Music Commons^™

Johannes Brahms’S Fünf Ophelia-Lieder Performance History, Cultural Context, And Character Study As It Pertains To Johannes Brahms’S Fünf Ophelia-Lieder: A Performer’S Perspective, Caryn Alexis Crozier

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document aims to contribute research on the lesser known and under researched vocal works by Johannes Brahms, particularly his Fünf Ophelia Lieder. This song cycle, while not written to be performed on its own, originally, is a rich technical resource for beginning singers and advanced singers alike. Brahms wrote a simple melody with sparse accompaniment that really allows the performer to focus on language, technique, or dramatic interpretation. This document looks at Brahms’s setting of Ophelia’s mad scene through many different lenses including theoretical, by analyzing each song musically and dramatically, historical analysis of Hamlet and its many iterations, …

Contemporary Collaborative Piano Practices In Korea: Five Case Studies, Jiyeon Lee

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research paper provides insight into the practices of collaborative piano in Korea. Interviews are included with five Korean pianists who have enjoyed successful careers in either Korea or the United States: Eun Young Lee, Young Kyung Hyun, Jin Hye Lee, Tony Cho and Hun Won Yim. Their responses provide practical advice for collaborative pianists as well as details about educational and career opportunities for collaborative pianists in Korea and the United States. Also included is biographical information about the selected pianists, information about Korean collaborative pianists’ associations, a list of Korean universities offering collaborative piano degrees, and a bibliography.

Hyperscales: Analysis, Historical Uses, And Possible Applications In Contemporary Music Composition, Douglas Wayne Brown

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This paper introduces the hyperscale, defines terminology that is new or potentially ambiguous, examines historical scales which may be a hyperscale or not (with examples when available), introduces two synthetic hyperscales created by the author, tells the story behind their creation through an analysis of an original piece by the author that uses both scales, compares the scale characteristics and composition techniques used in the piece with those of another piece written by a contemporary composer, and finally offers some concluding thoughts on the future of the hyperscale in art music. Because relatively little scholarship exists for this topic, this …

The Marvel Sonic Narrative: A Study Of The Film Music In Marvel's The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, And Avengers: Endgame, Anthony Walker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document explores the music of three films in the Marvel Avengers enterprise: Marvel’s The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. It does not examine the second film of the series, Avengers: Age of Ultron. The document seeks to uncover and further understand the music’s function in each film and to determine its continuity throughout all three films. This study uses a combination of film music studies and theory-based analysis to support the findings with the aim of identifying connecting musical elements that stretch throughout these three films. This includes the use of leitmotif/themes, previously …

Latin American Influences On Selected Piano Pieces By Louis Moreau Gottschalk And Darius Milhaud, Hyejeong Seong

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research document examines selected piano works by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) and Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) that are influenced by Latin American cultures.The paper traces the influence of Latin American music and the incorporation of characteristic melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements in the following compositions: Souvenir de Porto Rico, op. 31 (1857) and Souvenir de la Havane, op. 39 (1859) by Gottschalk; Saudades do Brasil, op. 67 (1920-1921) and Brasileira: Third movement of Scaramouche Suite, op. 165b (1937), for Two Pianos, by Milhaud. After a brief introduction, the study reviews the existing related literature about this topic. Then, Chapters Three …

The Hard Bop Trombone: An Exploration Of The Improvisational Styles Of The Four Trombonist Who Defined The Genre (1955-1964), Emmett Curtis Goods

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation examines the improvisational stylings of Curtis Fuller, Locksley “Slide” Hampton, Julian Priester and Grachan Moncur III from 1955 through 1964. In part one of this study, each musician is presented through their improvisational connections to J.J. Johnson, the leading trombonist of the Bebop era. His improvisational signatures are then traced through to the musical innovations of the Hard-Bop Trombone Era. Source material for this part of the study includes published books, dissertations, articles, online sources, discographies and personal interviews. Part two of this paper analyzes selected solos from each of the four subjects to identify the defining characteristics …

Los Ritmos Latinoamericanos Como Estrategia De Resistencia En La Ópera La Ruta De Su Evasión (2017) De Abya Yala Y Carlos Castro, Pamela Zamora Quesada

