Music Practice Commons^™

Composing Playgrounds, Rebecca Suju Abraham

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

This thesis explores music composition as the design of “playgrounds”: structured systems that invite participation, interaction, and the emergence of shared musical experience. Drawing on a background in engineering and a practice rooted in improvisation and community, I investigate how compositional authority can be exercised through the creation of constraints instead of fixed outcomes. These systems are structured enough to support coordination and open enough to allow for play and collective agency. The work is situated within practice-based research and engages qualitative methods to reflect on a series of projects developed over the course of my MFA in Sonic Practice. …

Orthography, Jeremy Gill

Music & Musical Performance: An International Journal

The myth of Pope Gregory I taking melodic dictation from a magical singing bird is the imaginative starting point of Western musicʼs love-hate relationship with the music notation systems it later developed. This essay traces that development through Thomas Tallis and J. S. Bach to the dichotomous modern examples of Brian Ferneyhough and Arvo Pärt. In it, I suggest that Western musicʼs eventual development hinged upon that earliest desire to document and codify melodies, answering Gregoryʼs contemporary Isidore of Seville, who lamented that “unless sounds are held by the memory of man, they perish, because they cannot be written down.”

Emerging From The Cocoon: Strategies To Assist The Classical Violinist Develop Improvisational Fluency In A Range Of Musical Styles, Judith A. Iddison

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This autoethnographic practice-led research project documents the journey of expanding my classical violin practice with the aim of developing improvisational fluency in a range of musical styles. Building upon findings and strategies outlined in my honours thesis, which centred on the artistry of Australian cross-genre violinist Shenzo Gregorio (Shenton Gregory), this doctoral study is underpinned by an iterative cyclic process of critical observation, reflection and analysis and an examination of literature.

Knowledge gained through one-on-one, aural-based, practical violin-improvisation instruction with Gregorio was applied within collaboration with the evolving string ensemble, Sign of Four. Further, combining this tuition and collaboration with …

Reimagining Musical Improvisation Through Poetic Inspiration: A Creative Practice Investigation, Sean Foran

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This presentation explores creative practice as research through an innovative approach to musical improvisation that challenges traditional boundaries between music and literature. Working with experienced improvising musicians, this study investigates how poetic texts serve as catalysts for new creative processes and musical outcomes.

The methodology involved musicians responding improvisationally to recorded poetry narrations, followed by reflective discussion and re-improvisation, extending Hannan's concept of 'comprovisation' while maintaining complete musical agency. Significantly, the final creative works present only the improvised music, requiring audiences to read poems independently and construct their own text-music relationships.

This approach differs from established music-poetry collaborations by positioning …

Asian American Artists, Improvisation, And Collaboration, Johnna Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The purpose of my dissertation is to explore how contemporary Asian Americans artist-performers have formulated their identities through collaborations with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). The project addresses issues in the existing literature on this topic and provides an alternative framework of cosmopolitanism to understanding the multidimensional aspects of artistic collaborations. The dissertation examines the history of the AACM and the Asian American improvisers and reveals ideological differences among its members on how music should reflect their identities. These histories paved the way for the artist subjects of my three case studies: Miya Masaoka, Vijay Iyer, …

Clarifying Issues Surrounding The “First” Jazz Recording, Mark C. Gridley

The IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research

Ten questions are answered regarding the first jazz recording, whether it was really the first, and if so, how it qualifies as jazz. They touch on the nature of swing feeling, the extent of improvisation in the recordings, the primacy of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the recordings of Wilbur Sweatman, and the comedy team of Harlan and Collins, and why the Original Creole Orchestra of Bill Johnson, featuring Freddie Keppard, did not record.

Lee Konitz’S Use Of Standards’ Melody In Improvisation, Gonçalo Pazeres, Ricardo Pinheiro

The IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research

The main goal of this article is to examine the mechanisms through which Lee Konitz uses the melody of jazz standards in his improvisation process. Beginning with the transcription and comprehensive analysis of five improvised solos, and using the thematic analysis method, we identified melodic ideas coming from the songs on which the saxophonist builds some of his solos. Our conclusion is that Lee Konitz, besides clearly quoting the melody of jazz standards on which he improvises, also frequently uses some of its notes as target-notes, and develops melodic motifs inspired by that same melody.

Miguel Zenón's Solo On Olas Y Arenas And His Approach To Improvisation, David Alonso-Otero

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This paper is about Miguel Zenón’s approach to improvisation using one of his solos on his album Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook. This includes the biography of Miguel Zenón along with the composer, Sylvia Rexach. Jazz Improvisation has a large spectrum of pedagogy, different ways to approach it along with various points of view. The purpose of this paper is to show one of the many ways to see jazz improvisation through the eyes of Miguel Zenón and his unique thinking process to jazz. The transcription will be in the appendices, as well as the interview done in …

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 …

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 …

Improvisation, Consciousness And Cosmos: An Integral View Of Jazz Research, Ed Sarath

The IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research

Ed Sarath on improvisation, consciousness and cosmos, as well on integral theory.

