Digital Commons Network^™

“The Personal Is Political”: The Power Of Female Voices In 1970s Pop Music And Beyond, Jennifer Morrow

Backstage Pass

This essay examines how, in the male-dominated structures of the popular music industry, narratives about women have been marginalized, ignored, and undervalued. The female singer-songwriter, my research suggests, is, by definition, a contradiction and subversion of traditional gender roles, and this position has been claimed by female musicians as a form of rebellion and resistance. In the scope of my research, I focus on how female pop artists have embraced songwriting as a medium for authentic self-expression, and how these narratives have been embraced as autoethnographies that represent the collective experiences and frustrations of women in a patriarchal social landscape. …

Folk Music Of Atlantis: An Exploration Of Water As A Sound Source In Music, Lucy Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Folk Music of Atlantis is a programmatic composition for water instruments and orchestra depicting the mythical city of Atlantis. I have researched water’s musical properties: its pitch bending, its ability to create sound through motion, and its percussive effects on various materials. Drawing upon my research, I have invented a collection of water-based instruments that take advantage of these properties. Folk Music of Atlantis demonstrates their potential, combining them with both the traditional orchestra and the innovations in water music of past composers.

The written portion of the thesis includes a historical overview of water as a musical sound source, …

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, …

The Influence Of Santería In Leo Brouwer's Solo Guitar Works (1955–1993), Eoin Flood

Doctoral

This study will assess the solo guitar works of Cuban composer Leo Brouwer (1939–present) in terms of influence from Santería, a ritual music derived from WestAfrican slaves and still practised in Cuba. This will be achieved by using both analytical and evaluative processes. For the former, a range of influential parameters have been identified, each falling under three strands: rhythmic and metric, structural, and melodic. These will be revealed in all of Brouwer’s solo guitar works written from 1955 to 1993. A parameter’s influence can be revealed in two ways: the multitude of its usage per piece, or the percentage …

An Analysis Of Western Art Music Arrangements For Steel Pan Chamber Ensemble, Ian Meiman

Dissertations

This dissertation is an analysis of western art music arrangements for steel pan chamber ensembles. Specifically, this dissertation will analyze how certain arrangers have adapted western art music for steel pan chamber ensemble while discussing the possible methods the arranger used to create this adaptation. The analysis will observe the melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and other significant alterations made in the steel pan chamber arrangement, and discuss any changes made, whether due to the adaptation of the instruments or otherwise, from the original works. The dissertation will also include a brief historical discussion on western art music’s influence of early steel …

“Native American Folk Song Suite”: A Study Of Traditional Native American Melodies, The Role Of Music In Native American Society, And Its Translation To The Modern Wind Ensemble, Preston Parker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Music holds a sacred place for the many Native American tribes of the United States. Over the past 150 years, ethnomusicologists Dr. Theodore Baker (1851-1934), Dr. Frances Densmore (1867-1957), and John Donald Robb (1892-1989) have preserved these songs by sitting down with indigenous Native Americans and recording their music straight from the source. Through these recordings, these ethnomusicologists created a springboard for composers, including myself, to study the past and create new music that honors the traditions and culture of Native Americans. I have applied my new knowledge of these musical techniques and traditions to create a work for wind …

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.

Traditional Irish Musical Elements In The Solo-Piano Music Of Ryan Molloy, Brian Thomas Murphy

Dissertations

Music in Ireland has become increasingly popular in recent decades. There is no shortage of Irish musical groups, recordings, and live performances featuring Irish music both in Ireland and abroad. Contemporary art music in Ireland has also seen an increase in support and notoriety. Irish composers face a decision of how, if at all, to engage with traditional folk music that is so prominent in their culture. Ryan Molloy (b. 1983 in Pomeroy, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland) is a composer and performer who incorporates elements of traditional Irish music in the context and in the language of modern art music. …

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.

The Tenth Annual Festival Of New Music February 28 - March 1, 2019, Mark Zanter

All Performances

No abstract provided.

