Music Commons^™

Paul Bowles’ Blue Mountain Ballads For Wind Octet And Solo Voice: A Transcription Of A Song Cycle Using The Instrumentation Of Stravinsky’S Octet , Cleveland P. Forrester

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Blue Mountain Ballads (1946), by Paul Bowles, is a song-cycle and setting of four poems by Tennessee Williams who was the composer's friend and mentor. The work has long held a place in the vocal repertoire. Bowles’ unique harmonic language, wide accompanimental range and the use of jazz idiom provide a unique opportunity for the music to be re-cast for wind instruments. Furthermore, chamber music makes up most of Bowles’ musical output as a composer, so using small instrumental forces seemed an appropriate medium to re-orchestrate this song cycle.

The purpose of this document is 1) to provide a detailed …

A Comparison Of Informal Choral Singing Experiences, Christopher Powell

Theses and Dissertations--Music

A traditional choir relies on the interest and participation of the population in communal singing. However, drawing willing participants into a traditional choir program can often prove challenging to music educators, community choir directors, and leaders of religious music programs. One of the most prevalent informal singing groups in the USA is Sacred Harp. Sacred Harp “singings” have been around since the early years of The Sacred Harp itself. These singings occur regularly in multiple locations across the country and around the world. These events have an open atmosphere and, despite the mostly Christian material, have no expectation of a …

No Sweeter Sound: Musicking, Transformative Pedagogy, And Collaborative Social Justice In Choral Settings, Natalie N. Shaffer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Choral music and its conductors occupy a tenuous space in the 21st century. In a new cultural atmosphere influenced by Gen Z’s expectation of welcomed diversity and intolerance for injustice, TikTok’s rapid global dissemination of information and entertainment, and society’s desire for authentic connection following the Covid-19 pandemic, the dichotomies present in choral music are no longer being glossed over. Difficult conversations about race, gender, ableism, social location, and other intersectional identifiers are at the forefront of academic writing and conference presentations. Evidence of transformative pedagogy and culturally responsive practices are beginning to appear in classroom syllabi and rehearsal techniques …

Transformer-Based Symbolic Music Generation, Ben Buentello

Master’s Theses

This thesis investigates the capacity of transformer-based architectures to learn generalized musical patterns through symbolic generation. To support this exploration, a complete music generation pipeline was developed, beginning with the construction and classification of a large-scale dataset of over 170,000 MIDI files. The dataset was processed using rule-based heuristics and custom neural classifiers to separate tracks by musical function and contour. A novel tokenization scheme, MINTii, was introduced to encode musical information compactly through interval-based representations, reducing redundancy and promoting generalization. Using this infrastructure, a transformer model was trained to generate single-track melodic sequences. Its performance was evaluated through both …

Perspectives On Music Within The Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Community, Anna Hanbeck

Graduate Research Papers

This study investigates how Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) individuals perceive and experience music. Through a survey with DHH participants, the research explores alternative modes of musical perception, including vibration, visual cues, and emotional response. Findings reveal that many DHH individuals actively engage with music through multisensory strategies, challenging the understanding of music as primarily a hearing-based experience. The results highlight the importance of inclusive musical practices and technologies that provide diverse sensory experiences. Music is an experience that can be sought through different means. This research contributes to a broader understanding of accessibility in the arts and underscores …

The Effects Of Operatic Voice Type On Singer Identity, Adelaide J. Mcdonald

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Within Western art music, voices are typically classified using the Fach system, which is based upon vocal characteristics and separates singers into the categories of soprano, mezzo soprano, contralto, counter tenor, tenor, bass, and baritone. Over time, these categories have become embedded with social and cultural meaning within the operatic world, leading to the development of stereotypes and expectations surrounding singers, as well as social categories and identities, referred to in this study as “sociocultural vocal categories” and “sociocultural vocal identity,” respectively. Currently, there are limited explorations of the sociocultural vocal categories and their associated stereotypes, with research on singer …

Haven: Viewing The Concept Album Through The Classical Lens, Maria Keane

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research project analyzes the album Haven by Canadian pop-rock band Marianas Trench and compares it to the seminal song cycles of Franz Schubert, Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, as well as those of Robert Schumann, Dichterliebe and Frauenliebe und Leben.

