Digital Commons Network^™

The Public Relations Of Microtonal Music Through The Eyes And Ears Of Microtonalists, Tristan B. Young

Anthós

In this article, I attempted to answer the question of how microtonal musicians and music theorists view the general public's perception of microtonal music. To do this, I had three one-on-one interviews and one focus group with microtonal musicians, which were all audio recorded with consent from the participants. Patterns that emerged from their responses included blaming corporate and academic establishments for their conservatism in music theory, mentioning the different possible definitions one may make for microtonality based on geographic culture and so on, and bringing up the idea that people think that microtonality is less diverse than it actually …

Preserving A Liturgical Identity: The Liturgical And Musical Heritage Of Roman Catholic Apostolic Women Religious In The United States Of America, Andrew G. Jennings

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

This thesis examines the liturgical and musical heritage of Roman Catholic apostolic women religious in the United States and argues that their contributions represent a significant yet understudied dimension of American Catholic life. As many communities face declining numbers, the preservation of their liturgical and musical traditions becomes increasingly urgent. Using an interdisciplinary methodology that combines historical research, liturgical theology, pneumatology, phenomenology, narrative inquiry, and qualitative interviews, the study explores how women religious have shaped and preserved communal identity through liturgy, music, and apostolic ministry.

The research traces the historical development of apostolic women religious from their emergence in the …

Music Interventions For Critically Ill Patients: Evaluating Effects Of Music On Psychoemotional Symptoms In Critically Ill Patients Receiving Respiratory Support, Allyson Crighton

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Critically ill adults receiving respiratory support in intensive care units (ICUs) frequently experience psychoemotional disturbances such as agitation, anxiety, and delirium, which contribute to prolonged ventilation, increased sedative use, and adverse patient outcomes. While pharmacologic management remains standard practice, associated risks including oversedation and delirium highlight the need for safe, complementary interventions. Emerging evidence suggests that music-based interventions may offer a non-invasive, cost-effective strategy to reduce psychological or emotional distress in this vulnerable population. This integrative literature review examined the effects of music interventions, including passive music listening and structured music therapy, on agitation and related psychoemotional outcomes in critically …

Philsongs: A Study Of Campfire Music Performed At Scouting America’S Philmont Scout Ranch (2014 To 2021), Ellyn Rager

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation focuses on Philmont Scout Ranch, a national Scouting America high adventure base in New Mexico and the largest youth camp in the world, arguing that music at Philmont serves as a cultural force that fosters an intensive communal bond among staff and campers by blending participatory and presentational music-making practices, while producing and reinforcing memories of Philmont through interpretive performances that negotiate the place’s historical narratives. Using surveys, interviews, and Thomas Turino’s framework of participatory and presentational music-making to interpret the author’s 100 hours of field recordings, this study examines aspects of Philmont’s musical habits between 2014 and …

Twelve Preludes, Sarah Miller-Ross

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This set of 12 Preludes for solo piano draws inspiration from Chopin’s set of 24 Preludes for the same instrument, along with ideas from other composers and various genres to create a varied set in which each piece is centered around a note of the 12-note chromatic scale. The movements are titled based on the material that inspired them, the effect they create, or the special technique or limitation they used. A brief overview of inspirational material will be discussed, then each movement will be described through the lens of their compositional processes.

The Black Paintings: A Work For Orchestra, Cody Anderson

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Based on The Black Paintings, a series of paintings by Francisco Goya, this orchestral composition ventures into various themes and satirical elements present in select paintings. Topics such as military overreach, the church’s influence on society, and the resistance of scientific ideas are just a few of the areas explored in the finished three movements. First, the composer’s interpretations of the selected works are covered, and then how those themes were translated into the music. Goya’s painting, “Women Laughing,” has numerous names given to it, which are much darker in tone. However, given the somber nature of the subsequent movements, …

Beyond The Book: Charting New Progressions Through Improvisational Experience In Higher Education Jazz Performance Programs, Jacob L. Manny

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

Jazz improvisation is a historically rich and culturally relevant art form that is also an underutilized pedagogy in higher education music performance programs (HEMPPs). Previous research has extensively unmasked the relationship of creative, social, and cognitive benefits of improvisational learning. Yet, postsecondary institutions continually rely upon Western European colonialist practices through the isolation of music history, music theory, piano, and compositioncourses. This disconnect results in curricular designs that fail to recognize the importance of experiential learning. In this qualitative inquiry semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants who perform and educate globally. Participant stories unearthed not …

Serenade No.2, James C. Mechem

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

Serenade No.2 is a seventeen minute composition for Wind Symphony, dedicated to each

of my mentors in classical composition during the past 10 years: John Carbon, Brian Norcross,

