Music Commons^™

Bach To Bassics - From A Student's Perspective, Samuel Robinson Pasqualetto

Theses and Dissertations

This paper adds the valuable perspective of a student to the research of J.S. Bach’s Suites for solo violoncello BWV 1107-1012 performed on the double bass. This study stands on two main premises: the individual study and performance of J.S. Bach suites for solo cello on the double bass and postulates that there are invaluable positive effects to be achieved through the extended exposure, studying, and performing of the aforementioned works as means to promote high-level critical thinking and better understanding of the phrasal, motivic and thematic structure of musical works of the Baroque period. This paper covers the journey …

Chasing Expression: Tracing Notated And Performative Devices That Create A Bel Canto Style At The Piano, Paul Zeller

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

Discussions of interpretation and performance practice often address specific historical periods, offering analyses of musical practices within a predetermined set of dates, such as ornamentation in the Baroque period, articulation as applied in the Classical era, and phrasing “the long line” in the Romantic era. Such a sectionalized approach yields many valuable insights on how to perform the music of specific composers, but it fails to consider the development of notational practices and performative idioms across different historical eras. Studying the ways in which musicians of different eras applied the same set of musical devices within a specific style could …

In Seeking A Definition Of Mash: Attitude In Musical Style, Thomas Cassell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

“Mash” is a term used to describe one of the most recent major style shifts in the iconic American string band music known as bluegrass. Beginning in the 1990s, the bluegrass sound began to evolve, and ‘mash’ worked its way into the genre as a descriptor of a certain sound. Though a handful of scholars have discussed the social stigmas of the style, no one yet has investigated the simple musical question about mash: what is it?

The purpose of this thesis is to define mash in its musical form through a combination of transcription methods and extensive analysis. Through …

Effects Of Musical Content On Student Practice Judgments, Decisions, And Improvement, Molly N. Batchelor

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to observe and compare the differences in practice behaviors among middle school band students who are presented with etudes of varying stylistic, technical, or expressive qualities. Existing literature has covered practice methodology extensively, but this study was intended to help understand how students vary strategies when presented with different musical challenges. Participants were individually observed in a pre-test, practice period, and post-test for each of two musical examples to examine the strategies used and improvement from pre-test to post-test. Results showed that participants who varied their strategy-use in lyrical and technical etudes increased performance …

Performer Wellness And Applied Stage Practices Curriculum: Preparing The Undergraduate Vocal Performance Major For An Opera Career, Gabriel J. Kirby

Masters Theses

Within higher education, the goal is to prepare students to enter the workforce with the knowledge and abilities to meet or exceed the chosen occupation’s requirements and expectations. To achieve these requisites, schools create curricula comprising key information for several fields and concentrations while abiding by the regulations enforced by both their school boards and accreditation organizations. Students can apply for a job knowing that their degree holds value. Many institutions continually revise degrees to curricula to inspire the next generation in the workforce. The purpose of this curriculum project is to advocate for expanded curriculum considerations that include acting …

A Proposed Curriculum For Prenatal, Postnatal, And Early Childhood Christian Music Education, Danielle Emily Dixon

Masters Theses

From the prenatal to postnatal/infancy stages, to early childhood and beyond, music plays an integral role in development. This research study aims to detail and describe the benefits of a prenatal, postnatal/infant, and early childhood Christian music education. Employing a mixed-methods and historical research approach, this study seeks to answer the question, in what ways, if any, could a prenatal, postnatal/infant, and early childhood Christian music education be beneficial for developing children and their mothers? By combining the benefits of an early childhood music education with Christian principles, the results of this study will have significance in not only the …

Deliberate Sequencing In The Music Classroom: A Curriculum To Guide Undergraduate Music Education Majors In Music Instruction, Allison Shew Phillips

Masters Theses

The content and structure of courses designed to train potential teachers are critical to such individuals' success. Instructors of these courses should assess which skills are required of pre-service teacher candidates. Researchers have conducted studies over the years to decide what skills are needed for successful teaching. Learning cannot occur without an instructional sequence. Undergraduate music education majors are often not instructed on sequencing methods or have a chance to practice instructional sequencing before their student teaching placement. Research studies have shown that teachers who sequence their instructional delivery and following the complete teaching cycle are considered more effective in …

