Music Commons^™

Saxophone: A Deeper Understanding, Toree Fogle

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project is to provide a comprehensive background on the creation and evolution of the saxophone, as well as to examine the acoustic factors that contribute to its function. Beyond that, the project will assess differences within the saxophone family (including soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones) and between major brands (including Selmer, Yamaha, and Yanagisawa). The project will be largely constructed from previous research, in addition to personal experiences. The end result will consist of a written report that individuals-especially future saxophone students-will be able to use to expand their knowledge and understanding of the saxophone.

The Relationship Between Music Educators And Stress, Sarah Plain

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project is to gather information from currently practicing music educators in a range of specialties about the relationship between their working lives and personal lives. Does their working life affect them at a level where they cannot decompress? Do they have a healthy relationship with their career and manage their workload well? Information will be gathered about the conditions surrounding educators to gather context for why they have the work-life balance they have described. After measuring and reporting how music educators are balancing their careers against their personal lives, potential solutions will be described to help …

Past What You Can See: Innocence, Experience, And Realization In Stephen Sondheim’S Into The Woods, Brock Adam Terry

Theses and Dissertations--Music

A deeper appreciation of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods may be achieved by examining the work under a new magnifying glass. After a synopsis of background information of the musical itself, the assertion is made that Into the Woods shows three basic stages of life that occur in a cycle: innocence, experience, and realization. This is supported by the proposition that the idea of innocence is represented by a recurring five-note motive (commonly referred to as the “bean theme”), and that the ideas of experience and realization are revealed through particular musical numbers. The overarching entity that binds the work …

Jakub Polaczyk And His Kentucky Bluegrasp, Hyangwoo Lih

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation examines the contemporary composer, Jakub Polaczyk and his recent work, Kentucky Bluegrasp for Solo Viola. The dissertation is divided into seven chapters. Chapter I serves as an introduction. Chapter II presents interviews with Polaczyk conducted via Zoom and email. Chapter III explores two parts: Jakub Polaczyk’s early years of life, and education and career. Chapter IV, “Influences,” is further divided into three parts: Slavic music, Polish, heritages, and Diverse inspirations. Chapter V, “Unique Artistic Language,” delves into five parts: Exploration of Timbre, Unique Instrumentation, Extended Techniques, Cross-Cultural Influences, and Other Versatile Sources of Inspiration. Chapter VI, focuses on …

Ben Moore's "Ode To A Nightingale" For Baritone Voice And Piano: A Performer's Guide, Jeremy Kelly

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This project is a performance guide of Ben Moore’s (b. 1960) Ode to a Nightingale (2014), a song cycle for baritone set to the poetry of John Keats. Song cycles are an important fixture in classical voice performance, as well as academia, and there is a need to promote new works by American composers. Moore’s Ode to a Nightingale is a unique contribution to the song cycle catalog as it sets John Keats’s eight stanzas of the singular poem to eight separate songs, something that is exceedingly rare in practice. Combining analysis of Moore’s songs in Ode to a Nightingale …

Mapping The Double-Tongue: Incorporating Body Mapping Into The Double-Tonguing Learning Process, Camilla Yoder

Theses and Dissertations--Music

As the articulation technique of double-tonguing is becoming more necessary and desirable for oboists to learn, this document explores the benefits of incorporating Body Mapping methods and kinesthetic awareness exercises into the double-tonguing learning process. These methods of body exploration are applied only to the areas of the body deemed highly relevant to accomplishing double-tonguing: the atlanto-occipital joint, the temporo-mandibular joint, the throat, the tongue, and the roof of the mouth. To explore the effectiveness of this approach, an Institutional Review Board approved research study was conducted, in which eight oboists learned double-tonguing with a preliminary iteration of this method. …

Mediating Authenticity: An Ethnographic Portrait Of Experience At U.S. Popular Music Festivals, Elizabeth Navarra Varnado

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This ethnographic study of U.S. popular music festivals subverts the impression of festivals as strictly ‘presentational’ live music events by utilizing a nuanced approach that is grounded in ethnographic fieldwork, historical analysis, and participant interviews.