Samuel Andreyev, Jay Chadwick, Adam Silverman, Robert Maggio, Ari Sussman, and Mark

Rimple. Through this composition, my goal was to both pay homage to the individuals that

helped shape my artistic voice, and to additionally connote each movement with evocative

oceanic imagery, specifically through the title of each movement in the composition. I included

this latter detail in reference to a vacation that I went on in August of 2025 to Atlantic …

All She Ever Wanted Was The World: The Emergence Of Vocal Methodology, Pedagogy, And Opera Performance For Women In The Nineteenth Century, Emma Hawkinson

Dissertations and Theses

Important music methods books began to emerge in the 1750s with instrumental treatises for flute, piano, and violin. By the end of the nineteenth century, there was a multitude of treatises for a variety of instruments, including classical voice. This study investigates and analyzes the content of treatises from four individual women who performed, taught, and published vocal treatises in the nineteenth century: German Mathilde Marchesi (1821–1913), Italian Virginia Boccabadati (1828–1922), Spanish Matilde Esteban (1841–1915), and English American Clara Kathleen Rogers (1844–1931). These methods books are set in the historical context of the music industry before and during the nineteenth …

In Search Of Mozart: A History And Analysis Of The Pianos He Knew And Wrote For, Adele Benoit

Dissertations and Theses

The better one can understand what influenced and inspired a composer, the more informed and authentic one’s understanding and performance of that composer’s music will be. The musical world which influenced Mozart was a vastly different one from the musical world of the twenty-first century, and the pianos which Mozart was inspired by and wrote for were designed according to entirely different musical ideals than those according to which the modern piano was created. In order to understand the piano music of Mozart, it is important first to understand not only the musical world in which he wrote and the …

Madness In The Mixtape: Gothic Literature And Pop Music, Nicholas Dertinger

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In Gothic literature, madness has often been connected to the outliers of what is considered socially normal. This dissertation explores the enduring theme of madness, particularly the figure of the “madwoman,” in both women’s literature and in its “afterlife”—or continuing conversation with—contemporary pop music. Through a comparative analysis of songs including Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” (1978), Beyoncé’s “Hold Up” (2016), Lady Gaga’s “Plastic Doll” (2020), Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” (2021), Billie Eilish’ “What Was I Made For?” (2023), Paramore’s cover of “Burning Down the House” (2024), Taylor Swift’s “mad woman” (2020) and Florence + the Machine’s “Dream Girl Evil” …

Analytical Commentary And Performer's Guide To Carlos R. Martinez's Four Pieces For Trombone, Bailey Jean Hardy-Price

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Musicians with hearing loss are documented in prominent figures, such as Ludwig van Beethoven. In the age of developing medical technology, hearing aids can turn the course for many musicians. Music can serve as an audio medium for this journey.

Carlos R. Martinez (b. 1978) is an active composer and pianist commissioned to create a piece that explores the journey of hearing loss in a musician. Martinez’s Four Pieces for Trombone and Piano illustrate a musician’s discovery of their hearing loss, its consequences, and joy in implementing the use of a hearing aid. The detailed discussion of the composer and …

Behind The Curtain: A Literature Review Of Personal And Ecological Risk Factors And Current Multi-Level Interventions For Performing Artists, Christopher A. Robles

Social Work Theses

Performing artists experience psychological distress, including anxiety, depression, burnout, and substance use disorders, at rates significantly exceeding those of the general population. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (EST) and the Person-in-Environment (PIE) perspective, this structured literature review synthesizes research published between 2010 and 2026 to examine individual personality traits, environmental stressors across meso- and macro-systems, and existing multi-level mental health interventions for performing artists. Findings reveal that while traits such as high openness to experience, sensory processing sensitivity, and perfectionism foster artistic expression, they also heighten vulnerability to occupational stressors, financial precarity, social isolation, and venue-based substance exposure. Current …

Student Perspectives Of A Rubric-Based Performance Assessment In A Secondary Large Ensemble Classroom: Fairness, Clarity And Learning, Jeffrey S. Payne

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate student perceptions of a rubric-based performance assessment within a secondary large ensemble music program.  Seventy high school students enrolled in a high school band class completed a rubric-based performance assessment that featured personalized feedback and opportunities for resubmission  Using a mixed-methods approach, 17 students in the class voluntarily participated in a survey, the results of which I used to study my own use of assessment.  The survey consisted of eight Likert-scale questions and four open-response questions which were used alongside data regarding the resubmission rate and teacher documentation of instruction. Results indicated …

Book Review: Inside Chinese Theater: Community And Artistry In Nineteenth-Century California And Beyond By Nancy Yunwha Rao, Jiyoon Auo

Asia Pacific Perspectives

No abstract provided.

