Music Commons^™

Homage To Eleanora: A Musical Journey Through The Billie Holiday Songbook, Keith A. Dames

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Billie Holiday was a singer, songwriter, vocalist, bandleader and composer in the fields of music, black culture and more specifically the genre of jazz. The primary focus of this study is Billie Holiday’s discography, music, and compositions as treated in relation to the black culture of production. This study will explore a secondary content analysis of Billie Holiday’s music, musicianship, musicality and compositional skills within the American jazz mainstream, broader jazz audience and world at large. This project will take an analytical look at the structure and form of the compositions of Billie Holiday. Billie Holiday is credited with composing …

Negative Dialectics In Elliott Carter: Toward An Adornian Aesthetics Of Carter's Music, Gregory J. Menillo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is an attempt to lay the groundwork for an Adornian aesthetics of Elliott Carter’s music. The first chapter suggests that Theodor W. Adorno’s negative dialectics is the most appropriate paradigm for understanding the material antagonisms that characterize Carter’s music over a quasi-Hegelian “unity of opposites” as suggested in the Carter scholarship. Chapter Two demonstrates this through an Adornian reading of key aspects of the first movement of Carter’s 1948 Sonata for Cello and Piano, the watershed work for Carter’s mature style. The third chapter addresses the issue of musical time in Carter from a philosophical perspective; it discusses …

Non-Tonal Pitch Hierarchies And Dramatic Narratives In Oliver Knussen’S Variations, Op. 24, Joseph Prestamo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Musical analysts have often commented on the lingering echoes of tonality present within the otherwise non-centered (and remarkably complex) harmonic world of Oliver Knussen’s music. Using his piece Variations, Op. 24 as a model, this project hypothesizes that the compositional techniques Knussen employs serve to create non-tonal pitch hierarchies. Although Knussen does not use functional tonal harmony in this piece, he finds a variety of ways to elevate the pitch A to a place of prominence, both on the musical surface and in the background structural operations. These techniques naturally result in pitch spaces that are rich with tonal and …

Chorale And Collapse: An Analysis Of Mahler's Sixth Symphony, Benjamin G. Schweitzer

Student Theses

Gustav Mahler's Sixth Symphony in A minor, commonly known as the "Tragic," has become one of the Austrian symphonist's most celebrated works. This monumental symphony's direct and powerful expression have assured its place in the concert hall and its labyrinthine structure and wealth of intricate detail have made it an object of fascination for countless analysts and commentators through to the present day. My analysis of the symphony works up from the smallest elements of its harmonic progression and harmony to large-scale issues of tonality and form. In the process, I reveal the connections that bind all of the symphony's …

The Significance Of Sonic Branding To Strategically Stimulate Consumer Behavior: Content Analysis Of Four Interviews From Jeanna Isham’S “Sound In Marketing” Podcast, Ina Beilina

Student Theses and Dissertations

Purpose:
Sonic branding is not just about composing jingles like McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It.” Sonic branding is an industry that strategically designs a cohesive auditory component of a brand’s corporate identity. This paper examines the psychological impact of music and sound on consumer behavior reviewing studies from the past 40 years and investigates the significance of stimulating auditory perception by infusing sound in consumer experience in the modern 2020s.

Design/methodology/approach:
Qualitative content analysis of audio media was used to test two hypotheses. Four archival oral interview recordings from Jeanna Isham’s podcast “Sound in Marketing” featuring the sonic branding experts …

An Annotated Bibliography Of String Method Books And Theory Books For Pre-College String Students, With A Focus On Music Theory Concepts And Sequence Analysis, Rebecca Zou Hale

Master's Theses

The Hattiesburg Public School District (HPSD) Strings program, one of the largest public school string programs in the state of Mississippi, has been utilizing a method book series titled Essential Elements for Strings (EES) in their curriculum since the early 2000s. After almost two decades of use, the HPSD Strings staff has noticed that a majority of intermediate and advanced strings students struggle with fundamental music theory concepts. The current music theory deficiencies necessitate an improvement in the HPSD Strings curriculum's choice of instructional materials.

