Composition Commons^™

An Analysis And Conductor's Guide To Allen Webber'sThree American Poets, John Wayne Weatherspoon

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Allen Webber’s Three American Poets is a three-movement choral work based on texts by several American poets. This monograph shines light on the compositional style of Webber by means of an in-depth score analysis of this work. Webber’s experience as a written theory and aural skills professor informs his writing style. Frequent correspondence and interviews with the composer informed the study through qualitative data. Though the piece is accessible to advanced high school choruses and beyond, it will at times challenge those choirs with unexpected chromatic movements. This study provides conductors with a guide to develop a creative and scholarly …

Dimitris Kafyris: The Legacy And Pedagogy Of A Trailblazing Greek Trumpeter, Stephen M. Wadsack

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Dimitris Kafyris (Δημήτρης Κάφυρης, 1932–2020) is regarded as one of the most talented trumpeters of the twentieth century, within his native homeland of Greece. From the early 1950s into the mid-1980s, Kafyris performed with the Athens State Orchestra (Greece’s premier orchestral ensemble), the Greek Radio Symphony, and the National Opera. During this period, Kafyris also maintained a teaching position at the Hellenikon Conservatory (Ελληνικόν Ωδείον) in Athens. Following what many would already consider to be a robust career, Kafyris returned home to the Greek island of Corfu, where he assumed the roles of Bandmaster and Director of the Corfu Philharmonic …

Sculpting Time: A Performance Guide To Four Fragments Of Time By Marcus Siqueira, Luis Felipe Vargas Magdaleno De Moraes

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation investigates the musical and phenomenological aspects of Four Fragments of Time by Marcus Siqueira (b. 1974) and provides a performance guide for this work. Furthermore, this dissertation analyzes previous guitar works by the composer, seeking to understand Siqueira’s compositional idiosyncrasies and to provide context for the interpretation of Four Fragments of Time. This dissertation includes a biography of the composer, an analysis of the compositional process of Four Fragments of Time, an analysis of the recurrent idiomatic procedures in Siqueira’s guitar works, and an overview of the collaborative process between the composer and the author. Additionally, an analysis …

The Early String Chamber Music Of Agnes Zimmermann, Miranda Dyskin

Theses : Honours

This dissertation focusses on the early string chamber music of German-English composer and pianist Agnes Zimmermann (1847-1925), written whilst she was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Whilst almost unknown today, Zimmermann was one of the finest pianists of the late[1]Nineteenth Century, appearing throughout Europe both as a concerto soloist and as a distinguished chamber music collaborator. She was also an accomplished composer, writing piano pieces, songs, music for the church and, especially, chamber music. Her models were the great Germanic figures of the Nineteenth Century, especially Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

This dissertation examines two …

An Examination Of Maria Schneider’S Big Band Artistry Through The Lens Of Wind Band Arranging, Amy Birdsong

Dissertations, 2020-current

Within the world of instrumental music there tends to be strict adherence to styles and genres that have historically been connected to a standard collection of instruments. Wind ensembles are expected to perform contemporary art music, orchestral transcriptions, or military marches, with little expectation of individual creative interpretation. Jazz ensembles, or “big bands,” are expected to perform styles of music such as “swing,” which cannot be properly notated using western notation, while also being rigidly glued to reduced instrument choices, repetitive chord cycles and standard song forms. While wind ensemble performers are confined to read and perform all aspects of …

Aum314.1 Music For Non-Linear Narrative Example 2, Sae University College

Exemplars

HD / Exceeds Specification exemplar for AUM314.1 - Music for Non-Linear Narrative

Aum314.1 Music For Non-Linear Narrative Example 1, Sae University College

Exemplars

Exceeds Specification exemplar for AUM314.1 - Music for Non-Linear Narrative

Aum314.2 Music For Non-Linear Narrative Example 1, Sae University College

Exemplars

HD / Exceeds Specification exemplar for AUM314.2: Music for Linear Narrative

The Wind Band Music Of Steven Reineke: A Study Of Three Of His Musical Compositions, His Characteristic Sound, And The Inspiration Behind His Works, Eric Stark