Music And Autism Spectrum Disorder: Possible Effects On The Autistic Mind, Alexandra L. Ferro

Masters Theses

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a known neurological disorder that directly affects an individual's ability to communicate and interact with others; ASD is diagnosed within the first three years of life. One of the most common forms of therapy or interventions used is music. Music incorporation can change in a format such as learning a specific instrument, singing, or simply dancing to promote physical activity to help brain stimulation and process the overall musical experience. Music has been a commonly used therapy or intervention for children diagnosed with ASD dating back to the mid-1940s. Those diagnosed with ASD have difficulty …

Worship Through Creation, Caleb Gudgeon

Masters Theses

Understanding the purpose of worship through the lens of creation. The creation story tells the story of God's design of worship and His heart for relationship with mankind. Sin broke the original design and set the Biblical storyline of the coming redeemer in motion. Jesus opened the door for all mankind to find new life in and only through Him. Now mankind can worship in that intended form of relationship as designed in the beginning.

Sixth-Grade Sight-Singing For Low Vision Students: A Course To Enhance Confidence And Music Reading Ability, Jamie Lane Carpenter

Masters Theses

Students enter the private or public-school system with a wide variety of emotional, mental, and physical impairments that impact their confidence, self-esteem, and overall path to their future. One misunderstood and under-represented population of students are those who are not fully blind but fall under the category of low vision. Since the low vision spectrum is wide, students must advocate for themselves according to their unique visual condition. While some students may be nearsighted, others may experience color blindness, tunnel vision, a wide variety of partial blindness in one or both eyes, and more. If educators are not aware of …

Hello, Neighbor! A Curriculum For The Instruction Of Social And Emotional Learning In The Early Childhood Music Classroom Using The Pedagogical Strategies Of Fred Rogers, Julia Conceison

Masters Theses

Modern music educators are faced with many unique challenges while teaching in the early childhood and elementary classroom. With these challenges come the added stressors of students’ individual and collective experiences as they learn to process and regulate their behaviors and emotions through a variety of often unfamiliar social, political, and familial challenges. Currently, while many university teacher preparation programs focus on teaching content differentiation, curriculum creation, and content knowledge, they do not often focus on cultural relevance and responsiveness. One champion of cultural relevance and responsiveness in music education is composer, educator, minister, and children’s television host, Fred Rogers, …

Compositions For 0 Or 1 Performers, Rodrigo Valente Pascale

Masters Theses

This thesis includes a collection of pieces composed for 0 or 1 performers – unaccompanied solo, solo and electronics or fixed media. The compositions for solo instruments include “Unnest” for bassoon solo, premièred by Ariane Petri during the V Congress of Music and Mathematics in 2020, and “Assemblage” for baritone saxophone solo, premièred by Erin Rogers in 2020. “Reizantwort” is a composition for viola and electronics which was first recorded by Laura Parra in summer 2020. Finally, "Discontinuous Mediation I" and "Discontinuous Mediation II" are fixed media compositions that were composed in Summer 2020 and Spring 2021, respectively. This collection …

The Best Is Yet To Come: Approaches To Rhythmic Development, Robert W. Lindsay Ii

Masters Theses

For my Masters of Arts thesis, I recorded a number of songs that I had written between 2015 and 2020 for an album titled “The Best is Yet to Come.” In this adjunct essay, I will analyze four of those pieces to demonstrate my use of rhythmic development; I use rhythmic development extensively in my work in order to generate cohesion between songs. The opening song, “Fresh Vegetables,” demonstrates the rhythmic motive that all other songs develop from. If anyone chooses to learn or analyze my music in the future, this document can be a reference.

Red Note Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, May 1, 2021, Illinois State University School Of Music

School of Music Programs

Online Video Premiere
May 1, 2021
7 PM Central Daylight Time

Principal Perceptions On The Inclusion Of Music Education And Professional Development Opportunities: A Qualitative Study, Gabriel Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative case study identifies perspectives that have not yet been explored and documented concerning the difference in attention across school levels when it comes to offering professional development opportunities for music teachers. The majority of previous studies have focused on STEM programming, not the arts. In this study, the researcher interviewed six K-12 principals who aided in deciding whether to include music programs to students and professional development opportunities to teachers. Two principals were interviewed in the different K-12 school levels: elementary, middle, and high schools. The results of this study add to the literature and can foster an …

