remembrance Day (Soliloquy for a Passing Century) (1995). These techniques, which can generally be filed under the principle of developing variation, are: 1. Mirroring and reversal; 2. Rotation; 3. Motivic expansion and contraction; 4. Additive sets; and 5. Asymmetric injection. After an overview of each technique, I give a full analysis of the fourth movement of Stringmusic using the approaches described …

Undecided, Quinn Dymalski

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Undecided is a big band ballad that features the baritone saxophone. It was written by Quinn Dymalski for his senior recital at the University of Denver, and was premiered on March 2nd, 2020. While the inspiration for this work comes from the styles of modern big band artists such as Quincy Jones, the harmony displays a romantic twist; seventh chords and suspensions like that of a Chopin Nocturne appear when the saxes enter at measure thirteen. The following choral-like figures written for the brass build a dramatic intensity only for the texture to be stripped down to solo bari sax …

Using Big Data To Facilitate A Lyrical Analysis Of Poetry And Rap, Remington Yve Giller

English Undergraduate Distinction Projects

Poetry and rap are dissected using text mining techniques in order to determine overall trends in the words used by both. With this data, the way in which ideas and concepts are expressed can be compared and contrasted as a way of showing the legitimacy of rap as a form of literary expression. Other topics within the paper are: a background of the history of rap and the digital humanities, and an example of a close reading featuring a medieval poem and a rap by Eminem. This demonstrates how even in a traditional way of handling texts, both poetry and …

Fronteras, J. Aaron Stanley

Music Theses and Dissertations

Fronteras means “borders” or “frontiers” in Spanish, and this piece explores that idea in a number of ways. Two big influences in my music is jazz and Mexican popular and folk music. I lived in Mexico for five years, which is where I met my wife, and we continue to make frequent trips there. In a way, you could say I’m married to Mexico! At the same time, I’ve listened to and loved jazz since I was a boy. I have a lot of experience performing in and arranging for jazz bands. This work fuses those two very different influences …

Signal To Noise: Harmonic Temperaments And Patterns Of Interference, Dylan A. Marcheschi

Theses and Dissertations

An audio/visual exploration of historical tuning systems. Most contemporary Western audiences will seldom if ever encounter harmony outside of post-Renaissance tuning conventions. This presentation highlights some of those pre-orthodox harmonic relationships which existed throughout most of history. The corresponding paper documents correlates in recent advances of acoustic ecology.

The Arranging Techniques Of Leon “Smooth” Edwards And Their Application To Calypso-Styled Classical Music Arrangements For Steel Orchestra, Michelle A. Rudder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The steelpan was invented in the 1930s in Trinidad and Tobago. It has evolved over the past eighty years. Although steelbands are now found across the globe and at all levels of music education, academic research regarding the music of the steelpan and its composers and arrangers is scarce. This paper examines six works for steelband by Leon “Smooth” Edwards, a prominent arranger of indigenous steelband music for the Panorama competition in Trinidad and Tobago. Music scores for four of the works have been notated for the first time. The paper documents Edwards’ variation development techniques, voicing, and orchestration. The …

Common Ground, Cody Christopher-Park Ray

Masters Theses

Common Ground is a work that explores ideals of unity through the shared awareness of human mortality. I wrote the majority of this work during the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2020. Throughout this period, including the summer leading up to it, political and social tension was felt throughout the country. This sentiment stemmed from the unjust killings of unarmed people of color at the hands of law enforcement, to blatant errors in the way political figures handled the spread of this newfound disease, leading to more than 400k civilians prematurely dead. In experiencing these external pressures, I found …

Compositions For 0 Or 1 Performers, Rodrigo Valente Pascale

Masters Theses

This thesis includes a collection of pieces composed for 0 or 1 performers – unaccompanied solo, solo and electronics or fixed media. The compositions for solo instruments include “Unnest” for bassoon solo, premièred by Ariane Petri during the V Congress of Music and Mathematics in 2020, and “Assemblage” for baritone saxophone solo, premièred by Erin Rogers in 2020. “Reizantwort” is a composition for viola and electronics which was first recorded by Laura Parra in summer 2020. Finally, "Discontinuous Mediation I" and "Discontinuous Mediation II" are fixed media compositions that were composed in Summer 2020 and Spring 2021, respectively. This collection …

