Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Effects Of Physical Movement In Rhythm Instruction In Early Instrumentalist Development, Jessica Horne-Greene

Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to investigate if including physical movement in instruction improves instrumental music student's rhythmic abilities. Within the rhythmic instruction, the research study specifically focused on student's rhythmic ability and note reading improvements. Participants in this study included instrumental music students in grades four, five, and six, in a middle-class school district (N=18). The control group was given four weeks of traditional rhythm instruction, with a traditional counting method. The experimental group was given rhythm instruction incorporating physical movement over a period of four weeks. Prior to the lessons, both the experimental and control groups were …

"Take A Sad Song And Make It Better": Exploring Rewards Related To Liking Unfamiliar Sad Music, John Hogue

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis tested some of Levinson's (1997) ideas on why people like music that makes them sad. A path model of this effect was interpreted from Levinson's theory, and 5 of the paths were tested. These paths were that music would directly create a communion with the song, that happiness and sadness would mediate this effect, that absorption would moderate the direct path, that absorption would moderate the songs' ability to evoke the emotions, and that satisfaction would moderate the emotions' influence on liking the songs.

A pilot study was conducted to determine if the songs evoked their intended emotions. …

The Role Of Cognition In Oral & Written Transmission As Demonstrated In Ritual Chant, Mary Elizabeth Husslein

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the role of cognition in oral and written transmission. It looks at areas of music history where cognition is already used as a reference, including the development of notation, trends and changes in oral transmission, and performance practice. The thesis examines three different case studies on ritual chant in order to demonstrate how the cognitive process can be used to explain the ways learning, retention, and transmission work in oral and written transmission. The first case study is on the chant practices originating in Jerusalem. It discusses the intervallic relationships and music patterns involved in retention of …

Standards-Based Performance Assessment In The Comprehensive Music Classroom, Matthew Stephan Mcveigh

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of standards-based assessment practices within a music performance curriculum. This pre-survey, post-survey experimental treatment included 169 students, 97 parents, and 3 teachers from 3 school districts across Wisconsin. The results from this study indicated that music teachers rely on a variety of assessment strategies to monitor student achievement regardless of if they are using standards-based assessment practices; however, teachers who used standards-based assessment were more likely to use formal assessments to determine student achievement and were more likely to assess students both formally and informally on a regular basis. Furthermore, …

Two Historiographical Studies In Musicology: Josquin Des Prez, A History Of Western Music, And The Norton Anthology Of Western Music: A Case Study; & In Search Of Medieval Irish Chant And Liturgy: A Chronological Overview Of The Secondary Literature, Marianne Yvette Kordas

Theses and Dissertations

STUDY ONE: This study examines the changes made to the biography and works of the Renaissance composer Josquin des Prez (c.1450-1521) through the eight editions of A History of Western Music and its associated score anthologies from 1960 to 2010. It is hypothesized that there are significant correlations between the changes made to Josquin's biography in musicological scholarship at large during the 1990s and the changes to his life and works made in the textbook.

STUDY TWO: The study of liturgy and chant in medieval Ireland not only informs our understanding of insular Christianity, but also illuminates the broader practices …

Comparison Of Middle School Band Student Self-Assessment And Individual Adjudicated Assessment To Large Group Adjudicated Performance Assessment, Jonathan Carl Grimsby

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study was conducted over a six week concert cycle in which data was collected from a 52-member, 8th grade band class. A sub group of 21 individual students within the ensemble participated in student self-evaluations and individual recordings of a standard band composition, Dialogues for Winds and Percussion by Michael Sweeney. The individual recordings and group recordings were sent to an adjudicator for scoring. The scores from the self-evaluations, individual recordings and group recordings were compared to investigate the relationships between (a) student self-evaluation of abilities in relation to individual adjudicated score, (b) student self-evaluation of abilities in …

Western Swing In Transcription: Who's Sorry Now? By Milton Brown And His Musical Brownies (Decca 5158-B), Madeline Olson Dietrich

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents a full-score transcription of a recording of a string band performing a Tin Pan Alley song. Context is established through a review of events leading up to the recording, focusing on contributions by key personnel. Decca 5158-B, Who's Sorry Now? by Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies is today regarded as westerns swing, but the

style is hardly comparable to the slick, highly arranged sound of western swing orchestras from the late 1940s and early 50s. The Brownies were a Texas fiddle band playing mostly pop and jazz standards, not the cowboy and western themed repertory of …

