Music Pedagogy Commons^™

The Application Of Contemporary Double Bass Left Hand Techniques Applied In The Orchestra Repertoire, Eric Hilgenstieler

Dissertations

The uses of contemporary left hand techniques are related to solo playing in many ways. In fact, most of these techniques were arguably developed for this kind of repertoire. Generally the original solo repertoire is idiomatic for the double bass. The same cannot be said for the orchestral repertoire, which presents many technical problems too difficult to solve using the traditional technique. Historically, the double bass passed through several transformations in its shape, structure, and tuning system. Only in the late 19th century did the instrument begin to have its own standard pedagogy and experiments with the tuning system diminished. …

A Stylistic Analysis And Performance Guide For James Sclater's "Variations And Toccata On A Theme By Paganini", David Michael Ward

Dissertations

This document exists as a resource for understanding and performing the piano music of the American composer James Sclater. It focuses specifically on the Variations and Toccata on a Theme by Paganini (2002), his most important solo piano composition. Sclater’s extensive output includes works for orchestra, voice, opera, band, chorus, as well as compositions for soloists and chamber music.

After a brief biographical summary and some historical background for the subjects under discussion, the main portion of the study provides a stylistic analysis of Sclater’s Variations and Toccata on a Theme by Paganini, a significant and heretofore unexamined piano work …

Performing Jonathan Newman's "Symphony No. 1: My Hands Are A City", Joseph Corey Francis

Dissertations

The purpose of this document is to provide analysis for interpretation of and rehearsal suggestions for Jonathan Newman’s Symphony No. 1: My Hands Are a City (2009). This document serves as the first significant scholarly work on the entire composition and is intended to be a resource for musicians seeking to gain information about the work. Included in the document is a biography of Jonathan Newman, as well as history concerning the commissioning of Symphony No. 1, a formal analysis of the work, and insight to conducting concerns. Information was gathered through formal interviews with Jonathan Newman, Jeff Gershman (Associate …

Werner Jaegerhuber's “Messe Folklorique Haitïenne”: A Conductor's Guide, Lauren Michelle Brandon Lindsey

Dissertations

Werner Jaegerhuber (1900-1953), a composer and leading ethnographer from Haiti, lived a life and career committed to bringing the folk music of Haiti to international recognition. His most significant work, Messe Folklorique Haïtienne, the background leading to its composition, performance of the work and a conductor’s analysis is the focus of this study. The folk music of Haiti consists primarily of Vodou melodies which are performed in Vodou ceremonies. Haiti’s long history of colonization, slavery, chronic economic struggle, African roots, and Catholic influence all play unique, but significant roles in the life of Werner Jaegerhuber and his passionate study. …

The Life And Music Of Brian Israel With An Emphasis On His Music For Saxophone, David James Wozniak

Dissertations

Brian Israel (1951-1986), American composer and pianist from New York City, left a wealth of music that has been largely ignored by the musical community. Included in his collection of nearly 200 works are six compositions that prominently feature the saxophone. Composed during the last six years of the composer’s life, Israel’s music for the saxophone represents a cross-section of his larger oeuvre, demonstrating stylistic elements present in nearly all of his music, including contrapuntal textures, the creative use of form, and humor. Furthermore, these saxophone works help illustrate Brian Israel as the epitome of the post-modern composer. The following …

Interpretations Of Student Engagement In The Context Of The Orff Schulwerk Music Classroom At The Dubard School For Language Disorders, Anna Rebecca Bondurant Halliday

Dissertations

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the lived experiences of four students with language disorders within the context of their Orff Schulwerk music class at the DuBard School for Language Disorders. In addition, the observational insights of their classroom teachers and the practitioner researcher were compared with the responses of the students in order to determine any discrepancies between the child’s awareness of his or her musical engagement and that of the observer. Using data collected from interviews, stimulated recall (Dempsey, 2010), and student generated artwork (Freeman & Mathison, 2009), I explored the lived experiences of …

A Model Of An Effective Approach To Studio Voice At The Undergraduate Level: The Vocal Method Of Dr. Raquel Cortina, Kathleen Gorman Westfall

