Matching Items (8)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Music Education
Description
The performance of Charles Ives's art songs can be challenging to even the most experienced singers, but to beginning singers, they may be even more so, due to such twentieth-century aspects as polytonality, polyrhythm, tone clusters, aleatoric elements, and quarter tones. However, Ives used previously existing material, often familiar hymn tunes, as the foundation for many of his art songs. If beginning students first are exposed to this borrowed material, such as a simple hymn tune, which should be well within even the most experienced singer's comfort range, they can then learn this tune first, as a more simplistic reference point, and then focus on how Ives altered the tunes, rather then having to learn what seems like an entirely new melody. In this way, Ives's art songs can become more accessible to less-experienced singers. This paper outlines a method for researching and learning the borrowed materials in Ives's songs that utilize them, and reviews materials already commonly used by voice teachers to help beginning students learn their music. By combining this method, which focuses on the borrowed materials, with standard practices teachers can then help their beginning students more easily learn and perform Ives's art songs. Four songs, from the set "Four Hymn Tune Settings" by Charles Ives are used to illustrate this method.
ContributorsRuhleder, Kathleen (Author) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / May, Judy (Committee member) / Schildkret, David (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Research in learning has been conducted for decades, and an area that has received increasing attention since the mid-20th century is motor learning. Since then, new theories and experiments have been developed describing principles of motor learning with parameters that can improve or degrade the learning process. These principles have been applied to many different areas such as psychology, language, and especially sports. Although music involves motor skills, only relatively recently have there been attempts to link these scientific findings with music performance. Given the importance of this area, this document seeks to explore ways in which one may apply principles from motor learning theory to music and more specifically to violin pedagogy. The motor learning principles discussed are based mainly on the studies and theories of Robert Bjork, Cheryl A. Coker, Timothy Lee, Richard Magill, Richard A. Schmidt, and Gabrielle Wulf. The selected topics are focus of attention, practice schedules (discussing blocked and random practice schedules), and variable practice. There are two chapters dedicated to each area. The initial chapter of each topic (two, four, and six) contains a brief literature review that provide a base for application to violin pedagogy. The second chapter of each topic (three, five, and seven) explores those principles along with practical guidelines on how to apply them to violin pedagogy. While some research and experiments in motor learning support pedagogical approaches already used in music (based on the teacher’s intuition and common sense) other studies suggest approaches that are quite counterintuitive. Reviewing a wide variety of practice techniques through a scientific lens provides valuable insights to the field of violin pedagogy and musical performance in general.
ContributorsDa Rocha Unglaub, Alisson (Author) / McLin, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Jiang, Danwen (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Mark O'Connor's Fiddle concerto: Texas style fiddling, classical violin, and American string playing
Description
ABSTRACT
Classical violin playing and American fiddle music have traditionally been seen as separate musical worlds. Classical violinists practice and study long hours to master a standard repertoire of concertos and sonatas from the Western European school of art music. Fiddlers pride themselves on a rich tradition passed down through generations of informal jam sessions and innovation through improvisation. Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto, premiered in 1993, sounds like a contradiction at first: a quintessential classical form combined with traditional fiddle playing. Examination of the Fiddle Concerto will show that the piece contains classical and fiddle-style elements simultaneously, creating an effective hybrid of the two styles. This document will explore how the history of the classical violin concerto and American fiddle music converge in Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto. To gain an understanding of O'Connor's composition process, I submitted to him a list of questions, via email, in the summer of 2016. O'Connor’s responses provide a unique insight into the genesis of the Fiddle Concerto and his vision for musical compositions that originate from multiple genres. Chapter four of this document will discuss the melodic themes, formal makeup, and techniques presented in the Fiddle Concerto and show how both classical and fiddle elements coexist in the piece. The result of the mix is an exciting work that appeals to a broad audience of music lovers. The final chapter of this document will explore the growing repertoire of music created by cross-pollinating from different styles to create a new style, including selected O'Connor compositions completed since the Fiddle Concerto, as well as similar works by other composers who combined classical elements with other musical styles.