Modern Antiquity: Modern Interpretations Of Folk Sources In Gustav Mahler's Songs From Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Alyson Sue Vaaler

Theses and Dissertations

Between 1805 and 1808, Ludwig Achim von Arnim (1781-1831) and Clemens Brentano (1778-1842) compiled a three-volume collection of German folk poetry entitled Des Knaben Wunderhorn or "The Youth's Magic Horn." The collection had an especially mystical appeal for composer Gustav Mahler who set songs to twenty-four of the Wunderhorn poems.

Mahler published his Wunderhorn songs in fin-de-siècle Vienna, and was contemporary with a league of artists, writers and philosophers who were attempting to combat the city's fascination with the past and tradition. By analyzing the history of Des Knaben Wunderhorn, as well as the ideals behind its creation, this …

Performance Guide For Charles T. Griffes' Poem For Flute And Piano, Elizabeth Diana Heikkila

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Recording Industry's Influence On Vernacular Traditions 1920-1960: Illustrated Case Studies Of Mamie Smith, The Carter Family, And Leadbelly, Amanda Kate Smith

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the Kingston Trio's 1958 recording of "Tom Dooley" is used as a starting point to explore the recording industry's commercialization of folk music in the first half of the twentieth century. Three case studies - Mamie Smith, the Carter Family, and Leadbelly - address trends in academic folk music scholarship that juxtaposed an initial rise in a commercial music culture that began with early 1920s race recordings and culminates in the folk-revival in the post-WWII period. These trends trace back into the nineteenth century, and include African American performance traditions that were incorporated into pre-civil war minstrelsy …

Piano Music Of Elisenda Fábregas: A Stylistic Analysis, Jinha Park

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to present a stylistic analysis of the piano music by American-Spanish composer and pianist Elisenda F├â┬íbregas (b.1955). F├â┬íbregas' compositional output includes more than forty works for solo, chamber ensemble, vocal, chorus and orchestra; her large-scale piano works consist of Mirage (1997), Portraits I (2000), Homenatge a Mompou (2006), and Hommage ├â┬á Mozart (2006). Chapter I consists of an introduction, including the purpose of the investigation and a literature review. Chapter II covers brief biographical information, compositional genre and style, and compositional output of piano, vocal and chamber music. Chapter III provides a stylistic analysis …

Made In Japan: Kumi-Daiko As A New Art Form, Anna Marie Viviano

Theses and Dissertations

Japanese taiko ensemble drumming, known in Japan as kumi-daiko, is an art form that has only taken shape within the past fifty years. This new performance style involving taiko seems, on the surface, to have much in common with traditional Japanese court and theater music, regarded by scholars as the art music of Japan. Using drums that have a long history in Japan, however, does not necessarily make that ensemble part of ancient Japanese tradition. By studying the most famous groups in Japan, such as Kodo, it is easy to discern that kumi-daiko has many different inspirations, but is not …

An Investigation Of Selected Collegiate Voice Teachers' Descriptions Of Repertoire Selection Practices., David Stephenson

Theses and Dissertations

Repertoire is a critical component of the instructional process at all levels of music education, and more insight into music educators' repertoire selection practices is a need, especially in the case of the collegiate voice studio. A particular void in this topic is the lack of pre-service instructional training including repertoire assignment strategies for prospective and novice voice teachers. The investigator studied these topics using two data collection phases: 1) collecting descriptive data from vocal recital programs in three universities from the southern United States; and, 2) conducting interviews with five experienced voice teachers recruited from the aforementioned institutions. The …

A Case Study Of Three African-American String Players Participating In A Community Orchestra, Kimberly Prescott Williams

Theses and Dissertations

While there has been interest in the subject of diversity in orchestras and audiences, very little qualitative research exists exploring this issue. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that motivate African-American musicians to begin and maintain involvement in orchestral music. This research is a case-study of three African-American amateur musicians comprised of participant observation, in-depth interviewing, document collection, and analysis. Field observations and interviews occurred over a 22-week period. The resulting analysis revealed common themes that contributed to the participant's initial interest in string music and their continued participation as adults. The availability of music programs in …