Dissertations

In her forty years of teaching voice at the college level at the University of New Orleans, Dr. Raquel Cortina has developed a method and process of teaching that yields exemplary results in her students. This study will provide a detailed description of her methods, her process of teaching, and the way she communicates information to her students. It will also provide a model for teachers of classical voice at the undergraduate level. The aspects of her method included in this study are limited to breath and support, resonance, issues with register, articulation, and musicality. A context of Cortina’s methods …

An Introductory Guide To Vibraphone: Four Idiomatic Practices And A Survey Of Pedagogical Material And Solo Literature, Brian Scott Cheesman

Dissertations

The Vibraphone is the most recent addition to the mallet percussion family. In the last sixty to seventy years, the vibraphone has emerged as a legitimate jazz, concert, and solo percussion instrument. The wealth of literature, both solo and pedagogical, is a testament to the instrument’s gain in popularity whether in a solo or ensemble setting. Since its creation in the early 1920s, composers, performers, and pedagogues within the jazz, classical, and percussion genres have contributed to the instrument’s rapid gain in popularity.

The physical characteristics unique to the vibraphone require the performer to use techniques often not applicable to …

A Pedagogical Guide And Argument For Using The Harmonic Series In Teaching Beginning And Intermediate Level Horn Students, Patrick James Richards

Dissertations

An awareness of the harmonic series and its attributes is a crucial part of learning how to play the horn well, not to mention how the instrument works. Numerous undergraduates enter their career as music majors without understanding this important concept. This implies that students are not learning the harmonic series earlier in their development. Horn method books that instruct the student to use one harmonic series at a time often do not explicitly define the harmonic series, or the exercises are too difficult for developing horn students. Collecting existing and developing original exercises and other teaching tools will provide …

The Life And Selected Piano Works Of David Burge, Mary Chung

Dissertations

Although David Burge is recognized as one of the most important American pianists dedicated to contemporary music in the twentieth century, little is known about his contributions as a pedagogue, lecturer, writer, novelist, and, especially, as a composer. This biographical study focuses on three of his piano compositions: Second Sonata, Eclipse II, and Go-Hyang. Each work represents one of three distinct compositional periods: the first reflects the influence of Prokofiev and features characteristics of the neoclassicism; the second marks a turn to experimentalism, atonality, and serialism; and the final indicates the return to a more traditional style that makes use …

The Music Of Jerry Sieg: A Descriptive Catalogue Of His Piano Music And An Analysis Of The Five Miniatures For Piano, Nuria Mariela Royas

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to present the solo piano music of the American composer Jerry Sieg, whose output includes works for orchestra, voice, opera, chorus, and numerous compositions for solo instruments.

It opens with the biography of the composer, including information concerning bis musical training, followed by a brief survey of his solo piano works. A discussion of his compositional style in his Five Miniatures for Piano, written in 1994 for the American pianist Marian Lee, is also included in this work. The analysis of the Five Miniatures for Piano in Chapter IV presents a detailed analysis of …

A Comparative Analysis Of Roman Palester's Concertino Pour Saxophone Alto Et Orchestre A Cordes, Brian Donald Kauth

Dissertations

The music of Roman Palester (1907-1989) is little known outside his native Poland. Before World War II, he experienced a great deal of musical success, with many of his compositions being performed at prestigious music festivals throughout Europe. Palester completed his one solo work for the saxophone, the Concertino pour Saxophone Alto et Orchestre a Cordes, in 1938, but its scheduled premiere in 1939 never took place due to political tensions on the eve of World War II.

In 1978, Palester revised the work for saxophonist David Pituch, who premiered and recorded this version. A comparison of the original and …

Leo Brouwer's Estudios Sencillos For Guitar: Afro-Cuban Elements And Pedagogical Devices, Carlos Isaac Castilla Penaranda

Dissertations

This document presents a detailed performance and pedagogical analysis of the Estudios Sencillos by the Cuban composer, Leo Brouwer. Such pertinent musical aspects as biographical data of the composer, Afro-Cuban traditions, Cuban composers, and philosophical and artistic trends that impacted Brouwer's aesthetic world are studied and discussed.