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this Master’s thesis I examine the most recent Costa Rican opera The Path of Avoidance (2017), produced by the Cultural Association for Performing Arts Abya Yala, directed by Roxana Ávila and composed by Carlos Castro, based on the homonymous novel of Yolanda Oreamuno (1948).Through a semiotic analysis, I will discuss how the innovative manner of incorporating Latin American rhythms such as salsa, bolero, vals criollo, bossa nova and tango is a musical strategy which promotes a problematization of the gender dominant discourse and patriarchal context. Simultaneously, these rhythms offer a way of resistance on the direct or psychological violence …

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 …

Listening For The Cosmic Other: Postcolonial Approaches To Music In The Space Age, Paige Zalman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As government programs such as NASA and SETI seek signs of intelligent life in space and privately-funded programs such as SpaceX finalize plans to colonize Mars in the coming decades, representations of space and extraterrestrial life in American culture have become increasingly relevant. Focusing on Jóhann Jóhannsson’s musical score for Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction film Arrival (2016), Terry Riley’s Sun Rings (2002) for string quartet, chorus, and recorded space sounds, and former International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield’s “Songs about Space” Spotify playlist, my research problematizes the ways in which composers, musicians, and even astronauts depict alterity through music and reinforce …

Embouchure Theory In Practice, Alden Smith

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In the instrumental band world, the horn, euphonium, and tuba are considered “switch-over” instruments. They are put in this category because students usually switch to these instruments from their starting instrument. Though they may not be offered to students as a starting instrument, their tones create a balanced and mature band sound. However, it is difficult to properly teach these instruments due to logistical complications; the music educator is responsible for simultaneously teaching the switch-over students a new instrument, while continuing the education of students who did not switch over.

Sound on the horn, euphonium, and tuba is produced by …

Content Analysis Of The Journal Of Historical Research In Music Education: 1980-2019, Gail Simpson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this descriptive study is to explore the trends in historical research over a period of forty years (1980-2019) as presented in peer-revieJournal of Historical Research in Music Education (JHRME). This content analysis is geared towards examining categories of research conducted particularly within the last decade (2010-2019) with comparisons to previous studies. Adopting categories and definitions from Heller (1985), McCarthy (1999, 2012), and Stabler (1986), five questions guide the focus of investigation to include historical periods of study (e.g., 20th century), individuals, events, outcomes, and process variables, i.e., the teacher, the learner, the interaction of the teacher and …

Sonic Motion And Heaviness In Black Media, Kevin Dwight Ball

Wayne State University Dissertations

Sonic Motion and Heaviness in Black Media investigates music videos that imagine alternative black futures through the embodied motion of sound or, more directly, “bodies of sound.” It analyzes videos by contemporary artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Vince Staples, Flying Lotus, and Beyoncé that raise the question: How would it feel to have a body made of sound? To move with and through sonority against the epistemic, spatial, and omnidirectional pressure of antiblackness? This “sonic motion” manifests as levitating bodies, haunted choreographic sequences, and black feet on the run, with each visual motif elaborating the timbral and rhythmical dynamics of …

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 …

An Approach To Jazz Improvisation For Intermediate Saxophonists, Justin Evangelist

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is an organization of the author’s thoughts on teaching jazz improvisational concepts to saxophonists at a beginning to intermediate level of playing ability. Firstly, it discusses the skills students should acquire before studying jazz improvisation. It will focus primarily on building good practice habits through the development of desirable jazz tone and technique. Additionally, this project will offer explanations for understanding how jazz standards are constructed in terms of form and how they are performed. Lastly, this project will introduce several basic concepts the student can use to construct improvised melodies, such as modal scales, blues scales, seventh …

Fan The Flames: Encouraging Local Expressions Of Christian Worship In A La Paz Church Community, Stephanie Cook

Masters Theses

When the members of a church in La Paz participated in a songwriting and arranging workshop, along with corresponding research into perspectives on local music used in worship, the results were mixed. An analysis of the songs used in the church’s worship shows a predominance of imported, predominantly Western or Western-styled songs. Similarly, observations of worship events in the church do not incorporate any local rhythms or instruments, even though there are musicians in the church who are skilled in Bolivian styles of music. While there is an interest by musicians and leadership in the church for locally written worship …

The Origins Of Western Music And Its Influence On Modern Popular Music: Teaching Music Through A Musical Exploration Of Seven Countries, Johanna Katelyn Hatt

