Music Commons^™

Alumni News

TEMPO

No abstract provided.

Bluff Series Continues To Captivate Audiences

TEMPO

No abstract provided.

About Duquesne University And The Mary Pappert School Of Music

TEMPO

No abstract provided.

Duquesne’S ‘Mic Drop’ A Capella Vocal Ensemble Off To An Impressive Start

TEMPO

No abstract provided.

New Mexico Composers Archive, Unm Digital Initiatives & Scholarly Communication

Love in the Archives 2019

Merging the digital with the physical, the New Mexico Composers' Archive (MSS 904 BC) was featured on screen and in print during Love in the Archives. Begun in 1973 by then-Dean of Libraries Dr. John Harvey, the collection has been partially digitized. Exhibit-goers were able to interact with the digital and physical objects and draw their own conclusions about the pros and cons of each format. A few pieces were newly digitized for the exhibit and they are included here.

Curated by Amy Winter, Program Specialist, Digital Initiatives and Scholarly Communication

Towards An Open And Scalable Music Metadata Layer, Thomas Hardjono, George Howard, Eric Scace, Mizan Chowdury, Lucas Novak, Meghan Gaudet, Justin Anderson, Nicole D'Avis, Christopher Kulis, Edward Sweeney, Chandler Vaughan

Faculty Works

One of the significant issues in the music supply chain today is the lack of consistent, complete and authoritative information or metadata regarding the creation of a given musical work. In many cases multiple entities in the music supply chain have each created their own version of the metadata for a musical work, often by manually re-entering the same information or through scraping data from other sites. In such cases, the effort to synchronize or to correct the information becomes manually laborious and error-prone. Furthermore, confidential information regarding the legal ownership of the musical work is often commingled in the …

Escape From The East, Martha Marie Failinger

Children's Book Writing and Illustrating (MFA) Theses

Although a plethora of documentaries, movies, and literature surrounding the trauma of

World War II and its aftermath exist, a relative paucity comes from the German people – perhaps

due to the collective guilt and shame that surrounded the horrors of the Holocaust.

This thesis project is a middle school graphic novel memoir based on a true story of a German boy (pseudonym: Hans) during the years 1940 to 1949. Hans becomes a member of the prestigious St. Thomas Boys Choir in Leipzig and finds that Bach’s music, which he is constantly singing, helps to keep his soul alive in …

"Fuck Tha Police": The Poetry And Politics Of N.W.A., Sandra Young

English Faculty Publications

No one withdrew after syllabus day. In the semester I piloted a first-year seminar course, the “Rhetoric of Protest Songs,” on the first day of class, I introduced the topic of the class and myself. However, before I gave students the syllabi, I confessed that I knew little about music. I told them I Googled and YouTubed, and read our text to gain knowledge about protest songs. I told them the “Rhetoric of Protest Songs” was a writing class, and rhetoric means persuasion. “In this class, you’ll write academic essays about protest songs. And we’ll listen to some music.”

My …

Electric Guitar, John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Hollow-body guitars could not be heard over other instruments in swing bands, so pick-ups were added to the guitars, which often resulted in feedback and distortion. This led to the development of solid-body electric guitars which needed amplification in order to be heard.

Paul, Les (1915-2009), John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Les Paul was a guitarist and inventor who experimented with multitrack recording.

"Woven Into The Deeps Of Life": Death, Redemption, And Memory In Bob Kaufman's Poetry, Peter Davis

Pomona Senior Theses

The scholars who have taken up the task of writing about Bob Kaufman have most often done so in response to a perceived demand: the lack of Kaufman scholarship, readership, anthology, publicity, canonization. The basis of this need is clear: Kaufman is almost never included as even a third-string Beat, a fringe Surrealist, or an underappreciated Jazz performer. To the committed readers of Kaufman – and almost all of his readers seem to be committed ones – it’s unforgivable. These various canons, major (mid-century American poets, Beat poets) and minor (Jazz poets, American Surrealists), are clearly missing one of their …

International Music Preferences: An Analysis Of The Determinants Of Song Popularity On Spotify For The U.S., Norway, Taiwan, Ecuador, And Costa Rica, Brendan Joseph Suh

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines data from Spotify’s API for 2017-2018 to determine the effects of song attributes on the success of tracks on Spotify’s Top 200 Chart across five different countries: the U.S., Norway, Taiwan, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. Two dependent variables are used to measure the success of a song – a track’s peak position on the charts and the number of days it survives on a country’s Top 200 Chart. Using ten separate regressions, one for each dependent variable in all five countries, it is concluded that the presence of a featured guest on a track increases a song’s …

Recording The Classical Tuba, Larry Dine

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Many musicians find it difficult to capture the sound of their instrument in a recording. Often times the trouble is getting a recording to sound natural, or true to life. This is no different for the classical tuba, especially due to the way its sound is produced. This paper focuses on some of the broad variables that go into realistically reproducing the tuba’s sound, which has received very little, if any, academic study.

