Music Commons^™

Here Comes The Sun: A Diachronic Study Of The Role Of Music In The Amarna Period, Waleed Hawatky

Theses and Dissertations

Music has and continues to play a prominent role in the lives of individuals and in society, hardwired into the human experience and integral to our understanding of the world in both its tangible and intangible manifestations. This was no different in dynastic Egypt, where abundant iconographic and physical evidence from the Old Kingdom onward shows music performed in many diverse contexts at every social level.

Music appears not only to gain prominence during the reign of Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten (c. 1353–1335), also known as the Amarna Period, but also to develop innovations, including new kinds of instruments and musical ensembles, …

From Retrieval To Generation: Building And Evaluating An Ai Accompanist For Piano Duets With An Anticipatory Music Transformer, Sai Ruthvik Uppala

Masters Theses

Systems that accompany a live musician, such as ACCompanion, work by retrieval: they hold a written accompaniment and stretch its timing to follow the soloist, so they can only accompany music whose second part already exists as a score. This thesis asks whether that second part can instead be generated, and specifically whether a machine learning model can write an accompaniment for a piece whose score it has never seen. A player performs the primo, the melody; a model produces the secondo, the accompaniment; and a score follower places the generated notes against the live performance. If this works, a …

Vibe Diggers: The Sampling Of Brazilian Music In Hip-Hop, Romulo De Carvalho Moraes Barbosa

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates the trend of musical borrowings of 1970s MPB (música popular brasileira) by contemporary American hip-hop producers, especially in terms of what they have called a “Brazilian vibe.” A lot has been said about sampling already from legal, sociological, and historical points of view, but less has been said about its aesthetic procedures, and even less about the wider implications of a tendency for using transnational sources. In the case of MPB, hip-hop artists seem to understand the music they sample through an often vague, intuitive representation, which fuses qualities of those recordings with an intersubjective mood, a …

Symphonies That "Sing": Reevaluating Voices And Vocality In Mahler's Early Symphonies, Erin M. Johnston

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation considers the role of vocal music in Gustav Mahler’s early symphonies through the lens of the composer’s practice of self-borrowing. Mahler was known to use his own pre-existing songs as the basis for large-scale movements in his early symphonies. While scholars have long recognized the close relationship between Mahler’s songs and symphonies, existing studies have emphasized questions of biography, intertextuality, musical meaning, and quotation rather than sustained analytical investigations of vocal influence in Mahler’s large-scale symphonic forms. The present study places this vocality at the forefront of its analyses, arguing that Mahler’s reworking of his own Lieder is …

Analyzing Harmony In Bulgarian And Bulgarian-Influenced Choral Arrangements From The Radio To The Screen, Annie Beliveau

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation investigates developments in arrangements and compositions made for Bulgarian choirs between 1950 and 2025. Arrangements from Bulgaria’s communist period (1944-1989), when musical radio broadcasts were tailored to promote nationalist sentiment, eventually reached the ears of foreigners on the other side of the Iron Curtain via recordings and ensemble tours. These obrabotki (arrangements of folk tunes) became popular in the “world music” boom of the 1980s, and foreign composers soon began to create new compositions for Bulgarian choirs to sing on albums and in scores for film, television, and video games. Over time, the uses of Bulgarian choir in …

Urban Counterpoint (1992–2003): The Piano Music Of Ed Bland, Joseph Vaz

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes the piano music of Ed Bland, a politically and philosophically vocal composer active in the second half of the twentieth century, whose music draws on both the European and American twentieth-century avant-garde, and on African American vernacular music genres from ragtime to hip-hop. A review of the historical and personal context for these pieces, and a detailed examination of the compositional processes used in this music, work together to demonstrate how Bland thought about the relationship between different musical genres and languages.

Through this combination of theory of musical genre, historical and biographical study, and detailed analysis …

Waltzing Into Silence: Time, Space, And The Afterword In Ravel’S Valses Nobles Et Sentimentales In Comparison With Schumann’S Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, Nora I. Bartosik

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation undertakes an analysis of Maurice Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales for piano against the backdrop of Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, a work with significant parallels in structure, character, and narrative. The Davidsbündlertänze are examined as a model for the Valses nobles et sentimentales, with an emphasis on the two works’ use of the waltz form, their structure as a series of miniature dances composed as a single cohesive work, and their inclusion of an afterword, or epilogue. The analysis draws from the extensive literature on Schumann’s piano cycles in order to apply similar techniques to …

Remixing Dialogue: A Case Study On Perceptions Of Hip Hop Pedagogy In A Professional Learning Course, Kelly J. Thelen

