Music Theory Commons^™

Harmonic Data: Ai Music, Edm Transcription, & Minimalist Jazz, Trevor Freed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents research in the domains of music theory and music technology. The topics of the three chapters are as follows: (1) the technical and artistic limitations of artificial intelligence when generating music, (2) the transcription of electronic dance music (EDM) using a hybrid notation system, and (3) the effective convergence of jazz and minimalism in the music of Joe Hisaishi from Studio Ghibli. Each topic investigates a different aspect of harmony and the modern ways in which humans communicate in terms of harmony. The first chapter surveys the latest research projects in AI-generated music and proposes ideas for …

La Fiesta Del Espiritu Santo: An Original Work For Choir, Soloists, And Small Ensemble Influenced By The Santeria Music Of The African-Dominican Community In The Dominican Republic, Rafael Scarfullery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This study examines the role of Santería music as practiced by African Dominicans in Villa Mella, a neighborhood of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This musical tradition comes from the culture and religion of the Yoruba people who were brought as slaves from Africa, and features complex drum rhythms and call-and-response chants. This paper deals with the historical and social context of Santería music within the Dominican Republic, but its principal objective is to adopt the musical language of this tradition and use it to create a new contemporary work for mixed choir and small ensemble.

One of the most …

Character Development And Revolution: Use Of Leitmotif In The First Acts Of Les Misérables And Hamilton: An American Musical, Mary Katherine Pezzillo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leitmotif, a recurring musical theme that represents a character, idea, or situation, is a device used in operas, film scores, and musical theater. Accredited to Richard Wagner, leitmotifs enhance storytelling and provide a sense of cohesion to a production. The popular musicals Les Misérables and Hamilton bear many similarities, including the use of leitmotif as a storytelling device. This thesis explores how the two musicals use leitmotif differently, through the lens of the protagonists, antagonists, and supporting characters. Though the leitmotifs in Les Misérables generally represent ideas and the leitmotifs in Hamilton are mostly character-based, this tool aids the overall …

A View From Within: Timbre As An Analytical Tool In Contemporary Viola Music, Ash Mach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Timbre is an elusive musical parameter that musicians, physicists, and cognitive scientists have been grappling with for centuries. While timbre can roughly be defined as an auditory attribute that distinguishes one tone color from another, this definition does not capture the complexities of sound and our perceptions thereof. Research on timbre has flourished since the 20th century, however, timbre studies has largely gone unnoticed within the viola community. This study, “A View from Within,” helps close the gap between timbre studies and viola repertoire scholarship by presenting analyses of three pieces from the 20th and 21st centuries through a timbre …

Making Malice Musical: Verdi’S Compositional Journey Through The Eyes Of Six Villains, Michael Chadwick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Giuseppe Verdi is a pillar of the operatic world and had a profound impact on the evolution of the art form. From a rudimentary beginning, he developed over time from a popular creator of operas in the solita forma style of 19^th century Italy into a master craftsman of combining music, text, and theatrical drama. Verdi utilized the popular compositional formal convention of solita forma to begin his career. Over time he evolved beyond its boundaries and shifted his focus to the holistic theatrical presentation of the drama. Much has been written about this evolution through analysis of Verdi’s …

Early Instruments In 21st Century Composition And An Original Composition For Saxophones And Viols, Jacob Bitinas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Composers continually seek new timbres and sonorities to bend to their will. The early music revival of the twentieth century has resurrected dozens of instruments that have gone unutilized in contemporary composition for centuries. The historically-informed-performance movement has now evolved to a point where early instruments and period performance techniques can add extraordinary new characters to twenty-first century compositions. This thesis explores how composers effectively utilize early instruments like the viola da gamba, harpsichord, lute, and recorder in their compositions.

The document also contains interview transcripts from eight composers and performers, including Nico Muhly, Liam Byrne, Martha Bishop, David Loeb, …

Escape Beneath: An Original Game Score Inspired By An Analysis Of Garry Schyman's Music, Daniel Cooper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Video-game music has grown into a vast array of different styles, sounds, and applications. As a newer field of music, game scoring has begun to receive high acclaim. Garry Schyman has become one of the most successful composers within the video-game industry. His music has received many awards and nominations throughout the years. Despite this, research and analysis into his compositions and techniques are almost non-existent. This thesis studies his techniques within the video-game scores for BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite, Middle Earth Shadow of War, and Torn; and then applies them into an original …

Listen To The River: Dolores, Ophelia, And Female Resistance In Opera, Daniel Aaron Barnidge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The music of female characters in the great masterpieces of opera often demonstrates resistance to and undermines the abuse they have historically received in opera plots. The Mexican folktale that my opera, The Tragedy of La Llorona, draws inspiration from plays on many of the same tropes historically found in female characters in opera including madness, sexuality, and lack of agency. This led to research into the portrayal of women in opera as part of my pre-compositional process and my desire to access this tale free from the traditional 'marianismo' and 'machismo' narratives it is associated with and which …

