Music Commons^™

Wwisdom In Action, Drew R. Tomasik

Masters Theses

Writing music to score for video games requires an extensive artistic vocabulary, but equally important is an understanding of game development and the technological integration required. This text is an overview and interpretation of a semester’s work in Wwise, a software environment designed specifically for the integration of sound into video games. As Wwise is standard for the industry, facility with it increases marketability to a job candidate wanting a career in game development. The text stands alone to recount the process of learning Wwise from square one, as well as creating a soundtrack for a sample game; that said, …

The Role Of Music In The Trauma Narrative And “Storytelling”: Perspectives Of Clinicians, Taylorlyn N. Mehnert

Masters Theses

There is a lack of detailed literature describing how music is used for expressing and processing the trauma narrative. This study used a constructivist grounded theory approach through an anti-oppressive lens to explore the ways in which music therapists use music in exploring clients’ stories. The term “story” is used as opposed to “narrative” or “memory” to incorporate a broader definition of expression including non-verbal, musical, metaphorical, or any other method the client chooses. Eight board-certified music therapists (MT-BC) were interviewed regarding their use of music in the context of clients’ stories. Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis was used …

Two Pandemics - Making Meaning Of Illness Through The Works Of Thomas Mann And Thomas Glavinic, Samuel Stucky

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

By March 2020, most of the world had gone into varying levels of lockdown to try to prevent further spread of what was proving to be a deceptively deadly disease: COVID-19, commonly referred to as “the Coronavirus.” One way to gauge the effect that a massive, traumatic event such as a global pandemic has on individuals is to analyze how those people write about their experiences. In this study, I examine what the German body of discourse contained and what it can teach regarding two major pandemics that fell one hundred years apart via Thomas Mann’s novella Der Tod in …

The Library Of Babel, Jared Tubbs

Masters Theses

The Library of Babel is an installation that allows users to search through a sea of sonic and visual representations of alphabetical symbols and punctuation that are encompassed in an infinite textual library. Users peer through the various walls, shelves, and volumes of the library, searching for whatever they wish - be it meaning, sense within the chaos, or audiovisual euphony. The default sounds for symbols can be replaced by recordings that the user creates on location, allowing the user to provide their own sonic reconstructions of the Library’s contents. The Library of Babel breaks language into its constituent parts, …

Common Ground, Cody Christopher-Park Ray

Masters Theses

Common Ground is a work that explores ideals of unity through the shared awareness of human mortality. I wrote the majority of this work during the COVID-19 pandemic in the fall of 2020. Throughout this period, including the summer leading up to it, political and social tension was felt throughout the country. This sentiment stemmed from the unjust killings of unarmed people of color at the hands of law enforcement, to blatant errors in the way political figures handled the spread of this newfound disease, leading to more than 400k civilians prematurely dead. In experiencing these external pressures, I found …

From Prop To Partner: The Evolution Of Female Roles In American Opera, Mariah J. Berryman

Honors Theses

For many years, women in opera have been in service to their plots. They have always been present but have either been relegated to passive roles in their own stories or actively considered societal outcasts. They were dramatically stereotyped as either airheads or witches, mothers or daughters, love interests or foes to be conquered. And, along with the character stereotypes came typically associated vocal stereotypes. Lighter and higher voices were assigned to roles that portrayed virtue, innocence, and other general characteristics of the “feminine ideal.” Conversely, lower voices were assigned to sinful, outcast, “fallen women.” These vocal stereotypes are especially …

The Effect Of Synchronous And Asynchronous Music On Heart Rate Variability And Mental State Among Runners, Jeni Gustafson

Masters Theses

The primary purpose of this N-of-1 study was to examine whether running to synchronous, asynchronous, and no music affected the physiological measure of heart rate variability (HRV) and the perceptual measures of rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and experience of flow state while running. In this study, the term synchronous referred to music that is set at a tempo where running pace can synchronize to each beat. The term asynchronous referred to music set at a tempo where it is not possible to synchronize the running pace to each beat. A chest belt that measured heart rate variability via RR …

Taking Her At Her Work: Reconsidering The Legacy Of Alma Mahler, Rachel E. Scott

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

Alma Mahler (1879–1964) grew up surrounded by artists in late nineteenth-century Vienna. Despite her musical training, demonstrated passion for music, and publication of several Lieder, Mahler’s identity as a composer has remained overshadowed by narratives surrounding her personal life and those of her husbands and lovers, not to mention the artistic work of her husbands and lovers. Increasingly, however, interest in Alma Mahler as a composer has been nurtured through creative engagement with that legacy, and frequently by women authors and artists. This dissertation explores the existing literature written by and related to Alma Mahler and identifies some approaches for …

Principal Perceptions On The Inclusion Of Music Education And Professional Development Opportunities: A Qualitative Study, Gabriel Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative case study identifies perspectives that have not yet been explored and documented concerning the difference in attention across school levels when it comes to offering professional development opportunities for music teachers. The majority of previous studies have focused on STEM programming, not the arts. In this study, the researcher interviewed six K-12 principals who aided in deciding whether to include music programs to students and professional development opportunities to teachers. Two principals were interviewed in the different K-12 school levels: elementary, middle, and high schools. The results of this study add to the literature and can foster an …

The High School Choral Classroom As A Platform For Cross-Cultural Education: A Content Evaluation Of The 2020 Tnmea Satb All-State Repertoire., Michael Ian Colavita

