Music Practice Commons^™

Overcoming Initial Hurdles: Strategies For Developing A University Free Improvisation Ensemble, Rui Li

Theses and Dissertations--Music

New free improvisers may come across six major problems as they learn to improvise: imbalance between technique and music, incorrect perception of limitation, imbalance between rationality and emotion, lack of enthusiasm, inability to view criticism as a source of creativity, and misunderstanding of mistakes and risks. In this thesis, I propose a set of effective pedagogical tools as possible solutions for students and groups interested in exploring the beauty of free improvisation.

Gretchen’S Soliloquy “Ach Neige, Du Schmerzenreiche” From Goethe’S Faust: A Vocal Performance Analysis And Set Of Performance Guidelines For Various Solo Voice Settings, Savanna Sokolnicki

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The great novelist and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) arguably made his most significant contribution to the artistic world with his literary masterpiece Faust I. Goethe’s love of music and melody is evident throughout all of Faust, particularly in the expressive poetry of the character of Gretchen, whose meaningful words gave inspiration to a variety of musical manifestations, especially in German Lied.

This document serves as a performance guide for vocalists. It provides vital information on the setting and arrangement of the poetry within the musical settings, the background and significance of the composer and …

Utilizing Mental Practice To Combat Performance Anxiety In Performing Musicians, Stephanie M. Quist

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Performance anxiety is a crippling problem for many performing musicians. Success in dealing with such a problem can make or break a performance; therefore, it becomes necessary for musicians to learn ways to cope with debilitating nerves. As a performing pianist myself, I am interested in investigating ways current performance anxiety research can be best applied to ease musicians’ stage fright. As there is a gap between current academic research on this subject and pedagogical practice, many teachers lack good advice to give students suffering stage fright. My thesis paper incorporates my personal experiences in mental practice with current academic …

Towards An Interactive Environment For The Performance Of Dubstep Music, James Herrington

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This Masters by Research project explores the integration of different concepts relating to the presence of the human body in Dubstep music performance. Three intended performance systems propose that the body is the logical site for the interactive control of live Dubstep music. The physicality and gestures of instrumentalists, choreographed dancers, and audience members will be examined in order to develop new and exciting ways to perform this genre in a live setting.

The systems take on a three-tiered hierarchical approach on two levels in regards to the extraction of gestural information from human body movements, as well as in …

Understanding And Implementing Extended Saxophone Techniques, Tyler R. Bokman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Contemporary classical music often pushes the boundaries of how instruments should be played and what kinds of sounds they should produce. A great deal of contemporary music requires the player to utilize playing techniques that may seem very strange and difficult to those who are unfamiliar with them. These unusual practices, known as extended techniques, can include playing in extreme ranges, manipulating pitches in particular ways, and applying abnormal articulations. While once seen as a sort of novelty, these extended techniques are becoming increasingly essential to the contemporary musician. This is especially true of the saxophonist.

While nearly every other …

An Exploration Of The French And American Schools Of Classical Saxophone, Sarah E. Miracle

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is an exploration of the relatively short history of the classical saxophone genre. It will focus mainly on the styles created by Marcel Mule, the second professor of saxophone at the Paris Conservatory, and Larry Teal, the first full-time professor of saxophone in America. Mule and Teal’s contrasting ideas of playing and teaching created distinct French and American schools of classical saxophone playing. This project explores the similarities and differences between these two schools of thought, and places them each in historical and cultural contexts. In addition, it traces the subsequent lineage of prominent saxophone performers and pedagogues, …