Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Effect Of Upper-String Musician Practice Session On Scapular Kinematics, Connor James Brown

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: Shoulder pain is common in the upper-string musician population. [43,49] Pain has been linked with injury and impairments. Altered scapular kinematics has been associated with patients diagnosed with shoulder injury or impairment. Fatigue of the shoulder complex through repeated arm motions has been shown to alter scapular kinematics, resulting in shoulder pathologies, including rotator cuff impingement syndrome. [12,15,28] Upper string musicians have been documented with practicing multiple hours in a day and it could be inferred those practice sessions could be fatiguing. [24,49]

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of upper string musician practice session …

The Prevalence Of Musculoskeletal Injuries Within The Center For Wellness In The Arts At Marshall University, Colin John Wakeman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: The demands on successful performing artists are two-fold. First, they have to perform at a high skill level for their specific art, such as theater, marching band, dance, and color guard. Second, they need to achieve the aesthetic demands of their discipline. Musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries can impact either or both of these elements and affect their overall performance. If MSK injuries are not addressed early in a performer’s career, they can develop into chronic problems that take performers out of rehearsals, practices, and performances.

Purpose: This epidemiological study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MSK injuries within …

Musical Expression And Spanish Nationalism In Selected Works Of Tomás Bretón, Brent Matthew Darnold

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis examines the creation of a Spanish National Identity during the late nineteenth century within the orchestral works of Tomás Bretón. Style analysis and the use of musical narratological methods place these works in the context of Spain’s turbulent nineteenth century and its new formation of national identity comparable to those that had been formed across the rest of Europe. The two conflicting styles that Bretón employed in his compositions represent two different approaches to the establishment of a national identity during the period. Bretón’s own intent with these works and their actual reception by the Spanish public are …

The Anatomy Of The Carpal Tunnel And Hand Function Of Musicians, Emily Ann Lorenzen

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Musicians spend hours perfecting their trade, often leading to overuse injuries of the hand; of specific concern to musicians is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). This study evaluated the median nerve cross-sectional area and hand function of musicians and non-musicians. Patients completed the upper extremity and CTS specific function questionnaires. The median nerve cross-sectional area, and the width of the carpal tunnel were measured on ultrasound image. The median nerve cross-sectional area was greater in musicians than the non-musician group. The width of the carpal tunnel did not differ between the groups. Musicians showed higher levels of hand dysfunction than the …

"United We'll Win Our Stand": The Role Of Focalization In Representing Solidarity In The Anthems Of Three Holocaust Concentration Camps, Hillary Louise Herold

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Concentration camps during the Holocaust were populated by various groups of people imprisoned for reasons that were not always associated with religious beliefs. This diversity led to a natural segregation among these groups of prisoners, dependent upon the prisoner’s nationality, the camp’s classification, and its date of establishment. Because of overwhelming feelings of isolation in the majority of the prisoners, it was common to turn to music and music making as means of creating solidarity between the prisoners for survival of their day-to-day experiences. Some works became popular to such an extent through their performances by both prisoners and SS …

The "Noble Savage" In American Music And Literature, 1790-1855, Jacob Mathew Somers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In the aftermath of the War of 1812, America entered a period of unprecedented territorial expansion, economic growth, and political unity. During this time American intellectuals, writers, and musicians began to contemplate the possibility of a national high culture to match the country’s glorious social and political achievements. Newly founded periodicals urged American authors and artists to adopt national themes and materials to replace those imported from abroad, and for the first time Americans began producing their own literary, artistic, and musical works on a previously inconceivable scale. Though American writers and composers explored a wide range of “national themes,” …

Music Of The “Cult Of Whitman”: Charles Villiers Stanford's Elegiac Ode, Jacob Bird

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Between 1884 and 1914, English musical taste was completing a profound shift from the sentimentality of light drawing room ballads and popular songs toward more serious-minded works. Professionalized composers sought to express high moral and humanistic ideals— undoubtedly English—as opposed to continental values. One source for their works was the poetry of the American, Walt Whitman (1819-1892). Whitman had been one figure in the English-American cultural war which was waged since the early 19th century. Whitman was thought by most English as not a ‘proper poet’ because his works fall so far outside their tradition, thus making his poetry an …