Old Testament Principles For Worship: Worship Practices Applied To Modern-Day Worship In The Evangelical Church From The Life Of Abraham, Cameron Scott Gaddy

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Worship in the evangelical church faces challenges regarding its purpose, design, and method of expression. In order to cultivate an authentic community of worshippers, Christians must first strive to understand the biblical basis of worship. Worship is initiated by God and requires a response from man. Many studies have shown the importance of understanding the biblical foundations of worship; however, few studies have focused on understanding biblical worship through observing the historical development of God’s identity through the biblical character of Abraham. The purpose of this study is to identify key worship principles from the life of Abraham that may …

Music Appreciation Course Design: Facilitating The Increased Participation Of Non-Music Majors In Collegiate Music Performance Ensembles, Rebecka Elizabeth Rose

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The cessation of music performance after high school graduation can be mitigated through recruitment type course design methods interwoven within collegiate Music Appreciation courses. When appropriately designed, Music Appreciation could serve as a catalyst for resuming musical participation in music ensembles. This study investigated how the college level Music Appreciation course may renew interest in performing music by non-music major students. Best teaching methodologies and Music Appreciation curriculum components to engage non-music majors are examined in addition to music ensemble recruitment techniques that can be integrated within Music Appreciation course design. This study is of qualitative design and utilizes the …

"Let Thy Conscience Act Her Part": Republican Motherhood In Civil War Popular Song, Gianna Patchett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In the American Civil War, described by Christian McWhirter as a war fought to music, popular song played a significant role in the expression and processing of wartime emotions and ideologies. Civil War songs with lyrics written by women show feminine strength in tragedy, challenges due to societal expectations, and the day to day difficulties of wartime on the homefront. One concept that unites these themes is that of Republican Motherhood, an ideology developed in the Revolutionary War, but which continued to be prevalent throughout the 19^th Century. This paradigm places female experience in the context of duty, patriotism, …

The Glob, Spring 2021, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

The Glob was a one-off student newspaper created for the course Words, Images and Ideas, ILLUS 3412-01, taught by Ernest A. Bryant III. Students contributed 1-2 pages each of writing and images on topics such as COVID-19, fashion and style, risograph printing, and more.

Ethnic Irony In Melvin B. Tolson's "Dark Symphony", Elizabeth Newton

Publications and Research

This article historicizes musical symbolism in Melvin B. Tolson’s poem “Dark Symphony” (1941). In a time when Black writers and musicians alike were encouraged to aspire to European standards of greatness, Tolson’s Afro-modernist poem establishes an ambivalent critical stance toward the genre in its title. In pursuit of a richer understanding of the poet’s attitude, this article situates the poem within histories of Black music, racial uplift, and white supremacy, exploring the poem’s relation to other media from the Harlem Renaissance. It analyzes the changing language across the poem’s sections and, informed by Houston A. Baker Jr.’s study of “mastery …

Daring To See: White Supremacy And Gatekeeping In Music Education, Brian A. Gellerstein

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Music education in the U.S. maintains a legacy of cultural hegemony that has historically and systemically benefited the White students it was designed to serve, at the expense of Black and Brown students and teachers. As a subdiscipline concerned with cultural production and reproduction, the persistence of White supremacy within music education contributes to its indefatigability within the broader society.

This study is cast within a theoretical framework that connects critical race theory and critical pedagogy in order to address the ways in which music teachers make meaning of gatekeeping practices mediated within hidden structures of White supremacy. This inquiry …

Dimitri Mitropoulos A Champion Of New Music, Ioannis Protopapas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I am investigating the role of Dimitri Mitropoulos in promoting contemporary music primarily during his tenure as the principal conductor of New York Philharmonic. I plan to discuss the contemporary composers and works he found important, and why this music needed to be heard. This study will help to illuminate the new music of the 1940’s and 50’s, and the conductor’s role in cultivating audiences. Moreover, it will demonstrate the relationship between conducting and composition, and the role of this relationship in successful performance practice and interpretation. Additionally, I will provide a detailed list of Mitropoulos's premieres with New York …

The Neuroanatomical, Neurochemical, And Phenomenological Correlates Of Social Bonding, Empathy, And Flow In Music Improvisation, Edward A. Roth