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this project proposal is to examine the music of Steven Reineke. The study will investigate and discuss the background information of three pieces and find common compositional elements used by Mr. Reineke. The study will also include rehearsal and performance considerations of each work. Form graphs and conducting analysis will be included. Other information presented in this study will educate the reader about the life of Mr. Reineke. The goal of this thesis is to help band instructors with rehearsal guides and performance instructions for Heaven’s Light, The Witch and the Saint, and Pilatus: Mountain of Dragons …

Dong Qing Fang’S Musical Depiction Of Lin Chong: An Analysis Of Chinese Traditional Music Elements In His Cello Composition Of 2009, Congcong Bi

Doctoral Projects

Dong Qing Fang (b. 1981) is a prolific composer of cello music. His contribution includes twenty compositions, many of which have been performed around the world.[1] While Fang is the most famous composer in China as well as a leading figure of recent music, his compositions have not been recognized world-wide. This project focuses on his representative cello composition Lin Chong (2009). Lin Chong is a significant character in Chinese literature, known for his role in the classic novel, Water Margin (1524). Fang's musical portrayal of Lin Chong's life incorporates elements of Chinese traditional music.

The methodology for this …

Why Not Be Free: The Black Worldmaking Praxis, Research Method, & Manifesto For Developing Music Interventions Against Stress In Black Youth, Armond Epps Dorsey

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Why Not Be Free? is an interdisciplinary exploration of music intervention development demonstrating the application of my integrated research and artistic practices through an outlined antiracist method for designing music to reduce stress in Black college youth and a manifesto detailing the compositional process. I draw from Black feminist and womanist thought, music cognition, and public health literature to outline a framework for designing music interventions to reduce stress among Black populations: the Music Medicine Critical Race Praxis. I situate my work among Black speculative artists reimagining experiences in everyday Black life as well as music intervention researchers integrating …

Play Makes Perfect: An Exploration Of Game And Play Elements In Composition And Performance, Gabrielle Chou

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation aims to explore the intersection of play and games in Western classical music and define a new category of pieces, “ludic pieces,” which contain play structures and game mechanics within their composition. Starting with surveying perspectives in ludology and ludomusicology, including those by Roger Caillois, Johan Huizinga, Jesper Juul, Katie Salen, and Eric Zimmerman, I will examine various definitions of a “game” and what its qualifying aspects are. I will then turn to music and consider pieces that interact with play and games without containing game structures, including examples of musical humor and pieces which evoke the imagery …

I Felt Unfettered And Alive: A Musical Narrative Inquiry Into Identity Through Commissioning And Performing New Music For Solo Classical Guitar, Libby Myers

The 21st Century Guitar

This paper discusses how commissioning new music served as a means of musical narrative inquiry into the performance of the authorʼs identity. Traditionally, musicology has centred on the identities of composers; their lives, working practices and philosophies. Meanwhile, the identities of performers have remained inaudible. Challenging this conventional narrative, the commission project foregrounds experiences of identity and subjectivity of the author as performer-researcher. This paper introduces the innovative methodology of musical narrative inquiry used in this project, in which lived narratives of identity are told and re-told in collaboration with the composer to explore what it means to be, or …

Guitars With Ambisonic Spatial Performance (Gasp): An Immersive Guitar System, Duncan Werner, Emma Fitzmaurice, Bruce Wiggins, Matthew Hart

The 21st Century Guitar

The GASP project investigates the design and realisation of an Immersive Guitar System. It brings together a range of sound processing and spatialising technologies and applies them to a specific musical instrument ‒ the Electric Guitar. GASP is an ongoing innovative audio project, fusing the musical with the technical, combining the processing of each stringʼs output (which we called timbralisation) with spatial sound. It is also an artistic musical project, where space becomes a performance parameter, providing new experimental immersive sound production techniques for the guitarist and music producer. Several ways of reimagining the electric guitar as an immersive sounding …

