Music Theory Commons^™

Violin Intonation: The Connection Between The Violin’S Tuning System And Performance, Marion J. Johnson

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The history of the violin’s intricate tuning system is rich with various pitch standards, the influence of musicians, and diversity of violin craftsmanship. The violin offers a wide array of tuning techniques, and even the smallest intonation adjustment can wildly impact the violin’s pitch and playability. Violinists possess an enormous capability to facilitate effective tuning in a solo and ensemble setting. The design of the instrument’s body, dating as far back as the early Renaissance and extending to the modern violin, impacts timbre, resonance, and string tension. Every detail of the violin, even those that may seem inconsequential, affects its …

Singing Planets Don't Sing; They Speak, Joanna R. Lauer

Musical Offerings

Ancient Greek philosophers conceived a theory called Music of the Spheres. This ancient theory progressed for almost one thousand years before finally proving itself untrustworthy. However, this examination uncovers an overlooked fact: the large amount of natural order in sound and music existing before the creation of man. Scripture reveals that God is a God of order, and an extensive amount of natural order is found in the universe. Evidence points to God being the creator of the universe. Specific examples of such evidence are the inherent order of sound laid out in pitches, interval ratios, the overtone series, the …

Joyful, Joyful! The Musical Significance Of Beethoven's Ninth, Allison N. Zieg

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Almost everyone is familiar with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and the famous four note motif that represents fate knocking at the door. His Third Symphony, or “The Heroic Symphony” that was originally written for Napoleon Bonaparte, enjoyed great success and helped shape the future of classical music. However, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony which contains the well-known tune “Ode to Joy” most drastically impacted classical music’s future. Beethoven was a master at taking simple ideas and combining them with past musical traditions to create something extravagant and new. This is most evident in his Ninth Symphony. In this work, Beethoven did something that …

Medieval Methods: Guido D’Arezzo’S Innovative Approaches To Music Education, Lydia C. Kee

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Music education has been influenced by many people throughout history, but arguably none of them have done so as much as the monk, Guido D’Arezzo. His teaching methods have been embraced and developed by music educators throughout the centuries. For example, it is recorded that Guido was the first to use the five-line staff as we use it today. This was especially groundbreaking in a world of rote memorization. Today it is used globally in music education. The roots of solfege are also found in Guido’s writings; his syllables have been adapted by Zoltan Kodály. Not only that, but John …

The Rise Of Opera In Monteverdi's Orfeo, Allison N. Zieg

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Late Renaissance composer Claudio Monteverdi is known by scholars as the father of opera. While Monteverdi did not directly invent the production, we honor him as the first to successfully produce three major operas that have survived to this day. His works set the stage for future opera composers, and he drastically influenced the rise of such a large scale production. He is most known for his opera "Orfeo," which has continued to be adapted to the modern stage, and performed frequently in several opera houses. What led to the creation of such an extravagant production and never before heard …

Re-Forming Music: Martin Luther’S Impact On Church Music Through The Lutheran Reformation, Soraya Peront

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Martin Luther is regarded as a seminal figure in 16th-century Europe, having a profound impact on the development of the Protestant Church as it separated from the Roman Catholic Church. Though Luther is most commonly known for his theological influences during the time, his upbringing and musical education strongly influenced his theological beliefs. Not only did this result in a development of a new Christian denomination, but Luther permanently changed the way music was written and performed in the church. How is it, though, that we can credit this musical change to Luther? Through an examination of Luther’s musical understanding …

Hildegard: A Trailblazer?, Emilie Schulze

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Hildegard von Bingen, a Christian mystic, influenced theology, philosophy, and music during the Middle Ages. Some people today claim her as a forerunner for women’s rights because her works gained such prominence people assume she had the authority to teach men in the church. However, this assertion places unnecessary strain on Hildegard, misreading her works and her place within the structure of the medieval Catholic church. Hildegard’s writings did not seek to equalize men and women. Rather, in her life and in her works, she appealed to her humility, virginity, and close relationship with the Holy Spirit to minister. This …

Johannes Brahms’S Horn Trio And Its Unique Place In The Chamber Music Repertoire, Chloë A. Sodonis