The Music Of James Reese Europe For Vernon And Irene Castle, Ralph G. Barrett

Theses and Dissertations

James Reese Europe (1881-1919) was one of the leading African American musicians of the first two decades of the twentieth century. He was renowned as a conductor of theater and dance orchestras, a composer of syncopated dance music and popular song, and an advocate for improved opportunities and remuneration for African American professional musicians in New York. From late 1913 until mid-1915, Europe was musical director for the popular exhibition dance team of Vernon (1887-1918) and Irene (1893-1969) Castle. During their brief career, the Castle's were instrumental in changing the sordid image of social dancing during America's 'dance craze' of …

The Wind Chamber Works Of Ernst Toch: A History And Comparative Analysis, C. Nicole Gross

Theses and Dissertations

Ernst Toch (1887-1964) is one of the forgotten composers of the twentieth century. Paul Hindemith, Arnold Schoenberg, and Kurt Weill were contemporaries, while Wilhelm Furtwängler, and Erich Kleiber championed his early works. Toch lamented his lack of notoriety to Nicolas Slonimsky two years prior to his death. Forgotten or underappreciated were his numerous compositions of art music written in the decades prior to his immigration to the United States and in the final years of his career; remembered only were his lighter works and American film music.

Toch composed one work for military band: Spiel für Blasorchester, Op. 39 (1926), …

The Symphonious Saxophone: A History Of The Large Saxophone Ensemble With A Quantitative Analysis Of Its Original Literature, Andrew Justin Allen

Theses and Dissertations

The history of the saxophone ensemble is little understood, even by many of those who lead and participate in the modern iterations of such groups. The aim of this study is to remedy this lack of information and to provide saxophonists with the tools to further explore an important part of the instrument's repertoire. This document will offer a comprehensive history of the genre, from its beginnings in the 1840's, to the near present; and numerical data will be presented on the original works for larger ensembles of saxophones, touching on both instrumentation and the concentration of the production of …

An Essay On Musical Narrative Theory And Its Role In Interpretation, With Analyses Of Works For Saxophone By Alfred Desenclos And John Harbison, Ian Macdonald Jeffress

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years the field of semiotics has increasingly been applied to musicology, with particular attention paid to the area of narrative theory. This study will provide an introduction to the essential concepts of semiotics and narrative theory, the development of a methodology of narrative analysis with examples from the saxophone repertoire, and the application of that analytical approach to Alfred Desenclos' Prélude, Cadence, et Finale and John Harbison's San Antonio. The goal of this study will be the demonstration of narrative theory's applicability to a variety of styles pertinent to the concert saxophone repertoire. It is hoped that this …

Atmospheric Patterns And Asian Typhoon Landfalls, Ivetta Abramyan

Theses and Dissertations

The Western North Pacific Ocean (WNP) produces more frequent and intense tropical cyclones (TC) than anywhere else in the world, and these storms greatly impact society. This study examines synoptic scale atmospheric patterns and their effects on landfalling typhoons in Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam using composite analysis at upper and mid-levels of the atmosphere, as well as analyzing teleconnection impacts on tropical cyclone frequency, duration and intensity.

Examined Best Track data (1946-2010) shows an increased likelihood of Taiwan landfalls earlier in the season, Japan landfalls mid-season, and Vietnam landfalls towards the end of the typhoon season. The formation locations also …

The Meaning And Purpose Of Quotation And Stylistic Reference In Hans Werner Henze's Requiem: Nine Sacred Concertos For Piano Solo, Trumpet Concertante, And Large Chamber Orchestra (1990-92), Daniel C. Pappas

Theses and Dissertations

Quotation and stylistic reference are important communicative devices in the musical language of Hans Werner Henze that serve as a means of expression in his multilayered approach to composition. This study examines the central role that quotation and reference play in Hans Werner Henze's Requiem: Nine Sacred Concertos for piano solo, trumpet concertante, and large chamber orchestra (1990-92). While some studies have identified selected references, their primary focus has been on the work's pitch organization and formal plan. This study instead considers Henze's unique approach to quotation and reference. In addition to interviews with the composer, Henze's own writings are …

Chamber Music In Alternative Venues In The 21st Century U.S.: Investigating The Effect Of New Venues On Concert Culture, Programming And The Business Of Classical Music, Sarah May Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates chamber music performances outside of traditional concert venues in the 21st-century U.S. The literature review traces the use of non-traditional venues throughout history from Bach's coffee house concerts to the gallery and loft concerts, which first emerged in the 1950s and 60s. The literature review will also look at the business of classical music established in the 20th century.