Masters Theses

The topics of music history and music appreciation cover a wide range of composers and musical contributions that at times, can be overwhelming to a student who does not have any musical knowledge. Through limiting the music appreciation course to the discussion of composers’ works from various countries, students are able to learn about the important contributions those composers and countries had to music, including modern popular music. This topic will bring value to the field of music education as it offers an alternative approach to the traditional method of teaching a music history course. With this holistic approach to …

Prizes, Winning, And Identity: Narrative Vocal Music Of The Pulitzer Prize, 2008–2018, Julia K. Kuhlman

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This thesis considers the ways in which the Pulitzer Prize for Music shapes and is shaped by music of the moment. Since 1943, the Pulitzer Prize has marked 83 pieces as “distinguished” examples of American music. The financial rewarding of winning composers and the initiation of a reciprocal transfer of prestige and political capital, the Pulitzer’s expert juries and governing body has contributed to the preservation of a perpetually-shifting status quo. By chronicling the year-to-year shifts of administrative power dynamics in prize selections, the Pulitzer Prize has mirrored the changing American musical landscape.

Drawing on methods of reception history, archival …

Core Curriculum For Orchestra, Andrew Thomas Aycoth

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Core Curriculum draws inspiration from the idea of a sound collage that incorporates many specific pieces and techniques that I have encountered or studied during my time in music academia. Nearly everything is derived from something else, often being transformed or altered in some way. From my own private teaching of guitar lessons to analyses of 20th century art music, I tried to represent as much music as possible from these formative years. There are two main features that continue throughout the piece. The first is the repetitive rhythmic figure based on eighth notes that are out of phase, which …

Defining The Late Style Of Johannes Brahms: A Study Of The Late Songs, Natilan Casey-Ann Crutcher

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Johannes Brahms has long been viewed as a central figure in the Classical tradition during a period when the standards of this tradition were being altered and abandoned. His resistance to innovation creates some difficulty when trying to pinpoint his "late style", and how he fits into the late style concept. While existing scholarship on Brahms's late style tends to focus on his chamber works, this document focuses on his late Lieder. This document proves a study of Brahms's literary considerations, a comparison of his early and late songs, and a comparison between Brahms and some of his contemporaries. In …

Musical And Cultural Perspectives Of Héctor Campos Parsi: An Examination Of His Influences And Analysis Of Selected Vocal Works, Cynthia Ortiz-Bartley

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This paper examines the historical and cultural atmosphere in Puerto Rico and how it affected one of Puerto Rico’s most celebrated composers, Héctor Campos Parsi, and two selected works in two different times of his life. The discussion includes events that affected the island with respect to art music from 1898, the birth of Héctor Campos Parsi in 1922, and up to 1986, which marks the date of the second selected work. This document considers three questions about cultural and structural influences about the life and experiences of Héctor Campos Parsi: Does a composer’s life experience and environment and culture …

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 …

Examining Musical Hybridity And Cultural Influences In Valerie Coleman’S Wish Sonatine And Fanmi Imèn, Brittany Marie Trotter

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this research document is to examine elements of musical hybridity and cultural influences in renowned African-American flutist-composer Valerie Coleman’s Wish Sonatine and Fanmi Imèn for solo flute and piano. Prominently known for her chamber music works, Coleman describes her compositional style as “urban-classical,” which infuses elements of popular American styles into modern Western art music traditions to highlight and encapsulate the cultural experiences of various diasporas of our time.

The most significant elements of hybridity and cultural influences examined in Wish Sonatine and Fanmi Imèn are programmatic imagery and compositional motifs. The programmatic imagery is represented through …

Music Technology, Gender, And Sexuality: Case Studies Of Women And Queer Electroacoustic Music Composers, Justin Thomas Massey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This document aims to contribute to the established scholarship that highlights the role gender and sexuality has with one’s fundamental relationship to composition and music technology. The profession of electronic music composition and music production are strongly associated with notions of power and control, as much of this technology was built during the World Wars and Cold War. These aggressive views have created gendered language and metaphors in the field. Metaphors are the primary way in which we accommodate and assimilate information and experience to our conceptual organization of the world. It is at the source of our capacity to …

Folk-Song To Formal Performance: Interpreting The Songs Of Jean Ritchie For Voice Recital, Julianne E. Laird