Rest, Sweet Nymphs: Pastoral Origins Of The English Madrigal, Danielle Van Oort

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This thesis is an interdisciplinary study of the impact pastoral themes in art, literature, and music had on the stylistic and thematic development of the late-Renaissance English madrigal (ca. 1590–1620), specifically works by Elizabethan composers. Madrigals were profoundly influenced by poetry and visual art as the basis for text and subject matter. Consequently, many English madrigals, both light and serious forms, cultivated Arcadian themes presented in Italian idyllic art and literature of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries. Works discussed throughout each chapter include Jacopo Sannazaro’s poetic collection, Arcadia (ca. 1489), Edmund Spenser’s seasonal eclogues, The Shepheardes Calender (1579), Oliver Isaac’s …

Does Music Affect Behavior In The Special Education Classroom?, Randall L. Crum

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

It is general knowledge that music affects our emotions; slow rhythmic music can make us sad and fact upbeat music can make us happy. Music is everywhere and it is a powerful outlet for people’s emotions. Music in the classroom can have many effects on students. It may relax them, motivate them, or even sooth them, helping to reduce frustration levels. Music enhances learning in the classroom and it has long been used to help memory skills in students such as learning the alphabet through song. Music helps stimulate creativity and reflection, and it also provides a welcoming entrance into …

An "Alien Foundation": The Eclectism Of Antonin Dvorak's American Period, Kelly Marie Fallon

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In 1891 Bohemian composer Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904) was offered a position as the Director of the American Conservatory in New York City by Jeanette Thurber (1850-1946) due to his reputation as a nationalistic composer. Thurber was intending to create a national music for America and hired Dvorak to not only promote the American Conservatory, but help her achieve her goal of an American style. By early 1892 an agreement was reached between the two parties, and Dvorak assumed his role as Director of the Conservatory in October of 1892, a tenure which lasted until May 1895. This three year period, …

Evaluation Of Alternate Mouthpiece Material Types To Minimize Vibrations And Heat Loss - The Research And Execution Of Prototypes, Kristen Bobuk

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This paper is based on the idea of current horn mouthpieces being made solely out of brass with a limited market of stainless steel and titanium with plating being silver or gold. This is an opportunity to explore alternate materials; specifically steel, cast iron and aluminum for the base material and chrome, copper and nickel for plating materials. Readers will learn about metal properties such as hardness, thermal conductivity and specific heat and learn why certain materials are more beneficial than others.

Boz For Jazz Orchestra And Vocal, Esin Gunduz

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

“Boz” means grey in Turkish and is a word that also connotes unclear or mixed substances or situations.

The source of all the pitch material in the piece is a tetrachord, that is, the first tetrachord of a Turkish makam “Sedaraban” (0145). The lines and the vertical sound in the brass and woodwind, the chords in the piano, the bass line are all produced form the transpositions of this same material. The name “Boz,” which means “grey” or “unclear” in Turkish, is supporting this idea. From the chords that the brass and woodwinds play, it is impossible to define which …

Aldebaran {Alpha Tauri}, For Symphony Orchestra, Eric Michael Akers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Aldebaran {Alpha Tauri} is presented as a programmatic work for symphony orchestra. The eight movements of the piece correspond with a different theme represented by various details of each particular film scene. Notably, the piece centers on a protagonist and antagonistic relationship that is characterized by the titles of the movements. This relationship can be examined by a closer study of excerpts from the piece. The “galactic” premier was held at the Keith Albee Theatre in Huntington, WV on April 13, 2007. The duration of the work is 5’55”.