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The purpose of this research is to explore the elements in Brahms’s Trio for Piano, Violin, and Horn in E-flat Major, op. 40, that contribute to its unique position in the vast and revered library of chamber music. These include Brahms's use of folksong, five-measure phrases, a variation on sonata form, developing variation, emotional elements, and unique instrumentation. The German folk song, Es soll sich ja keiner mit der Liebe abgeben is almost identical to the opening fourth movement theme of the horn trio. Brahms incorporates portions of this melody throughout all four movements of his horn trio which demonstrates …

Fighting The Philistines: Robert Schumann And The Davidsbündler, Stephen J. White

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Robert Schumann was an eccentric composer and musical critic who influenced the Romantic-era musical community through the formation of the Davidsbündler. This “league of David” was Schumann’s idea of a musical society which exemplified a distinctly pure style of modern musical composition. The style of the Davidsbündler was based on the idea that music must reflect the personal life experiences of its composer. Needing a journal to publish musical writings of Davidsbündler, Schumann created the New Journal for Music. Having himself suffered from mental instability throughout his life, Schumann’s music often displayed unique levels of polarity and passion …

Henriette Renié: A Threefold Legacy, Jacy A. Stahlhut

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In 1810, Sébastien Érard patented a double-action mechanism that would dramatically alter the trajectory of the pedal harp. While this invention granted the harp a newfound voice in orchestral music, the harp still struggled to gain ground as a solo instrument. The harp’s increased complexity necessitated that harpists themselves explore the instrument’s abilities and demonstrate these to the musical world. It is to one such harpist, Henriette Renié, that the harp owes much of its credibility as an instrument worthy of the solo stage. From her prodigious beginnings at Paris Conservatoire, Renié’s concerts captivated musicians and the public alike. Her …

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: A Composer On The Fault Line Of Ideological Change, Stephen J. White

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While there has been a renewed interest in recent years on Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and his place as a transitional figure in Western music history, little academic thought is given to his musical philosophy. Emanuel’s father, Johann Sebastian Bach, taught him the German-Protestant view that the primary purpose of music was to highlight scripture. Through his education, Emanuel gained an appreciation for the secular philosophies of humanism and the Enlightenment. In contrast to J. S. Bach’s Protestant views, the philosophies of the Enlightenment asserted that the primary purpose of music was to highlight the essence of humanity through emotions …

Nuper Rosarum Flores: The Cathedral Conundrum, Jacy A. Stahlhut

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In 1436, Pope Eugenius IV consecrated the newly-completed Santa Maria del Fiore, more commonly known as Florence Cathedral. The completion of the cathedral’s dome was an incredible feat of great significance to the city of Florence, whose cathedral had remained unfinished for over one hundred years, and the splendor of the dedication ceremony reflected this reality. Franco-Flemish composer Guillaume Dufay was commissioned to write a motet for the occasion, and the resulting work, Nuper rosarum flores, has sparked a great deal of controversy in the musicological realm. In 1973, musicologist Charles Warren claimed that the isorhythmic proportions of …

Gustav Mahler The Protomodernist, Austin M. Doub

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Steeped in a cultivated European tradition and burdened by several personal tragedies, Gustav Mahler undeniably shaped the course of classical music leading into the twentieth century. Holding fast to late Romantic stylistic conventions including complex rhythmic concepts, emotional and expansive melodies, and a strict adherence to form allowed the forward-thinking composer to seamlessly introduce modern elements into his symphonies. Through Mahler’s commanding symphonic output, the composer successfully maintained strong Austro-German stylistic principles while propelling the genre forward. In these symphonic writings, modern techniques of tonal decentralization, chromaticism, quotation, and paraphrasing are met with cohesive and compelling narratives to create balanced …

Understanding The Cultural And Nationalistic Impacts Of The Moguchaya Kuchka, Austin M. Doub

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This paper explores Russian culture beginning in the mid nineteenth-century as the leading group of composers and musicians known as the moguchaya kuchka, or The Mighty Five, sought to influence Russian culture and develop a "pure" school of Russian music amid rampant westernization. Comprised of César Cui, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, this group of inspired musicians opposed westernization and supported Official Nationalism by the incorporation of folklore, local village traditions, and promotion of their Tsar as a supreme political leader. In particular, the works of Balakirev, Cui, and Mussorgsky established cultural pride and contributed …