Telling Stories: An Analysis Of Speech-Melody Compositions And An Original Speech-Melody Composition For Wind Ensemble, Kevin Cheek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the compositional technique of speech melody and provides a brief historical overview of speech in music. This thesis also examines recent works (2005-2014) that have sourced their melodies from the spoken word and in turn creates an original composition for wind ensemble consisting of melodies sourced from recordings of members of United States military forces speaking about their lived experiences. In conjunction with the analytical and compositional aspects of this thesis, I also conducted an interview with Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis (Jacob TV). i

Embodied Cognition In The Music Theory And Aural Skills Classrooms, Leslie Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Applying concepts of embodied cognition positively impacts pedagogy in the theory and aural skills classrooms. This thesis defines a holistic view of the student and identifies how classroom instruction from that perspective can benefit student learning as well as overall well-being. The opening chapters provide a brief scientific background and connect concepts of embodied cognition with specific music theory and aural skills examples from an interview. A select survey of the music theory pedagogy literature also illustrates principles of embodied cognition. Based on this background, the final chapter presents new sample lesson plans and discusses how to adapt to student …

Music Theory Pedagogy For The Violin: Cognitive Philosophy And Three Model Curricula, Morganne J. Mcintyre

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Violin playing promotes a connection between mind and body that allows the performer to internalize, or embody, tactile features of the instrument, such as the distance between strings, the feeling of the fingertips on the fingerboard, the interval size between notes, and many other aspects. This thesis designs a pedagogy that employs the violin’s physical attributes to provide the beginning through advanced player with a deeper understanding of music theory. The thesis suggests pairing of physical learning and musical theory at each stage of a violinist’s musical education. Chapter 1 surveys embodied cognition and cognitive artifacts. Chapter 2 applies these …

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 …

Formula, Moment, And Ips In Stockhausen's Evas Erstgeburt., Jonathon Pan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This analysis covers the form in Stockhausen’s Evas Erstgeburt, the first act from his Monday opera, Montag aus Licht. It discusses the presence of Stockhausen’s musical formula within this act and observes that his formula is integrated at several structural levels. This formula is a passage of music that determines the pitches, rhythms, and structure of all the music of Stockhausen’s Licht cycle. This formula is a three-voice schema, and these three voices are named Michael, Eve, and Lucifer. While the formula creates landmarks in the music, which indicate towards form, a formula analysis is limited in describing the direction …

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 …

The Performer As Analyst In The Piano Sonata Opus 12 By Jean Sibelius, Jesse Tingle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines and models the process of analysis as a means for performers, particularly pianists, to engage with the large-scale organizational features of musical works, using the Piano Sonata, Opus 12 by Jean Sibelius as a case study. The unique character and structure of each of the three movements suggests an equally wide range of approaches to analysis, including studies in sonata form, construction of a musical narrative based on external source material, and the use of concepts from Sonata Theory to explain the logic of a highly unconventional tonal and thematic design. The analyses are interwoven with a …

Gray Codes In Music Theory, Isaac L. Vaccaro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the branch of Western music theory called serialism, it is desirable to construct chord progressions that use each chord in a chosen set exactly once. We view this problem through the scope of the mathematical theory of Gray codes, the notion of ordering a finite set X so that adjacent elements are related by an element of some specified set R of involutions in the permutation group of X. Using some basic results from the theory of permutation groups we translate the problem of finding Gray codes into the problem of finding Hamiltonian paths and cycles in a Schreier …

Working With Metal: The Stylistic Characteristics Of The Swedish Band Meshuggah And An Original Composition Inspired By Their Work, Adam J. Benefield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I have long been fascinated by music that is created through the amalgamation of more than one style of music. As a composer, this has led to me exploring paths that combine elements of contemporary, classical, jazz, world, film, and video game music. In this thesis I explore elements of progressive metal band Meshuggah. More specifically I examine their use of polymeter, polyrhythm, and other rhythmic devices used in six of their songs. I then demonstrate how I applied those same components to an original composition, Armageddon, scored for flute, Bb clarinet, C trumpet, trombone, percussion, piano, violin, viola, cello, …

Comparing Traditional And Modern Trends In Jazz Improvisation, Ryan M. Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis compares traditional and modern jazz improvisation through analysis. These analyses discuss various musical techniques and ideas specific to each differing era. The case studies focus on three traditional jazz standards: "Autumn Leaves," "Someday My Prince Will Come," and "Cantaloupe Island." Two solo transcriptions (one traditional and one modern) represent each tune, including performances by Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Paul Desmond, Herbie Hancock, Yohan Kim, and Cory Henry. The older transcriptions showcase classic chord-scale relations, diatonic chord harmony, consistent rhythms with spacious phrasing, and recalled material. The newer transcriptions consist more of dense harmony, scales independent from the composed …