The Body Of Light : Poems, Alicia Matheny

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This creative thesis explores the different facets of Pink Floyd and their music, drawing inspiration from albums varying from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967) to Dark Side of the Moon (1973). Using images drawn from nature, the cosmos, and Pagan mythology, this thesis also incorporates biographical details found in Nicholas Schaffner’s important biography, Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey (New York: Harmony Books, 1991). There are also experiments with form in the poems, in that in many of the poems, instead of commas, there are tab spaces. Each space expresses the silence between each word. …

Benny Goodman : From “King Of Swing” To Third Stream, Jae Ellis Bull

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman was born in the Chicago slums in 1909. He first played in dance bands and eventually organized his own band, which became so popular that he was known as the "King of Swing." As a clarinetist, he also was attracted to classical music, particularly the clarinet music of Mozart, Debussy and Brahms. Gunther Schuller, describing Goodman's ability to play in both jazz and classical styles said, "In a sense, Benny was the first Third Stream musician, moving easily in and out of jazz and classical music, from the Palomar Ballroom to Carnegie Hall..." ^{1 …}

J.A.C. Redford's A Psalm Triptych As Sonic Altarpiece, Erin Jones Kishpaugh

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

J.A.C. Redford’s love of music for the voice and the importance of his faith, key factors in understanding this composer who is best known for his film and television scores, are displayed through the song cycle A Psalm Triptych. This study examines the structure of and inspiration behind this song cycle as a means to determine its function. Redford’s approach to text setting is motivated by a desire for the meaning to be more clearly understood when illuminated by his music. Inspired by visual art, he generated a textual structure resembling triptych altarpieces, through which the listener hears the psalmist’s …

The American Community Band: History And Development, Jason Michael Hartz

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Contemporary band scholars believe that the American community band experienced a revival at the end of the twentieth century. Examining the community band’s unique history from its earliest forms during the Revolutionary period through the Golden Age of Bands identifies the traditions that supported this revival. The twentieth century, however, is ripe with developments largely independent from previous eras, including the vast expansion of the music education system in the United States and the education of amateur musicians, the Great Depression, and the gradual acceptance of the band as an artistic medium. Through this study, the current revival of the …

Hillbillies And Sharecroppers: An Introduction To East Coast And Mississippi Blues Styles, John Wesley Taylor

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In his thesis, Hillbillies and Sharecroppers: an introduction to East coast and Mississippi blues guitar styles, along with the accompanying CD performance, John Taylor discusses pre-WWII blues. The discussion includes regional guitar styles as well as physicalities involved in the performance of early acoustic blues in Appalachia and Mississippi. There is a chapter devoted to subjects covered in early blues songs with a list of lyric examples as well as a biography section devoted to both white and black performers in these styles. The live performance utilizes stories behind the songs and historical information of the performers discussed in the …

The Effect Of Music On Visuospatial Memory, James L. Mccracken

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Music was utilized in an attempt to enhance visuospatial memory. Twenty-eight individuals, who attended a United Methodist Church in southern West Virginia, were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. The experimental group was exposed to new age and classical compositions, counterbalanced for order effects. The new age and classical selections were of similar tempo and complexity. The control group received two relaxation periods, of a comparable length to the music presented to the experimental group. The 7/24 Spatial Recall Test was used to measure visuospatial memory. The measure was administered to each participant immediately after exposure to the music …

Classicism Versus Romanticism In The Modern, Matthew Clark Wolfe

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Classicism and romanticism have reached a point of intense opposition. The result is a displacement of quality in the arts, particularly in music. This opposition leads to what Robert M. Pirsig defines as "thin art," art which lacks expression or underlying form. Coupled with this problem is the surge of technological developments over the past few decades. This surge is actually widening the gap between classicism and romanticism. Thus the problem of thin art will continue to grow if a balance and reuniting of the forces of classicism, romanticism and quality is not achieved.

The Masculine And Feminine Encounter In Song : An Analysis Of Six Poems As Set By Both Male And Female Composers, Catherine Bodo Schoew

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

That fusion of poetry and music which we call song has provoked controversy, evoked ecstasy, and has tempted nearly every composer sometime during his musical career. What is it that drives a man to take immortal words and endeavor to transcend them in music? Indeed few composers have ever been truly successful, but even the idea of "perfect song" stimulates argument. The well-worn controversy of the importance of music above the words, and vice versa, has never been resolved, nor is it likely to be. The greatest problem lies in the fact that a poem existed as an independent work …