Music Pedagogy Commons^™

A Performer’S Guide To Norman Bolter’S Morning Walk For Trombone And Piano, Justin Croushore

Theses and Dissertations--Music

For the past 45 years, Norman Bolter has been one of the most prolific and important composers, performers, and educators for the trombone. Born in Minnesota in 1955, Bolter held the position of Second Trombone of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Principal Trombone of the Boston Pops from 1975 until 2009. He has taught at leading conservatories, universities, and festivals around the world and continues to teach as trombone faculty at the New England Conservatory and the Boston Conservatory today. His compositional output is large and wide-ranged, including works for solo trombone, trombone and piano, trombone ensemble, chamber ensemble, band, …

Ictus Or Rebound? The Experience Of Behind-The-Beat Playing In Orchestral Conducting, Sey Ahn

Theses and Dissertations--Music

The origin of playing behind-the-beat is attributed to the Hungarian conductor Arthur Nikisch (1855-1922), who is one of the most important figures in the history of the art of conducting. Nikisch, serving as Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra during a critical moment in the development of orchestral playing, influenced a generation of conductors who followed. Behind-the-beat playing, as many conductors and musicians refer to in describing experiences of top professional orchestral musicians, is a prevailing characteristic of theirs, not often observed in amateur orchestras and their conductors. It is an …

Types And Causes Of Physiological Injury In Piano Playing, With Emphasis On Piano Pedagogy In China, Ruixi Niu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Among musicians who seek medical help for their injuries each year, half are pianists. Improper playing technique is a factor influencing the development of injury. This research project focuses on the types and causes of physiological injury in the process of piano playing and includes methods of avoiding such injuries.

The types of piano-related physiological injury and associated conditions that are discussed include tenosynovitis, focal dystonia, and muscle pain. Relevant literature and investigative data—and some legends—are compared and sorted. Chinese pedagogical views concerning piano technique are discussed, along with ongoing debates concerning injury prevention and the appropriate use of exercises …

The Roman Catholic Ordinary Mass From Circa 1750 To Circa 1820: A Selected Bibliography, Letícia Gabriele Grützmann Januario

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Orchestrated masses from the 18th century and early years of the 19th century provide a valuable source of repertoire for contemporary choral conductors. This project will explore composers and works from circa 1750 to 1820 to provide choral conductors with a list of works suitable for programming based on the practical size of vocal and instrumental forces.

Western choral music was born in a church setting. Among all choral genres, the mass is the only genre composed throughout all eras, from medieval until the 20th century. The mass remained a prominent genre during the 18th century despite the secularizing influence …

Authenticity And Practicality: Evaluating And Performing Multicultural Choral Music, Jesse Noote

Dissertations

Many choral music educators believe that multicultural music is a vital part of any choral curriculum. However, the research shows that these same choral directors are reluctant to select multicultural octavos because they lack training in non-Western music, which prevents them from effectively teaching and performing this music authentically. The purpose of this dissertation is to equip choral directors with the necessary tools for bridging the gap between desiring to perform and actually performing multicultural octavos.

Six authors have provided authenticity checklists that are designed to help music educators evaluate and perform multicultural music. This research synthesizes those lists to …

About This Issue, Michael E. Ruhling

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

No abstract provided.

Michael Haydn's Early Masses And Their Viennese Context, Bruce C. Macintyre

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

Although Joseph Haydn felt that his brother Michael (1737-1806) held “first place” in the field of church music, scholarship on the brother surprisingly still has many lacunae; e.g., in the study of Michael’s early works composed before he went to Salzburg. Nearly half of this brother’s 28 settings of the Mass Ordinary for voices with orchestral accompaniment were composed in his early years, i.e. after his early studies in Vienna ca. 1745 and during his work for the bishop in Grosswardein (Oradea, Romania) and prior to his arrival in Salzburg in August 1763. This paper attempts to shed more light …

Reimagining The Flute Masterclass: Case Studies Exploring Artistry, Authority, And Embodiment, Sarah Carrier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This work explores the flute masterclass as an aesthetic, ritualized, and historically reimagined cultural practice. Based on fieldwork that took place between 2017 and 2019 in the United States, in Italy, and on the social media platforms Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, I argue that the masterclass—an extension of the master/apprentice system that dominates learning in the classical music tradition—is characterized by embodied qualities of artistry and authority. These qualities are not inherent, but are perceived through subjective, social, familied, and affective bodies.