You’Re Gonna Be Popular: A Semiotic Exploration Of Meaningful Tools Used To Promote Popular Music Artists, Maya Raye Kurth

Masters Theses

I have been to dozens of concerts, but after experiencing The Era’s Tour I became a Swiftie so quickly and passionately that I was looking for comparable concerts and fan experiences and found very few. It made me wonder how and why this fan experience stuck with me and what made it so special. With that question in mind, I started this project with the question of how successful indie music is marketed.

To answer this question, I used semiotics as the driving theory behind this study. Semiotics allowed me to establish a binary between organic and manufactured and allowed …

A Performer's Guide To Selected Trumpet Excerpts Of Orchestral Works By Women Composers, Julia Stowell

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Orchestral excerpts are brief passages from symphonic repertoire that are intended to demonstrate a player’s musical and technical abilities. The canon of orchestral trumpet audition excerpts has been relatively unchanged for several generations. This established canon of excerpts rarely features works written by women. As orchestras begin diversifying their programs, the frequently requested orchestral excerpts require new considerations to reflect these changes. In order for excerpts to be reflective of the orchestral canon, they must be updated as the canon changes.

Once an excerpt has been identified and obtained, the next issue is addressing its unique musical and technical challenges. …

Left-Hand Technique And The Limits Of The Possible, Ricardo Iznaola

Soundboard Scholar

This article conceptualizes classical guitar left-hand technique through a physiomechanical framework that places coordinated movement—particularly shifting—at the center of technical practice. Challenging traditional positional doctrines that privilege static hand forms and digital independence, the author argues that such approaches often disregard the functional anatomy of the limb, resulting in inefficiency, unnecessary tension, and potential injury.   Advancing the principle that form must follow function, the study proposes shifting as the fundamental technical category governing all left-hand procedures. A systematic typology—interpositional, intrapositional, and compound shifting—serves as the basis for analyzing arm-wrist-hand coordination across diverse technical contexts, including extensions and contractions, barrés, slurs, …

Spell Of Forty Small Failings, Erin B. Ehren

Theses and Dissertations

Spell of Forty Small Failings is a collection of images and writings that draws from an unruly range of literary forms, academic disciplines, and religious cannons in order to address the Divine—all that which exists on account of the phenomena of what it is to see and be seen: to hear and be heard: to touch and be touched: to know and be known, and through that knowing proceed beyond mediation. I wrote this thesis for me in the hopes that all along I was writing for you.

Graded Repertoire For Violin By Latin American Composers: Pedagogical Analysis And Categorization Of Selected Pieces, Irene Guerra Rudas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Repertoire sequences have evolved from a collection of technical studies into a comprehensive educational framework. This research aims to enhance the integration of innovative pedagogical materials by identifying, analyzing, and categorizing works originally composed for violin by Latin American composers. These works are assessed for their suitability within a structured violin curriculum and organized into graded levels, ranging from elementary to advanced.

Each selected piece is evaluated according to pedagogical parameters commonly used in established violin teaching traditions. These parameters include pitch range, rhythmic complexity, bow strokes, length, stylistic diversity, musical language, and the historical and cultural relevance of both …

Music And Mecha: An Analysis Of Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Jackson Grey Baker

Research Honors

Music within anime is a topic that has only recently gained traction in terms of academic study in the west. Consequently, there is not a particularly great body of literature yet. Much work has been done regarding the music that introduces the anime and accompanies the closing credits of the show, as these songs often become very popular, sometimes even outside of the anime sphere. But the soundtrack to the show itself is also very important. Within the show there is a large amount of music that connects to the plot, themes, characters, moods and more which greatly affect the …

Exploring Hybrid Chinese-Western Compositional Practices Based On Chinese And Western Film Soundtracks, Jie Hong Yang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis explores the development of a hybrid Chinese-Western compositional practice for film scoring, combining a written dissertation (Volume I) with a folio of 80 minutes of original orchestral music (Volume II). Drawing on analyses of Tan Dun’s Crouching Tiger Cello Concerto (2000) and John Powell’s film score for How to Train Your Dragon (2010), the research investigates how Chinese (minzu yinyue) musical elements and Western scoring techniques can be integrated to create a culturally hybrid approach. The project unfolds in two phases: the first focuses on incorporating Chinese musical characteristics into Western frameworks, resulting in 40 minutes …

Music And Language Arts Integration And Its Impact On Reading Comprehension: A Social Action Research Study, Felisha L. Coady