Cultural Transmission Modes Of Music Sampling Traditions Remain Stable Despite Delocalization In The Digital Age, Mason Youngblood

Publications and Research

Music sampling is a common practice among hip-hop and electronic producers that has played a critical role in the development of particular subgenres. Artists preferentially sample drum breaks, and previous studies have suggested that these may be culturally transmitted. With the advent of digital sampling technologies and social media the modes of cultural transmission may have shifted, and music communities may have become decoupled from geography. The aim of the current study was to determine whether drum breaks are culturally transmitted through musical collaboration networks, and to identify the factors driving the evolution of these networks. Using network-based diffusion analysis …

Studies Of Musical Borrowing: Borrowing As Compositional Tool In Béla Bartók's Second Piano Concerto And The Influence Of Luciano Berio On The Grateful Dead's Approach To Live Improvisation, Michael J. Crowley

Theses and Dissertations

J. Peter Burkholder’s typology of musical borrowing provides new ways of thinking about and understanding how composers and musicians incorporated influential ideas into their own compositions. This paper explores two cases of musical borrowing in order to gain a deeper understanding of the compositional styles of the chosen subjects. In the first study, I explore Béla Bartók’s use of Paraphrase, Modeling and Stylistic Allusion in his Second Piano Concerto, demonstrating how Bartók used borrowing as a compositional tool to develop his own innovative ideas. In the second study, I investigate how Luciano Berio’s compositional style influenced the Grateful Dead’s approach …

Towards Interaction: Combining Jazz Techniques And Idiomatic Writing For Varied Ensembles. A Collection Of Musical Works -And- An Exegesis, Glyn Alan Macdonald

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This practice-led research project has produced musical works that bring together ensembles from the Western Classical tradition that only read notation, and, jazz soloists who improvise. Three works ‘Standing Ground’, ‘The Journey’ and ‘Matt versus the Zombies’ were composed for three ensembles each with an improvising soloist. These ensembles included a British style Brass Band, Brass Quintet and a double Saxophone quartet.

The project built on the work of Andy Scott and Eddie Sauter, both of whom wrote for non-jazz ensembles and an improvising artist without including a jazz rhythm section. The accompanying non-jazz ensemble was written in such a …

Gender, Politics, Market Segmentation, And Taste: Adult Contemporary Radio At The End Of The Twentieth Century, Saesha Senger

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation explores issues of gender politics, market segmentation, and taste through an examination of the contributions of several artists who have achieved Adult Contemporary (AC) chart success. The scope of the project is limited to a period when many artists who figured prominently in both the broader mainstream of American popular music and the more specific Adult Contemporary category were most commercially viable: from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. My contention is that, as gender politics and gendered social norms continued to change in the United States at this time, Adult Contemporary – the chart, the format, and the …

Partita For 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble: A Transcription Process, Kaitlin May Bove

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Partita for 8 Voices (2012) is a groundbreaking a cappella work that earned its composer, Caroline Shaw, the record of youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2013. While the work continues to receive performances from its premiere ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, no transcription of the piece to any other ensemble type existed at the beginning of this DMA project. The author sought to transcribe a piece by a living female composer with no work for band into the wind band medium. The resulting transcription, Partita for 8 Voices & Wind Ensemble, adds a new work to …

Schulman, Steven A. (Fa 1227), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1227. Student paper titled “The Preacher’s Just Like a Grasshopper: A Study of a Kentucky Song Maker” in which Steven Schulman details the life of Howess Dewey Winfrey, a song-maker from Cumberland County. Schulman collected folk songs and performances from Winfrey over the course of two months. His fieldwork revealed that Winfrey was a creator of satirical tunes, which were influenced by his childhood, his experiences with the Church of the Nazarene, his time spent as a logger, his relationships with family and friends, politics, and land ownership. The paper includes excerpts from …

Fragments D'Un Diari Musical, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Vetllada musical al pis d'Ursula Oppens. A pesar de les connotacions vuitcentistes que pugui tenir qualsevol saló musical, Ursula no és ni una Guermantes ni una Verdurin, sinó una defensora tenaç dels segles XX i XXI. Elliott Carter, John Adams, Lutoslawski, Ligetic, etc., tots els grans compositors des segles XX i XXI li han dedicat obres, i ella, amb els seus enregistraments, alguns amb nominacions als Grammys, ha estat la gran advocada del pianisme contemporani als EUA.