Haven is a concept album that is based on the hero’s journey framework outlined in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Josh Ramsay, the lead singer of the group, crafted his hero’s journey by drawing on his own life experiences. The songs on the album represent different plot points from Campbell’s framework, telling a cohesive story over …

40 Years Passing By In (A) “Heartbeat”, Christopher Janney

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

This article outlines the forty-year history go Christopher Janney’s iconic performance work “HeartBeat.” Trained as an architect and jazz musician, Janney combines these two disciplines to create large interactive light/sound installations and performances. On the one hand, he attempts to make architecture more like music, more “alive” using real-time sensing devices as on his “Harmonic Convergence” installation on the Miami International Airport. On the other hand, he attempts to make music more like architecture, more physical more visual. In his “HeartBeat” performance, a dancer wears a heartbeat device that amplifies his/her heartbeat in “real time.” Over this pulse, live musicians …

Yoga Sūtra Book Four And The Yogabindu, Christopher Key Chapple

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

Four themes from the fourth pāda of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtra are examined here: karma (IV:2-13), individuality (IV:16), humility (IV:20-22), and freedom (IV:29-34). Affirmations and variant interpretations of these four are provided from Haribhadra Virahāṅka’s Yogabindu, most likely composed a century or two later.

Collective Karma: From The Yogasūtra To Taylor Swift, Zoë Slatoff

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

The Indian knowledge traditions speak at length about karma, which is divided into three categories—accumulated (saṃcita), ripe (prārabdha), and future (kriyamāṇa). While much is said about our individual karma and how it affects our repeated reincarnation in cyclic existence, how does this affect others and how do others affect us? In other words, as this paper explores, what is our reciprocal and collective karma?

Painting Liberation: A Visual Ontology Of The Interplay Of Mind And Consciousness In Book Four Of The Yoga Sūtras, Melissa Townsend

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

This presentation explores how artistic practice can illuminate philosophical questions about the nature of mind, consciousness, and liberation as articulated in Book Four of the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali. Through a series of paintings that visually translate these sūtras, I propose that art offers a unique, experiential means of engaging with the complex relationship between citta (mind) and puruṣa (consciousness).

The paintings function as a form of “visual ontology,” inviting viewers to engage with abstract philosophical concepts in a sensory, tangible way. By depicting the interplay between the mutable processes of the mind and the unchanging awareness of consciousness, these …

Transformation Of Buddhist Musical Practices From The 7th-13th Centuries As A Response To Political And Social Disorder In Medieval India, Stephan Duran

Monsoon: South Asian Studies Association Journal

This article gives an account of the development of Buddhist musical practices on the Indian subcontinent from their earliest, datable instances, to the disappearance of Buddhist institutions from India proper, demonstrating the persistence of descendant traditions of Sanskrit Buddhist chant and song in contemporary Japanese, Tibetan, and Newar esoteric Buddhist communities. It is argued that the Buddhist musical theory and praxis of these three cultural spheres both preserve features of ancient and medieval Indian Buddhist music and sonically illustrate the transition from political and social order to de-centralized social organization, a shift that took place between the 7^th and …

Making Music And Making Rent: The New Wave Of New York City’S Working Class Artists, Hannah J. Fierick

Capstones

Though New York’s local music scene has become a shadow of its former self, the city’s musicians have found creative ways to stay afloat while doing what they love. This piece explores the music scene in New York today through interviews with working class musicians themselves.

Exploration Of College Students’ Use Of The Occupation Of Music Listening To Support Engagement And Well-Being, Beverly Murphy, Morgan Breen, Jenna Breseman, Jailine Gonzalez, Tiesha Henley, Julianne Sta.Ana

Occupational Therapy Annual Research Colloquium

Heightened feelings of stress or anxiety can often accompany the transition to college, secondary to changes to an existing routine. These changes can potentially lead to occupational disruption or imbalances impacting students’ well-being and performance. This descriptive, exploratory research investigates whether college students are utilizing music as a means to support or enhance their occupational well-being. At this point, little is known about the extent of utilizing music listening as an occupational therapy intervention on college campuses to manage the allostatic load among students. To address this, a quantitative survey with close-ended questions was distributed virtually to college students within …

Predictors Of Mystical Experiences In The Electronic Dance Music Scene, Cody Edward Lesniak

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the nature and frequency of reported mystical experiences within the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) scene and the roles psychedelic and psychedelic-like substances, set, and setting play in facilitating these experiences. Participants were recruited using posts on a variety of EDM-related Facebook groups (EDM, EDM Universal, EDM Festivals and Raves, etc.) and Reddit threads (bonaroo, electricdaisycarnival, RavesAndRavers, etc.). Participants completed a self-report survey consisting of questions pertaining to their involvement in the EDM scene, motives for attendance at EDM events, motives for drug use, importance of the values of peace, love, unity, and respect (PLUR), the proportion …

Inattentional Deafness And Musical Training: Effects Of Perceptual Load On Tonal And Verbal Auditory Suppression, Annelise Coffey