Emanuel Bach: A Composer Ahead Of His Time, Tyler Dellaperute

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Up until recently, many musicologists perceived music history through the lens of what is known as the “linear view.” This is the idea that one “musical period” seamlessly gave way to another, with brief transitionary periods to bridge the gaps. As a result, composers were expected to fall neatly into categories depending on their chronological placement. For this reason, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the eldest son of J. S. Bach, was (and still is) regarded as merely the bridge between the late Baroque style and that of the Viennese Classicists. In the past half-century, however, scholars have begun to study …

The Battle Between Impeccable Intonation And Maximized Modulation, Timothy M. True

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Equal temperament represents a way of completing the musical circle, and systematically compensating for the Pythagorean comma. Pythagoras discovered this acoustical problem around 550 B.C., and since that time music theorists have debated how to deal with it. The problem is that no perfect solution exists—something must be compromised. As musical styles developed, specific factors and harmonic tendencies led to the gradual adoption of equal temperament. Early in music history, theorists preferred systems which kept acoustical purity relatively intact. Pythagorean intonation and just intonation serve as two examples. However, the move from modality to tonality decentralized the melody as the …

The Federal Music Project: An American Voice In Depression-Era Music, Audrey S. Rutt

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After World War I, America was musically transformed from an outsider in the European classical tradition into a country of musical vibrance and maturity. These great advances, however, were deeply threatened by the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the consequent Great Depression. The nation that, for the first time, was developing an international reputation in the arts now faced a crisis of how to support them. Government sponsorship of the arts through the New Deal Federal One projects allowed struggling artists to survive economically during this era. In the realm of music, however, the Federal Music Project (FMP) had …

The Unifying Strands: Formalism And Gestalt Theory In The Musical Philosophies Of Aristoxenus, Descartes, And Meyer, Amanda N. Staufer

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In every age, philosophers deal with inquiries concerning musical meaning and the effect of music on the listener. Instead of answering the formidable question of musical meaning, this essay demonstrates the parallel aspects of three musical theories from ancient, Enlightenment, and modern times. Using the two criteria of musical formalism and Gestalt Theory, this essay systematically connects the philosophies of Aristoxenus of Tarentum, René Descartes, and Leonard Meyer. Musical formalism holds that music’s nature is innate, self-evident, able to be systematically deduced, and rational. According to formalism, musical meaning is defined by things objectively ‘there’ in the music, musical experience …

The Doctrine Of Affections: Where Art Meets Reason, Sharri K. Hall

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The Doctrine of Affections was a widespread understanding of music and musicality during the Baroque era. The Doctrine was a result of the philosophy of reason and science as it coincides with music. It aimed to reconcile what man knew about science and the human body, and what man thought he knew about music. It was a reconciliation of practical musicianship and theoretical music which had begun to rise in the time. Though it is generally understood as being apart from Enlightenment thinking, the Doctrine is a result of Enlightenment-style philosophy. As the Enlightenment sought to explain why things occurred …

A Blend Of Traditions: The Lute’S Influence On Seventeenth-Century Harpsichord Repertoire, Audrey S. Rutt

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The close relationship between the harpsichord and lute traditions is commonly claimed but rarely elaborated upon, and many experts disagree on the manner in and extent to which the two are related. Often, texts covering the early harpsichord literature will limit discussion of the lute’s influence to a brief mention of the style brisé, if the important connection between the two traditions is even mentioned all. The lute’s impact on the harpsichordists of the seventeenth century is not a facet that can be ignored; rather, an understanding of the lute tradition is essential to an understanding of the harpsichord tradition. …

The Interwoven Evolution Of The Early Keyboard And Baroque Culture, Rachel Stevenson

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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact that Baroque society had in the development of the early keyboard. While the main timeframe is Baroque, a few references are made to the late Medieval Period in determining the reason for the keyboard to more prominently emerge in the musical scene. As Baroque society develops and new genres are formed, different keyboard instruments serve vital roles unique to their construction. These new roles also affect the way music was written for the keyboard as well. Advantages and disadvantages of each instrument are discussed, providing an analysis of what would …

From Bows To Sound-Chests: Tracing The Ancestry Of The Violin, Janelle R. Finley

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The ancestry of the violin is a subject that has been studied, researched, debated, and written about in great detail. However, despite all of the research and study, the ancestry of the violin is still not certain. This paper presents two schools of thought that propose different theories as to how the ancestry of the violin should be determined and what instruments should be included in the ancestry of the violin. The first school of thought proposes that the violin’s ancestry should be traced through the bow. The second theory proposes that the violin’s ancestry should be traced through the …