Complex Personalities: An Original Composition For Virtual Wind Ensemble And An Accompanying Exploration Of The Effects Of The Internet On Music Collaboration And Composition, Chris Kamerling

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the impact that the internet has had on the esprit de corps of the musical community. As a mechanism for that exploration, it also includes an original composition comprised of three character pieces. The exegesis of the piece will describe the basis of these musical representations and explore the application of the piece as a vehicle for a shared musical experience across the internet. A virtual ensemble was created by crowd-sourcing from social media. Participants played different parts that were combined by computer manipulation into a final product.

Steve Reich's ‘Music For 18 Musicians’ As A Soundscape Composition, Jesse Budel

Directions of New Music

Over the past half century, there has been much research into the acoustic qualities of soundscapes from a variety of perspectives: the humanities and social sciences as per the ‘acoustic ecology’ movement (established by Schafer, Truax, and Westerkamp et al.), and more recently the environmental science and ecology as per ‘soundscape ecology’ (established by Farina, Pijanowski, and Krause, et al.). Collectively, these disciplines provide diverse methods for engagement with analysis of acoustic environments. Simultaneous to the rise of the acoustic ecology movement in the 1970s (marked by the publication of Schafer’s ‘The Tuning of the World (1974)), the composition of …

From Swing King To Swing Kids: The Jazz Era Of ‘Big Band Orchestras’ In World War Ii, Katie Victoria Burnopp

Student Scholar Showcase

Known as the ‘King of Swing’, clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman (1909-1986) threatened the Nazi cause during WWII. With intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate swing music during World War II. The particular problems of this study were to: (1) identify how the swing music of Benny Goodman (1909-1986) influenced adolescents in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Germany; (2) explore the Nazi party view on ‘swing’ music of the era; (3) examine how the music of Charlie and his Orchestra became used as a tool for Nazi propaganda; and …

John Williams: An Evaluation Of His Impact Upon The Culture Of The Classical Guitar, Michael O'Toole

Doctoral

This thesis examines the career of the Australian guitarist John Williams and his impact upon the culture of the classical guitar. Williams has been a celebrated guitarist for more than six decades and has performed and recorded extensively during that period. He has made a remarkably varied contribution to guitar culture, performing in a wide variety of different styles, highlighting the guitar’s unique strength as a versatile and adaptable instrument. Williams’ career is in marked contrast to that of many of his contemporaries, including his mentor Andrés Segovia. Segovia believed the classical guitar must assert its individuality in order to …

A Model For Patron-Driven Acquisition Of Print Music Scores: From Conception To Reality, Alan Asher, Trey Shelton, Jason Heckathorn, Aimee Barrett

Charleston Library Conference

This paper and presentation will explore the process of developing a unique patron-driven acquisition program for print music scores and monographs from concept to reality at an American Association of Research Libraries institution. Areas to be discussed include collection development considerations, information technology infrastructure needs, acquisitions workflows, and plan evaluation. The paper and the presentation will examine how partnering with a vendor to implement an innovative collection development plan can support the needs of the library users and the goals of library collection development officers and increase access to music scores and monographs in a fiscally responsible way. Readers can …

Compositional Practice As Expression Of Cultural Hybridity In Lou Harrison’S Double Concerto For Violin, Cello, And Javanese Gamelan, Matthew N. Andrews

Student Research Symposium

Artists in the twenty-first century face a creative dilemma: styles and traditions from around the world are now available to all, and in the post-colonial era it can become difficult to discern the appropriateness of artistic borrowings. I propose that cultural hybridity, defined as genuine investment in another artistic culture's traditions and respect for its practitioners, can provide an “Ariadne's thread” to guide the interculturally sensitive artist. Lou Harrison's long relationship with the gamelan music (karawitan) of Indonesia provides an enlightening example. From his initial exposure to Asian music all through his decades of intensive study and instrument-building, Harrison's development …

The Convergence Of Schenkerian Music Theory And Generative Linguistics: An Analysis And Composition, Michael A. Ciaramella