Within this study, microphone selection and placement is considered, interpreted, and discussed via objective and subjective methods. More specifically, this includes direct and indirect microphone placements, as …

A Compendium Of Opera In Spain And Latin America, Michelle S. Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Spain and Latin America have a rich operatic tradition, however this opulent body of operatic work is mostly overlooked or ignored in mainstream histories of opera. This document focuses on opera in Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America. Opera was both composed and performed in Spain and Latin America, and both regions demonstrate the development of national opera traditions. Spanish drama was closely linked to the beginnings of national opera, and Italian influence is evident in opera compositions from both regions. The output of national operas varies by country, with Spain, Mexico, and Argentina claiming the majority of …

Pedagogical Thoughts On Album Des Six: A Piano Set By Les Six To Represent French Nationalism, Dipendra Sunam

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Les Six, formally established in 1920, included a group of young French composers: Georges Auric (1899-1983), Louis Durey (1888-1979), Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) and Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983). The primary motivation for their formation was the reaction against foreign influences, especially German Romantic music, in French music. Jean Cocteau, inspired by Erik Satie’s style, proposed a new French musical aesthetic: simplicity, directness, clarity, and terseness. Les Six followed these ideals in their formative years. Their artistic association was short-lived, but while it lasted it produced Album des Six, their sole joint production, a published …

Contemporary Music Notation For The Flute: A Unified Guide To Notational Symbols For Composers And Performers, Ms. Eftihia Victoria Arkoudis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

David Cope stated: “There are two basic approaches to the study of New Music Notation: codification and comprehension […] what really needs to be done is not to keep listing the diverse ways each composer symbolizes his music or create substantially new and negating systems of notation, but to concentrate on codifying one way for future composers to symbolize their music.”^[1]

In an attempt to limit the inconsistency and complexity characterizing contemporary notation idiomatic to the flute, this paper is the first to adopt Cope’s statement and ultimately apply it in relation to the notation of non-standard extended flute …

Performance Practice In Hungarian Folk Music And Its Relationship To The Style Hongrois, Teresa Vinci

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study investigates style and performance practice within the oral traditions of Hungarian folk music, and explores intersections with the nineteenth-century idiom style hongrois. Interviews, lessons, and workshops were undertaken as part of a practice-based immersive research experience, and comparisons with the style hongrois made via analysis of scores and recordings of Jeno Hubay (1858-1937). The research strives towards an ‘Historically Informed Performance’ specific to these styles, and explores how they can inform each other. Findings are presented through a dissertation and a CD recording “Never Far Away…” comprising the researcher’s violin performance as leader of an Hungarian folk …

Beyond Sound: A Descriptive Study Of Fifth And Sixth Grade Children's Listening Perceptions Of Rap And Classical Music, David Camilo Aristizabal Ruiz

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This action, non-experimental, empirical, descriptive study using a survey technique was aimed at observing the immediate reality of one particular urban school in one cosmopolitan city of the United States of America’s Pacific Northwest. The purpose of this study was to narrate the listening perceptions of 137 fifth and sixth grade elementary aged children while they compared two examples of music: USA east coast rap versus European classical music. Their responses to 24 survey questions were the basis for exploring the idea that social-economic values reflected in bias are affecting their listening perceptions. Moreover, the purpose of this research was …

Rock Hill Music Club Records - Accession 100, Music Club, Rock Hill

Manuscript Collection

The Rock Hill Music Club Records consist of minutes, correspondence, yearbooks, historical sketches, programs of the meetings, minute books, newspaper clippings, membership records, and two scrapbooks relating to the activities and history of the club. The club was organized in 1914. The records date from 1941 to 1977.

Documenting Fifth-Grade Band Students’ Experiences In A Kodály-Centered Beginning Band Curriculum, Elisabeth Henderson Dhillon

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

ABSTRACT

Based on the work of Hungarian composer and educator Zoltán Kodály, the Kodály method, a sound-to-symbol approach to music-making and literacy stemming from an aural and auditory entry point, forms an integral aspect of many elementary level general music curricula in the United States. In this process-oriented, experiential approach, students hear and explore music kinesthetically, aurally and through folk and art song before visual concepts in the form of notes in formal notation are introduced.