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This action research study examines the interconnectedness of music and language arts, specifically focusing on reading comprehension. In this study, a program called Music Connections was developed and used as a pilot to improve reading comprehension skills in primary education. The targeted population of the Music Connections program was 30 third-grade students in an inner-city school in Ohio. After six weeks of reteaching concepts through the Music Connections program, students were given a second interim with these concepts to show results and mastery. Data from this study showed that students who participated in the Music Connections program (Group A) grew …

Do You See What I Hear?: The Effects Of Musical Harmony On Cultural Perception And Recognition, Marvin Martin Williams

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explores whether listeners can identify the differences in harmonic progressions in a musical composition, and, if so, whether those differences can elicit a cultural or social perception of the origins of the music. By investigating how audiences respond to variations in harmony, specifically traditional versus altered harmonic treatments, the research offers a framework for music producers, educators, healthcare providers, and other cultural gatekeepers to better understand and engage with audiences on an empathetic and meaningful level. The underlying hypothesis posits that harmony in music does more than evoke emotion but may inform a cultural interpretation, thus presenting an …

Digital Griots Playing Lottery Tickets: A Study Of Hip Hop And Social Transformation In Ghana's #Fixthecountry Movement, Jaime M. Kowlessar

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

On June 28, 2021, activist Ibrahim Mohammed (Macho Kaaka) was murdered in Ejura, Ghana, after using social media to criticize government failures. When protesters demanding justice were shot by security forces, politically engaged Ghanaian hip hop artists refused silence, contributing to Ghana’s #FixTheCountry movement—the nation’s largest youth mobilization in a generation. Yet scholarly debates about how hip hop contributes to social change remain unresolved, divided between those celebrating its activist potential and those critiquing its limitations. This dissertation introduces the lottery ticket theory as an alternative framework for understanding cultural activism’s relationship to political transformation. Rather than asking whether hip …

Emotional Coding In Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’S Music: The Influence Of Text-Driven Musical Patterns, Antonio Toppi

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis investigates the phenomenon of emotional coding in the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), with particular attention to the ways in which text-driven musical patterns influence both vocal and instrumental works. The study draws on 18th-century theories of key characteristics, musical-rhetorical figures, and topoi, compositional devices that carried emotional implications for contemporary listeners. These codes are first examined in two of Mozart’s operas, Le Nozze di Figaro (KV492) and Don Giovanni (KV527), where the setting of text to music provides a framework for associating compositional choices with emotion. Findings from the analyses are then applied to three contemporaneous …

Emerging From The Cocoon: Strategies To Assist The Classical Violinist Develop Improvisational Fluency In A Range Of Musical Styles, Judith A. Iddison

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This autoethnographic practice-led research project documents the journey of expanding my classical violin practice with the aim of developing improvisational fluency in a range of musical styles. Building upon findings and strategies outlined in my honours thesis, which centred on the artistry of Australian cross-genre violinist Shenzo Gregorio (Shenton Gregory), this doctoral study is underpinned by an iterative cyclic process of critical observation, reflection and analysis and an examination of literature.

Knowledge gained through one-on-one, aural-based, practical violin-improvisation instruction with Gregorio was applied within collaboration with the evolving string ensemble, Sign of Four. Further, combining this tuition and collaboration with …

4 "Partire, Partirò, Partir Bisogna" Or Napoleon's Bayonettes, Ilaria Serra

Andante: Chapter 1 The Napoleonic Era

Music for this section: Canto dei Coscritti sung by Caterina Bueno

Cover art: La partenza dei coscritti nel 1866; by Gerolamo Indunno

5 "Povero Napoleone" Or The End Of Napoleon, Ilaria Serra

Andante: Chapter 1 The Napoleonic Era

Music for this section

Cover art: Napoleon sitting by Anonymous, Museo Poldi Pezzoli in Milano

Integrating Symbolic And Waveform Music Into Large Language Models, Teng Tu, Xiaohao Liu, Yunshan Ma, Ji Qi, Tat-Seng Chua

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Music, as a unique and integral element of human life, is characterized by its complex structures, intricate details, and the fusion of multimodal information. Recent study advance music understanding by leveraging knowledge and reasoning capabilities derived from Large Language Models (LLMs). However, they often lack compatibility and fail to fully utilize the complementary strengths of diverse representations (e.g., ABC, MIDI, Waveform). To address these limitations, we propose a unified music-language model framework, named UniMuLM, transitioning from single-representation approaches to the integration of multiple music representations for LLM. Unifying different music representation formats poses challenges such as patch integrity and boundary …