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this study was to identify the value of incorporating American folk-song into a formal voice recital program, specifically the collections and compositions of Jean Ritchie. This qualitative study identified criteria for choosing specific folk-songs to include in formal recital, assessed quality in a folk-song arrangement, discussed suitable instrumentation for accompaniment, and suggested appropriate performance practices for concert performance. New folk-song literature was discovered through accessing original unpublished sources in the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. Finally, a format and program for incorporating the collected and composed folk-songs of Jean Ritchie in formal recital was …

The "Organ-Accompanied Solo Motet" In In La Maîtrise, 1857–1861, John David O'Donnell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In his work, Motets for One Voice by Franck, Gounod, and Saint-Saëns, Richard Benefield began the scholarly study of a unique body of repertoire, the organ-accompanied solo motet repertoire of nineteenth century France. While Benefield chose to restrict his project to the work of only three major composers, he indicated other collections of Latin texted solo motets, one of which was the solo motets published in the Parisian church music journal La Maîtrise,between 1857–1861. These songs are examined in terms of historical context, musical features, and possible contemporary uses.

As France recovered from the ravages of the Revolution, …

Discovering The "Finnish Chopin"—Selim Palmgren's 24 Preludes, Op. 17, And Tres Piezas Para Piano, Op. 54, Sijia Wang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Selim Palmgren (1878-1951) is one of the most significant musical figures in Finland. Unlike Jean Sibelius, who is undoubtedly the greatest Finnish symphonic composer of his time, Palmgren’s concentration is more on smaller-scale character pieces. His contribution to the piano and vocal repertoires earned him the reputation of being the “Chopin of the North” and also the “Schumann of the North.” Palmgren was not only prolific, having written over 300 piano works and 200 vocal pieces, but also versatile, frequently blending within his works various nationalistic, impressionistic, and other musical styles and elements within his works.

This paper is focused …

Singing The Landscape: A Meditation On Song, Sound And Community At The Fall Line Of The James River, Sara Bouchard

Theses and Dissertations

I work in the medium of song. A multidisciplinary artist and composer, I make work that is immersive, time-based and often participatory. I interact with landscape and the complexities of American history, bringing into focus local ecologies through the lens of song.

This document accompanies my thesis performance The Sound of a Stone, an immersive exploration of song, language, ecology and locational listening performed in a 4-channel surround format. In the semi-improvised composition, I sample live vocals, mandolin and found natural objects in a combination of roots music traditions and experimental techniques. Utilizing the software Ableton Live to process …

Concert Recording 2019-04-14b, Kolby Palmore, Tanna Waltman, Carson Vanduch

Concert Recordings & Programs

[00:00]. Dis Architecture / Dave Hall -- [13:00]. Adagio / Samuel Barber; arranged by Nancy Zeltman -- [21:50]. Faded lines / Andrea Venet -- [25:06]. Three shells / Christopher Deane -- [36:14]. Pure imagination / Leslie Bricusse ; Anthony Newly ; arranged by Alex Stopa -- [40:17]. Chopstakovich / Jesse Sieff.

A Survey Of The History Of The Concertmaster Through The Baroque, Classical, And Romantic Eras, Leah E. Bonas

Theses and Dissertations

During the evolution of the orchestra from 1600-1900, the concertmaster remained a key leadership figure who held great influence over the ensemble. This paper examines the concertmaster’s changing role in the orchestra throughout the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras and studies the examples of exceptional concertmasters from each era, giving further historical insight into the lives and duties in of these orchestral leaders and musicians. During the Baroque era, when ensembles lacked conductors, the concertmaster shared control of the orchestra with the keyboard-player or time-beater. During the Classical Era, the concertmaster gained a larger role in the orchestra and often …

Amplification Vs The Natural Ear: A Test On The Effectiveness Of The Natural Ear On Adults Ability To Match Pitch In Song, Celeste Orozco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Background: Singing is a natural enjoyment of life; however, individuals tend to isolate themselves from this enjoyment due to their inability to match pitch accurately. A new technology, the Natural Ear provides altered auditory feedback to the user while singing. It is hypothesized that this feedback may aid in the userâ??s ability to match pitch.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of the Natural Ear to amplification and no amplification conditions on pitch matching accuracy in song.

Study Design: This study used a complex counterbalance within-subjects design.

Methods: 50 adults from the El Paso Metropolitan …