Music Commons^™

Rolling In The Modern: The Mahler-Roller Productions Of The Vienna Court Opera House (Historical Essay And Syllabus), Gregory Eckhardt

Music Theses and Dissertations

This project takes the Mahler-Roller productions at the Vienna Court Opera House as a case study to examine the ways that contemporary artistic trends can influence operatic productions. By analyzing the sketches Roller created for their productions, I argue that Mahler and Roller expanded the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk to both increase the production quality, the metaphorical content, and set a new standard for interpretive operatic productions.

This project is divided into two parts. Part I is a historical essay that provides context for the Mahler-Roller productions. I first outline the history of the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk and discuss the ways that Wagner …

Lived Experience Of Music Therapists As Musician-Therapists, Kotoe Suzuki

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The dissertation research explored the lived experiences of music therapists who are performing musicians. A conceptual foundation of music therapists as musicians, a “musician-therapist” who is deeply versed in the unique properties of music can be identified in the literature (Ansdell & Verney, 2008; Nordoff & Robbins, 1973). The objectives of this study were to explore three topics: 1) deeper understandings of music therapists’ musical improvisation both in clinical and nonclinical settings, 2) the connection between music therapists’ personal and professional musical growth, and 3) identity formation. A qualitative method was chosen for this research including reflexive/embodied/interpretative phenomenology, and arts-based …

How Dance And Music Stimulate Therapeutic Change In A Personal Movement Ritual, Cassidy Bingham

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis investigates the therapeutic effects of the researcher’s own arts practice or personal movement ritual, which is based in her tacit knowledge and intuition. The researcher is also the participant of this study. Her personal movement ritual, which was formalized as the method, was conducted before the literature review in order to prioritize tacit knowledge before introducing the influence of other scholars. In the literature review, Ellen Dissanayake’s and other scholars’ rationale for the emotional and cognitive changes that take place during rituals through music and dance are explained. These rationales, or the five constructs of entrainment, “ …

Air, The Contents, Ian C. Mcnally

Theses and Dissertations

Air, The Contents is an encapsulation of the environments of four different places in New York State. It is written for Pierrot Ensemble with a run time of around 8 minutes.

Exploring The Relationship Between Music And Art Through Paint And Performance, Anna Eyink

Honors Projects

This project sought to find methods for translating musical compositions into visual compositions. After thorough analysis of each piece's structure, colors, rhythms, tonality, accompaniment, purpose, and extramusical influences, the goal was to conceptualize appropriate color schemes, shapes, mark making, paint application, and arrangements to create a visual representation of the music. As a result, each painting has elements that make sense from a musician's perspective as well as that of an artist.

Nausea, Jacob Dickerson

Music Theses and Dissertations

The popular novel Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre, tells the story of a fictional adventurer, Antoine Roquentin, and his struggle to understand the surrounding world. This novel illustrates the basics of Sartre’s existentialism. Sartre introduced the concept of “bad faith,” by which he meant the delusion that things in our lives must always be as they are. “Bad faith” and freedom are the core of Sartre’s message. Sartre shares the deep irony that we are “condemned to freedom” and implores us to understand responsibility in a more meaningful way. His philosophy forces us to own up to what we have …

Producing Thacker Jr. A Guidebook To Production & Reflections Of A Student Director, Ava Street

Honors Theses

This narrative documents a student’s preparation and execution of the children’s music and literature program entitled, Thacker Jr. Radio Hour. The author documents and analyzes experiences over the course of two academic years preparing and producing the program. The author describes the process of production including content creation, marketing, budgeting, fundraising, and casting. The author recounts and reflects upon her experience in the role of Thacker Jr. Executive Director and her desire to create student-centric arts programming. Finally, the author evaluates the immediate impact of the program on the LOU community and predicts how her experience will shape her …

