Composition Commons^™

1999 Aaa Jrpg Quality And How A 2019 Indie-Game Developer Can Meet It, Kailynn Haskell-Harbert

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper is a delve into 1999 JRPG AAA video games and how small developers can make something of similar quality with contemporary technology. This is explored by using Final Fantasy VIII and Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete as a 1999 AAA standard, then comparing that standard to modern indie-games as well as my own experience in indie-game development. The ultimate goal of the paper is to prove that small indie-game studios can create 1999 AAA quality JRPGs with relatively minimal investment.

Mabalêl., Johannes Visser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The symphonic song, Mabalel, as presented here, is an extract from a larger composition that also forms part of a greater trilogy of songs on South African texts. Throughout the three texts in the trilogy, themes of nature, pre-civilization society, and African tragedies create unification between the works. In Mabalel, a young native South African girl is sent to get water for her village from the river, when she is unexpectedly attacked by Lalele, a crocodile. The beauty of this text not only lies in its metaphorical representation of the (most often unjust) difficulties and tragedies faced daily by rural, …

Dreamscape No. 2, "Songs For The Woman In The Sun Hat"., Derek D Carter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

this dreamscape is a collection of love songs, reworked and reimagined into the dreamy, hazy nature of both dreams and love. each song comes from the jazz canon and takes a specific idea or motif and builds and destroys as it moves along. each song is paired with an interlude, aimed to explore some of the darker memories or regrets we may have felt for loved ones, for love is not without its complications.

Negative Harmony: Experiments With The Polarity In Music, Michael Brister

Undergraduate Honors Theses

I set out to experiment and justify the use of a new theory called Negative Harmony in 21^st century music. Negative Harmony is a musical avenue from which composers can glean new tones within traditional music theory rules. I took inspiration from the current leading authority on the topic, Jacob Collier, as well as older scholars from the 20^th century, such as Ernst Levy and George Rochberg. I conducted research on the theory by finding its relation to major and minor chords, and how these mirrored chords worked from a theory standpoint. I then composed two original works, …

Abandoning Abuse: Acknowledging Adoption In The 21 Century, Deborah Elizabeth Ellis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The inspiration for this set of pieces arose from a friendship with fellow grad student Morgen Cavanah. Morgen and I were both adopted as children, and it this common background that gave rise to these pieces. The poems chosen were written by Morgen about individuals or events in her life. Though I had planned to set 9 of the original 12 poems, this set is comprised of my four favorites. Each piece uses repetitive piano motives that underlie the melodic lines of the voice, flute, and cello. This choice explores harmonic and melodic possibilities that expand minimal accompaniment. Much of …

Taking Notes: Generating Twelve-Tone Music With Mathematics, Nathan Molder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

There has often been a connection between music and mathematics. The world of musical composition is full of combinations of orderings of different musical notes, each of which has different sound quality, length, and em phasis. One of the more intricate composition styles is twelve-tone music, where twelve unique notes (up to octave isomorphism) must be used before they can be repeated. In this thesis, we aim to show multiple ways in which mathematics can be used directly to compose twelve-tone musical scores.

I Have Not Always Been As Now, Bailey Knowles

Compositions

i have not always been as now is a four-movement piece for soprano voice, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and glockenspiel. The libretto is a reworking of literature by Edgar Allen Poe. I read through his entire output of poetry, isolated lines that I enjoyed, stood out, or triggered a musical thought in my head, and rearranged them to create a new story. The story is purposefully vague, and its specific meanings and interpretations shall be deciphered by the listener. The story follows someone who is recalling memories of a love from the past. This love could be a person, a …

String Quartet No.1 In G Major, Wataru Niimori

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

String Quartet No.1 in G Major is an original composition comprised of four movements: 1^st (Allegro Con Brio: a fast tempo with spirit), 2^nd (Adagio: a slow tempo), 3^rd (Minuet and Trio: a moderate tempo with triple meter) and 4^th (Presto: very fast). This four-movement form, in other words, the sonata cycle, was developed during 17^th and 18^th centuries in Western Europe for instrumental music. It reached its heyday in the middle of the 18^th century through the next whole century. Composers in the Classical …

Biedermann And The Firebugs: Composing Contemporary Music For Live Theater, Jesse Edwards

Undergraduate Research Conference

No abstract provided.