Classical violin playing and American fiddle music have traditionally been seen as separate musical worlds. Classical violinists practice and study long hours to master a standard repertoire of concertos and sonatas from the Western European school of art music. Fiddlers pride themselves on a rich tradition passed down through generations of informal jam sessions and innovation through improvisation. Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto, premiered in 1993, sounds like a contradiction at first: a quintessential classical form combined with traditional fiddle playing. Examination of the Fiddle Concerto will show that the piece contains classical and fiddle-style elements simultaneously, creating an effective hybrid of the two styles. This document will explore how the history of the classical violin concerto and American fiddle music converge in Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Concerto. To gain an understanding of O'Connor's composition process, I submitted to him a list of questions, via email, in the summer of 2016. O'Connor’s responses provide a unique insight into the genesis of the Fiddle Concerto and his vision for musical compositions that originate from multiple genres. Chapter four of this document will discuss the melodic themes, formal makeup, and techniques presented in the Fiddle Concerto and show how both classical and fiddle elements coexist in the piece. The result of the mix is an exciting work that appeals to a broad audience of music lovers. The final chapter of this document will explore the growing repertoire of music created by cross-pollinating from different styles to create a new style, including selected O'Connor compositions completed since the Fiddle Concerto, as well as similar works by other composers who combined classical elements with other musical styles.
ContributorsYoungblood, Beth (Violinist) (Author) / Jiang, Danwen (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / McLin, Katherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
An integral part of the avant-garde movement in 1920s Paris, the American composer George Antheil collaborated with writers Ezra Pound and James Joyce, violinist Olga Rudge, and befriended the likes of Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and many others. In Paris, Antheil found great success as the provocateur of riots and scandal at his concerts, with a purposefully controversial compositional style. This document explores, in detail, his three violin sonatas composed between 1923 and 1924 at the behest of Ezra Pound for his violinist friend Rudge. The violin sonatas provide a fascinating perspective on Antheil's musical and personal life during his first years in Paris. The historical and personal contexts of the sonatas are examined, in addition to their musical repercussions for Antheil's compositional style. This document relies primarily on unpublished letters, writings and other memorabilia from collections held at The Library of Congress, New York Public Library, Columbia University, Princeton University, Yale University, and Indiana University. Antheil's published scores and autobiography, Linda Whitesitt's biography of Antheil and other literature pertaining to the period and person are also consulted. While a fair amount has been written on Antheil's more famous work Ballet Mécanique, which stylistically followed the violin sonatas, the lesser-known sonatas have received minimal attention or exploration. This document places these three works into their rightful context, as cornerstones of Antheil's musical style during his most avant-garde years in Paris.
ContributorsLeland, Hannah Christina (Author) / McLin, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Jiang, Danwen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The purpose of this project was to create a beginner-level oboe method book that provides equal attention to both the instrumental and musical concepts necessary for a beginner oboist. The existing literature for beginning oboe students focuses on two specific settings: full band classrooms, where students are playing and learning the instruments together, and private lesson settings, where one or a group of oboe students are focused on learning to play the oboe. Books written for band settings typically focus on teaching the students how to function as a part of the band, with extensive coverage of musical concepts; conversely, books for private lessons often assume a basic level of musical knowledge by the student, and focus heavily on how to play the instrument. This project provides the basis for a new book that combines these elements into a document that both band and private instructors would be able to use.
I began my project by collecting all of the extant beginner-level method books for the oboe, dividing them into those for band settings and those for lesson settings. I then created a detailed survey to analyze each book's contents so that in the new book I might address any and all shortcomings in the existing literature. I then distilled the results of this survey into charts, so that any teacher could look at the contents of each book and see how said book fits within the results. Once this was finished, I created an outline for the new method book, listing the contents of the front material, lessons, and back material. My outline sequences the musical and instrumental material together, providing students with all of information necessary to become a successful beginning oboist. I stopped short of selecting music or creating the book's layout, but my goal is to publish the completed book within the next year.
I began my project by collecting all of the extant beginner-level method books for the oboe, dividing them into those for band settings and those for lesson settings. I then created a detailed survey to analyze each book's contents so that in the new book I might address any and all shortcomings in the existing literature. I then distilled the results of this survey into charts, so that any teacher could look at the contents of each book and see how said book fits within the results. Once this was finished, I created an outline for the new method book, listing the contents of the front material, lessons, and back material. My outline sequences the musical and instrumental material together, providing students with all of information necessary to become a successful beginning oboist. I stopped short of selecting music or creating the book's layout, but my goal is to publish the completed book within the next year.