The study explores whether new venues have changed the landscape of classical music by interviewing players and concert promoters who present concerts in non-traditional venues as well as owners of popular music venues, which host classical music. Using …

Conrad Susa's Discovery And Praises: A Conductor's Guide To Performance Considerations, Keith Harry Walker

Theses and Dissertations

Conrad Susa (b. 1935) is an American composer who has contributed over thirty choral works that are of high quality incorporating texts written by well-known literary figures. His choral works are usually spiritual in nature though not strictly liturgical. Discovery and Praises is a presently unpublished cantata in four movements for mixed chorus, solos for two sopranos, an alto, a tenor, and a baritone. The accompaniment is scored for organ, harp, percussion, flute and handbells. Susa chose to set ancient poetry by Caedmon, Wipo of Burgundy, John Donne, and St. Patrick. Although the piece was composed in 1966 and revised …

An Analysis Of And Conductor's Guide To Eleanor Daley's Requiem, Andrew James Robinette

Theses and Dissertations

This study provides a thorough analysis of and conductor's guide to Eleanor Daley's Requiem. It includes a theoretical analysis, a textual analysis, an analysis of performance and conducting considerations, a list of compositions by the composer, and a discography. Additionally, it includes score corrections, the composer's biography, a brief history of the Requiem Mass and Christian funeral music, and historical connections to other Requiems, including a chapter dedicated to the Requiem of Herbert Howells.

The study was informed by numerous correspondences and multiple interviews with the composer, as well as singing under her direction. It is the author's hope that …

The Artist's Gauntlet: A Singers' Physiological Responses To The Stimuli Of Rehearsing And Performing, John H. Pritchard

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the relationship of a subject's heart rate variability, respiration rate and other vital statistics to rehearsing and performing as a singer. Among the events used for data collection were individual lessons of undergraduates and a lecture-recital presented by a graduate student. Findings indicate a general upward trend in HRV and an increase in range of HR%MAX among subjects while singing, along with a general decrease of respiration rate.

Three Musical Translations For Trumpet And Organ Based On Visual Artwork., John Harrison Bryant

Theses and Dissertations

Composers Petr Eben, Anthony Plog, and Jennifer Mitchell were each inspired by works of visual art to write pieces of music for trumpet and organ that sonically reflect their visual experiences. The main purpose of this document is to explore the unique "musical translation" the composers made of each respective work of visual art. In addition to providing valuable commentary and advice for informed performance, this document offers a complete formal analysis of each work.

Forgotten Russian Piano Music: The Sonatas Of Anatoly Aleksandrov, Irina Pevzner

Theses and Dissertations

This historical and analytical study focuses on the piano sonatas of Anatoly Aleksandrov (1888-1982), the longest-living Russian and Soviet composer-pianist of the twentieth century. The fourteen piano sonatas, written between 1922 and 1971, reflect not only the composer's evolution of style, but also reveal the vast array of influences which characterize the music of the twentieth century. Chromaticism that results from stretched harmonic sequences, strong melodic lyricism that threads these epic compositions, rich writing for piano, and hints of Russian folklore all contribute to the composer's original style, which synthesizes Aleksandrov's four main figures of influence, namely Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Medtner, …

Comparative Audiation Difficulty Of Tonal, Rhythm, And Melodic Patterns Among Grade 4 Students, Alan Danahy

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to investigate the audiation difficulty of melodic patterns. The specific research problems of this study were to: (a) examine the relationships between the audiation difficulty of melodic patterns compared to the audiation difficulty of their embedded tonal patterns and embedded rhythm patterns, (b) determine if tonal pattern difficulty and/or rhythm pattern difficulty may be used to predict melodic pattern difficulty, (c) examine the mean differences between the audiation difficulty of melodic patterns compared to the audiation difficulty of their embedded tonal patterns and embedded rhythm patterns, and (d) examine the mean differences between the …