Chapter One outlines the main themes and the research design. Chapter Two is a case study that analyzes …

Performing Rhythmic Dissonance In Ligeti’S Études, Book 1: A Perception-Driven Approach And Re-Notation, Imri Talgam

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Interpretive approaches to the Études have been limited by Ligeti’s choice of notation, which creates several layers of difficulty in the presentation of complex rhythms. In order to resolve some of these difficulties, this dissertation includes a complete re-notation of four Etudes, using a methodology based on research in cognition and perception of rhythm.

Based on this new score, the notion of rhythmic dissonance is developed as an analytical tool to investigate in-time perception of rhythmic complexity, drawing on existing work on metric entrainment and metric dissonance. Different compositional strategies for the production of rhythmic dissonance are shown to have …

Finding A Voice – Exploration Of Modes And Timbres : A Portfolio Of Ten Original Compositions With Accompanying Commentaries, Ekapon Muenyam

Doctoral

This thesis marks the culmination of four years’ work, as part of my PhD study in composition. The portfolio consists of ten pieces, lasting in total approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, and a commentary comprising an analysis of each of the works. The main emphasis has been on the development of an individual style, informed by the exploration of twentieth and twenty-first century compositional techniques, instrumental timbres, stylistic genres, forms, scale derivations and the wider aesthetic of contemporary music. The portfolio includes works for solo instruments, ensemble and orchestra. One of the main areas of research has been to …

A Failure Of The Music Industry: The Frustration Of Women Of Color, Christina Estes-Wynne

Backstage Pass

Throughout the history of the music industry, women of color have not received the same recognition as their male counterparts because males have dominated the industry resulting in lack of female representation. Women have been oversexualized reducing their clout in their fields and the lack of acknowledgement of success, which discourages future generations of colored women from attempting to reach their highest potential.

Early Twentieth Century Vocal Performance Practice And The French School: An Exploration Of The Lectures And Selected Songs By Reynaldo Hahn, Mary P. Hubbell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Composer, conductor, singer, and critic Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947) was a highly influential figure in Paris’s artistic circles during the first half of the twentieth century. Today he is primarily remembered as a composer of art song. However, during his lifetime he was also admired as a sophisticated composer of operetta and chamber music, and his keen intellect and attention to detail also made him a discerning music critic and arbiter of taste. In 1913, he was invited to present a series of five lectures on the art of singing to the “Université des Annales.” This organization produced presentations by prominent …

The Singing Conductor: Interviews On The Benefits And Limitations Of Choral Conductors And Teachers Continuing To Sing, Anne Carissa Gassmann

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

It is our duty as musicians, conductors, and teachers to continue developing our teaching and musicianship. One of the ways growth can occur is by singing regularly in ensembles outside of teaching. As one balances career and personal life, continuing to sing is a choice each must make. It is through this document that one may see the relevance of pursuing opportunities to sing, as it may inform and elevate one’s teaching and conducting. Eleven interviews were conducted with elementary, high school, and collegiate teachers and conductors, only half of them still singing in an ensemble. This document is intended …

Editor’S Essay, Michael E. Ruhling

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

No abstract provided.

Ukrainian Folklore Influences In The Music Of Myroslav Skoryk: Historical Background And Performance Guide To Selected Violin Works, Iuliia Alyeksyeyeva

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Myroslav Skoryk is one of the most influential Ukrainian composers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. His works draw extensively on the folk traditions of Ukraine to evoke various aspects of the country’s cultural legacy.

The violin holds a special place in the cultural, societal, and historical heritage of Ukraine. Skoryk’s works for violin draw on both Ukrainian folk traditions as well as classical performance traditions. The intricacies of Skoryk’s folk-inspired classical pieces of music are rooted in the oral traditions of Ukrainian folk music.

