Music Commons^™

Developing Variation In The Late Work Of Morton Gould And Why It Matters, J. Wesley Flinn

Music Publications

American composer Morton Gould (1913-1996) was remarkably consistent stylistically over the course of his compositional career; this project examines certain motivic transformational techniques used in two of his last works, Stringmusic (1993, winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Remembrance Day (Soliloquy for a Passing Century) (1995). These techniques, which can generally be filed under the principle of developing variation, are: 1. Mirroring and reversal; 2. Rotation; 3. Motivic expansion and contraction; 4. Additive sets; and 5. Asymmetric injection. After an overview of each technique, I give a full analysis of the fourth movement of Stringmusic using the approaches described …

Foundational Rhythms For Drum Circles, Robert J. Damm

CoE Publications

Many drum circle facilitators use foundational rhythms to start a jam, establish a groove, and provide a structure within which other participants can improvise in a relatively freestyle manner. Twenty drum circle facilitators shared a sampling of foundational patterns drawn from universal drum rhythms, culturally specific drum styles, and speech rhythms.

Development Of A Low-Cost Hybrid Music Synthesizer, Spencer Rollins Drewry

Electrical Engineering

Until recently, affordable music equipment has always been seen as “budget”, providing a poor user experience. Inexpensive equipment was plagued with audible noise, signal integrity issues, and convoluted user interfaces. Companies like Teenage Engineering have proven that this does not have to be the case, in 2019 introducing their "Pocket Operator” series for $89. Due to the modern availability of low cost, high quality, consumer off the shelf [COTS] analog and digital components as well as creative engineering, the quality of inexpensive audio equipment has increased significantly. Despite these industry advances, the market is relatively small and shows a great …

A Study Of Pedagogical Approaches To Inform Instructors On How To Help Ease The Transition Of A Flute Student Switching To Oboe, Mai'ya Jackson

Masters Theses

Young band students are seldom allowed to begin on the oboe, due to the specialized difficulties of the instrument. It is more prevalent for a student to begin on another instrument, such as the flute, and transition to the oboe after some initial experience. Many students switch to oboe from flute, since both instruments have similarities in fingering and wind technique. However, there are significant differences between the two instruments. These differences include embouchure formation, articulation, octave keys and alternate fingerings, intonation adjustment, and double reed care. If a student is not able to receive individualized instruction during this transitional …

Incorporating Video Game Music Into Music Education: Potential Benefits And Challenges, Zechariah D. Emery

Masters Theses

This study examines the potential benefits of incorporating video game music into various forms of music education. Since no previous scholarly work could be found on this specific subject, this study relies on examining various aspects of video game music and adjacent studies on student motivation and achievement. The study is broken up into several sections. An analytical study determines that video game music has developed to the point where it is just as complex as other forms of music and has unique aspects that could make it a valuable tool in education. The study also examines the uses of …

Unsung And Unheard: An Analysis Of The History And Impact Of Female American Vocal Composers, Shannon Marie Myers

Masters Theses

American female composers create music that is pedagogically valuable and should be included in the repertoire commonly used by undergraduate vocal students. The purpose of this research is to provide awareness of the existence and the contribution that American female composers have made to standard vocal repertoire and their pedagogical value. The essential question answered as part of this research is: how have the American women composers contributed to the development of standard vocal literature? Additional sub-questions addressed in this research include: 1) What historical factors (culturally, economically, etc.) have influenced the rise of female composers in America beginning in …

Pathing The Ṭubū': Modal Theory In The Modern Tunisian Conservatory, Drew Garret Minaker

Masters Theses

While the eastern Arab modal system of maqāmāt has been amply explored by a variety of scholars and practitioners, the systems of melodic modes which underlie North African- Andalusian music traditions colloquially called the ṭubū‘ (s. ṭab‘) are relatively unknown outside their native regions (even within the Arabic-speaking world), and their features have not yet been explored in Western ethnomusicological literature. This thesis attempts to represent the modal theory of the ṭubū‘ found in one style of North African-Andalusian music, Tunisian ma’lūf. It offers a summary of pedagogical approaches used for teaching the ṭubū‘ in a typical conservatory and describes …

British Music After Britten By Arnold Whittall (Review), Justin Vickers

Faculty Publications - Music

No abstract provided.

Listening To The Internet: Cultural Discourses, Vicente FernáNdez, And Hearing Youtube Comments, Alex Miguel Medina

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Here’s a story: It’s well after midnight. I sit there, at my laptop, tequila in hand.Like a good machista(if I could ever become one), I don’t drink my tequila with much in it: a single ice cube, a squirt of lime, and a dash of tajín. I can feel my cheeks warming up as the alcohol kicks in. I remember what my mom told me about tequilaonce, “you feel it in your chest.” Rancheramusic isn’t for sober listening—for sober ears—you feel it in your chest. No charro(Mexican cowboy)would sing “Por Tu Maldito Amor” sober. Like any goodMexican, I too contemplate …

Integrating The Latin American Villancico In Baroque Music History Studies, Linssey Ma

Masters Theses

The Baroque Villancico is a popular genre in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula that reflects a history of musical and cultural intersection. Chapel masters composed an extensive work of sacred villancicos to perform in Cathedrals during religious ceremonies and festivities. In the twentieth and twentieth first centuries, the Latin American Baroque villancico has been a growing interest by many musicologists. J. Peter Burkholder, author of the current eighth edition of the Norton Anthology of Western Music and ninth of A History of Western Music, addresses the existence of the villancico which has never been mentioned in previous textbooks. Integrating …

