Matching Items (9)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Improvisation
- All Subjects: Music Education
- Creators: Ryan, Russell
- Resource Type: Text
Description
This document is intended to show the various kinds of stylistically appropriate melodic and rhythmic ornamentation that can be used in the improvisation of the Sarabandes by J.S. Bach. Traditional editions of Bach's and other Baroque-era keyboard works have reflected evolving historical trends. The historical performance movement and other attempts to "clean up" pre-1950s romanticized performances have greatly limited the freedom and experimentation that was the original intention of these dances. Prior to this study, few ornamented editions of these works have been published. Although traditional practices do not necessarily encourage classical improvisation in performance I argue that manipulation of the melodic and rhythmic layers over the established harmonic progressions will not only provide diversity within the individual dance movements, but also further engage the ears of the performer and listener which encourages further creative exploration. I will focus this study on the ornamentation of all six Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites and show how various types of melodic and rhythmic variation can provide aurally pleasing alternatives to the composed score without disrupting the harmonic fluency. The author intends this document to be used as a pedagogical tool and the fully ornamented Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites are included with this document.
ContributorsOakley, Ashley (Author) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Real-time composer-performer collaboration as explored in Wilderness, a dance and audio installation
Description
From fall 2010 to spring 2011, the author was the pianist in twenty public performances of Wilderness, a site-adaptable dance and audio installation by choreographer Yanira Castro and composer Stephan Moore. Wilderness's music was generated as the result of an algorithmic treatment of data collected from the movements of both dancers and audience members within the performance space. The immediacy of using movement to instantaneously generate sounds resulted in the need for a real-time notational environment inhabited by a sight-reading musician. Wilderness provided the author the opportunity to extensively explore an extreme sight-reading environment, as well as the experience of playing guided improvisations over existing materials while incorporating lateral thinking strategies, resulting from a real-time collaboration between composer and performer during the course of a live performance. This paper describes Wilderness in detail with particular attention focused on aspects of the work that most directly affect the pianist: the work's real-time notational system, live interaction between composer and performer, and the freedoms and limitations of guided improvisation. There is a significant amount of multi-media documentation of Wilderness available online, and the reader is directed toward this online content in the paper's appendix.
ContributorsDauphinais, Michael (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / McAllister, Timothy (Committee member) / Pilafian, J. Samuel (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The purpose of this research paper is to discuss John Carter's Cantata, the musical development of this composition, and provide a brief history of this African American musician and composer. Presently, there exists very little research regarding Carter's life and compositions. From a musician's perspective, this paper discusses the challenges of singing and performing the Cantata for future performers and provides a reference for their preparation. This project also examines John Carter's musical style and analyzes the structure of the Cantata. African-American folk songs were an inspiration to Carter's compositions, especially this particular work. As an African-American, his life and background played a role in his inspiration of composition. With borrowed music, he reveals a basic truth about this period of American history; how the lives of slaves influenced in the development of this particular genre. Additionally, John Carter's style of composition is examined, including the application of jazz and modal scales in his Cantata. Performance practice is examined for both the singer and pianist in a way that best represents the composer's original and unique intent. From vocal safety to breath control, a singer may find several challenges when performing this eclectic piece. This paper provides a guide for singers. A brief overview of the pianist's role in the Cantata is also included. Characteristic words of the African-American vernacular found in Carter's Cantata are briefly discussed and identified (i.e. "them" vs. "dem"). It is essential that any performer, both beginning and advanced, should have a proper understanding of the concepts that Carter had so carefully crafted. This paper endeavors to provide a deeper sense of understanding to what Carter had intended for both the performer and the listener.
ContributorsNa, Bora (Author) / Britton, David (Thesis advisor) / Bush, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The craft of improvisation at the organ has survived a long period of dormancy and is experiencing a strong resurgence in the twenty-first century. This project seeks to establish a precedence for the value of notated music as a resource in learning improvisation, and then, through music analysis, provide examples of how that process can develop. The result of the ideas presented here is a pathway whereby any disciplined organist can learn to imitate composed music, assimilate the musical ideas, and innovate through the act of spontaneous improvisation.