Hesed: Discovering Redeeming Brokenness In A Retelling Of The Biblical Story Of Ruth, Elizabeth R. Kijowski

Honors Program Projects

Through the powerful interaction between the visual arts and music, an ancient story of brokenness and redemption is told. This thesis seeks to give greater insight into this multimedia retelling of the biblical book of Ruth. Scholarly sources were reviewed to deepen understanding, and works from professional visual artists and musicians were examined for this project to come together. The end product is this thesis paper as well as a body of art and a five-movement piece of music. This combination of visual art and music allows the relevance of the biblical book of Ruth to be seen in the …

Grey Areas: Songs Of Memory, Imagination, Intellect, And Death For Baritone Voice And Mixed Instrumental Octet, Scott Stephen Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The central element of this thesis is Grey Areas, a newly-composed dramatic piece in four movements for baritone and chamber ensemble. The work is highly personal in both its subject matter and its musical execution; it also contains a unique movement order that changes depending on the age of the baritone. Along with the written portion of this document and full score, I completed a studio recording of the entire composition as part of the project. Composers (by necessity) are more frequently functioning as their own recording and mixing engineers for their own works. I have been able to …

An Exploration Of Topical Interaction In Symphony For Wind Band, Paul Royse

Masters Theses

Symphony for Wind Band is a single-movement tonal piece for wind band. It features four overarching sections with numerous changes in key, meter, tempo, and mood. The juxtapositions and contrasts of mood reflect a narrative conflict between two music topics: the pastoral and the city. Each of these topics possess musical signifiers present in the piece as well as extra-musical associations that add levels of significance to a narrative interpretation.

This paper will outline my reasons for composing for wind band and present a topical analysis of the piece. This analysis will include hermeneutic interpretations based on how the topics …

Musical Perspective: An Analysis Of How Musicals Reflect Cultural Discourse, Amosi Morgan

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

In this paper, I will be analyzing the role musical theatre productions play in reflecting cultural discourse. I will also discuss the impact musicals have on societal discussions regarding topics like race, capitalism, and social justice. The way I seek to do this is by first explaining the origin of musicals as musical comedies. I will also discuss other musical innovations such as the opera that influenced the shift. I will discuss the rise of musical dramas as musicals started incorporating serious themes. The emotional impact of musicals and their use of pathos will be analyzed. I will research the …

Melodies Of Love: An Exploration Of Popular Love Songs And Love Styles According To The Ancient Greeks, Kevin Blackmon

Recital Papers

I conducted an investigation and application of how different types of affection, as expressed in Classical Greek philosophy, are conveyed in commercial music with love songs. I also analyzed how various love songs demonstrate these different meanings of affection. Through my discoveries, I applied the standards of these ideas to my music. I focused on the common characteristics that each love song shares. I divided each analysis of musical ideas and concepts that contain similarities into the six subsections of Jan LaRue’s SHRMGT framework: SHRMG(T) stands for sound, harmony, melody, rhythm, growth, and text. The focus for each song will …

The Art Of Incorporating Afro-Latin Rhythms In Modern Jazz: In The Style Of Maria Schneider, Kristen Janelle

Composition/Recording Projects

This thesis explores how Afro-Latin rhythms came into use in modern jazz, specifically in the work of Maria Schneider and the author. Several Afro-Latin genres are explained theoretically and historically.

A Feminist History Of The Roland Mc-505, Cameron Davis

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

A Feminist History of the Roland MC-505

Abstract

Roland’s MC 505 is a small portable music production instrument also known as agroovebox that functions as a programmable sixty-four note polyphonic synthesizer and drummachine with twenty-six interchangeable drum kits to use in various combinations. (1) The groovebox is equipped for both audio recording and live performance, both of which are analyzed in this research. The machine has many innovative elements that have carried over into modern music technology as well as some limitations that have since been left behind. This study acts as a historical evaluation of the growth and improvements …

Waves Of Lament, Kennedy Kimber-Johnson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Waves of Lament is a five movement cycle for solo organ with a duration of 23 minutes. This cycle is a reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through its five movements, this work aims to depict the different chapters of life during a global pandemic. Waves of Lament, utilizes the sounds of the organ to explore various extra-musical themes from the pandemic. The first movement explores panic and anxiety, the second looks at isolation, and the third movement explores themes of rest and reflection. The fourth movements deals with the massive amount of loss we have all experienced throughout the …

