Music Practice Commons^™

Exploring A Compositional Practice Through The Lens Of The Butterfly Lovers Violin Concerto, Jie Hong Yang

Theses : Honours

Asian music was an important influence upon some Western composers such as Claude Debussy, Giacomo Puccini, Maurice Ravel, Henry Cowell, Oliver Messiaen, John Cage and Lou Harrison. Since the 1960s, Australian composers such as Peter Sculthorpe, Anne Boyd, Richard Meale, and Julian Yu have similarly been influenced by music of Asia. In 2007, Chou Wen-chung wrote about today’s commercially oriented ‘world music’ environment, and addressed the need for Chinese composers to provide more meaningful contribution to the musical culture by writing music informed by knowledge drawn from their cultural heritage. As an Australian born Chinese composer, this exegesis was an …

A Stylistic Analysis Of Recess Performed By Charlie Hunter From The Dvd Right Now Live, Joshua De Silva

Theses : Honours

Charlie Hunter is a guitarist who has gained international recognition for his ability to perform guitar parts and bass lines simultaneously on his hybrid guitar. His ability to construct solos within the context of simultaneous bass line and chordal accompaniment, along with methods he employed to create percussive textures, were the central points of discussion for this dissertation. Hunter’s original composition Recess was selected from the Hunter DVD Right Now Live1, which was transcribed and analysed.

This research is significant due to the lack of detailed analysis of Hunter's techniques in an unaccompanied setting, and to the researcher’s knowledge, …

Proposed Methods For Efficiently Attaining The Skills Required For Accurate Time Keeping In Music, Ben Falle

Theses : Honours

This dissertation aims to provide exercises that will efficiently develop the skills necessary for accurate time keeping in music. Many contemporary industry-standard texts fail to provide specific methods to develop accurate time keeping in music. Most include instructions to use a metronome, but only as a dictator of tempo and not as a tool to improve one's own time keeping ability. This dissertation proposes to address that gap in contemporary music instructional literature. To enhance the understanding of the skills required for accurate time keeping in music, contemporary neurological literature pertaining to time keeping is investigated. A review of this …

A Study Of Performance Practices In Recordings Of Bach's Violin Sonata Bwv 1003 From 1930-2000, Adrian Yeo

Theses : Honours

Throughout the 20th century, the performance practice of baroque music has undergone many stylistic changes. Moreover, the rich resources of primary source material available to us in musical recordings of the period have only recently been realised. Bruce Haynes, in his book The End of Early Music, suggests that the twentieth century saw three principal schools of performance: romantic, modernist, and historically-informed. This study investigates Haynes' hypothesis through a comparison of fourteen recordings of Bach's Solo Violin Sonata in A minor BWV 1003, ranging from 1933 to 1999. Focus is made on eight predetermined observation criteria: tempo, tempo fluctuation, rhythmic …

Modern Performance Trends In Bach's Sacred Music : Changing Tastes In The Performance Of Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium : An Exploration Of The Rhetorical Style, Sam Nester

Theses : Honours

This dissertation investigates changing tastes in the performance practice of Johann Sebastian Bach's sacred music from the second decade of the Twentieth Century to the present day. In particular I focus on the 'rhetorical style', and offer a comparative study of four recordings of Bach's Weihnachtsoratoritmt (Christmas Oratorio) BWV 248 by Harnoncourt (1973), Gardiner (1987), Jacobs (1997), and Suzuki (1998). Though all of these interpretations would be categorised as being in the 'rhetorical style', I attempt to show that within this classification there exists a multiplicity of performance approaches.

An Investigation Of Specific Structural Techniques Used By The Miles Davis Quintet On Selected Live Recordings From 1964-1965, Callum G'Froerer

Theses : Honours

This dissertation intends to deconstruct and analyse specific structural techniques employed by members of Miles Davis' second great quintet, which consisted of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. The motivation behind the selection of structural techniques as the basis of this dissertation lies in its ability to clearly articulate a large aspect of the group's amazing flexibility as an ensemble. The specific areas of analysis are: tempo feel changes, tempo fluctuations, and texture changes. The recordings in focus are 'Autumn Leaves' from the album 'Miles In Berlin', and three selections from the influential live recording of two …

Preparing The Role Of Tytania In Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream: A Handbook For Singers, Emma Pettemerides

Theses : Honours

This dissertation represents a handbook designed to assist singers performing the role of Tytania in Britten' s opera A Midsummer Night's Dream. It explores the historical, literary, cultural, and musical contexts to the music and the drama. In addition, an analytical investigation is made into the ways that Britten has created musical characterization through the manipulation of voice types, melodic and rhythmic contours, motives, orchestration, tonality, and structures. The diverse types of knowledge chosen for investigation are foundational (in the author's opinion) in the development of an informed interpretation of the character, Tytania. This information can assist performers in avoiding …

Blowing East : A Set Of Performance Practice Instructions For A Western Flautist Presenting Japanese And Indian Inspired Works, Asha Henfry

Theses : Honours

In the form of a handbook, this dissertation is predominantly directed at Western flute players interested in world music, the shaktthachi or bansttri, or who may be looking for advice on playing Japanese or Indian inspired works. Performing music that is not in the normal Western classical idiom can sometimes be a daunting experience for a flautist. By looking first at the background musical and cultural aspects relative to each country and then delving deeper into the finer details of characteristic nuances and techniques, the flautist can then take the music to a higher level. In addition, an extensive list …