From Harmony To The Field, Steven E. Norton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This document expounds a brief history of Western musical art, from the mid-nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty first, which traces the complete transformation of its expressive means and materials. Examined are the changes to Western music’s basic materials such as pitch system, timbral palette and formal architecture. We observe as these aspects are dismantled, supplanted by a dramatically expanded sonic palette and subsequently expanded ranges of expression and topical consideration. This brief historiography contextualizes my current working theories and methods for the construction and understanding of electroacoustic music, centered around the idea of The Field, which frames …

Eclectic: A Recording Project Of Original Crossover Compositions, Chance Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music makers have always borrowed one another’s influences, across philosophies, across culture, and thus, across genres. Since the 1950’s, a time when classical music was at its farthest reach from popular music, the rift between these two “worlds” has shrunk, and music crafters from each category are free to take from the other as they please. As a figure who stands between the cultivated and vernacular traditions, my aim for this thesis is to give an introduction to some of the ways genre hybridization has been achieved since 1950, present a collection of my own compositions (along with recordings) that …

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On And The Civil Rights Movement: A History And Analysis, Jacob Barnhill

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Marvin Gaye’s first self-produced album, What’s Going On is a timeless work in American popular music. This thesis illuminates many of the intricacies that went in to the creation of the album and discusses its relevance during the Civil Rights Movement. Chapter 1 provides a background in popular music analysis and the genre of Soul music. Chapter 2 includes a biography of Gaye and a brief history of the Detroit record label known as Motown. The collaboration of musicians and engineers at Motown, along with Gaye’s influences from his personal life and music career, had profound effects on the outcome …

Analysis Of Sampling Techniques By J Dilla In Donuts, Zachary Diaz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The late James Yancey, known by his producer name of Jay Dee or J Dilla, is considered by many hip-hop scholars and musicians to be one of the most influential producers of the genre. His techniques of sampling are some of the most creative and intricate in the world of hip-hop beat making and are viewed as virtuosic in their own right. By analyzing his compositional process through selected tracks on his seminal (and final) album Donuts, I will be exploring how Dilla used over seventy-five samples from a variety of music genres and artists to create a sonic collage …

The Spectral Atom : Cohesion Of Spectral Particles In The Music Of Alvin Lucier., Timothy Carl Bausch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Listeners often associate the music of Alvin Lucier with the practice of experimental music due to his unorthodox means of composition. By viewing his work in this way, whether consciously or subconsciously, his music is often treated as aleatoric. This classification ignores the compositional stimulus that fuels the creation of his music. Lucier’s compositions are driven by the exploitation of one facet (or phenomenon) of sound. These sound phenomena take the form of spectral particles: vibrating media, acoustics, and psychoacoustics. The spectral particles uncovered in his pieces combine to form a spectral atom. By analyzing four of Alvin Lucier’s works, …

Tonal Shift, Cadence And Transition In The Brass Sonatas Of Paul Hindemith., Blake Taylor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines analytical facets in Paul Hindemith’s sonatas for brass and piano, ranging in date of composition from 1938 to 1955, while also considering Hindemith’s role as a neoclassicist and how these works help inform and shape our knowledge of Hindemith’s neoclassicism. The document is divided into four chapters: Hindemith and Tonality, Analytical Concerns and Methods, Brass Sonata Analyses, and Hindemith and Neoclassicism. As a fundamentally neoclassical composer, Hindemith combined traditional aspects of form with new applications of tonality, establishing within his music various levels of what he termed “key areas.” Through analyzing the corpus of sonatas for solo …

Sight-Singing Pedagogy : A Survey Of High School Choral Directors., Marissa Lee Pollock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to highlight effective sight-singing techniques used by successful choral directors in the state of Kentucky. The method used for this study was a non-experimental survey sent to thirty-four high school choral directors. Directors were selected to participate based on distinguished assessment scores received over the last five years (2011-2015). They were asked questions about their techniques, background in education, and placement of sight-singing in the curriculum. With a response rate of 65% the results indicated that the majority of directors had received or earned at least a master’s degree, had taught for at least …

A Realization And Analysis : The Manifestation Of Franz Schubert Within Manuel Maria Ponce's Sonata Romantica., Parker S. Scinta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within early twentieth-century guitar repertoire, Manuel María Ponce’s Sonata Romántica distinguishes itself in both quality and historical significance. The manifestation of Franz Schubert’s compositional idioms within this work exhibits Ponce’s intense understanding of Romantic harmonic and formal treatment, in addition to his imitative compositional ability. The main aim of this document is to discover the specific ways in which Ponce emulates Schubert by incorporating comparative and Schenkerian analyses. This investigation examines Ponce’s treatment of harmonic, motivic and formal structures to reveal the unique aesthetic qualities that distinguish the piece as a guitar sonata in the manner of Schubert. In particular, …