An Analysis Of Allan Holdsworth’S Techniques And Their Application To Fundamental Melodic Devices, James Dasilva

Recital Papers

This thesis analyzes Allan Holdsworth's improvisational style for the purpose of applying his techniques, such as string skipping and omnidirectional fretboard movement, beyond the jazz-rock idiom and expanding the melodic potential of the guitar.

Creative Practice For Classical String Players With Live Looping, Caleb Yang

Student Theses

In recent years, string pedagogy discussions have highlighted the greater need for creative practice as classical string players. Since the second half of the nineteenth century, string methods have shifted towards a limited scope of improvisatory techniques, parallelling the decline of improvisation in Western classical music performance practices. This thesis explores live looping as a practice tool to facilitate learning concepts and help string players develop musicianship skills including improvisation, participate in non-classical genres, and explore their creative voices. Examining the results of string educators that incorporate live looping into their own teaching reveals the tool’s effectiveness in bridging curricula …

Developing A Systematic Approach For Teaching Beginning Improvisation Using The Concert Percussion Ensemble, Ian Mcclaflin

Dissertations

Typically, when studying percussion at a University, a student is required to be proficient at multiple aspects of percussion (snare drum, mallet keyboards, drum set, hand drumming, etc.) and work through multiple method books and solos on the different instruments. This often leaves little to no room for the study of improvisation on their instrument.

Examined in this study are the following points pertaining to the state of teaching improvisation:

• There is an apparent lack of improvisation in the classroom
• Teachers often feel unprepared in teaching improvisation
• Improvisation is most commonly associated with jazz
• Both teachers and students tend to …

Lived Experience Of Music Therapists As Musician-Therapists, Kotoe Suzuki

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

The dissertation research explored the lived experiences of music therapists who are performing musicians. A conceptual foundation of music therapists as musicians, a “musician-therapist” who is deeply versed in the unique properties of music can be identified in the literature (Ansdell & Verney, 2008; Nordoff & Robbins, 1973). The objectives of this study were to explore three topics: 1) deeper understandings of music therapists’ musical improvisation both in clinical and nonclinical settings, 2) the connection between music therapists’ personal and professional musical growth, and 3) identity formation. A qualitative method was chosen for this research including reflexive/embodied/interpretative phenomenology, and arts-based …

Night Music (Compositions, Performance And Improvisations) –And– Developing A Chromatic-Intervallic Approach To Jazz Improvisation Through Reflexive Practice. An Exegesis, Jamie Oehlers

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research examines the processes involved in developing and applying a novel melodic jazz improvisation technique—a chromatic-intervallic approach (CIA). Improvised melodic approaches in jazz music from the 1920s until today have primarily been driven through the development of tension within melody lines by using variations of the scale/chord method and harmonic substitution. The CIA examined through my saxophone and improvisatory practice in this research explores the incorporation of melodies derived from intervallic combinations, and assesses the resulting tension within the melody through the use of the Melodic Tension Rating tool; a tool created through the research period of this study. …

Music Is The "Noise Of Remembering" Tracing The Origins, Influences, And Connectivities Of West African Music, Adam Friedman

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The popularity and universal reach of music genres such as Jazz and Hip Hop attest to the idea that these forms have been long established as a vital part of global musical culture. For people who are familiar with Afrocentric music, it is clear that styles such as Jazz and Hip Hop are rooted in, and inextricably linked with, African culture and history. What is more difficult to make sense of, however, is how and why transplanted African culture came to have such wide reaching impact in the new contexts in which it was taken up – because the stories …

Electronics And The Music Of Miles Davis, Darren E. Shekailo

Theses and Dissertations

Miles Davis produced a wealth of music relying on the use of electronic instruments and new technology. With their adoption, the famous trumpeter began his “electric” period. Examining the electric period of Davis’s career helps us trace the profound impact of electronic instruments and technological advances on his music.