The Making Of When We Say Goodnight, Andrew Newman

Honors Theses

The following thesis documents the writing and recording of When We Say Goodnight, an album by Lo Noom. The author discusses the various influences that led to the development of the album’s concept. The album is meant to explore the feelings the author associates with summer nights in Mississippi. He attempts to create a world in which the songs and feelings live. He discusses the album’s song development and various recording processes. As he brings the album to completion, a struggle emerges between the author’s desire to please his audience and his desire to create for his own personal enjoyment. …

Preparing And Performing A Trumpet Recital, Jesse Gibens

Honors Theses

The pieces are examined based on historical context and explained based on the practice notes that I journaled and reflected upon by comparing and contrasting standard recordings of each work. This thesis is divided into nine sections that explore the pieces that are performed, as well as the instruments used to perform them. The thesis also explores my repertoire choices based on instrumentation, style, composer, and genre, as well as how to deal with the challenges of approaching a diverse program. Historical information has been taken from articles, books, and other scholarly writings produced by experts within their fields of …

Detours In Music - Podcast, Laura F. Ruple

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The podcast, Detours in Music, aims to inspire, spark interest, and educate its audience of all ages and music levels about a life in music. Each episode includes an interview with someone involved in music at the professional level. The interviews focus on the person's story and the paths and detours their lives have taken them on, leading them to where they are today. The project has been well received, with episodes downloaded on four continents, and a consistent following of listeners. The podcast is intended to help its listeners connect with music faculty members at JMU, gain new perspectives …

Nature And The Spirit: Tri Hita Karana, Sacred Artistic Practices, And Musical Ecology In Bali, Hao Huang, Joti Rockwell

EnviroLab Asia

Bali is notable for the degree to which music, dance, and visual art permeate everyday life--a result of historically rooted and continuously evolving religious philosophies and rituals. With this context in mind, we wondered what role the arts play, and can play, in addressing environmental concerns.

Nadia Boulanger’S Fantaisie Variée Pour Piano Et Orchestre A Study Of A Significant Unpublished Piece, Sarah Elias

Dissertations

The research consists of a brief historical and biographical overview of Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), a main focus of a thematic and motivic analysis of her work Fantaisie variée pour piano et orchestre, along with touching upon the influences of Fauré, Debussy, Widor, Reger, and Franck on its composition, and a mention of the process of obtaining the Fantaisie from the Centre international Nadia et Lili Boulanger. Boulanger produced works in a variety of genres, including: a fugue; more than thirty songs for voice and piano; two completed works for solo piano; three works for organ; several chamber works; three works …

Negative Harmony: The Shadow Of Harmonic Polarity On Contemporary Composition Techniques, Debora Haller

Composition/Recording Projects

If we are to blame any composer for the puzzling question ‘What is Negative Harmony?’ that caused a worldwide itch on the creative minds of many young composers in this century, it would be Jacob Collier, who introduced the world with prodigious, colorful harmonies upon releasing his first album “In My Room” in 2016. Provided with brief answers during interviews with June Lee that explained the concept of tones and chords being mirrored on an axis center in the opposite direction, the surface of Negative Harmony was exposed but led to even more confusion. Prompted by even more questions, the …

The Language Of Expression: Solo Violin Through The Ages, Kimberly Rendahl

Recital Papers

The following paper centers around defining technical and expressive commonalities while also exploring the respective features of interpretation that distinguish the Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Opus 30, No. 3 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004 by Johann Sebastian Bach, and the Moderato Nobile movement from Violin Concerto in D Major, Opus 35 by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. These works exhibit the full range of the violin’s expressive capabilities in music from markedly different style periods. The following chapters include an evaluation of expressive aspects found in each work, and the ways …

The Amalgamation Of Popular Music And Dance: An Exploration Of The Human Impact, Caroline Kasay

Recital Papers

The undeniable relationship between song and dance begins in the early stages of life, and it persists throughout time in bringing communities of people together. As Susan E. Pashman states in her article When the Music Moves You: Revisiting the Classics in the Company of Neuroscience, “music promotes a sense of oneness, a feeling that drives social bonding from an early age... In a dance club, then, it is both the music and the dance movements of others that draw an individual onto the dance floor.” (2014, 23). This emotional correlation, or “sense of oneness” that Pashman details repeats itself …