ContributorsAikens, William (Author) / Schuring, Martin (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The dearth of young bassoonists in America can be felt at every level of expertise, whether it be at professional levels where there are fewer qualified bassoonists compared to other woodwinds, or in local communities where interested pupils cannot find a teacher to guide them. In order to alleviate this scarcity, we must solve the problem at its root: young bassoonists. There have been many attempts to provide better instructional material for beginner-level bassoonists and to produce better reeds to entice more students to study the bassoon and to sustain their playing beyond the first few years. These attempts, however, fail to address another critical issue: the cost and availability of the bassoon itself.
Most bassoonists in America begin their journey in public school; however, many school music programs cannot afford to purchase bassoons due to their cost. To combat this obstacle, Fox Products produced their first bassoon made of polypropylene—a synthetic material—in 1961 at a relatively low price point. This is an innovation that no other bassoon manufacturer has accomplished. An analysis of sales numbers from major instrument suppliers indicate that these bassoons have been very successful. Their availability has allowed schools to purchase instruments to educate more young bassoonists and, as a result, participant numbers of students in Texas (where public music programs are known for their strength) competing at regional and state competitions have increased over the past fifty years. Fox, through their focus on affordable student bassoons, is revitalizing young students’ interest in playing the bassoon and thus is a major factor in the reversal of the decline of bassoonists in America.
Most bassoonists in America begin their journey in public school; however, many school music programs cannot afford to purchase bassoons due to their cost. To combat this obstacle, Fox Products produced their first bassoon made of polypropylene—a synthetic material—in 1961 at a relatively low price point. This is an innovation that no other bassoon manufacturer has accomplished. An analysis of sales numbers from major instrument suppliers indicate that these bassoons have been very successful. Their availability has allowed schools to purchase instruments to educate more young bassoonists and, as a result, participant numbers of students in Texas (where public music programs are known for their strength) competing at regional and state competitions have increased over the past fifty years. Fox, through their focus on affordable student bassoons, is revitalizing young students’ interest in playing the bassoon and thus is a major factor in the reversal of the decline of bassoonists in America.
ContributorsTran, Toan (Author) / Micklich, Albie (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This document examines the many ways in which the arts can benefit rural areas. It aims to illuminate potential opportunities found in rural areas for all types of artists, and discusses important points on building arts programs, organizations, and events in these areas. Having a strong arts presence can positively impact the economy, education system, community and well-being in rural areas. The arts help to strengthen community identity, provide exposure to new artistic experiences while preserving local culture, create a more resilient economy, strengthen the education system, and provide a creative outlet for community members. Musicians visiting a rural community have access to a unique and fulfilling opportunity to create, advocate, share and learn. Creating short and long term arts programs and organizations within these communities is an important way of guaranteeing a more sustainable presence of the arts. This document outlines rural areas and their typical characteristics, discusses the impact the arts can have on the rural economy, education system, and well being of the community and its individuals, and explores the many opportunities and experiences available to visiting artists and musicians in rural areas. It also discusses key issues and approaches when creating arts programs, events, and organizations in rural areas. Interviews with rural residents, artists and musicians, and arts advocates, along with the author’s personal experiences and observations provide unique insight into arts advocacy in rural areas, and why it is important.
ContributorsOff, Sarah Nicole (Author) / Jiang, Danwen (Thesis advisor) / Schmidt, Margaret (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Armenian music has a rich history. It started as independent, monodic song, and succeeded in keeping its uniqueness from the influences of other countries' musical traditions. During the nineteenth century the great Armenian musicologist and composer Komitas started to travel and write down these songs from Armenian villages. Komitas, who had higher education in Western classical music, was one of the first composers to harmonize Armenian songs and sacred music using Western classical techniques. This was a milestone in the development of Armenian music. Arno Babajanian was a Soviet Armenian composer who, like Komitas, was interested in the combinations of Armenian folk and Western classical traditions. This document provides a formal and harmonic analysis of his Piano Trio in F-Sharp Minor, written in 1952. By identifying Armenian folk tunes used in his trio, I will demonstrate that Babajanian achieved interesting results by inserting exotic Armenian folk melodies, harmonies, and other elements into the Western classical sonata form. This document also points out the influence of other composers of the Soviet era on Babajanian's music. By combining Armenian folk and western classical elements in his Piano Trio, Babajanian created a piece that resonates with native Armenians and classical music lovers and deserves a place in the violin repertoire.
ContributorsTumajyan, Artur (Author) / McLin, Katherine (Thesis advisor) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / Jiang, Danwen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016