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Inattentional deafness (ID) is a cognitive phenomenon of which we have relatively little understanding. The current study attempted to address this by considering current cognitive theories of thought and examined how musical training affects incidence rates of inattentional deafness. This study utilized a cognitive task and auditory stimuli previously designed to elicit inattentional deafness and measured musical training by administering the Goldsmith’s Musical Sophistication Index. Participants were instructed to engage in a high-load cognitive task, providing a condition in which inattentional deafness is likely to occur. During the task, a brief pure tone was presented simultaneously with the visual task …

In The Mix: Hip Hop's Impact On Genre Development And Cultural Influence In African And Jamaican Music, Kinzi Kabadeh

Postgraduate

In this exegesis, I contend that certain compositional elements and production methods of dancehall, amapiano, and afrobeats demonstrate hip hop’s influence on contemporary Jamaican and African electronic music. In particular, the drum programming, track mixing, and use of sampling demonstrate a cross-pollination and cultural transfer between the two forms of music (on one hand, the African and Jamaican genres of dancehall, amapiano, and afrobeats, and on the other, the African American music of hip hop). These genres are fundamental to contemporary Black culture and share origins as vehicles for resistance to oppressive forces.

Digital Synthesis And Music Making : A Comprovisational Approach To Music Making Through Digital Synthesis And Sound Manipulation, Joshua Cusack

Postgraduate

This exegesis documents my practice and process through the development and production of three albums of electronic music. Employing a methodology where the exploration of sound design drives the music making process. I used experimental music making approaches and “practice-led research” methodologies to make these creative works (Smith & Dean, 2009, p. 5). Through the exploration of the sound design process, I developed a methodology that enables the creation of musical material to serve as the foundation for the pieces I produced. Exploring iterative processes in music making, I employed a “Comprovisational” approach (Dale, 2008, p.5). Listening while recording, I …

Incorporating Ai Literacy Into Music Library Instruction: An Interactive Discussion, Taylor J. Greene

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Taylor Greene gave a presentation connecting AI Literacy to his work not only as the liaison to the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music but also more broadly in his role as Chair of Research and Instructional Services. He began by providing an overview of Chapman University’s cautious approach to embracing generative AI and highlighted the library’s role in supporting faculty, staff, librarians, and students in better understanding these technologies and their potential impact on higher education. He summarized the work of the AI Task Force and offered a general overview of the AI Literacy lectures that he and Dr. Doug Dechow …

Coltrane’S A Love Supreme: Mediations Of Immediacy In Jazz Ritual And Recitation, James R. W. Crockford

Yale Journal of Music & Religion

This paper explores the ritualized performance ethic of John Coltrane’s later career, which is charged with a determined exploration of freedom and spiritual ascendance through participative and gestural immediacy. Conceiving of this music as a spiritual and political tool for embodied transformation, this paper traces this ethic at play in Coltrane’s iconic 1965 album A Love Supreme, identifying ways the work effects a mediation of immediacy. Through focus on the album’s closing “Psalm” recitation, its parallels in Coltrane’s other works, and their analogue in traditions of ecstatic liturgical and political oratory, this paper demonstrates the consistent priority Coltrane gives …

“Christ For The World We Sing”: What Twentieth-Century Churches Of Christ Sang About Missions, Monty L. Lynn, Derran Reese, Kelly Cross Elliott, D. J. Bulls

Management Sciences

What twentieth-century members of acapella Churches of Christ sang to one another about missions informed, reinforced, and reflected congregational perspectives and practices. Fifty-four missions hymns from hymnals used within Churches of Christ suggest thirty-nine themes that encourage urgent and empathetic responses to spiritual distress, near and far. Hymns resonate with the trajectories of missions among Churches of Christ and provide insight into the ethos of congregations.

Benefit Concerts: Truly For The Benefit Of The Cause?, Emma C. Gardner

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Benefit concerts have been used as a fundraising method for urgent issues for centuries, beginning in 1749 with concerts put on by George Handel. The first modern benefit concert was the Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, which proved that these concerts could raise large amounts of money for their cause. Live Aid was put on by Bob Geldof in 1985 Live Aid in response to the famine in Ethiopia. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in 1992 was staged following Freddie Mercury’s death and worked to raise money for awareness and a cure for HIV/AIDS. The Concert for …

Expanding "Standards" Through Embracing Diversity: The Clarinet Quintets Of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Joyce Solomon Moorman, And James Lee Iii, Lauren Miller

Dissertations

Diversity in music education has been a long-standing discussion amongst educators. This document advocates for the recognition and acceptance of the intrinsic and extrinsic values of diverse peoples and their musical contributions while creating tolerance and respect. The focus lies with three composers, two African American and one African English, in service of promoting inclusion for composers of minority groups within the clarinet repertoire.