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

This qualitative case study examines how teachers’ decision-making and professional autonomy shift while participating in a Hip Hop Pedagogy Professional Learning course supported by structured FIXIT (Lo & Wachter, 2023a, 2023b, 2023c, 2023d; Wachter & Lo, 2024) game-facilitated dialogue in a rural, culturally and linguistically diverse Midwest community. Grounded in Freire’s (1970) Critical Pedagogy, Ladson-Billings’ (1995) Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris and Alim, 2017), and Adult Learning Theory (Knowles et al., 2005), the study explores the reclamation of agency by teachers in a time of constrained creativity and educator autonomy shaped by strict policy environments, an emphasis on …

Performing Methods Of Beethoven’S Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 61, Third Movement: “Rondo: Allegro”, Zike Qi

Dissertations, 2020-current

This document examines the third movement “Rondo: Allegro” of Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 by Ludwig van Beethoven, focusing on how structural relationships in the score are transformed into auditory experience through performance methods. Rather than treating performance as a direct reproduction of the text, this research understands it as a process in which structure becomes perceptible in time.

Combining structural analysis, recording comparison, and self-recording practice, the study interprets the movement within a rondo–sonata framework (A–B–A–C–A–B–A). It demonstrates that the rondo theme assumes different functions—presentation, transition, and development—depending on its structural position.

Through comparison of recordings by …

Sing Lustily And With Good Courage: Reinventing Methodist Hymns In The Context Of The Indonesian Methodist Church, Budi Taniwan

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

The majority of Methodist churches continue to uphold the legacy of hymn singing, a practice highly esteemed by early Methodists. John and Charles Wesley employed hymns alongside sermons as a means of teaching Methodist theology, shaping Christian discipleship, and forming Methodist identity. However, in contemporary times, Indonesian Methodist churches recite fewer doctrinal hymns. Inadequate early translations, the absence of authentically Indonesian Methodist hymns, and the emergence of contemporary Christian music have contributed to this decline. Changes in liturgy, worship culture, and technology have also transformed the way congregations learn and sing their faith. This study explores the historical and theological …

Egyptian Suite: Compositional Reflections, Jeremy Fisher Jacobus

Master's Theses

Egyptian Suite is an original composition for concert wind ensemble that takes example and inspiration from what others believe was Ancient Egyptian music, with some of today’s examples of Egyptian music. This work is divided into four movements: The Nile, The Pharaoh’s Festival, The Pyramids, The Grand Coronation, with each movement representing personal interpretation of each idea with the instrumentation, and the changes in texture, color and rhythm. With each movement of the Egyptian suite, I evaluated instruments being used as additional colors and textures, used more non-conventional key signatures modulations and time signature changes, and utilized a diverse and …

Measuring Administrative Hiring Confidence Of Music Teachers In The Context Of Shallow Hiring Pools, Aaron M. Strum

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify and measure the confidence of K-12 administrators in hiring music faculty. This study also aimed to analyze administrators’ perspectives and confidence in key stages of the hiring process, including defining job expectations, posting, advertising, interviewing, and selecting highly specialized music teachers in K-12 settings. Confidence of K-12 administrators can be gauged through their understanding of how well an applicant aligns with the specific needs of the school’s program. Three research questions guided this investigation: (1a) How confident are K-12 administrators in their understanding of music teaching pedagogy when interviewing music teacher candidates …

A Trombone Studio Teacher's Guide To Non-Injury-Related Embouchure Changes, Austin A. Handley

Dissertations

This dissertation is a pedagogical guide for trombone studio teachers who will lead students through embouchure changes. These changes and adjustments are normal in brass pedagogy, but there is limited literature that addresses how teachers should identify the need for change, initiate the process, and support students through it. There are a growing number of resources available about embouchure injury and dysfunction, rehabilitation, and long-term prevention. This leaves a gap for teachers who are trying to help students using an inefficient embouchure setup.

The purpose of this study is to provide a practical resource for teachers by examining the experiences …

From Osbcurity To The Stage: A Stylistic And Pedagogical Exploration Of The Four Concert Etudes By Mikhail Bukinik, Luis Bernardo Castro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research examines Mikhail Bukinik’s 4 Konzertetüden (concert etudes) for solo cello through both a stylistic performance and pedagogical approach. Despite Bukinik’s historical presence as a cellist and composer, these specific works have fallen into obscurity and remain largely absent from the standard pedagogical and performance canon. The research has two primary objectives. The first is to reintroduce these works to the modern repertoire, focusing on dissemination and performance practice. This involves a stylistic analysis of the four etudes, culminating in a recorded live performance during the lecture recital and the creation of a professional studio recording to serve as …

The Student Performer's Guide To Creating A Consortium, Jaycee Swan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Among advanced musicians who advocate for increasing diversity in classically oriented repertoire, music commissioning is a common practice. Funding a composer to write original music, however, seems out of reach for student musicians or those without the financial means and know-how. A more affordable and therefore accessible alternative to the stand-alone commission is the consortium-based commission for new music. In this lecture portion of a “lecture-recital with written document,” I (a) document my experience in spearheading a new music consortium and, from that experience, (b) present a guide for facilitating a new music consortium.