In contrast, traditional beginning band methodologies tend not to incorporate a sound-to-symbol approach, teaching the intricacies of a complex new instrument in conjunction with …

Audio To Architecture: House Music As A Form Generator, Polina Timchenko

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Contemporary music undergoes similar process of creation to that of the design process through computation and variation. House music as a representation of contemporary culture has a layered structure that allows specific characteristics to identify it as house music. Song components can vary and mix in different orders that form new dynamic compositions. I am going to explore the idea that every house music component can be translated into geometry with the use of parametric design techniques.

Building A Recording-Specific Amplifier Cabinet, John Livingston

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Recording electric guitar has become a major component of any professional recording environment over the last 50 years, and recognizing the parameters that generate a quality recording is essential in getting the desired tonality and sound. The author examines the characteristics of amplifier cabinets desirable in studio use, and documents the process of building one from scratch for recording purposes based off of research parameters- as well as personal studio experience. This project compares the build of a custom amplifier cabinet against that of a store-bought cabinet from a reputable manufacturer (Fender) with emphasis on build materials, power handling, and …

Impermanence (Lorelei Ensemble, Beth Willer, Artistic Director), Beth Willer

Other Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Acrl Framework Assignments For Music Information Literacy, Taylor Greene

Library Presentations, Posters, and Audiovisual Materials

Though the ACRL Framework was adopted two and a half years ago, music librarians continue to wonder how to integrate the six frames described by this guiding document into our information literacy instruction while also covering the necessities of music information literacy. In this presentation, I will discuss the approach that I used to incorporate the six frames into my instruction for the Music Information Literacy course I teach at Chapman University while still retaining essential music instruction, such as searching for music, navigating particular resources like Grove Music Online, and citation formatting. Specifically, I will focus on the in-class …

Where Time And Eternity Intersect: The Integration Of The Liturgical Calendar Into The Worship Practices Of The Evangelical Church, Leah Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The liturgical calendar is a historic practice of the Christian church which provides a structure for worship based on the life and teachings of Jesus. This project will examine the historical developments of the use of the liturgical calendar and the value of introducing it to the evangelical church setting. The project will be a case study of several evangelical churches in the Southern Maryland area through analysis of a one year sample of song canon. The song canons will be analyzed for balance in offices of Christ, story focus, and Trinitarian language.

Metacognition? Never Heard Of Her, Brigid A. Cavins

WRIT: Journal of First-Year Writing

No abstract provided.

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Msc 1003 (Music In Civilization), Abby Anderton

Open Educational Resources

Music in Civilization will empower students to recognize salient musical features and genres through listening and class discussion. Whether listening to music by Beethoven, Kendrick Lamar or Beyoncé, this course will give students a vocabulary with which to discuss music from the Middle Ages to the present day.

In The Groove: A Documentary About Vinyl, Jared Endsley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis project, ‘In the Groove’ is to tell the story of why vinyl records, a music format written off as a casualty to the digital age is experiencing a cultural resurgence. In the last several years vinyl records have been the only musical format to record positive sales growth.

For many musicians today, pressing their music to vinyl records yields the greatest return on investment. However, vinyl remains a niche market, supported by a devoted fan base.

This film focuses on a group of artists and vinyl enthusiasts as they navigate this new marketplace.

Music Therapy In The Modern Era: Three Discussions, Kate Pisarczyk, Sean Harty, Victoria Kleeman

Celebration of Learning

This Senior Inquiry presentation includes the findings of three Pre-Music therapy senior’s research. The three projects delve into very different, but important aspects of music therapy in our modern era. Sean Harty's Memory and Music delves into the impact of music on different parts of the aging brain in regards to memory recall. Music therapy is one avenue in order to assist this type of clientele. Victoria Kleeman's Synergy Should Tell the Story in Music Therapy explores the idea of creating synergy within the world of music therapy. Her discussion leads with the idea that the creation of synergy comes …

Letters From Olive Fremstad To Willa Cather: A View Beyond The Song Of The Lark, Jessica Tebo

Department of English: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 1913, Willa Cather met opera-diva Olive Fremstad and the two formed a friendship that would span at least a decade. Fremstad has long been recognized as an inspiration for the character Thea Kronborg of Cather’s Song of the Lark (1915) but has not been portrayed as influential in any other aspects to Cather’s career. Letters sent by Fremstad to Cather have recently been located, and they reveal an ongoing and interdisciplinary dialogue between the two women that negotiates issues surrounding art and professionalism. I locate these letters within the broader context of Cather’s public and fictional statements about art …