Proceedings Of The 21st Century Guitar Conference 2019 & 2021

The 21st Century Guitar

This volumeʼs contributions grew from 20 of the 94 scheduled keynotes, lectures and lecture-recitals of the first and second editions of The 21st Guitar Conference. Five items stem from the inaugural edition (2019, 44 contributions) and 15 from the second edition (2021, 50 contributions).1 This conference is unique in that it is centered on contemporary guitar research, performance and pedagogy.2 Previously, guitar research had gained increased visibility thanks to the International Guitar Research Centre, launched in 2014 (Stephen Goss, President), which regularly (co-)organizes conferences on guitar research; and Soundboard Scholar, launched in 2015 (Jonathan Leathwood, Editor) ‒ currently the only …

Largo Teso: The Seven Studies For Guitar By Maurizio Pisati, Maurizio Pisati, Elena Càsoli

The 21st Century Guitar

In this contribution, composer and interpreter talk about the Seven Studies from their respective points of view. Maurizio Pisati explains how he developed a new guitar, departing from a single study and arriving at the overall formal conception through timbres, techniques and articulations; and how the soloistic studies led him to a guitarled ensemble piece. Elena Càsoli deals with issues such as the score's indications and the instrumental techniques.

The Morphological And Audiative Interconnectedness Of Sound: Equivalence In A Multidimensional Soundscape, Martin Vishnick

The 21st Century Guitar

This paper draws on the authorʼs recent theoretical and practical research into the morphology of sound and audiation. In particular, it explores the notion of equivalence in a multidimensional soundscape. Correlations between the interconnectedness of sound-based morphologies emanating from extended guitar techniques and comprehending internal auditory imagination when sound is not physically present will be assessed. To express an all-encompassing mental and visual image of apprehending the value of sound from a morphological and audiative perspective, three-dimensional topological diagrams will be evaluated ‒ a development of previous two-dimensional visualisations. In regard to morphologies, topics of interest are spectromorphology, spatiomorphology, spectral …

Scordator: A Digital Map Of All Scordature, Paulo Vaz De Carvalho, Rui Penha

The 21st Century Guitar

Scordatura is often used in stringed instruments to overcome constraints posed by their tuning. Finding the right scordatura for a particular situation may be a time-consuming task, especially for non-guitarist composers. In this contribution, we present a web application designed to show a tuning chart for any chordophone equipped with a maximum of eight strings, each tunable to a pitch in the range of a full keyboard. The application also provides visualization of the available positions for live MIDI notes within a given scordatura.

Composing Idiomatic Music For Guitar Using Distant Reading Strategies, Giovanni Albini, Matilde Oppizzi

The 21st Century Guitar

The composition of new music for guitar can involve two issues: 1) composers that have no experience with the instrument might not be able to compose a score that is idiomatic, accommodating and highlighting the unique characteristics and features of the conventional guitar techniques; and 2) composer-guitarists might repeat clichés that can origin from their performance habits. In this respect, the aim of this paper is to answer the following questions: can distant reading methods help in defining strategies for composing new idiomatic music for guitar? If so, how they can be defined and implemented? Distant reading methods allow to …

Give The Drummer Some: A Dive Into Drum Breaks And Drum Break Production, Kyle Kaldhusdal

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This paper traces the history of hip-hop culture through the evolution of the drum break, the original context of drum breaks in funk and soul music, their influence on DJ culture, and the subsequent impact of drum breaks on music and music production. It follows the development of breakbeat compilations in the 1970s and 1980s, parallel to the development of turntablism and sampling techniques. It also examines in detail how copyright litigation in the 1990s shaped the development of sample-based music genres and created a niche market for originally-recorded drum breaks over the subsequent decades.

The History And Development Of Solo Tuba Repertoire, Vasilios Tidwell

Honors Theses

The tuba's solo repertoire increased in quantity and quality as a result of developments in the instrument’s design and usage. Following the invention of the tuba in 1835, instrument makers experimented with design concepts to maximize the versatility and potential of the bass brass voice. Composers explored the various uses of the instrument, eventually making the tuba part of the standard orchestral instrumentation by the mid-nineteenth century. Following the instrument's acceptance into bands and orchestras, the first solo works for tuba emerged in the late nineteenth century.

Evolving from novelty pieces accompanied by wind or brass bands, tuba solo music …