Referencing established music curricula and music theory textbooks, the instruction of fundamental music theory concepts …

The Mathematical Foundation Of The Musical Scales And Overtones, Michaela Dubose-Schmitt

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses the question of mathematical involvement in music, a topic long discussed going all the way back to Plato. It details the mathematical construction of the three main tuning systems (Pythagorean, just intonation, and equal temperament), the methods by which they were built and the mathematics that drives them through the lens of a historical perspective. It also briefly touches on the philosophical aspects of the tuning systems and whether their differences affect listeners. It further details the invention of the Fourier Series and their relation to the sound wave to explain the concept of overtones within the …

Three Etudes For Marimba And Pandeiro: Contemporary Marimba Music As A New Setting For The Brazilian Pandeiro, Eduardo Marques Do Prado

Doctoral Projects

The history of frame drums and idiophones has thousands of years. The modern versions of the pandeiro and the marimba are relatively new to those families of instruments. While the marimba found its niche in contemporary music, the pandeiro has been mostly used in Brazilian traditional music. The current project brings those two instruments together, allowing the pandeiro to express its versatility. Executing the intricate rhythms, uneven patterns, and alternating time signatures from within the Three Etudes for Marimba and Pandeiro is an example of what can be done with this amazing frame drum. These three pieces provide the pandeiro …

A Poet's Voice: Music In Service To Poetry: Elements Of Text Painting In Juliana Hall's Song Cycle "How Do I Love Thee?", Hayley Z. Coughin

Dissertations, 2020-current

American composer Juliana Hall has established a reputation as one of the leading composers of contemporary American art songs, having composed over 60 song cycles, totaling over 300 works for the voice. Hall’s song cycle How Do I Love Thee? expresses a narrative arc told through five selections from Victorian-era poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese. The poems selected include Sonnet 3: “Unlike,” Sonnet 43: “How Do I Love Thee?,” Sonnet 37: “Pardon,” Sonnet 21: “Say Over,” and Sonnet 41: “Thank You.” Hall’s cycle describes the relationship between the lover and the object of their love, including …

A Poet's Voice: Music In Service To Poetry: Elements Of Text Painting In Juliana Hall's Song Cycle "How Do I Love Thee?", Hayley Z. Coughin

Dissertations, 2020-current

American composer Juliana Hall has established a reputation as one of the leading composers of contemporary American art songs, having composed over 60 song cycles, totaling over 300 works for the voice. Hall’s song cycle How Do I Love Thee? expresses a narrative arc told through five selections from Victorian-era poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese. The poems selected include Sonnet 3: “Unlike,” Sonnet 43: “How Do I Love Thee?,” Sonnet 37: “Pardon,” Sonnet 21: “Say Over,” and Sonnet 41: “Thank You.” Hall’s cycle describes the relationship between the lover and the object of their love, including …

Shape-Note Music Traditions Of The Shenandoah Valley, Tyler Brinkerhoff

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Though over the years documents about shape-note music from Joseph Funk and Sons and the Ruebush-Kieffer companies have been spread throughout many archives, they are now being brought back together online in one digital archive. Interpreting the information contained in these documents and the ledger book of subscribers for The Southern Musical Advocate and Singer’s Friend magazine through graphs and maps makes the information contained in them easier to access for researchers. The collaboration between a physical museum site, a website, and a Omeka site allow for multiple ways to learn about the history of shape-note music in the Shenandoah …

Production As Analysis In Commercial Music Recordings, Simeon P. Church

Composition/Recording Projects

Since the 1960s, scholarship of popular music in the fields of musicology and music theory has blossomed (Kajanová 2013). The inclusion of the social sciences and humanities in music analysis has allowed for new methodologies in commercial music analysis. Although new methodologies have been developed around popular song analysis, they are notably absent in the field of music production (Blake 2012, 1). In this thesis, I will assert that music production is an under-explored facet of commercial music that offers abundant opportunities for analysis.

Exploring The Chromatic Harmony And Tonal Organization Of Casey Crescenzo, Nicholas Veine

Student Theses

Much of western music harmony study considers repertoire only from the classical canon and so-called "jazz standards." While this pursuit is noble, much more can be gleaned from musical theoretical study expanding the repertoire into progressive rock. "Prog" has pioneered the modern usage of chromatic harmony, especially 4ths-based movement, and subdominant harmony, as well as the natural expansion of the ideas of chromatic mediants and transformational theory. This paper specifically highlights the usages of these extended harmonic techniques in the music of Casey Crescenzo, primary writer/composer for the rock band: The Dear Hunter.

Qigang Chen’S Synthesis Of Multicultural Compositional Features In Er Huang, Isaac Reel

Student Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to identify prominent multicultural features of Qigang Chen's piano concerto, "Er Huang." It looks at theoretical aspects borrowed from Chinese practice as well as the practices of Chen's mentor Olivier Messiaen. This thesis then shows how Chen synthesizes those traditions. Chinese concepts discussed are banqiang, gong shift, bian sheng (changed notes) and the specific luogu dianzi (percussion topoi from beijing opera) ji-ji-feng. Messiaenic concepts discussed are motivic recycling and transformation, added values, irregular augmentation and diminution, modalism and rhythmic contrast.