Dialogic Communication In The One-To-One Improvisation Lesson: A Qualitative Study, Leon R. De Bruin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This qualitative study investigates the dialogic interactions between teacher and student that enhance learning and teaching within the one-to-one music improvisation lesson. This study analyses the ways teachers elicit student actions, thoughts and processes that develop student skills, critical and creative thinking processes necessary for improvisational development. Interactions and interplay between six Australian conservatoire improvisation students and their teachers were investigated. Data reveal dialogic interactions that span instruction, conversation, inquiry and enablement of student knowledge and skills that constitute a complex socio-cultural tapestry of discursive threads. Teacher-student interactions that activate desired creative student activity engage meta-cognitive processes and the cultivation …

Worlds Of If: Analyses Of The Composed And Improvised Works Of Robert Dick, Melissa Keeling

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Considered one of the most important publications in twentieth-century flute pedagogy, Robert Dick’s seminal method book, The Other Flute (1975),[1] is an extensive catalogue of multiphonic fingerings, microtonal fingerings, glissandi, circular breathing, and other extended techniques. The Other Flute and a handful of his published solos are widely studied, but these works only represent a fraction of Dick’s creative energies.

Equally comfortable in classical, jazz, rock, electronic, and world music, Dick’s oeuvre demonstrates a sophisticated, musical use of contemporary techniques and his pieces have become standard repertoire. Though Dick was not the first flutist to use or notate these …

Codex: Embodied Communication In Richard Barrett’S Scores For Improvisation, Hannah Reardon-Smith

Directions of New Music

This paper examines the process of preparing Barrett’s codex V (2007) and codex XV (2015) and their performance on Saturday 18 June, 2016, as part of the Ghent Advanced Master in Contemporary Performance Practice (ManaMa) academy examinations in Brussels, Belgium. This project involved the development of deep collaborative relationships with a number of other performers, the study and interpretation of alternative notational practices, and the invention of a variety of ad hoc solutions to issues of coordination and ensemble unity, with a particular focus on clear physical communication. Reflections on my own process of preparation and rehearsal are supplemented by …

Practising Jazz Performance: An Investigation Into The Process That Underpins Optimal Instrumental Practice In The Jazz Idiom, Christopher J. Tarr

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Little formal research has been undertaken into the processes associated with jazz improvisation, particularly those associated with practising to become an elite jazz improviser. This study seeks to understand the role of instrumental practice, particularly physical practice strategies and the associated mental states, in the development of jazz improvisers. Interviews were conducted with six improvisers of various ages, instruments and backgrounds. The study identified a number of strategies specific to jazz practice that differed from traditional practice strategies described in Western art literature, particularly in relation to the importance of the ear-to-instrument connection. Accordingly, the study sets out a series …

Improvisation In Vocal Contrapuntal Pedagogy: An Appraisal Of Italian Theoretical Treatises Of The Sixteenth And Early Seventeenth Centuries, Valerio Morucci

Performance Practice Review

The extemporaneous application of pre-assimilated compositional paradigms into musical performance retained a central position in the training of Medieval and Renaissance musicians, specifically within the context of Western polyphonic practice. Recent scholarship has shown the significance of memorization in the oral transmission of plainchant and early polyphony. Attention has been particularly directed to aspects of orality and literacy in relation to “composition” (the term here applies to both written and oral), and, at the same time, studies correlated to fifteenth and sixteenth century contrapuntal theory, have mainly focused on the works of single theorists. The information we possess regarding improvised …

Developing Depth And Dimension: Instructional Tools And Practices To Facilitate And Encourage The Growth Of Young Jazz Musicians, Shauna E. Mcfaul

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Developing Depth and Dimension: A step-by-step, comprehensive introduction to the world of jazz for young musicians. This work begins with a philosophical discussion of the educational methods that are incorporated into the following games, lesson plans and writings. The project is directed toward students who have little to no experience playing jazz or improvising. It is meant to provide a foundation for continued success and development throughout their musical lives.

Woodwind Extension Through The Systematic Use Of Microtonality And Electronic Manipulation Of The Instrument, Seán Mac Erlaine

Conference papers

This research questions how the expressive range of the saxophone / bass clarinet can be extended in new ways by employing both a systematic use of microtonality and electronic manipulation of the instrument.

The use of digital signal processing (DSP) is well advanced among certain music practitioners, most notably electric guitarists, extending that instrument’s expressive powers considerably. Woodwind instrumentalists have a huge unexplored potential to engage with new technologies, furthering the range, polyphonic voicings, loops, reverbs and general signal manipulation.

The marraige of these two disciplines with conventional woodwind practice greatly deepens the expressive range of the instrument while offering …

The Performance Of Scriabin's Piano Music: Evidence From The Piano Rolls, Anatole Leikin

Performance Practice Review

RILM abstract: "An investigation of Skrjabin's performing style based on the composer's piano-roll recordings, focusing on a transcription of his 1910 recording of Poeme, op. 32, no. 1. The transcription demonstrates that in performance Skrjabin significantly changed the tempos, dynamics, articulation, rhythms, and even the original notes. Such features of the composer's performing style as rubato, phrasing, pedaling, and digressions from the printed text are analyzed."