Music Commons^™

Brighter Days, Erich J. Eastman

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Brighter Days is a musical composition for choir, solo voice, and guitar, depicting the stages of an emotional journey through five separate movements. Each movement represents a different set of feelings, exploring themes of frustration, perseverance, hope, elation, and other sentiments. The movements are interconnected, employing key relationships and cross-references throughout the work. Musical styles vary, and genres are blended to create tonal landscapes that are both unique and accessible. Brighter Days is an expressive new work about finding light in darkness and coming to terms with oneself.

Experience Of Parents Attending A Perinatal Lullaby Program, Emily J. Skeers

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Previous research performed with mother–infant dyads has demonstrated that infant–directed singing may make significant contributions to mother–infant attachment, may reduce infant stress, reduce maternal stress, assist mothers and babies with emotional regulation, improve mother–infant interactions, prevent colic, and improve infant sleep. Despite these benefit potentials, parents of today are much less likely to sing to their infants than parents of previous generations. Attendance of postnatal lullaby education programs has been associated with increased maternal singing at home and confidence in their parenting role. Perinatal lullaby programs are not represented in the literature. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of …

Something From Nothing: Reimaginings, A Resource Guide For The Horn Sonata By Frank Gulino, Albert J. Houde Iii

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Since publishing his first work in 2006, American composer Frank Gulino has been the driving force behind some seventy new pieces of music. With music commissioned and performed by top professionals around the world, Gulino’s star has risen quickly backed by his prowess for writing music for brass instruments in solo works and chamber music. The subject of this document is a sonata for horn and piano entitled Reimaginings, a work commissioned by the author in 2020. This document presents a biographical sketch of the composer, an interpretation for performing the work, and suggestions for learning key skills needed …

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’S Sonata In C Minor, Wq. 65/31: A Study Of Performance Practice, Weiyang Sun

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This dissertation discusses concepts of performance practice in Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's keyboard works, including historical instruments, fingering, articulation, ornamentation, dynamics, rhythm, and other related topics. It provides an interpretive analysis of C. P. E. Bach's Sonata in C Minor, Wq. 65/31, for keyboard, as a way to discuss the application of these issues. Additionally, this dissertation includes a brief biography of C. P. E. Bach, a list of his keyboard works, and a discography of current and historical recordings of the Sonata in C Minor, Wq. 65/31.

Guide To The William C. Banfield Collection, 1979-2010, Columbia College Chicago

CBMR Collection Guides / Finding Aids

William “Bill” Cedric Banfield is professor emeritus of the Africana Studies Division at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The collection contains his compositions, including songs and jazz works, and is strong in concert music. It also holds, correspondence, writings, and flyers and programs documenting his career.

Determining Why Before How: Crafting Mission, Vision, And Values Statements To Facilitate Undergraduate Music Theory Curriculum Reimagining, Paula Maust, Vid Smooke

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

The Department of Music Theory at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University recently joined many other institutions across North America in reimagining our undergraduate curriculum. Following practices more commonly found in the nonprofit sector, we began this undertaking by crafting mission, vision, and values statements. These newly articulated ideals for our department then served as a polestar, effectively guiding the rest of the curriculum review and revision. The process we effected created an environment that facilitated creative thinking while simultaneously engendering clear consensus among our colleagues.

In this paper, we—as co-chairs of the committee charged with reviewing the …

Volume 38, Various Authors

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

“Duet Me”: Music Theory Pedagogy In The Age Of Social Media, Alyssa Barna

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

In this article, I outline a possible use of social media platforms in the music theory and ear-training classroom using a model assignment on (but not exclusive to) TikTok. I show how students can work collaboratively and musically in a platform they may use in everyday life to promote collaboration and engagement with musics and people outside the walls of the university. From this study, I extrapolate themes that illustrate both the benefits and pitfalls of social media use (pedagogically and otherwise). The first section situates social media platforms among the variety of technologies used in theory classrooms in the …

Ungrading In The Music Theory Classroom: A One-Year Case Study, David E. Orvek

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

In this paper, I present a summary of and critical reflection upon an alternative assessment practice known as “ungrading” that I used during the 2023–24 academic year. My version of the practice involved providing students with feedback without grades and letting students determine their own final grades through a process of guided self-assessment. Many students’ reactions to ungrading were positive. Some reported being able to focus on learning rather than grades, and even skeptical students admitted some benefits. Ungrading benefited me in various ways as a teacher, but there were challenges as well. Some students struggled with the lack of …

Engaging Aural Skills Students With Model-Eliciting Activities, Aaron Galliher

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

This mixed-methods study explores how using Model-Eliciting Activities (MEAs) in an aural skills classroom can promote student motivation and engagement. MEAs require students to create models to solve progressively complex problems. As students develop and refine their models, they engage in a testing and iteration process that prioritizes learning over final outcomes, which fosters student empowerment. The specific MEA implemented was focused on music transcription skills and used the MUSIC Inventory of Motivation survey to assess student motivation and engagement, complemented by follow-up interviews that explain the results of the survey. Many students scored high on this survey and expressed …

Conference Review: Society For Music Theory Annual Meeting, Jacksonville, Florida, November 7–10, 2024, William Marvin, Jeremy Orosz

