Music Theory Commons^™

Getting Under Your Skin Until You Jump Out Of It: The Psychological Effects Of Music On The Experience Of Film, Clare Ellen Herzog

Senior Projects Spring 2022

Music is like magic. It can sweep you off your feet and spirit you away to places you never thought possible: it can serve as a teleportation device, achieve time travel, and let us read minds. Some pieces of music exist for their own sake, like Rachmaninoff’s Isle of the Dead, while others accompany different forms of media: ballets such as The Nutcracker and operas like La Bohème are instantly recognizable for their grandiose and immersive scores. For a moment in time, audiences can really believe that they are traveling to a magical world with Clara, and even without the …

Momentary Musics: How Spotify And The Attention Economy Transformed Music From Art Form To Affect, Tobias Hess

Senior Projects Spring 2022

The rise of music streaming platforms such as Spotify, and the concurrent emergence of what is broadly known as "the attention economy" have radically shifted the aesthetics of the music industry, as well as the artistic subjectivities of artists that operate within this paradigm. Through a formal analysis of Spotify's recommendation algorithm, I argue that algorithmic curation systems such as Spotify's create a new cultural paradigm that has replaced Adorno's conception "culture industry." What has replaced it is a dispersed meritocracy where success is determined by how well individual cultural actors conform to the preferred aesthetics of algorithmic platforms. Using …

Work In Progress. Haydn’S Schemata And Hexachords: Two Analytical Case Studies, Gilad Rabinovitch

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

Two analytical case studies, from Haydn’s minuet al roverso (from the Symphony Hob. I: 47) and the opening movement of the String Quartet Op. 50, no. 6, show the interaction of galant schemata (Gjerdingen 2007) and the hexachordal solmization of the solfeggio tradition (Baragwanath 2020). Haydn plays upon conventional galant schemata—presumably elements of style shared by listeners who are closely familiar with the idiom (even if they do not have explicit schema labels); he also plays upon a more esoteric element of his own training and that of many other musicians in the period: hexachordal solmization. By considering both schemata …

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

Musical Offerings

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 …

Villa-Lobos’S Segunda Sonata-Fantasia For Violin And Piano: An Analysis And Performance Guide, Maira Braga Cabral

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study focuses on Villa-Lobos’s Segunda Sonata-Fantasia for Violin and Piano, written between 1913 and 1914. A brief biography of Villa-Lobos until 1915 provides the context of the period during which he composed the piece. Next, Villa-Lobos’s main influences are presented, a list that includes European nineteenth-century aesthetics, Impressionism, Brazilian popular music, Wagner’s motivic treatment, and Brazilian indigenous music. Next, the main compositional devices used by the composer are discussed, providing examples from the Segunda Sonata-Fantasia and from other pieces by Villa-Lobos. A structural analysis of the piece is presented, focusing on the form, thematic approach, and harmonic processes.

The …

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 Role Of A Polyrhythm’S Pitch Interval In Music-Dependent Memory, Hadley R. Parum

Senior Projects Spring 2021

When listening to music, humans can easily and often automatically assess the perceptual similarity of different moments in music. However, it is difficult to rigorously define the way in which we determine exactly how similar we find to moments to be. This problem has driven inquiry in music cognition, musicology, and music theory alike, but previous results have depended on behaviorally mediated responses and/or recursive analytic strategies by music scholars. The present work employs the context-dependent memory paradigm as a novel way to investigate the extent to which listeners consider two musical examples to be similar. After incidentally learning words …

Fostering Music Performers In The 21st Century: A Contemporary Professional Perspective Toward A New Curricular Agenda For Graduate Study In Music, Andre Januario

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

What if the core curriculum for graduate students in music performance were designed to prepare students to succeed in the world of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?