The project was the impetus for …

A Contextual And Sonic Analysis Of John Coltrane’S First Meditations, Matt Lind

Music ETDs

This thesis presents a contextual and sonic analysis of John Coltrane’s album First Meditations recorded in 1965. I use methods based on Dora Hanninen’s A Theory of Music Analysis to examine sonic and contextual aspects of Coltrane’s playing, including varying timbres, rhythmic tendencies, and contextual relationships in musical material. I consider pitch material from the perspective of “outside” playing, rather than traditional harmonic analysis. Considering areas of pitch, rhythm, and timbre allows the visualization of these features across each track in the album in five musical “plots.”

A Graduate Recital In Voice, Morgan Horning-Griffin

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Artists have long been captivated by the myth of Ariadne. Her story is depicted in a multitude of musical settings, and in a range of genres dating back to the early seventeenth century. In addition, there are many dramatic works and visual art this legendary female has inspired. This leads one to question: what is it that creators and audiences alike continue to find so compelling about Ariadne? To understand this question, it is necessary to revisit the Ariadne myth. The story begins with the grotesque Minotaur, a monster trapped within a labyrinthine prison and appeased by offerings of Athenian …

Teaching Through Sound: Approaches To The Use Of Fixed Media In Pedagogical Viola Etudes, Roberto C. Mochetti Jr.

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examines the pedagogical possibilities of fixed media in newly composed viola etudes. While fixed media is commonly treated as accompaniment or as a performance medium, this project argues that it can also serve as an active component of technical and musical training. By providing stable and repeatable sonic environments, fixed media can support forms of listening, intonation, sound production, and performer awareness that are difficult to cultivate through traditional etudes alone. This argument responds to a broader pedagogical gap in string training, where long-established etudes and models of technical development remain central even as contemporary viola performance increasingly …

Perpetual Purgatory: Lamennais's Religious Influence On The Persona And Music Of Franz Liszt, Matthew Peter Wood

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

For generations, musicological consensus has treated Liszt’s signature technique of “thematic transformation” as musical form born out of structural and sonic experimentation. This study argues that the impetus for Liszt to create his signature compositional device of thematic transformation proceeds from the influence of the post-Revolutionary liberal Catholicism of the French Abbé Félicité de Lamennais. By exploring the historical, cultural, and artistic intersections between Lamennais’s texts and Liszt’s manuscripts, this dissertation builds on existing scholarship to replace a conventional analysis of thematic transformation with new religio-philosophical analytical lens through which to view Liszt’s most significant contribution to the historical trajectory …

Counted In: Including Female Composers In Orchestral Horn Audition Repertoire, Hope K. Ayers

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Institute of Composer Diversity and the Boulanger Initiative focus on music written by composers who have been historically excluded from the profession. The focal point of the Institute of Composer Diversity is discovery, study, and programming of such composers through its database and reports, while The Boulanger Initiative advocates for women and all gender-marginalized composers. Because of limited exposure, incomplete records, difficulty of procuring music, and identified bias, female composers’ orchestral works are underrepresented in orchestral programming. Professional orchestral horn audition repertoire is no different, with professional orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic, only very recently including a …

An Analytical And Performance Guide To Jake Heggie's Of Gods And Cats And Thought Unspoken For Baritone And Piano, Wenxin Sha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation provides a comprehensive performance guide to two song cycles by Jake Heggie: Of Gods and Cats and Thoughts Unspoken for baritone and piano. This study aims to assist singers in preparing these cycles to achieve an expressive performance that is word driven and, just as Mr. Heggie says “Words first, then music.”

Chapter 1 introduces Heggie’s biography and compositional style, emphasizing his text-driven approach, lyrical melodic writing, and close collaboration with poets and performers. Chapter 2 introduces the poets John Hall and Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, and highlights how their texts shape the dramatic and emotional content of the …

Musical Objects, Territories, And Otherness, Andrew Farrar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As the materials that composers work with have become increasingly focused on elements outside traditional pitch relations such as timbre or register, so have their approaches to form. One such stream in modern composition, starting from electronic composers such as Pierre Schaeffer, is the use of ”sound” or ”musical” objects. These materials are marked by their wholistic nature, where qualities such as timbre, density, and con- tour are as important to their identity as pitch relationships. Composers such as Schaeffer, James Tenney, and Denis Smalley have all discussed these sound objects in their writings, though they refer to them under …

A Pedagogical Exploration Of Haydn's Early Keyboard Sonatas: No.7 In C Major, No.8 In G Major, And No.11 In G Major, Chun Ka Lam

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study examines the pedagogical exploration of Joseph Haydn’s early keyboard sonatas, Sonata No. 7 in C Major (Hob. XVI:7), Sonata No. 8 in G Major (Hob. XVI:8), and Sonata No. 11 in G Major (Hob. XVI:11). These Sonatas target intermediate-level piano students. In this study, I am going to explore Classical-era techniques, including articulation, phrasing, dynamic contrast, and ornamentation, which mainly focus on technical and musical challenges. This study highlights the development of important skills for more advanced repertoire.