Coloquio Entre Dos Perros, Comic Chamber Opera In Nine Scenes, Sandra Rocio Fuya-Duenas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Coloquio entre dos Perros (Dialogue between two Dogs) is a comic chamber opera for four solo voices (one mezzo-soprano, one tenor and two baritones) and mixed ensemble (oboe, viola, guitar and percussion). The libretto, written in modern American Spanish, is based on the novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra entitled Coloquio que pasó entre Cipión y Berganza, perros del Hospital de la Resurrección, que está en la ciudad de Valladolid fuera de la puerta del campo, a quien comúnmente llaman los perros de Mahudes. The opera is divided into nine scenes, which relate the stories from the life of …

Look At The Lights, Chandra Gangavarapu '21

IMSAloquium Student Investigation Showcase

No abstract provided.

A Rhythmic Analysis Of Michael Torke: Three Colors And Primary, Secondary, Tertiary: An Original Work For Symphonic Band, Aaron Fast

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes three early Michael Torke “color” pieces, Ecstatic Orange, Bright Blue Music, and The Yellow Pages. This analysis provides insight into the compositional process of his early works, which continues to define his style today. Torke’s techniques include rhythmic motives and their variations, rhythmic canon, sectioning as the basis of form, and stratification. This thesis also provides an analytical notational device when defining a Rhythmic Canon Sequence or a Rhythmic Entrance Series. Through this analysis I demonstrate that all three pieces share these compositional techniques but are displayed in three very different pieces. I also explore …

"When I Wore A Younger Man's Clothes": The Nostalgia Topic In The Music Of Billy Joel, Kendall Waters

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

My father and I often listened to Billy Joel together as I grew up, and I eventually formed nostalgic connections to Joel’s music. While music is well known as a conductor of nostalgia, this paper explores the idea that the nostalgia I feel while listening to specific songs in Joel’s catalog is not simply a result of the indexical connections I have built with these tracks. Rather, it is a result of a “nostalgia topic” in Joel’s work. This paper compares the soundtrack and select works from Joel’s catalog to reveal that there is no one gesture, melody, or harmonic …

Obu Steel Drum Combo In An Outdoor Concert, The Obu Steel Drums, Ryan C. Lewis

Student Concert Performances, Programs, and Posters

This is the promotional poster for the Outdoor Concert Series of the OBU Steel Drum Combo. The concerts were held on April 6 and April 15, 2021, at 5:00, at the OBU Amphitheatre. Ryan Lewis directed.

The Elements, Soren Andrew Allen

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

The Elements is a five-movement composition for wind ensemble inspired by the five classical elements: earth, water, fire, air, and aether. These elements were once thought by Plato to be made of small, indivisible solids which were later named the Platonic Solids: the cube, the icosahedron, the tetrahedron, the octahedron, and the dodecahedron, respectively. I utilized compositional techniques developed in the twentieth century to explore these elements and their connections to their solids.

Red Note New Music Festival Composition Competition Announcement, 2021, Carl Schimmel, Roger Zare,

Red Note New Music Festival

The RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music.

Red Note New Music Festival Composition Workshop Announcement, 2021, Carl Schimmel, Roger Zare

Red Note New Music Festival

The RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music.

A Concept Ost, Samantha Taylor

HON 499 Honors Thesis or Creative Project

A Concept OST was developed during my final year at the University of Maine at Farmington. This collection of original music represents the skills I have learned while studying composition and music theory.

Some of the inspirations that helped me shape the sonic world I created include Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Yoko Shimomura (Kingdom Hearts), Junichi Masuda (Pokemon) Jake Kaufman (Shovel Knight), and Toby Fox (Undertale). These composers are known for their narrative-driven compositional work for video games that fit into the Role-Playing-Game playstyle. My primary mode of research was listening to these game tracks and playing the video games …

Maritime Culture: The History, The Music, And Confronting The Gender Divide / One And The Same, Edward Isaiah Hopper

Honors Projects

This Honors Project examines the presence and results of the gender divide in maritime culture through a research paper focusing on maritime history in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, as well as a song cycle, "One and the Same" for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra utilizing a popular belief of the time regarding women and superstition to construct a narrative. This paper analyzes historical sources and sea shanties to observe how women have been represented in maritime history and culture