This dissertation offers a hypothetical answer: a structured and systematic academic curricular framework for music graduate students of performance of concert music (especially those in terminal degrees, such as doctoral students), along with music instructors, professional music performers, school administrators, and college professors, seeking to prepare such students for achieving and maintaining a music career more in keeping with the current work environment, especially those skills demanded by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the …

A Foundation For Collaboration: An Analysis Of Robert Schumann’S Dichterliebe, Op. 48, Kailang Zhan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This paper provides an analysis of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe offering historical information and insights into each of the sixteen songs. The analysis includes the English translation of the texts and discussion of the form of each song as well as highlights of the special moments of harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic structure in relation to Schumann’s setting of each poem. The analysis provides a foundation for collaborative skills for the singer and pianist for the study and performance of Dichterliebe. In addition, the paper includes brief biographies of Robert Schumann and Heinrich Heine and background information on the poetry and …

African American Sacred Music And The Romantic Aesthetic, Brooksie Harrington

English Faculty Working Papers

Gospel music affects every aspect of African American culture, and the similarities between the African American sacred music aesthetic and the Romantic aesthetic share a theme of religiosity that is contained in the correlative of the mythopoetic “seam.” This seam meshes together analysis that explores the natural sublime, as suggested in the writings of such scholars as William Wordsworth, Pierre Proudhon, Samuel Coleridge, James Weldon Johnson, Henry L. Gates, and Anthony Heilbut.

Corporeal Analysis: The Performing Body As Analytic Site, Laura Cocks

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A framework of corporeal analysis posits that the physicality of the performer can be construed as a primary analytical parameter in a work. This dissertation seeks to set up such a method of analysis largely through anecdata and autoethnography with the aim of eliciting a deeper space for additional performer-driven analyses that prioritize the bodily knowledge of performers and their physical understandings of a work. Centering around David Bird’s 2013 work for solo piccolo and “no-less-than twenty-nine spatialized piccolos,” Atolls, three main aspects of corporeal analysis will be explored. These are: performance physicality as expressive connective tissue between flutist …

Escaping Time: Messiaen’S Musical Language, Religious Symbolism, And Undermining Time In Quatour Pour La Fin Du Temps, Sarra Elizabeth Hey-Folick

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scholars, including Robert Fallon and Wilfred Mellers, understand Olivier Messiaen’s Quatour pour la fin du Temps through the lens of war and captivity. Written during Messiaen’s imprisonment in the German prisoner of war camp Stalag VIII A during World War II, Quatour portrays the biblical “end of time” described in the book of Revelations. Messiaen drew connections between Quatour and the apocalypse with references to the angel of the apocalypse, the abyss, and the end of time. Messiaen, along with Étienne Pasquier, Jean Le Boulaire, and Henri Akoka premiered Quatour on January, 15th 1941, for their fellow prisoners and guards …

A Conductor's Guide To Amass By Jocelyn Hagen, Matthew J. Myers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Contemporary American composer Jocelyn Hagen grew up in Valley City, North Dakota, where she found an early love for singing, playing instruments, and composing. After completing degrees at St. Olaf College and the University of Minnesota, Hagen began a career as a full-time composer. Her appointment as Composer-in-Residence for The Singers led to her first major multimovement work, amass (2011).

Though Hagen planned to write a traditional setting of the Catholic Mass, she struggled to accept the text of the “Credo” as the only path to salvation. Thus, she substituted spiritual poems from a variety of faith traditions to create …

Dynamic Procedural Music Generation From Npc Attributes, Megan E. Washburn

Master's Theses

Procedural content generation for video games (PCGG) has seen a steep increase in the past decade, aiming to foster emergent gameplay as well as to address the challenge of producing large amounts of engaging content quickly. Most work in PCGG has been focused on generating art and assets such as levels, textures, and models, or on narrative design to generate storylines and progression paths. Given the difficulty of generating harmonically pleasing and interesting music, procedural music generation for games (PMGG) has not seen as much attention during this time.

Music in video games is essential for establishing developers' intended mood …

Cf Album, Transcriptions, And Analyses, Collin Felter

Honors Scholars Collaborative Projects

CF is an album of Collin Felter original compositions with a focus on creating a more approachable form of jazz harmony. To further the accessibility of the music, Felter has transcribed and analyzed his compositions for the listeners to theoretically understand what they are aurally experiencing. Included is the transcriptions/analysis document along with a link to the recordings of the album (can be found on all music streaming platforms).