What You See Is What You Get: Integrating Visual Performance Methodology Into Vocal Pedagogy, Bakara Nkenge-Hinds

Student Theses

In many ways, singing is an aural event. Since much of the instrument cannot be seen in a normal setting, voice teachers and voice admirers must rely on their ears to evaluate what they hear. However, singing is also a visual event. In the context of voice studios, teachers need to train students to not only achieve a healthy singing technique but also to convey a message to the audience. Each performer must ask herself, “what do I need to do as a performer to show the music?” In the article Sight Over Sound in the Judgment of Music Performance, …

Exploring Literature Through Music: A Graduate Recital Of Nineteenth-And Twentieth- Century Vocal Literature, Emily Kivi

Recital Papers

As demonstrated in the four pieces chosen for this program, Strauss’s art songs are useful learning tools for a singer’s introduction to the technical demands required to learn and perform in his operas.

Investigating Early Bluegrass Recording Techniques, Lincoln Hensley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper is about my investigation of early bluegrass recording techniques and the processes they used. After doing some extensive research, and compiling a database of black and white photographs from the time period, I felt I had enough information to assemble a team to try and produce the sounds, tonal qualities, and energy those recordings have. So John Kornhauser, Joshua Gooding, Hunter Berry, Sarah Griffin, along with myself, went to BigTone studios and tracked for two four hour sessions. BigTone studios has all of the vintage microphones, tape recorders, echo chambers, and out board equipment I need to replicate …

Bach-To Ysaÿe: History And Performance Considerations Of Sonata No. 2, Mai Vestergaard

Honors Scholar Theses

Eugene Ysaÿe’s Violin Sonata No. 2 has been influenced by the baroque music of Johann Sebastian Bach and the musical techniques brought forth by the Franco-Belgian Violin School. Each sonata movement has musical elements incorporating virtuosic techniques such as ponticello, chromaticism, and emphasis of the tri-tone. The performer draws attention to the audience by using advanced performance practices to change the piece's color and story. Ysaÿe engages with these ideas to share a musical and personal journey through each sonata movement, dedicating it to Jacques Thibaud. This violin sonata is a pinnacle to the violin repertoire, emphasizing the importance of …

Inclusive Ensembles: Differentiating For The Singer On The Autism Spectrum, Natalie Wilkins, Natalie A. Wilkins

Honors College Theses

Exceptional children belong in music classrooms. Music ensemble directors need to overcome complex challenges to meet the goal of inclusion, because ensembles often include a mixture of ages, grades, social and intellectual development stages, musical skills, and a wide variety of diverse learning needs. This study focuses on how a choral ensemble director may create an inclusive environment for students on the Autism Spectrum.

This study reviewed the current research on inclusive rehearsal environments. Analysis revealed varied methods for differentiation that allows students with special needs to thrive in a music classroom and also revealed that music can be a …

The Third Truth, John Paul Chapman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

This composition, scored for a full symphonic orchestra, is based on the theory of truth discussed by Bertrand Russell. Objective truth, he states, must satisfy three criteria. The first element of truth is to acknowledge that it has an opposite. The second element of truth is a property of belief, statement, and perception. The third requisite is to acknowledge that truth consists in coherence. The introduction to this composition invokes the confluence of the three elements by utilizing discordant harmonies. In the next two movements, a theme is developed for each element. The First Truth, representing conflict, possesses a dark …

Rope: An Original Piece For String Orchestra Played Concurrently With Alfred Hitchcock's Film, Douglas William-Solomon Espie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis presents an original piece of music designed to be performed concurrently with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948). The film provides a canvas upon which a musically dominant multimedia experience is built. An accompanying analysis explains the variety of compositional techniques used, explaining their significance and how each deviates from a traditional film score. The objective of this work is to challenge the existing relationship between music and film, and add to the growing body of repertoire of live works featuring synchronized video, modeling example methods of live multimedia performance. In this exploration, the goal was not to be anti-cinematic, …

Rock Band Live Mix Vs. The Studio Mix, Donald Dominguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper will identify and analyze the key differences in mixing techniques as well as factors which affect technique differences in their respective settings. The following research explores common techniques used for the best sound in the common professional studio and live music venues for typical rock band instrumentation. Through interviews and cited articles by professional audio mixing engineers, the paper establishes practices and differentiating approaches that conform to the nature of the live and studio mixing environments.