Effects Of Peer Tutoring Training Duration And Group Piano Level On Harmonization And Transposition Achievement And Learning Attitudes Of Undergraduate Non-Keyboard Music Students, Jinnan Liu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among peer tutoring training duration, group piano level, and undergraduate non-keyboard music students’ achievement in harmonization and transposition, as well as their learning attitude following peer tutoring. Based on the literature on cooperative learning, peer-assisted learning, and reciprocal peer tutoring, this study examined whether differences in training duration and group piano level were related to student performance and learning experiences in university group piano.

A quasi-experimental 2  2 design was used. The independent variables were peer tutoring training duration (2-day vs. 4-day) and group piano level (Group Piano II vs. …

Composing Playgrounds, Rebecca Suju Abraham

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

This thesis explores music composition as the design of “playgrounds”: structured systems that invite participation, interaction, and the emergence of shared musical experience. Drawing on a background in engineering and a practice rooted in improvisation and community, I investigate how compositional authority can be exercised through the creation of constraints instead of fixed outcomes. These systems are structured enough to support coordination and open enough to allow for play and collective agency. The work is situated within practice-based research and engages qualitative methods to reflect on a series of projects developed over the course of my MFA in Sonic Practice. …

Singing As Liberation: Spiritual Imagination And An Embodied Practice Of Hope Through Spirituals And Songs Of The Uhadi, Matisse Geselle

University Honors Theses

An exploration of the spirituality and the sacredness of music—and especially singing—through recording my own interpretations of spirituals and songs of the uHadi. It is also a poetic inquiry into how imagery of the river is used in spirituals as a pathway to freedom and liberation, and how the singing of spirituals is hope embodied. And it is a reflection of how my experience of the uHadi and my friends of the Ibuyambo ensemble changed me. The process of working on this project also feels like I am connecting to myself—and others—more deeply through singing. And ultimately, I hope for …

The Case For The Exclusion Of Exclusion: Intellectual Property, Masculine Legal Reason, And The Ethics Of Care, Ragya Shoukry

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis argues that current legal ideals of objectivity and neutrality are historically gendered and inseparable from the development of capitalist property relations and imperial expansion. It traces origins that begin with early modern witch hunts and Francis Bacon’s empiricism, where a new “scientific rationality” emerges alongside intensified patriarchal violence. The thesis then examines John Locke’s labour-based justification of property and the figure of the rational individual, showing how this framework legitimizes enclosure, dispossession and colonial appropriation under the guise of improvement and development. Building on this foundation, the analysis turns to moral psychology and how its allegedly universal stage …

With A Love So Hard And Filled With Defeat:' A Queer Reading Of Bruce Springsteen, Samuel Tucker Carden

ETDs from 2020-2029

Long an open, yet misinterpreted political artist, Bruce Springsteen has never shied away from calling out injustices through his songs. Over the course of his long career, he has used his platform to lyrically speak out against war, the brutality of American capitalism, and the struggles of marginalized people of all backgrounds. However, the potential queerness of his lyrics has remained an underdiscussed political aspect of his artistry for decades, especially in academic settings. Many of the themes that Springsteen returns to in his writing – the need to hide one’s true self, struggles with self-identity, the desperate desire to …

Kcpr 25-26 Production Handbook, Evan P. Cork

Graphic Communication

The KCPR Production Handbook serves as a resource for the production team when putting on live events for the station. It provides a brief history of the production team and context for why I decided to create this handbook. It is broken down into seven chapters, including sections that cover live event production, KCPR’s Club 91, and a list of important contacts.

Jazz V. Law: An Overview Of Copyright Law For Jazz Musicians, Trevor Thompson

University Honors Theses

The United States copyright system has become increasingly complicated and has developed a bias toward written, notated mediums over performance mediums. This bias can be traced from the Statute of Anne through the modern system under the Copyright Act of 1976, and it directly affects jazz musicians' ability to comply with copyright laws and properly receive royalties for their work. This study traces the evolution of copyright law from 1710 to the present, noting important cases such as White-Smith Music Pub. Co. v. Apollo Co., McIntyre v. Double-A Music Corporation, and Tempo Music, Inc. v. Famous Music Corp. …