Exercises In Developing Bebop Scale Language For Collegiate Jazz Students, Lars Swanson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this document, major, dominant and minor bebop scales are introduced and engaged through a series of etudes for C instruments, Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Trombone and Bass. The methodology used is derived from a series of private lessons in which bebop scales were introduced and then engaged over chord progressions. Backing tracks are utilized and linked.

The Roman Catholic Ordinary Mass From Circa 1750 To Circa 1820: A Selected Bibliography, Letícia Gabriele Grützmann Januario

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Orchestrated masses from the 18th century and early years of the 19th century provide a valuable source of repertoire for contemporary choral conductors. This project will explore composers and works from circa 1750 to 1820 to provide choral conductors with a list of works suitable for programming based on the practical size of vocal and instrumental forces.

Western choral music was born in a church setting. Among all choral genres, the mass is the only genre composed throughout all eras, from medieval until the 20th century. The mass remained a prominent genre during the 18th century despite the secularizing influence …

Fluids In Music: The Mathematics Of Pan’S Flutes, Bogdan Nita, Sajan Ramanathan

Department of Mathematics Facuty Scholarship and Creative Works

We discuss the mathematics behind the Pan’s flute. We analyze how the sound is created, the relationship between the notes that the pipes produce, their frequencies and the length of the pipes. We find an equation which models the curve that appears at the bottom of any Pan’s flute due to the different pipe lengths.

A Failure Of The Music Industry: The Frustration Of Women Of Color, Christina Estes-Wynne

Backstage Pass

Throughout the history of the music industry, women of color have not received the same recognition as their male counterparts because males have dominated the industry resulting in lack of female representation. Women have been oversexualized reducing their clout in their fields and the lack of acknowledgement of success, which discourages future generations of colored women from attempting to reach their highest potential.

Domenico Scarlatti: The Beginnings And Creation Of The Classical Piano Sonata, Megan R. Stuart

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

The keyboard sonata is a musical work that many instrumentalists understand and have played at one point or another during their years of mastering their instruments. Many composers have tried their hand at writing a sonata and for some, their sonatas have been their crowning achievements. Some composers are more renowned for their sonatas compared to others, examples being Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Clementi, and Domenico Scarlatti. The sonata began to be developed during the Baroque era and even has its roots before this time, yet the largest development stage of the sonata is seen during the late Baroque era, especially …

Meaning Beyond Words: A Musical Analysis Of Afro-Cuban Batá Drumming, Javier Diaz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of a musical analysis of Afro-Cuban batá drumming. Current scholarship focuses on ethnographic research, descriptive analysis, transcriptions, and studies on the language encoding capabilities of batá. However, this artistically sophisticated tradition demands a more in-depth study of its musical manufacture. Drawing from experience as a ritual batá player and as an oricha priest, I have completed the current study by following three primary analytical modalities: (1) sonic landscape, which encompasses: sound vocabulary, form, individual drum parts, and balance of musical elements; (2) timbral design, how the different batá sounds articulate meaningful and functionally distinguishable structures; (3) the …

Audio To Architecture: House Music As A Form Generator, Polina Timchenko

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Contemporary music undergoes similar process of creation to that of the design process through computation and variation. House music as a representation of contemporary culture has a layered structure that allows specific characteristics to identify it as house music. Song components can vary and mix in different orders that form new dynamic compositions. I am going to explore the idea that every house music component can be translated into geometry with the use of parametric design techniques.

Where Time And Eternity Intersect: The Integration Of The Liturgical Calendar Into The Worship Practices Of The Evangelical Church, Leah Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The liturgical calendar is a historic practice of the Christian church which provides a structure for worship based on the life and teachings of Jesus. This project will examine the historical developments of the use of the liturgical calendar and the value of introducing it to the evangelical church setting. The project will be a case study of several evangelical churches in the Southern Maryland area through analysis of a one year sample of song canon. The song canons will be analyzed for balance in offices of Christ, story focus, and Trinitarian language.