Coursing With Coils: The Only Orchestral Instrument Harder Than The French Horn, Sarah R. Plumley

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Playing the horn has become not only more sophisticated and accurate, but simpler and more efficient for the horn player. The natural horn, used in a variety ways in early history, demanded an incredible level of skill and precision, more than our valved horn today in some ways because it required a more accurate ear, more embouchure dexterity, and the necessity of wrangling crooks for different keys. Thus, it required many practiced skills of the player that are no longer as necessary as they once were. This paper discusses each of these demands along with the history of the horn, …

Development And Dissemination: Deliberations On Spanish Renaissance Music, Lindsey E. Pfeifer

Musical Offerings

Every musical culture grows and developed under a specific set of influences, whether political, philosophical, or geographical. Varying sets of influences create likewise varying types of music. Spanish music, in particular, enjoyed an especially unique array of influences during the fifteenth century. My presentation explores these influences. How did the interaction of Spain’s three major religions—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—affect musical development? How did the newly unified government, ruled by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, influence the musical culture? How did Spain’s discovery and conquest of the New World facilitate the spread of Spanish music beyond its …

Give My Regards To The Book, Kevin A. Hicks

Musical Offerings

This project is an analysis of the construction of American Musical Theatre. The research for this project has been drawn from direct quotes and writings from Musical Theatre writers, scores and scripts, and from historical books. Reading of these sources reveal principles of Musical Theatre writing which the authors use and the audience expects. This project analyzes how the book, lyrics, and music to a show are written and demonstrates that the writing of Musical Theatre has developed its own unique craft which is grounded in the book.

Oral Transmission: A Marriage Of Music, Language, Tradition, And Culture, Emma E. Patterson

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There are a number of misunderstandings about ancient oral transmission that negatively affect the way musicians view music history but also the process of how music was and currently is conceived, recorded, and shared. A common misconception is that oral transmission of music is an ancient practice that occurred before written notation of music was developed. However, I seek to prove that there is a false dichotomy between oral transmission and written notation and I focus on the changing definition and importance of oral tradition. Firstly, I discuss the misconceptions of ancient oral transmission. Secondly, I examine the continuing development …

He Started The Whole World Singing A Song, Brian R. Cates

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Throughout history, music has moved people in powerful ways, so much so that, at times, it leaves them speechless. They realize that it is a song, full of notes and rhythms, yet at the same time, it makes them become profoundly aware that there is something more, humming just below the surface. My presentation seeks to enter into this music moment by asking why these types of moments even occur. Does music speak or communicate? If so, does it communicate something meaningful and significant? What is the mechanism by which music conveys this meaning? How can this meaning be …

Ruling The Market: How Venice Dominated The Early Music Printing World, Elizabeth M. Poore

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This paper attempts to prove that Venice was the main geographical center of music printing and publishing from the 1300s to the late 1500s using several economic, legal, and cultural factors. The primary research method was examining secondary sources on music printing, publishing, and European and Venetian history.

From the 1300s to the late 1500s, Venetian commercial trade and activity, including book publishing, reached unheard of levels. Venice held a powerful position in the European economy and its merchants were able to leverage this to great advantage when the new technology of printing became available. The specialized business of music …

Ancient Worship Wars: An Investigation Of Conflict In Church Music History, Michael J. Wood

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The purpose of this research is to prove that conflict in church music is nothing new. Even in the time of the early church fathers, dissenting views on what were acceptable and unacceptable practices in church music were present. The music of the 2nd century through the 14th century is examined.

The method used to find specific conflicts in church music history involved reading early Christian literature on music. When possible, both sides of the conflicts included in the project are presented. However, oftentimes only one side of an argument can be found since there is not an abundant supply …

Born To Conquer: The Fortepiano’S Revolution Of Keyboard Technique And Style, Rachel A. Lowrance

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The fortepiano had a rough beginning. In 1709 it entered a world that was not quite ready for it; a world that was very comfortable with the earlier keyboard instruments, especially the harpsichord. Pianists and composers were used to the harpsichord technique and style, which is drastically different from the piano. This is because the harpsichord was actually a very different instrument than the piano, as is explained in this paper. This paper traces the history of the piano's rise to dominance over the harpsichord, and how its unique hammer action began creating an idiomatic piano style. The piano also …