The goal is to expand standard clarinet repertoire, with “standard” defined as compositions considered important in building a well-rounded clarinetist in America, to include works such as Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in F-sharp …

Cultural And Political Perspective On Beethoven's "Ode To Joy" As The European Union's Anthem, Teodore Ignatius Minaroy, Henny Saptatia Drajati Nugrahani

Journal of Strategic and Global Studies

ABSTRACT. The aim of this research is to explore the cultural and political significance of the Ode to Joy, a tune included in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, so that tune can become an anthem for the European Union. Following the MEPs from Nigel Farage's Brexit party turning their backs on the playing of the European anthem, a discussion on this subject started. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative approach and literature review. The research's conclusions demonstrate that both musically and politically, Ode to Joy has its significance. Ode to Joy had already come to represent Germany in …

Chinese Calligraphic Dance (Ccd) And Generative Arts: Phantom Of Utopia, Ka Hei Cheng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The intricate elements embedded in the pictorial, ideological, and semantic facets of Chinese characters find their origin in simple calligraphic gestures. This generative arts research and creative work elevates traditional two-dimensional Chinese calligraphy into a multidimensional realm in extended reality (XR) by translating it into a three-dimensional dance movement, integrating music and visual media. This transformation is achieved by decomposing the words into gestures and somaesthetic
movement/interaction, encoding the collective bodily expressions into a manifestation termed Chinese Calligraphic Dance (CCD). Within this dance form, the fusion of categorized and uncategorized gestures/movements is sonified through a motion tracking system, giving rise …

Luther’S Musical Legacy In The Preaching Of His Students, Robert Kolb

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Asmrtistry In Immersive Sound: Investigating The Effectiveness Of Immersive Sound Technologies In Eliciting Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, Scott D. Nelson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite a wide array of immersive sound technologies available to digital media creators who specialize in making audio-visual content that aims to elicit Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), only a few sound reproduction modalities are widely used: mono/stereo and binaural recording. To date, nearly all research studying ASMR, a bio-sensory phenomenon wherein people feel brain tingles triggered by calming audio-visual cues, has been content to carry out ASMR studies entirely with stereo and binaural sound reproduction methods. Therefore, it stands to reason that more understanding about how diverse immersive sound modalities like wave field synthesis, or three-dimensional spatial audio for …

Music By Agnes Tyrrell, Agnes Tyrrell, Riley R. Dunbar, Jocelyn Swigger

Student Publications

Typesetting for open-source publication of music by Czech composer Agnes Tyrrell (1846-1883) from her original manuscripts.

Pieces (in alphabetical order by title):

• “Abendfeier” (lyrics by Felix Dahn)
• “An den Mond” – lyrics by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• “Ländler” (possibly part of a set of short dances)
• “Marsch” (possibly part of a set of short dances)
• “Mazurka” (possibly part of a set of short dances)
• “Meg”
• “Nur du” – lyrics by Emil Ritterhaus
• “Rondo”
• “Song” (When Time, Who Steals) – lyrics by Thomas Moore
• “Völglein im Walde” – lyrics by Dilia Helena
• “Walzer” (possibly part of a set of short dances) …

Uniting For Impact: A Journey Of Partnerships - Chapman University Case Study, Essraa Nawar, Taylor Greene

Library Articles and Research

This presentation highlights a decade-long collaboration between the Assistant Dean for Development and the Performing Arts Librarian at Chapman University's Leatherby Libraries, resulting in over $3 million in transformative contributions. Central to their success is the acquisition of the Henri Temianka Archives, a treasure trove of 20th-century classical music history. Through strategic stewardship, they secured this significant gift, enhancing research and cultural exchange. Additional achievements include the Ronald B. Broadwell Antique Musical Instruments collection, a Legacy gift, and an Endowed Fund for Music Collections. This partnership exemplifies the strategic impact of librarian-fundraiser collaborations, bridging divides and yielding enduring benefits for …

The Elephant In The Baithak: Tabla And Audio Technological Discourse, Tyler Thom

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis discusses how power, status, and performance practices play out between performers of tabla (North Indian hand drums) and audio engineers. To do so, I analyze engineer, performer, and music critic discourse surrounding tabla performances and technology to place it within a broader scholarly debate regarding recording technology, cultural/technological capital, technological determinism, and agency. I extend Christopher Scales’s (2012) concept of “recording culture” to “live sound culture,” or the behaviors, power struggles, and labor surrounding tabla mic’ing and amplification. I argue that audio technology separates the artist’s sound into several domains of control (stage, hall, recording, playback), each controlled …