Interlocutors, drawn from the author’s personal network of festival attendees, musicians, and promoters, reflect on “particularly positive festival moments,” the social and emotional benefits of festivals, and the corporeality of festival aesthetics. Discourse and published media play a vital role in festival participants’ perception of the festival field and their place within it; therefore, this study draws inspiration from the tripartite focus of iconic festival …

Interview With Luis Castellví Laukamp, Jonathan O. Chua

Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

No abstract provided.

How Age And Vocal Health Affect The Voice, Emily Barron

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Our vocal tract ages just like our body does. This research paper hopes to bring attention to the changes that happen within the cartilages and the vocal folds located in the larynx caused by aging. There will be four age groups that will be discussed: newborn and toddlers, adolescents and young adults, adults, and senior singers. Inspired by Karen Brunssen’s book The Evolving Singing Voice, each section will go into detail discussing the biological changes that happen to the cartilages and the vocal folds during these time in our lives. A few changes that will be mentioned throughout these stages …

Increasing Student Success In The Large Ensemble Classroom, Elyce Enrique

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Music teachers face many challenges with high quality instruction in large ensemble classes. When there is only one ensemble for students in grades nine through twelve to participate in, their respective skill levels span across a large spectrum. However, the student must perform the part that the composer wrote for their instrument or voice type, regardless of their ability to do so. Students with disabilities and students with less experience are at a vast disadvantage. As a result, the teacher is left with the decision of choosing music that is too difficult for some students or too easy for others. …

Interview With Emilia Soriano And Kristian Cordero, Patrick Michael L. Capili

Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

No abstract provided.

Local-Classical Singers Speak: Interviews With Trinidadian, Guyanese, And Surinamese Singers, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

This is a compilation of transcriptions of several dozen interviews with Trinidadian, Guyanese, and Surinamese performers of Indo-Caribbean local-classical music (tan-singing, baithak gana) conducted in the 1990s by Peter Manuel. The informants include most of the leading singers of that era, such as Hanif Mohammed, Jameer Hosein, and Sam Boodram, as well as elder artists whose recollections date back to the 1920s-30s. The transcriptions are informal, messy, and unedited. Several of the interviews were conducted when Manuel was just beginning his research, and thus his questions were not always well informed.

Producing ‘Bedroom Pop’ Music: A Compositional Project That Employs Production And Compositional Techniques Identified Through Analysis Of Select Chelsea Cutler Songs, Anna Therese Dabbs

Theses : Honours

This study explores key production and compositional techniques in popular music, specifically within the genre of ‘bedroom pop,’ focusing on the distinctive style of artist and producer Chelsea Cutler. The aim of this project was to compose an entirely new work grounded in existing genre structures and shaped by Cutler’s unique approach. To achieve this, available literature on popular music production and composition, specifically ‘bedroom pop’, was reviewed to identify common processes and techniques. A listening analysis featuring five of Cutler’s songs was conducted to establish her unique production and compositional style, with findings applied in an original song, ‘You …

Hillbilly Bands: Southern Rock's Impact On Southern Identity In The 1970s, John H. Hartman

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Music has always been a conduit in which its artists are able to voice their views, influences, desires, and heartbreaks to a wide audience. Southern Rock is no different. The emergence and popularity of the genre in the 1970s is not a coincidence, but rather a reflection of the South during this time. The South as a whole was changing due to the passage of the Civil Rights Act, ending Jim Crow Laws and denouncing racial oppression throughout the nation. For the South, This meant drastic changes to their society and the slow recognition of the racially oppressive ideals that …

The Thing With Feathers For Orchestra, Treyton Blaser

Honors Program Theses

I have known for a long time that in order to complete my honors thesis, I would need to write some sort of “big, monolithic” piece to show my work. Initially, I had decided that I wanted to pursue a path of electroacoustic composition to complete this piece, as this area was, and still is, a field of music composition that I lack general knowledge with. The progress on this piece was rapid at first, yet slowly came to a halt. My lack of familiarity with the processes and options available led to quickly feeling overwhelmed with the scope of …

Equity In Harmony: Music Teacher Preparedness And Perceptions Of Multilingual Learners In The Midwest, Mckenzie Vick