Dissertations

The three studies in this dissertation explore the biological and phenomenological under-pinnings of music improvisation related to bonding, empathy, and flow. Musical improvisation is a multi-dimensional behavior encompassing motor, cognitive, affective, and often social domains, and as such, it is reasonable to consider that music improvisation shares many characteristics with other forms of non-musical extemporaneous behavior, such as carrying on a verbal dialogue. The primary aims of this three-study dissertation were to (1) determine the feasibility of the study designs and interdisciplinary methods; (2) examine potential differences in the neuroanatomical and neurophysiological correlates of improvisation between non-musicians and musicians; and …

Singing And Pronunciation: A Review Of The Literature, Kassidy Joyner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Observed differences exist in the pronunciation abilities of individual language learners, especially adult learners. Musical ability and experience are possible factors that have been attributed to language pronunciation abilities. Although there has been a large amount of research concerning the effects of general musical ability and training on language abilities, very few studies have investigated the musical sub-category of singing. Research on the use of songs in the language classroom has largely tested the effects of song on vocabulary acquisition, while very few studies have explored the effects of song on pronunciation. Given that singing and pronunciation both use similar …

Yellow River Piano Concerto, Yaxin Chen

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Yellow River Piano Concerto (1969) by Yin Chengzong (1941–present) and other committee members (Chu Wanghua, Liu Zhuang, Sheng Lihong, Shi Shucheng, and Xu Feixing), the most popular piano concerto in China, was composed at the time of the Cultural Revolution. It was written as an arrangement of the Yellow River Cantata composed by Xian Xinghai (1905–1945) in 1939 at the height of the Anti-Japanese War (1937–1945). Yin and his work played a critical role in making the piano the most popular instrument among a new generation of Chinese performers and composers. I examined some articles, journals and dissertations form …

The Bridge From Etude To Repertoire: Hermann Six Concert Studies, Op. 18, Yuxin Zhao

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Scales and etudes are considered essential steps in developing an advanced technique on any instrument. The viola, as a member of the string family, was not nearly as popular or recognized as the violin or cello before the twentieth century. It is the same situation with the viola’s repertory and etudes: there are many pieces transposed from the cello or clarinet, for example, and many etudes are borrowed from the violin. However, even though the viola has a similar shape and playing posture to the violin, they are still different instruments with a significantly different technique. Violists should therefore avoid …

Uni Jazz Band One And Uni Jazz Band Two, April 30, 2021 [Program], University Of Northern Iowa. School Of Music.

Music Recital Programs

Program of a music recital given by faculty, students, or guest artists from the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa.

Melodies Of Love: An Exploration Of Popular Love Songs And Love Styles According To The Ancient Greeks, Kevin Blackmon

Recital Papers

I conducted an investigation and application of how different types of affection, as expressed in Classical Greek philosophy, are conveyed in commercial music with love songs. I also analyzed how various love songs demonstrate these different meanings of affection. Through my discoveries, I applied the standards of these ideas to my music. I focused on the common characteristics that each love song shares. I divided each analysis of musical ideas and concepts that contain similarities into the six subsections of Jan LaRue’s SHRMGT framework: SHRMG(T) stands for sound, harmony, melody, rhythm, growth, and text. The focus for each song will …

A Graduate Recital In Conducting, Alex Chesney

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This graduate thesis consists of a choral conducting recital and the accompanying program notes. The recital includes selections by Terry Schlenker, Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, Johann Michael Haydn, Ēriks Ešenvalds, David Dickau, Antonio Soler, Gustav Holst, Ethan McGrath, Antonín Dvořák, and Stephen Paulus. The program notes for each selection will include biographical information, musical analysis, and historical traditions, as well as other pertinent information.

A Practical Theoretical Analysis Of Vincent Persicheti’S Serenade No. 12 For Solo Tuba, Davis Erickson

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

A document analyzing American composer Vincent Persichetti’s 1961 work for solo tuba titled Serenade No. 12 for Solo Tuba. The document comprises eight chapters. One each for the six movements of the work, an introduction providing biographical information on the composer and context for the work within art music of the mid twentieth century, and a conclusion connecting the analyses of the six movements. Within each chapter on the six movements of the work there are theoretical analyses of the music as well as practical considerations for performers of the work to observe.