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States, there is a push toward culturally responsive music education in response to a rapidly changing student demographic. However, teaching music from unfamiliar traditions presents a unique set of challenges for the music educator. The 2020 Tennessee SATB All-State repertoire provides one example of music selected with the goal of teaching a wide array of cultural traditions. This thesis analyzes these seven pieces from a musical and pedagogical perspective to demonstrate this collection’s utility for culturally responsive music education. Evaluation of the pieces demonstrated that while most of these works come from distinct cultural traditions, few present …

Yellow River Piano Concerto, Yaxin Chen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Yellow River Piano Concerto (1969) by Yin Chengzong (1941–present) and other committee members (Chu Wanghua, Liu Zhuang, Sheng Lihong, Shi Shucheng, and Xu Feixing), the most popular piano concerto in China, was composed at the time of the Cultural Revolution. It was written as an arrangement of the Yellow River Cantata composed by Xian Xinghai (1905–1945) in 1939 at the height of the Anti-Japanese War (1937–1945). Yin and his work played a critical role in making the piano the most popular instrument among a new generation of Chinese performers and composers. I examined some articles, journals and dissertations form …

The Bridge From Etude To Repertoire: Hermann Six Concert Studies, Op. 18, Yuxin Zhao

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scales and etudes are considered essential steps in developing an advanced technique on any instrument. The viola, as a member of the string family, was not nearly as popular or recognized as the violin or cello before the twentieth century. It is the same situation with the viola’s repertory and etudes: there are many pieces transposed from the cello or clarinet, for example, and many etudes are borrowed from the violin. However, even though the viola has a similar shape and playing posture to the violin, they are still different instruments with a significantly different technique. Violists should therefore avoid …

Synthesizer Parameter Approximation By Deep Learning, Daniel Faronbi, Alisa Gilmore

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Synthesizers have been an essential tool for composers of any style of music including computer generated sound. They allow for an expansion in timbral variety to the orchestration of a piece of music or sound scape. Sound designers are trained to be able to recreate a timbre in their head using a synthesizer. This works well for simple sounds but becomes more difficult as the number of parameters required to produce a specific timbre increase. The goal of this research project is to formulate a method for synthesizers to approximate a timbre given an input audio sample using deep learning. …

Making Culture-Centered Music Therapists: Resources For Working With Latinx Young Adults, Michaela A. Miller

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the lack of music therapy literature related to this topic and identifies considerations music therapists should take when working with Latinx communities. I illustrate how social justice and culture-centeredness can be integrated into music therapy practice with the identified communities. I use interviews collected from Latinx university students to learn about the diverse musical preferences and cultures that different members of Latinx communities hold. I describe necessary changes in the American Music Therapy Association’s Competencies for Music Therapists to equip music therapy students to better work with diverse populations. Finally, I provide examples of music experiences and …

What Have Mississippi Band Directors Found Successful When Teaching The Horn?: A Qualitative Survey, Madeleine Case

Honors Theses

This study surveyed band directors in the state of Mississippi, asking them what methods they use to teach the horn. The purpose of this research was to find some solid methods and concepts that participants found successful in their horn teaching, as well as open the discussion on what makes horn teaching unique to that of other instruments. Participants were selected for an online survey on two criteria: they had to have at least a Bachelor’s degree in Music or Music Education, and they had to have at least one year of teaching experience in Mississippi.

After participants were surveyed, …

Law Library Blog (May 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

The Prevalence Of Hip Hop Music In Music Therapy Education & Practice, Dannyele C. Crawford

Theses & Dissertations

Despite the popularity and significance that hip hop music holds in our society today, there is a grave absence of hip hop music in music therapy academia and practice. This study explores the prevalence of hip hop music in music therapy education and practice. Two populations, current students and new clinicians, were surveyed for this study to ascertain the prevalence of hip hop music both in current music therapy practice and in the current music therapy education system. This study involved the collection of data surrounding the participants’ experience with hip hop music prior to their studies, in their music …

Deconstructing The Clinician: An Auto-Ethnographic Study, Nicole Moy, Natalia Alvarez-Figueroa

Theses & Dissertations

There is little research focused on uncovering bias in the music therapist. This study utilized autoethnography and was guided by a participatory action research (PAR) lens to explore a music therapist’s experience of and relation to internalized bias and interlocking systems of oppression, such as white supremacy, sexism and ableism. Autoethnography refers to a combination of autobiographical and ethnographic methods. PAR focuses on collective meaning making, redistributing harmful power dynamics, and societal change with a liberatory aim. While I (Nicole) was the primary participant and investigator in the research, Natalia was invited to the study as a co-investigator and participant. …

The Influences Of Language Barriers In Music Therapy, Kohei Mori

Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to illuminate non-native English-speaking music therapists’ trends and attitudes toward a language barrier. For the purpose of this research, the phrase “language barrier” is used as a reference for music therapists who conduct music therapy sessions in a language that is not their native language. Thirteen non-native English-speaking music therapists completed a 30-question web-based survey. The survey addressed the following topics: demographics, the experience of providing music therapy in a second language, the experience of receiving music therapy training in a second language, and therapeutic interventions with the clients. Descriptive statistics were collected. Three …

The Experience Of Music Therapists In Delivering Telehealth During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nicole Gelfand

Theses & Dissertations

This study explored the experience of the music therapist in delivering music therapy via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. In semi-structured interviews, three music therapists explored their transition from in-person to telehealth clinical services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was analyzed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) and organized into group themes and individual themes. Group themes included 1) role of therapist changing 2) technology considerations in the home office 3) career reflection and future practice. Individual themes included 1) adapting to change, 2) learning curve of telehealth and burnout, 3) work-life boundaries and authentic therapeutic presence. Participants experienced an expansion …