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions music teachers in the Midwest have regarding working with multilingual students, how music education benefits their multilingual students, and how they perceive the struggles their multilingual students have regarding music education. The study was a qualitative study in which 5 teachers were interviewed on their perceptions. The study found that music teachers see many benefits of music education for multilingual students including: building a sense of belonging, helping with language learning, having a non-academic outlet, and providing additional socialization opportunities. It also found that teachers did not feel prepared to …

Crafting A Traveling Icon: The Role Of Mobile Carillons In Honoring Tradition, Emily S. Clouser

Honors Program Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the role of mobile carillons in honoring the traditions of carillonneurs and universities alike. I will first discuss the history of carillons and the tradition of carillonneurs, as well as the possible impacts of exposing the technical skill required to play such a public instrument that yet uniquely isolates the performer. I will then explain the various roles that mobile carillons have served and their gradual development over the years. The purpose of mobile carillons fluctuated, first beginning as a sales tactic, then a concert instrument—which eventually became a science experiment—a home …

Education Equity: Music Theory Information Literacy At A Hispanic-Serving Institution (Hsi), Charles Roush, Katrina Roush, Norma Denae Dibrell

School of Music Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Exploring Band Students' Motivations Regarding Instrument Selection, Aaron S. Morley

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

When choosing a beginning band instrument, students are faced with a choice that may be influenced by a variety of factors. These factors also interest band directors, who want students to choose an instrument that will be a good fit for their strengths while also being engaging to them. To assist directors in guiding students through instrument selection it is helpful to know what factors could influence students when they are choosing an instrument. To identify the factors that students report as impactful, beginning band students in five northwest Missouri school districts were surveyed about the influence of selected factors. …

Development And Implementation Of A Practice And Assessment Tool For Middle School Orchestra, Linda Kathy Hughes

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a practice and assessment tool, Skill Ladders, as used by my 7^th grade orchestra students. This is a tool that I created to help students focus on specific skill acquisition and musical development during their practice time. Designed for the middle section of intermediate level playing skills and aligned with curricular goals, students were to utilize this tool to set goals, practice, self-assess, and demonstrate progress. Prior to utilizing Skill Ladders, students completed a survey of baseline attitudes toward individual practice. After the trial period of the …

Musical Chills: The Impact Of Age And Musical Ability, Isabella Aceituno

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Listening to music is widely regarded as a pleasant experience, but sometimes music evokes such a strong rush of emotions that it elicits physical sensations. Musical chills, also referred to as frisson or thrills, is a peak emotional response to music often distinguished by goosebumps, tingling sensations, or raised hair on the skin (del Campo & Kehle, 2016). Musical chills are typically described as pleasurable, as evidenced by subjective self-reported pleasure ratings of songs that elicit chills (Grewe et al., 2007; Grewe et al., 2011; Salimpoor et al., 2009; Sumpf et al., 2015, Mori & Iwagana, 2015, 2017; Bannister, 2020) …

Volume 15, Connor Thompson, Emily Steffenhagen, Emily Robertson, Luis Fernando Dos Reis, Emily Farmer, Samuel Villa, Robert Allison, Zachary Chessor, Megan Borden, Austin Burnett, Larry W. Grant Jr., Tristan Marowski, Emma Moore, Pearl Siff

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction Dr. Amorette Barber, Director, Office of Student Research

From the Editor Dr. Hannah Dudley-Shotwell

Artist’s Statement Connor Thompson

On Mentorship Dr. John Miller

The Meat of the Matter: Alien, Human, and Animal in Terry Bisson’s “They’re Made Out of Meat” by Emily Steffenhagen

“Please REBLOG!”: An Ethical Analysis of Doxxing, Internet Vigilantism and Racists Getting Fired by Emily Robertson

Journaling: Paper Has More Patience Than People by Luis Fernando Dos Reis

The Effects of Climate Change on the Archaeological World by Emily Farmer

Lowered Seat Height Does Not Impair Wingate Performance in Untrained Cyclists by Samuel Villa, Robert Allison, …

The Perceived Effects Of Peer-Assisted Learning In A Collegiate Instrumental Pedagogy Classroom, Hannah Wagoner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) is an approach that teachers can use in the classroom to increase students’ ownership of their learning. Besides increased autonomy, PAL can provide several other academic and social benefits, such as increased achievement and fostering a sense of community. This study aimed to examine the effects of PAL on college students’ performance on a secondary instrument. Five students in a collegiate instrumental pedagogy course experienced PAL activities in class while learning secondary instruments. After a statistical and content analysis of all the data, results showed that 1) all but one of the participants improved in their performance …