This document provides background information on certain Ukrainian folk music traditions and their connection to …

Armchair Philology For The Post-Truth Age, James Brooks Kuykendall

Music

In music history classes, interactions with musical notation often take place via printed anthologies including material from many sources with varying editorial principles. Questioning how the music on the page got there likely does not cross students minds. They are presented with a polished text, with all the complications removed, that underscores the fixedness of the work concept. This article outlines an exercise that invites students to think like philologists, exploring a familiar and simple piece with a complicated textual situation: the hymntune generally known as ANTIOCH (usually associated with the text Joy to the World) appears widely in hymnbooks …

Finding The “Tech” In Technique: A Pedagogical Approach To Electroacoustic Concert Percussion Performance Practice, William Brady Harrison Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Music

Premise and Objectives

In our increasingly technology driven society, the impact of technology touches nearly every aspect of our lives in some form or another. This has been acutely felt within the world of percussion, with electroacoustic works representing perhaps the most rapidly expanding area of concert percussion over the last twenty years. Electroacoustic music couples electronic technology with traditional acoustic instruments and/or performance practices.

Broadly, this paper outlines a systematic approach to teaching electroacoustic performance practice, based on elements found in a cross-section of percussion literature. In using such an approach, not only does each student become more capable …

An Approach To Jazz Improvisation For Intermediate Saxophonists, Justin Evangelist

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project is an organization of the author’s thoughts on teaching jazz improvisational concepts to saxophonists at a beginning to intermediate level of playing ability. Firstly, it discusses the skills students should acquire before studying jazz improvisation. It will focus primarily on building good practice habits through the development of desirable jazz tone and technique. Additionally, this project will offer explanations for understanding how jazz standards are constructed in terms of form and how they are performed. Lastly, this project will introduce several basic concepts the student can use to construct improvised melodies, such as modal scales, blues scales, seventh …

The Challenges And Limitations Of Adapting Mozart's Così Fan Tutte For A Small University Setting, Christopher Lovely

Dissertations

In this dissertation, challenges and limitations related to presenting Così fan tutte within a small university setting are conveyed, as well as offering innovative ideas to create a manageable presentation. I recall my personal experience as Korepititor/Vocal Coach for The University of Southern Mississippi’s 2014 production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte. This document presents topics on the various workings of an opera production: pre-rehearsal preparation, language issues, rehearsal preparation, selection of singers, and production issues. It offers practical solutions to overcome various challenges a small university may encounter. Smaller university opera programs were surveyed regarding their adaptations of …

A Pedagogical Guide To Selected Intermediate And Early-Advanced Piano Works By Sergei Prokofiev: Developing Technical Skills To Master His Advanced Repertoire, Kaleb Davis

Dissertations

This dissertation provides the piano instructor and performer with a pedagogical guide to selected pieces by Prokofiev ranging in difficulty from intermediate to early-advanced. The pieces chosen for this guide help to address a variety of technical challenges that are essential to studying and performing Prokofiev’s more advanced works.

Chapter I offers an overview of Prokofiev’s musical style and addresses prominent technical challenges from his advanced piano repertoire. Chapter II is a pedagogical guide to the selected pieces, arranged into three levels of difficulty. For ease of reference, tables outlining the pieces with their technical challenges are placed at the …

A Brain-Friendly Approach To Music Literacy, Taylor Davis

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The purpose of this study was to explore how the brain processes information, stores it in long-term memory and then applies that knowledge to teaching music in a classroom/rehearsal setting. We observed how the working memory, the system responsible for processing information from short-term and long-term memory can function with greater efficiency. We observed how the number of items available for processing in the working memory may be increased through a process identified as “chunking.” Chunking is when short patterns, or bits of information, are combined to form longer sequences. When applying these brain-friendly learning concepts to music, the instructor …

Editor’S Essay, Michael E. Ruhling

HAYDN: Online Journal of the Haydn Society of North America

No abstract provided.

Mari Folk Music Influences On Andrei Eshpai's Viola Concerto, Vengerskie Napevy (Hungarian Tunes), And A Transcription Of Hungarian Tunes For Viola In The Viola Repertoire, Anna Petrovna Ivanova

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Andrei Eshpai was one of the most renown composers who drew on the Mari folk music traditions, within the confines of Western classical music. One of the main purposes of the research is to show how the Mari folk music was applied in Eshpai’s compositions for the viola. In the current research, I will explain the similarity between folk music of Mari and Hungary because the researched composition Hungarian Tunes by Eshpai is based on Mari tunes, however is called Hungarian Tunes. Another purpose of this research is to provide musical analysis and a performance guide for the compositions, where …