Music Therapy In The Modern Era: Three Discussions, Kate Pisarczyk, Sean Harty, Victoria Kleeman

Celebration of Learning

This Senior Inquiry presentation includes the findings of three Pre-Music therapy senior’s research. The three projects delve into very different, but important aspects of music therapy in our modern era. Sean Harty's Memory and Music delves into the impact of music on different parts of the aging brain in regards to memory recall. Music therapy is one avenue in order to assist this type of clientele. Victoria Kleeman's Synergy Should Tell the Story in Music Therapy explores the idea of creating synergy within the world of music therapy. Her discussion leads with the idea that the creation of synergy comes …

Electronics And The Music Of Miles Davis, Darren E. Shekailo

Theses and Dissertations

Miles Davis produced a wealth of music relying on the use of electronic instruments and new technology. With their adoption, the famous trumpeter began his “electric” period. Examining the electric period of Davis’s career helps us trace the profound impact of electronic instruments and technological advances on his music.

Music Is The "Noise Of Remembering" Tracing The Origins, Influences, And Connectivities Of West African Music, Adam Friedman

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The popularity and universal reach of music genres such as Jazz and Hip Hop attest to the idea that these forms have been long established as a vital part of global musical culture. For people who are familiar with Afrocentric music, it is clear that styles such as Jazz and Hip Hop are rooted in, and inextricably linked with, African culture and history. What is more difficult to make sense of, however, is how and why transplanted African culture came to have such wide reaching impact in the new contexts in which it was taken up – because the stories …

Selected Folksong Arrangements Of Zoltán Kodály: An Analysis And Performer’S Guide, Sebastian A. Haboczki

Dissertations, 2014-2019

The history of Hungarian music and the Hungarian nation is a long and complicated one. Conquered by many different empires throughout history, Hungary faced challenges in maintaining its unique music and cultural heritage. Despite Hungary’s tumultuous changes of governance, its folksongs have evolved and flourished. Through the efforts of people such as Zoltán Kodály, Béla Bartók, and Lászlo Dobszay, these folksongs have been collected, studied, and categorized. Kodály, an accomplished musician whose research and music education philosophy can sometimes overshadow his compositional prowess, also composed folksong arrangements which embody the true nature of Hungarian music. These arrangements can be used …

Ministry Through Musical Performance: Establishing Biblical, Historical, And Pedagogical (Educational) Precedent For The Christian Performing Artist, Lindsey Graham

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

As a performing artist, the author suggests in an “American Idol” culture, Christian artists have largely lost their identity as worshipers with a ministry of the Gospel through music. The Christian performing artist has the responsibility to commit to spiritual maturity and personal growth. This thesis project proposes the artist is a communicator of the Gospel through music and seeks to substantiate the Christian performing artist through biblical, historical, and educational rationale and precedent. Biblical rationale of the Christian performing artist is considered in Old Testament and New Testament principle and precedent. Historical rationale and precedent is established through the …

Muzic Appreciation: Bridging The Gap Between Generation Z & Classical Music, Timothy Green

Masters Theses

Today’s music educators stand in a strategic position in the history of classical music in America. At a time when symphony orchestras are struggling to survive due to an aging and declining customer base, a generation of musical omnivores are ripe for a connection to the world of classical music. Generation Z has a vast, eclectic musical appetite, choosing to listen to a variety of genres and styles of music instead of adopting a generational style. However, they have limited interaction with classical music due to certain non-musical attitudes and values. It is possible the disconnect between Generation Z and …

Implications Of Theory Of Mind, Feelings Of Connectedness, Flow State Of Mind Through Active And Passive Music Improvisation Experiences, Rebecca Lint

Honors Theses

This study is an introduction examining the relationship between a performer and the audience in a musical improvisation context. Current research exploring performer-audience interaction in improvisation experiences is scant and typically framed in a purely narrative context. This study seeks to evaluate four different components of the performer and audience relationship; amount, or level, of experience with improvisation and comfort levels, flow, theory of mind, and emotional connection. A survey was generated and given to students in an improvisation class to collect results based on these four components. This study found that improvisation experience levels were low but comfort with …