Murder Music: Horror Film Soundtracks Throughout History, Vincent G. Aragon

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Horror films often rely heavily on their music to create a tense and frightening experience for their audience, and it is the composer's job to write a score that satisfies that requirement. Throughout film history, the methods composers utilize to achieve that goal differ across time due to various factors including available technology, allotted budget, and the norms and expectations of films at the time. This capstone paper explores the different approaches composers employed in writing horror soundtracks from the early 20th century to the modern-day, noting any significant shifts and common themes found in the music of popular horror …

Our Perception Of Scary Sounds: A Comparison Of Films And Popular Music, David Puhl

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

My Capstone Research Paper will be an analysis on the usage of “scary” sounds performed in popular music as well as a comparison to the practice of using similar sounds in film, making a note of any similarities or differences (ex. audience perception, use of visuals). I will also touch on the integration of scary sound effects alongside music scoring for film, specifically in the Horror and Suspense genres. With popular music being my primary focus, I want to elaborate on the cognitive psychology of audiences (in film and music) and their reactions to "scary" or "horrific" sounds to better …

Memory Management For Game Audio Development, Rahmin Tehrani

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Research in managing memory for video game audio development. Interactive music and audio implementation are explored with a strong focus on how to manage data while developing game sound. Some concepts that are important include the multi-use of one sound, file conversion, and randomization in music and audio using technology. Additionally, audio middleware such as Wwise is referenced and strongly used to showcase the previously described concepts. The end of this research project explores the future in video game audio with information relative to the next generation of consoles, video game streaming, physical memory limitations and expansions, and the future …

Analog Versus Digital Guitar Pedals, Shaping Guitar Tones And Sparking Debates, Cameron Karren

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper goes into the history of guitar effects, what exactly they are, how they have evolved, and what they are like today. It also presents the results of an experiment that compares perceptions of differences between analog and digital guitar pedals.

Innovative Marching: A Look Into The Innovation Of Dci, Sarah Ann Kano

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper analyzes unique innovations from five Drum Corps International (DCI) shows: 2008’s show Spartacus performed by Phantom Regiment, 2011’s show Angels and Demons performed by the Cadets, 2013’s show E=MC2 performed by Carolina Crown, and lastly 2014’s shows Tilt performed by the Bluecoats and Fellinisque performed by the Blue Devils. In each judging caption I have explored how each show met the expectations of that caption, if it has a new approach to the caption, if that approach is truly innovative, and if it has been emulated. This analysis suggests that even if the judging captions can sometimes inhibit …

The Blue Mesa At The Painted Desert, Christopher Barnett

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Blue Mesa is located at the Painted Desert in Arizona. It overlooks a beautiful vast landscape of naturally created hills of cool-toned sand art that has been shaped by the forces of nature. The multiple layers of colored sand are stunning. Some hills act as if they are melting away and still being shaped. This piece is inspired by this location and an attempt to capture the unique beauty, wonder, and danger through a snapshot of its creation by the forces of nature.

The Cello Concertos Of Karl Davydov (1838–1889): Historical Context And Pedagogical Rol, Adam Matthew Stiber

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Despite the large quantity of music produced by the outstanding cellists of past eras, the range of repertoire regularly used in teaching advanced cellists in the US is fairly limited. In particular, though the virtuosic compositions of Karl Davydov (1838–1889) are common fare in Russia and Eastern Europe, cellists in the US perform them only rarely. Davydov rose to the highest echelon of performers in his generation. Today, scholars widely credit him with founding the Russian school of cello playing. Members of Davydov’s pedagogical lineage achieved prominence as artists and teachers, and his compositions are proven instructional pieces. In this …