Metal-Ish: An Analysis Of Heavy Metal And Jazz Fusion By Guitarist Adam Rogers, Malachi A. Million

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

Adam Rogers is a critically recognized guitarist known for his exceptional performances in jazz and other musical styles. Rogers has enjoyed a substantial career as a jazz ensemble leader, a sideman for other jazz ensembles, and a studio musician for jazz and non-jazz albums. Rogers’s discography includes five albums as a leader, four as co-leader, and over two hundred as a sideman. Rogers’s most recent album as leader, DICE (2017), is focused on music written for an ensemble of electric guitar, bass guitar, and drums that blends jazz with other styles such as funk, rock, R&B, blues, country, and heavy …

Telling Stories: An Analysis Of Speech-Melody Compositions And An Original Speech-Melody Composition For Wind Ensemble, Kevin Cheek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the compositional technique of speech melody and provides a brief historical overview of speech in music. This thesis also examines recent works (2005-2014) that have sourced their melodies from the spoken word and in turn creates an original composition for wind ensemble consisting of melodies sourced from recordings of members of United States military forces speaking about their lived experiences. In conjunction with the analytical and compositional aspects of this thesis, I also conducted an interview with Dutch composer Jacob ter Veldhuis (Jacob TV). i

Grrrls, Grrrls, Grrrls: Incorporating Feminist Theory Into Punk Rock Composition, Bryan M. Waring

Composition/Recording Projects

This project argues that one can make rock music with anti-sexist values by incorporating feminist criticism and gendered performance into the composition of punk rock music. To test this thesis, the history of feminism and its implementation within musical discourse were examined. Using feminist music theory as a lens for observation, several songs from female artists and mix-gender bands within the punk genre were analyzed. This was done in order to find similarities in compositional practices and to explore punk rock’s symbolic representations of gender. Areas covered were the expression of jouissance by the proto-punks, the use of détournement by …

Ysaye Sonata No.4 - A Sonata Of Past And Future, Naiyin Hou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A golden age of violin playing arose during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Different violin schools were established, with their own beliefs concerning technique and interpretation. Some violinists displayed high virtuosity in their playing; whereas, others pursued establishing a noble and simple interpretation following the composer’s musical instruction. Different playing styles were developing, and people had their own preference on one or another. Eugène Ysaÿe was able to present qualities from different schools altogether in his playing, and developed a style of playing that was admired by the later generation. Many violinists in the late 19th century were …

New Transcription For Cello And Piano Of The “Sonata For Violin And Piano” By Uruguayan Composer Hector Tosar, Including A Performance Edition, Analysis, And Biography, Jose Pedro Romero-Ottonello

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This paper accompanies my transcription for cello and piano of Héctor Alberto Tosar Herrecart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. It presents a brief study of Tosar's life, documenting his study with various composers in Uruguay and elsewhere, influences on his evolving compositional style, and an analysis of the sonata itself. I examine the manuscripts of other works by Tosar to provide an understanding of his musical language, including his “Serie sinfónica: en cuatro movimientos,” “Sinfonía no. 2 para orquesta de cuerdas,” “Sonatina no. 2. Solitude,” and “Salmo CII: para coro y orquesta.” The purpose of this project is to document …

L'Homme Arme: A Tradition Of Contrafactum, Lauren Moseley

Student Scholar Showcase

Contrafactum, the replacement of text in a song, and L’homme Arme impacted music both in the 1450s and today. Although their usage changed and dwindled, musicians never stopped using contrafactum and L’homme Arme in their works. With the intent of improving music pedagogy and performance, the purpose of this research was to investigate L’homme Arme and contrafactum and their usage today. The particular problems of this study were to (1) examine contrafactum and L’homme Arme in medieval and renaissance music; (2) explore the use of contrafactum today; and (3) arrange a piece of music that combines a sacred and a …

A Synthesis Of Contemporary Music Composition Pedagogy Practices For The Undergraduate And Graduate Level Sequences, And An Exploration Of Time, Sound, And Space: An Aleatoric Event Score In Collaboration With The Lsu Museum Of Art, Jeremi Wayne Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part consists of a synthesis of contemporary music composition pedagogy practices for the undergraduate and graduate level sequences. A conversation of the study of music composition pedagogy is used to investigate current pedagogical practices in music composition and present those findings as a resource guide for new and future teachers. The second part presents an Exploration of Time, Sound, and Space, an Aleatoric Event Score Collaboration with the LSU Museum of Art. This event score is a product of the development of this dissertation commenced with a straightforward question; can we experience/consume …

Musical Scores And The Eternal Present: Theology, Time, And Tolkien By Chiara Bertoglio, John Wm. Houghton

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Review of Chiara Bertoglio, Musical Scores and the Eternal Present: Theology, Time, and Tolkien (2021).