Uncovering The Emotional Line: An Analysis Of Three David Maslanka Wind Ensemble Works Using Formal Emotive Intensity Analysis, Michael John Kahle

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

David Maslanka (1943–2017) was a prolific American composer who wrote most frequently for the medium of concert band/wind ensemble. His music is frequently performed by ensembles around the world. Due to his more intuitive and idiosyncratic compositional style, Maslanka would center what he described as the “emotional line” of the work, certain aspects of his music are undetected by traditional analytical models. Formal Emotive Intensity Analysis bridges that gap to focus on the supposed emotional line within Maslanka’s work. Through a case study of three of Maslanka’s works for wind band, The Seeker, Concerto No. 3 for Piano and Wind …

Selected Piano Etudes From The Mid-20th To 21st Centuries: A Catalogue, Min Ji Baek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Etudes, which initially appeared in the seventeenth century as small collections of exercises, have evolved into significant concert pieces, showcasing the development of virtuosity over time. This study compiles a selected catalog of piano etudes from the mid-20th century to the 21st century, accompanied by brief biographies of each composer. Beginning with a historical overview of piano etudes, this paper catalogs etudes by 50 composers, divided into two chapters that respectively present etudes from the 1940s–1980s and the 1980s–2020s, listed alphabetically by the composer's last name. The final chapter provides a concise summary of the catalogue’s contents, highlighting its potential …

When The Right Man Rings Them?, Alan Wayne Cline

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research aims to outline the suitability of Vaughan Williams’s songs to a broader selection of performers, including singers in academic settings and professional musicians around the globe. The significance of Ralph Vaughan Williams's impact on the music world is difficult to question. Among his considerable accomplishments are the editing of the Anglican English hymnal, the advocation for traditional British folk songs as national works of art, the composition of the same number of symphonies as Beethoven and Dvořák, and, most notably for singers, the writing of song cycles and collections of songs. While these accomplishments are significant, his songs …

Religious Musical Art Of Ukraine In The Conditions Of Cultural Transformations, Maksym Melnychuk, Oleh Sokolovskyi

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

The article explores Ukrainian religious musical art and highlights the transformative aspects of the development of Ukraine's spiritual music against the backdrop of cultural and historical changes. This phenomenon is analyzed as both a manifestation of the religiosity of the Ukrainian nation and its spiritual essence, as well as the result of the creative pursuits of composers--their doubts and efforts to infuse musical harmony with religious meaning and envelop their works with profound Christian significance. Spiritual music manifests and functions in various spheres of social existence but most naturally, fully, and effectively demonstrates its “life parameters” within temple and church …

V.1 Winter 2024, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The Winter 2024 issue is formatted as a calendar featuring images of current RISD students recreating scenes from historical photos taken at RISD.

Chamber Tone Poems At The Turn Of The Twentieth Century: How The Harp Contributed To Their Development, Abigail Hughes Stoner

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Unlike other instruments, the harp was not used in chamber ensembles before the twentieth century. When it did start appearing in chamber ensembles, it was usually within programmatic works, non-traditional forms, unconventional instrument combinations, and mostly in France. At the same time, the harp began emerging as a chamber ensemble instrument, and a new genre of chamber music appeared: the chamber tone poem. There is a significant lack of scholarly research and literature as to why the harp appeared alongside chamber tone poems in these unusual chamber ensembles specifically at this time and especially in France. This paper will seek …

Global Experiences: How Locality And Space Shape Pedagogical Practices And Experiences Between Western Institutions And Ghanaian Musical Centers, Andrew Patrick Simonette

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Pedagogical research on African music and dance practices have conventionally focused on ways in which styles and traditions are taught including, but not limited to, modes of transmission, curriculum structure, and cultural responsiveness. These investigations, and subsequent applications, have contributed towards a deeper understanding of pedagogical structures as related to cultural context and effective modes of teaching and learning African music. At the same time, the impact that space and locality play within African music and dance instruction, particularly as related to learning experiences have been largely overlooked. Locality and space involve several factors that range from elements attributed to …