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

Harmony, Texture, And Timbre In Popular Culture: Undergraduate Edition, Alexa Valles, Sophie Andersen, Aidan Ramos, Leonardo Huerta-Lina

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

The purpose of this study is twofold: 1) to compare the way students describe their favorite music with observable musical parameters such as harmony, texture, and timbre, and 2) to develop a database of current music that can be used in the theory classroom to study harmony, timbre, and texture. We seek to contribute to a growing body of work that debunks stereotypes such as popular music is too simple and therefore not productive to study within the music theory curriculum. However, we believe that musical fluency is strengthened when students study a variety of music styles. Our study identifies …

The Heyman Project: A Multimedia Anthology For The Undergraduate Classroom, Anna Stephan-Robinson

Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy

The Heyman Project is a multimedia anthology designed for flexible use throughout the undergraduate core music theory curriculum. It is also appropriate for use in high school music theory classes. Featuring music by American composer Katherine Ruth Heyman (1872-1944), the resource consists of four pdf documents: a student packet and a sample worksheet/lesson, along with instructor’s editions of the same documents. The student packet contains sheet music for 13 songs, each preceded by a brief note giving historical and/or theoretical background. The worksheet, designed for a first-year theory class, features the song “Elysion,” and focuses on diatonic modes, melodic construction, …

Rockin’ The Regime: Mormon Missionaries, American Popular Music, And The Fading Of Spanish Fascism, Ryan A. Davis

Faculty Publications – Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

In 1972 a group of Mormon missionaries in Spain formed a band known as Los Salt Lake City. Playing primarily folk and rock music, they toured the country, gave radio and press interviews, and released two albums and an EP. Their experience is recounted and assessed in relation to the musical context of Spain at the time, including the social, religious, and political implications of the musical context.

Denny Design For The Gretsch Company, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

With original work spanning 1998–2024, this collection consists of materials created by graphic designer Don Denny for the Gretsch Company. The materials include digital project files, physical samples of digital products, photographs, and historic printed materials documenting the Gretsch Company’s history.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Using Digital Technologies In Music Education, Flutura Gagica Rexhepi, Rreze Kryeziu Breznica, Burhan Reshat Rexhepi

Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange (JETDE)

The relevance of the study of the effectiveness of digital technologies in music education lies in the need to adapt modern music education to the requirements of the digital world. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of digital technologies in music education and to determine their impact on the quality of music education. The methods used in the study were the statistical method, modelling, the method of generalising experience, as well as experimentation and theoretical analysis. The results of the study showed that the use of modern digital technologies in music education could make the learning …

Examining The Efficacy Of Music-Applied Therapies On The Upper Extremity Of Post-Stroke Patients: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Haley Galvis

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Stroke is the second most common cause of death worldwide, due to an interruption of blood flow to the brain, which ultimately results in necrotic cell death. This pathological cascade has ramifications in neurological motor, sensory, and behavior deficits. Recent research has used a therapeutic application of music as a vehicle to improve motor function of post-stroke patients. Music-supported therapy is a newer class of music therapy that works to improve motor function through a standardized program of keyboard and drum exercises, and it is continuing to be integrated into the field of rehabilitation.

This study aims to search areas …

Music Education Within An Autism Support Classroom: Building Community And Educational Skills, Emma Lamberti

Honors Theses

The purpose of this action research study was to explore how music education might provide a sense of community, develop educational skills, and discuss general best practices for teaching students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a middle school autism support classroom. To examine community, educational skills, and best practices, this study completed two cycles of action research. The curriculum in Cycle 1 consisted of typical music lessons for a general music classroom. Interviews with teachers and students, video observations, and researcher reflections after each lesson were used to inform the development of Cycle 2. Cycle 2 retained the overall …

Psychological Well-Being And Music Among Children, Elle Chrampanis

Honors Theses

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore how music supports kindergarteners’ well-being in an elementary music classroom through the lens of PERMA, a framework for well-being developed by Martin Seligman. PERMA stands for positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. An additional goal was to see how applicable this framework was to kindergarteners. Accordingly, a five-week music program was developed and taught at a local elementary school. A typical elementary music curriculum was developed consisting of lessons that included a welcome song, a rhythm activity, a musical storybook, the sequential learning of a song, and a goodbye …

Music Density: A Novel Measurement Of Music Perception, Tyler Ussery

All Master's Theses

Empirical research in fields such as music perception, cognition, and therapy has developed considerably in recent decades. While many studies implement musical stimuli, there are few expeditious metrics for identifying the objective characteristics of music itself. The current study proposed and developed a tool for measuring perception of the theoretical concept of music density. Music density can be defined as the compactness of auditory information that comprises a piece of music. For this study, five musical factors were explored (tempo, texture, timbre, dynamics, and predictability) via a 5-point Likert scale. It is well established that personality is an important …

Grid Culture, Eliot Bates, Arseni Troitski

Publications and Research

In this essay, we provide our initial ethnographic research about lines, which at a superficial level can be considered a platform, but which is also synonymous with a community of 8800 users, and with 606k unique posts authored by these users that in aggregate constitute a discourse network (Aufschreibesysteme, see Kittler 1990). lines—as platform, community, and discourse network—is primarily designed to support the development, documentation and user-generated code efforts specific to a set of hardware synthesis-related objects (the two we will focus on are called Norns and Grid; we’ll discuss what they are and what they do through the subsequent …