College Honors Program

This thesis engages a purported connection between Schenkerian music theory and the Minimalist Program within generative linguistics both scientifically and creatively. The first chapter expounds the link between Schenkerian theory and the Minimalist Program which has been recently substantiated in a doctoral dissertation by Somangshu Mukherji at Princeton University and details the methodological framework for investigating musical structures within this paradigm. Chapter two presents three case studies including the opening phrase of Mozart’s K. 332 Mvt. 1 piano sonata, and the tunes “Georgia on My Mind” and “Blue Bossa” in order to exemplify the aforementioned methodology and provide scientific evidence …

Music Theory For Student Composers: A Course Designed For Engagement By Using Both A Flipped Classroom And Praxial Philosophy, Michelle Nagy

Masters Theses

In a world filled with innovation, technology and hands-on learning, the subject of music theory in the high school classroom has stayed relatively the same for the past fifty years for the student composer. By using the same tried-and-true methods, teachers are introducing concepts through lectures, while students reinforce concepts on their own during their homework assignments. Music examples are given on a regular basis and they are usually played on the piano by the professor or through recording. These methods, while effective, are not meeting the needs of today’s tech savvy and hands-on generation. While students are engaging with …

The Influence Of Jazz Elements In Don Freund's Sky Scrapings For Alto Saxophone And Piano, Wade Howles

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

Jazz influence surfaces within traditional repertoire for the saxophone more often than other instruments. This is due to the saxophone’s close association with the jazz idiom. Of particular interest is the use of jazz elements in Don Freund’s Sky Scrapings for alto saxophone and piano. Often, while studying a jazz-influenced work, students and professors alike may not recognize the importance of these elements appropriately. Because of this, their performance loses a portion of the stylistic nuance the composer intended while writing the work. This lack of recognition and loss of stylistic nuance is commonly due to a lack of …

Searching For Sounds: Instrumental Agency And Modularity In Electroacoustic Improvisation, Stephen (Red) Wierenga

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In their radical departure from conventional instrumental technique and standardized instruments themselves, the practices of electroacoustic improvisation present a particular challenge to prevalent Western concepts of musical instruments. These concepts—which generally treat instruments as fixed objects—are ill-equipped to account for the ways in which electroacoustic improvisers foreground the agency of their instruments and abandon the quest for “mastery” typical especially of classical attitudes. Additionally, electroacoustic improvisers often approach instruments not as singular, self-contained, and static in their materiality, but rather as modular instrumentaria capable of myriad states and ever in flux, similarly problematizing conventional conceptions that view the physical constitutions …

A Comparative History And The Importance Of Chamber Music, Aaron M. Sacks

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone presentation focuses on the role of chamber music in both social and academic contexts. Using examples from the past five centuries and including local examples, parallels and divergences are drawn to points of most import. The spotlight is upon three areas: a) what the role of chamber music was in the past, compared to today; b) why it is an important genre, to both musicians, as well as non-musicians, and c) in what ways more exposure to the form can be built. Much of the focus is on composers and their influence, but the impact of and upon …

Singing The Sermon: Where Musicology Meets Homiletics, Emmett G. Price Iii

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

From the beginning of the Christian Church, singing and preaching have served as major tools of communication. In fact, they remain the most utilized methods of articulating and explicating personal and communal theologies across the diverse and expansive expressions of Christianity.

From the life, ministry, and legacy of Jesus Christ through the teachings of the Apostle Paul, the roles and functions of singing and preaching are well known but not well studied as a unit. From the foundational writings of the early Church Fathers through the various theses of the reformers, the acts of singing and preaching have been studied …

A Jamaican Voice: The Choral Music Of Noel Dexter, Desmond A. Moulton

Dissertations

As we approach the twenty-first century, the world generally is moving away from the dominance of the European aesthetic towards a world music that owes much to the musical resources of the African-American tradition. Jamaica’s social and philosophical music belong mainly to that tradition, which includes the use of rhythms, and timbral and melodic resources that exist independently of harmony. Already in this century, Jamaicans have created two totally new music - Nyabinghi, which performs a philosophical function and Reggae, which performs a social function. The choral music of Noel Dexter is important because it is uniquely Jamaican/Caribbean in its …