Embodied Cognition In The Music Theory And Aural Skills Classrooms, Leslie Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Applying concepts of embodied cognition positively impacts pedagogy in the theory and aural skills classrooms. This thesis defines a holistic view of the student and identifies how classroom instruction from that perspective can benefit student learning as well as overall well-being. The opening chapters provide a brief scientific background and connect concepts of embodied cognition with specific music theory and aural skills examples from an interview. A select survey of the music theory pedagogy literature also illustrates principles of embodied cognition. Based on this background, the final chapter presents new sample lesson plans and discusses how to adapt to student …

John Williams: Scoring And Interpreting Emotions In Film Music, Hadlee Lane Hubbard

Senior Honors Theses

This research paper examines how John Williams’s film scores convey an emotional narrative to the audience. First, the literature review will discuss pertinent theories on film music and emotions informing the current research. The paper then establishes Williams’s composing style, and centers on his connection to the classical symphonic composers and to the film music of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The research then analyzes how John Williams’s music influences emotions in prominent scenes from several of his films including Jurassic Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Empire Strikes Back. Finally, the paper concludes with a …

Anys D’Aprenentatge: Solfeig, Teoria, Harmonia I Contrapunt (¿I Si Tot Hagués Estat Un Malson Racista?), Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

Quan en els anys setanta jo començava a aprendre música, se solia donar molta importància al solfeig. Era un sistema antinatural i possiblement antipedagògic perquè la lectura cantada de notes solia precedir l’experiència de la música. És a dir, en certa manera és com si els infants abans de parlar, aprenguessin a llegir.

Broadway Quodlibets As Hybrid Music, Spencer Ann Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Quodlibets are an important facet of the language of musical theater and exhibit musical hybridity, mixing two or more musical elements. Bruno Alcalde’s framework of musical hybridity—including mixture strategies of clash, coexistence, distortion, and trajectory—provides a framework for the analysis, revealing more about the music itself and how the music contributes to the dramatic narrative of each musical scene. Examples of Broadway quodlibets illustrate the relevant mixture strategies; “Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You” from The Music Man, “An Old-Fashioned Wedding” from Annie Get Your Gun, “All For the Best” from Gospell, “I Still Believe” from Miss …

Mixtape Assignment, Apryl Berney

Assignment Prompts

Context: I designed several assignments to accompany the March 1st symposium “Listen Differently: Black Feminism, Music, and Popular Culture.” One assignment is a Mixtape assignment. It encourages students to apply Dr. Tricia Rose’s analysis of sexual politics from her seminal work Black Noise to popular songs from the last 5 to 10 years. The assignment should help students investigate how songs by women of color, especially Black women, changed since the mid-1990s when Dr. Rose’s critique of hip hop was first published.

Redefining Ornamentation As Formal Functions In 21St-Century Popular Music, Matthew Kolar

Theses and Dissertations

Ornaments are embellishments and decorations of pre-established music; therefore, their existence relies on comparison to that original basis . Because pop music’s text is the recorded track rather than a written score, the determination of what is the main melody is strongly influenced by its first iteration, and ornaments can be found by comparisons of further iterations to the primary source. The goal of this thesis is to categorize the types of ornaments that exist in this repertory as well as define their overall functions. In this sense, ornamentation is being redefined; ornaments are not just decorations to a melody, …

A Festival Of Form: Score, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

"A Festival of Form" was both an event at Bridwell and Perkins School of Theology and a conceptual piece of music that lasted several days. In this rendering, the "piece of music" was articulated in a fluid combination of activities that included works by other composers, including John Cage. The activities involved--from lectures, conversations, and meals to actual performances of both short works and especially the world-record breaking rendition of "Organ2/ASLSP" played by Christopher Anderson--comprise the entirety of "A Festival of Form" as performance piece. The challenge of this work is that unlike nearly any other music, it is purposely …

Broken Chair Chaconne, Anthony Elia

Bridwell Library Research

In March 2022, I was working at my computer when this increasingly rickety chair collapsed beneath me! It was time to get back to responsible eating and get a new chair. But amid the intensive planning and production of The Festival of Form: John Cage and the Infinite Human events, it occurred to me that I could play around with the ideas of music, sound, noise, and silence, and particularly the unconventional experiments of notation and scoring. Shortly after this chair broke, I took a sharpie pen to it and began to notate it like a score, along with some …