The Emotional Illusion Of Music: Contemporary Western Musical Aesthetics In Dialogue With Ancient Eastern Philosophy, Yin Zhang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This project aims to examine whether music has an emotional nature. I use the ancient Chinese text Music Has No Grief or Joy to construct three arguments for the illusion view, according to which music has no emotional nature and the emotional appearances of music are illusory. These arguments highlight representational inconstancy, expressive incapability, and evocative underdetermination as three ways to problematize the idea that music has an emotional nature. I draw on the Confucian tradition to formulate three responses to the illusion view from representational reliability, expressive sincerity, and evocative appropriateness. These responses are shown to be inadequate. To …

Indian Classical Music In The New York Metropolitan Area: The Development Of A Transnational Ecosystem, Andre Fludd

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates the development of North and South Indian classical music communities in the New York metropolitan area from the mid-20^th century to the present. In this investigation, I primarily focus on local musicians from diverse backgrounds and communities rather than internationally recognized stars. In the instances where I discuss famous musicians such as Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain, I focus on how they impacted New York metropolitan area communities particularly and what their success can teach about international Indian classical music careers. The dissertation is organized chronologically, and I highlight vital people, non-profit organizations, historical moments, and …

Outcomes Of Music Improvisation Experiences: A Scoping Review, Julia Mccarren

Masters Theses

Music improvisation is a therapeutic music intervention utilized frequently by board-certified music therapists in various clinical settings. While music therapists frequently use music improvisation as a treatment intervention, research on music improvisation outcomes is limited. The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize current knowledge about the outcomes of music improvisation experiences in music therapy and non-music therapy contexts. This review aims to identify and address gaps in the literature to provide suggestions for future research. The findings of this review will inform clinical music therapy methods. To conduct the scoping review, the researcher used the following five-stage framework: …

On The Voice: Seven Essentials For Developing Voices In Choir: Part 1., Francis Cathlina

Faculty Publications

The article discusses seven essentials for developing voice quality while singing in a choral ensemble. Topics discussed include choral warm-up as one of the greatest tools to develop voices; hearing a cacophony of vocal sounds, especially when warming up more advanced singers; opening moments of rehearsal as an opportunity for group voice building or group vocal technique.

Plainchant Accompaniment And Modal Harmony In Nineteenth-Century France, Ruka Shironishi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

By the beginning of the nineteenth century, harmonization of plainchant melodies had become a trend among church organists. In their harmonizations, many of these organists freely applied the harmonic conventions of what may be characterized today as common-practice tonality, such as dominant-to-tonic cadences, often including the use of accidentals. French scholars and educators of the time, like Louis Niedermeyer and his collaborator Joseph d’Ortigue, viewed such practices as a corruption of plainchant and sought to reform the ways in which plainchant was harmonized on the organ.

The nineteenth-century reformation led by these harmonists ignited discourse on the nature of plainchant …

The Art Of Listening: A Conversational Approach To Lecture Recitals, Javor Bracic

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Lecture recitals as the practice of pairing live music performance with verbal explication have been around since at least the end of the eighteenth century, but research on them is surprisingly scarce despite how ubiquitous they have become. What exactly are lecture recitals? Where did they originate? How are they conducted? Is there anything we could do to improve upon them?

In this dissertation I not only consider these questions but also propose a new kind of lecture recital I call a conversation concert. After a brief historical overview of lecture-recitalists from Johann Nikolaus Forkel to Rob Kapilow, I showcase …

Contamine De Latour, Gimnopedista Desconegut, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Posats a triar quina de les excentricitats d’Erik Satie és la més simpàtica, la més memorable i la que, al cap i a la fi, resumeix les paradoxes de la seva essència com a artista, jo em quedaria amb la llegenda de la seva dieta. «Jo no menjo més que aliments blancs: ous, sucre, cocos...». D’extravagàncies, però, no en falten en la seva biografia, començant per la gran majoria de les seves composicions a on, no hi trobem com a títols ni «sonates» ni «simfonies», sinó «Embrions dissecats» o «Peces en forma de pera».

Trends In The Gospel Music Ensemble Experience: Establishing The Precedent And Need For Inclusion Of Gospel Choir Ensemble Experience And Pedagogy Into The Collegiate Level Music Curriculum, Arthur Demario Beard Iii

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

During the late 1990s, gospel music emergence in secondary schools and colleges brought a new awareness of a dynamic change in social-cultural, peer-relations, and many educational sector activities in America. Gospel music is part of the musical tapestry in the United States arts community. The music genre shapes, frames, and reflects the worship-life and faith expression in most African-American churches. The nature of gospel music itself encourages teachers to introduce it as a meaningful, albeit alternative genre in music education curriculum and teaching experiences. This study aims to articulate the significance of integrating gospel music ensemble into the college music …

A Method For The Evaluation Of Song Texts In Evangelical Churches: A Crucial First Step In Developing Indigenous Songs, Kristi Jeanne Colas

Masters Theses

How important are song texts in worship services? According to the Bible, these songs have a multi-faceted role. Not only do they contain truths about God’s revelation of himself in Scripture, but they also call his people to respond with their whole being. The same song can express worship to God, teach believers truths about him, and challenge unbelievers to turn from their false gods. Therefore, the lyrical content of Christian congregational songs is of utmost importance. However, a survey of ethnodoxological literature reveals a greater focus on songs’ musical content. One reason for this may be the general emphasis …

A Roda De Choro In New York City: The Regional De Ny In A Global Imagined Community, Maurice Restrepo

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates two pillars of the NYC choro community: The Regional de NY and their roda de choro. It situates the group within a global community for whom choro has materialized a shared identity, explores instruments and their agency, and presents cultural themes and aesthetic priorities as conceptualized by the ensemble’s members.