Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
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- Creators: Norton, Kay
Description
The close relationship between mathematics and music has been well documented in Western cultures since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. While many connections have been made between math and music over the centuries, it seems that many modern researchers have attempted to create interdisciplinary bridges between these disciplines by using mathematical principles to explain several essential aspects of music: harmony, melody, form, and rhythm. Using these established connections, in addition to several of my own, I have created an undergraduate level survey of Western music course for a population of mathematically inclined students. This approach makes music history comprehensible, relevant, and engaging to my target demographic.
The course is organized into three units. The first unit begins with the music of Ancient Greece and Early Christianity and concludes with music of the Renaissance (roughly 1300-1600). The second unit will cover what classical musicians call the “common practice period” (roughly 1600-1900). This span of time covers three musical eras – Baroque, Classical, and Romantic. The final unit will cover the 20th century up to the present. During this course, I introduce the students to Western music using examples, concepts, terminology, and methodology derived from the world of mathematics. These include Pythagorean mathematics, geometry, simple algebra and fractions, the golden mean, the Fibonacci sequence, matrices, set theory, and many more. I have written the chapters as scripts for an online version of the class. The writing style in the chapters is therefore informal and contrasts with the tone of the other parts of the thesis.
The course is organized into three units. The first unit begins with the music of Ancient Greece and Early Christianity and concludes with music of the Renaissance (roughly 1300-1600). The second unit will cover what classical musicians call the “common practice period” (roughly 1600-1900). This span of time covers three musical eras – Baroque, Classical, and Romantic. The final unit will cover the 20th century up to the present. During this course, I introduce the students to Western music using examples, concepts, terminology, and methodology derived from the world of mathematics. These include Pythagorean mathematics, geometry, simple algebra and fractions, the golden mean, the Fibonacci sequence, matrices, set theory, and many more. I have written the chapters as scripts for an online version of the class. The writing style in the chapters is therefore informal and contrasts with the tone of the other parts of the thesis.
ContributorsCueva, Darren Luis (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Mental health of children has been a topic of concern in recent years, and was brought to the forefront again in 2020 due to exacerbated stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the amount of time children spend in school, the effects of their emotional stress and mental health challenges are seen by their teachers. Studies have shown that teachers often have high levels of concern about student mental health, but also do not feel as though they have enough resources and guidance from their schools to be able to support the mental health of the students in their classrooms on a daily basis. Research also shows that music is an effective tool for addressing children’s mental health and bolstering their mindfulness. The goal of this study was to better understand whether or not a subset of elementary school music teachers use music to help students who are feeling anxiety, stress, or other emotional or mental disturbances. To that end, I surveyed a convenience sample of elementary music educators, mainly from Arizona’s Maricopa County, about the following research questions: (1) are educators utilizing music in their classrooms expressly for mental health and mindfulness purposes? (2) how do music educators perceive the mental health of their students? (3) how do they manage related behaviors or challenges in their classrooms? (4) do they feel they have adequate resources to address student mental health? A secondary purpose of the study was to utilize the responses to inform my creation of a website intended to provide resources that would be useful for music educators who are willing to address student mental wellbeing.
In addition to receiving many individual pieces of helpful information, I analyzed survey responses for general trends. My sample indicates that music teachers do have more than moderate levels of concern over their students’ mental health. It also revealed a lack of consistency in teacher pre-service preparation and also in the kinds of programs and associated training that are in place which address student mental health.
ContributorsCole, Casey (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021