A Performer’S Guide To The Role Of Aspasia, Melissa Mccann

Dissertations, 2014-2019

More than fifteen operas based on Jean Racine’s play, Mithridate (1673), were composed in the eighteenth-century. However, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s version, Mitridate, ré di Ponto (1770), is the only one which is remembered and performed today. Mitridate has earned a special place in Mozart’s operatic output because it can be considered the precursor to Idomeneo (1781), and a “prototype” for the Neo-Neapolitan School. Mozart composed Mitridate at the age of fourteen, which has led scholars to question his maturity level and mental capacity to comprehend grand operatic concepts. Through careful consideration of the sources of Mozart’s musical inspiration, some scholars …

Score Study Procedures And Processes Among Instrumental Music Teachers And Students Of Varying Experience., Jacob Mark Mitchell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Score study is agreed to be an essential part of musical preparation by professional conductors. However, no single method for score study has been established. This thesis examines the score study habits of undergraduate music majors, graduate students with a minimum of five years of instrumental teaching experience, and highly-qualified instrumental music teachers with a minimum of ten years of experience. Qualitative methods are employed, and interview transcriptions are the primary sources of data. Findings showed that instrumental music teachers and those with instrumental teaching experience base many of their score study decisions on the abilities and needs of students …

The Flutists Of The John Philip Sousa’S Band: A Study Of The Flute Section And Soloists, Ramon Da Silva Moraes

Dissertations

The Sousa Band is widely known because of its leader and his compositions. Although it was one of the most successful ensembles in history, most of the instrumentalists and individuals who contributed to its success have had their legacies forgotten. The flute section of the Sousa Band is an example of a group of musicians who were recognized as some of the best in the United States during their time, but are neglected by the present flute community.

My research focused on gathering data about the flute section and the individuals who were instrumental for the creation and development of …

A Pedagogical Study Of The "Four Lauds For Solo Violin" By Elliott Carter, Heesun Shin

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Elliott Carter was one of the most influential composers of the past century, leaving a diverse and prolific body of over 150 works to posterity. Along with the Violin Concerto and “Mnemosyné,” the Four Lauds are the only works written for solo violin. Literature on these pieces is not extensive thus far, and this dissertation will provide an introduction to any student who is interested in learning about Carter’s violin music. In the first chapter, I will discuss relevant aspects of Carter’s musical language such as his use of all-trichord hexachord, all-interval trichord, complement union property, and his ideas on …

Mindfulness And Musicians: An Overview, Stephen Dubetz

Honors Projects

This overview of mindfulness begins with a basic history of the practice and filters chronologically to the application of mindfulness in the lives of modern musicians. From its origins in ancient India to its acceptance into Western culture and its eventual use in clinical, professional, and educational settings, this paper touches briefly on the story of mindfulness as it developed through time. The main questions addressed within are: What is mindfulness? Where does it come from? What use does it have? What fields of Western professional culture have adopted it so far and to what extent? and How can it …

From Swing King To Swing Kids: The Jazz Era Of ‘Big Band Orchestras’ In World War Ii, Katie Victoria Burnopp

Student Scholar Showcase

Known as the ‘King of Swing’, clarinetist and band leader Benny Goodman (1909-1986) threatened the Nazi cause during WWII. With intent of improving music pedagogy, the purpose of this research was to investigate swing music during World War II. The particular problems of this study were to: (1) identify how the swing music of Benny Goodman (1909-1986) influenced adolescents in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and Germany; (2) explore the Nazi party view on ‘swing’ music of the era; (3) examine how the music of Charlie and his Orchestra became used as a tool for Nazi propaganda; and …

A Content Analysis Of Beginning Guitar, Electric Bass, And String Bass Method Books, Michele Berlin

Masters Theses

Guitar instruction is an integral part of 21st-century best music education practices. This quantitative study compares six beginning guitar method books to beginning electric bass and string bass books. The books in the sample are Essential Elements for Guitar by Will Schmid and Bob Morris, Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method Grade 1 Expanded Edition, Alfred's Basic Guitar Method by Morty Manus and Ron Manus, FJH Young Beginner Guitar Method Lesson Book 1, Belwin 21st Century Guitar Method 1 (2nd edition) by Aaron Stang, and KJOS Guitar Sessions Book 1: A Comprehensive Method for Individual or Group Study by Kevin Daley. …