Virtually any of Brouwer's works can serve to convey this information, but it is particularly this group of pieces that better suits the study of Afro-Cuban elements within a pedagogical focus since no other of Brouwer's compositions is set with this particular target in mind: etudes for the development and/or implementation of a …

The Efficacy Of Smartmusic® Assessment As A Teaching And Learning Tool, Michael William Buck

Dissertations

This study examined the effects of SmartMusic® assessment on student music performance while integrating research-based teaching and learning components. Over approximately three weeks, 46 high school band students (N=46) received five 15-minute teacher-led music lessons, totaling 75 minutes of instruction. Two groups, teacher-led instruction or teacher-led instruction using SmartMusic® assessment, were determined by randomly splitting pairs of matched-subjects within woodwind, brass, or mallet percussion families. Constant for both groups, instruction and evaluation materials included teaching and learning practice rubrics, a criterion-referenced performance evaluation form, and short lyrical and technical etudes complemented with respective skill development exercises. Pre- and post-test measures …

An Analytical Conductor's Guide To The Satb A Capella Works Of Arvo Part, Kimberly Anne Cargile

Dissertations

Arvo Part (b. 1935) is an Estonian composer whose works include film scores, piano and organ works, chamber music, choral/orchestral works, and unaccompanied choral works. This dissertation is limited to the composer's SATB a cappella works. During an eight-year "period of silence" from 1968 to 1976, Part ceased serious composition in order to find his true compositional "voice." During this hiatus, Part abandoned his Lutheran faith, converting to the Russian Orthodox Church, and discovered a fascination with sacred Medieval and Renaissance music, which had been denied him as a student in the USSR. These events, added to the lingering influence …

A Comparison Of Two Distinctive Jazz Trombone Artists, David Steinmeyer And Curtis Fuller, Eddie Lee Elsey Jr.

Dissertations

This dissertation discusses two jazz trombonists, David Steinmeyer and Curtis Fuller. Six solos performed by these two artists are analyzed for the purpose of studying and comparing their individual styles of playing. Each solo is analyzed melodically, harmonically, and rhythmically with musical excerpts from each solo included to provide emphasis on a particular area.

This dissertation also includes comparisons of overall styles, full transcriptions of each solo, discographies for both artists, and brief biographical sketches of each artist. Although the artists play in different styles, they still share similar philosophies in approaching the performance of playing jazz trombone.

Teaching Music Theory In The Traditional Wind Band Rehearsal: A Rationale, Survey Of Materials, And Recommendations, Eric Lynn Harris

Dissertations

Band programs in today’s schools are facing pressures unheard of in the early days of the public school band movement. While budget limitations have always been a part of the public school dilemma, never before have directors been forced to fight so hard for the very existence of their programs. School administrators facing district, state, and federal testing pressures are spending more and more of the annual budget in an attempt to raise test scores. This means programs in the arts and even athletics are being greatly reduced (and in some cases eliminated) in school systems across the country. To …

An Overview Of Gerald R. Prescott’S 1935 “The Prescott Technic System” With Recommendations For A Contemporary Edition, Carson Lee Vermillion

Dissertations

Gerald R. Prescott (1902-2005) served as the Director of Bands at Mason City (Iowa) High School from 1927-31. During his tenure, Prescott established himself as an outstanding band director and music educator. While serving as the Director of Bands at the University of Minnesota, Prescott published The Prescott Technic System; a band curriculum employing excerpts from conservatory methods to develop individual technique. The system encompassed fourteen years of study, from beginning band through graduate school.

Due to the performance expectations placed on today’s instrumental music programs, little time remains for a sequenced individual course of study that adequately develops a …

A Conductor’S Guide To Wind Instrument Deficiencies: A Practical Addendum To The Undergraduate Conducting Text, Donald Bradley Snow

Dissertations

commonly used undergraduate conducting texts that teach the correction of wind intonation deficiencies. Research has indicated that conductors must be aware of and be trained to recognize and correct intonation deficiencies of wind instruments. Music teachers must understand acoustical differences among just, Pythagorean, and tempered tuning systems. Nonetheless, existing pedagogical materials for undergraduate conductors in training are of little or no help. The supplemental text addresses intonation deficiencies and provides musical examples and exercises to help the young conductor gain an understanding of the factors that adversely affect the intonation of wind instruments. The body of literature on the subject …