3d Procedural Maze & Cave Generation, Jacob Sharp

Student Scholar Showcase

The goal of this project is to generate a maze or cave procedurally so that a player may be able to explore infinitely without a reoccurring pattern. The project also utilizes Virtual Reality (VR); the user will be able to put on a VR Headset and become more immersed in a procedural environment. One of the challenges that needed to be overcome was simple random number generators did not generate natural looking worlds. Introducing VR to the project created the additional challenge of preventing the user from becoming motion sick. These challenges were both addressed through many hours of research …

Music In Japanese Prisoner Of War Camps, Zerai Thornton

Student Scholar Showcase

During World War II, both the Axis and Allied powers held enemy soldiers and civilians in prisoner of war (POW) camps with little recreational activities. Although some Japanese POW camps did not allow their prisoners to engage in recreational activities, inmates transformed songs into acceptable performance practices. With the intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate music in Japanese POW camps. The particular problems of this study were to (1) examine traditional practices in Japanese POW camps; (2) determine how music developed a Japanese POW camp; and (3) create a POW camp song, entitled …

Praise Of Mahakala, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

Praise of Mahakala is a chamber work based on the Mongolian language text of a traditional Buddhist prayer, which is scored for tenor (who will sing in Mongolian), oboe, violin, and violoncello. The work was inspired by the work of Italian scholar and sinologist Dr. F. Fiaschetti. Tempi (not indicated) may be at a pace reminiscent of the actual Mahakala chant on which the work is based.

Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis, Christian J. Jesse

Music Theses and Dissertations

Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis is a nonliturgical concert setting of the evensong canticles, Luke 1:46-55 & Luke 2:29-32, for SATB div. choir, organ, string quintet, and percussion. Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis is approximately 16-18 minutes in duration without break between movements. The text for Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis is from the Book of Common Prayer, according to the use of the Episcopal Church certified as of 2007, with the omission of the doxology. This decision was influenced by nonliturgical concert settings by Gerald Finzi and Arvo Pärt.

Soundboard: Planar Tracking For Instrument Control, Peter O'Sullivan

ENGS 86 Independent Projects (AB Students)

The Soundboard is the central component of Syrinx, a synthesizer instrument invented by Spencer Topel. A generated audio signal is transduced through the Soundboard, and by manually adjusting the positioning of its top metal plane, the user can manipulate the encased soundwaves before they are transduced back into a signal and output. My task for this project was to add controller functionality to the Soundboard component by implementing control voltages that carry information about its planar tilt, yaw, and altitude. These voltages can be used to modulate various digital parameters and further affect the sonic output of the instrument. Further, …

Red Note New Music Festival Program, 2019, Carl Schimmel, Roy Magnuson

Red Note New Music Festival

The RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music.

Anecdoche, Joshua Ryan Spaulding

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

Utilizing various visual and aural mediums, Anecdoche tells a story that allows the audience to examine modern American/global culture from a third person perspective. Each artistic medium adds their own voice or opinion to the story and thus further colors and clutters the stage. This represents the extremes of communication that humans have risen to in the 21st Century. The term Anecdoche means a conversation in which everyone is talking, but nobody is listening. In the same way, for much of the work, the different elements of the production aim to make their voice heard, while simultaneously cluttering the visual …

The Vocaloid Phenomenon: A Glimpse Into The Future Of Songwriting, Community-Created Content, Art, And Humanity, Bronson Roseboro '19

Honor Scholar Theses

No abstract provided.

Red Note New Music Festival Composition Competition Announcement, 2019, School Of Music, Carl Schimmel, Roy Magnuson

Red Note New Music Festival

The RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music.

Red Note New Music Festival Poster, 2019, Carl Schimmel, Roy Magnuson, School Of Music

Red Note New Music Festival

The RED NOTE New Music Festival at Illinois State University is a week-long event which features outstanding performances of contemporary concert music.

Original Music For Bass Trombone And Piano From 1985 To 2018: An Annotated Bibliography, Brian Lew

Glenn Korff School of Music: Dissertations, Theses, Student Creative Work, and Performances

The purpose of this document was to compile and annotate original music for the bass trombone and piano from 1985 to 2018. Original works is defined as compositions whose original intentions were for the idiom of solo bass trombone and piano. Works included are exclusive of transcriptions and arrangements

This document annotates more than 100 compositions. Each annotation includes information about the composer (birth year and death year, if applicable), length of the piece, publisher, level of difficulty, a preview of the music, and the written annotation. Observations from the examined compositions are found in the closing chapter. Observations range …