ContributorsHoward, Devon (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This dissertation examines how violent fantasizing influences the behavior of a brutal sub-class of murderers--mass and serial killers. Specifically, fantasy gives the perpetrator a profane catharsis due to his or her inability to cope with reality. The researcher identified, four common fantasy scripts: (Revenge Fantasy; Sexual, Sadistic and Misogynistic Fantasy; Suicidal-Homicidal Ideation; and Search for Validation through Infamy and Media Attention Fantasy) that more or less, play into the motivations and actions of mass and serial killers. Thus, it is important to understand why and how the killer moves from an all-consuming imaginative space to actually harming others. The methodology used for this research was "ethnographic content analysis" and, to a lesser extent, empirical phenomenology and semiotics. Source materials that were analyzed included: artifacts generated by the offenders prior to commission of their crimes (e.g., diaries, manifestos, blogs, drawings, photographs, and videotapes); official findings of governmental review panels; other public documents; survivor, witness or family accounts; news reports; and work conducted previously by other academics. This dissertation is particularly novel, in that the role of fantasy has not received much critical analysis with respect to mass murder. Likewise, the researcher's examination of current theory on the ontogenesis of moral dysfunction led to an original interpretation in the works of criminologists, Eric Hickey and Lonnie Athens. From a synthesis of Hickey's trauma-control theory and Athens' esoteric constructs of "self" and "other" a more cohesive understanding of the homicidal personality emerged. Essentially, the researcher argues that the intersection of early derailing influences and pervasive life losses result in a fragmented concept of self, which the now deeply unstable individual seeks to validate through violent fantasy and homicidal acts. It is further proposed that these findings may lead to future inquiry into: methods for early intervention and diversion of an at-risk population; and where the foregoing is impractical, better methods of detecting, mitigating the harm caused by and quickly apprehending these particularly violent offenders.
ContributorsMurray, Jennifer Lynn (Author) / Johnson, John M. (Thesis advisor) / Altheide, David L. (Committee member) / Cox, Ronnie R (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Collaborative piano skills are not only important for pianists. Many of the skills that collaborative pianists use regularly are the same skills used by music educators, music therapists, and vocal and instrumental professionals. If these skills were included in the class piano curriculum of music majors for whom piano is not their primary instrument, students might be better prepared for essential tasks they will accomplish in their future careers. This study seeks to discover the extent to which collaborative piano skills such as sight-reading, collaboration with a singer or instrumentalist, and score reduction are incorporated into the class piano courses offered in Arizona. A survey was sent in 2021 to all community college and university instructors of class piano in Arizona, asking them about the role, frequency, and assessment methods of collaborative piano skills in their courses. Public information was also gathered from institutional websites regarding course curriculum. To collect more detailed information regarding the pedagogical practices of Arizona class piano educators, I interviewed four professors who develop and implement class piano curricula in Arizona.
The results of this study suggest that Arizona class piano educators desire to incorporate more collaborative piano skills in their courses. The goal of this research is to bring awareness to the discrepancy in class piano curriculum standards with regards to collaborative piano skills across Arizona and spur pedagogical dialogue among educators regarding ways to improve programs. These enhancements will ultimately serve to give each student the best possible preparation for a career in music.
ContributorsSherrill, Amanda May (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / DeMaris, Amanda (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
The unmeasured Fantasias by Johann Gottfried Müthel appear as part of a collection of pedagogical exercises to foster improvisation. The information he gives in the notation of his fantasias can be elucidated with a historiographical interpretation of musical rhetoric. Müthel developed musical figures and contrasting textures in accordance with contemporary rhetorical principles of inventio, dispositio and elaboratio. An analysis of Müthel’s G-minor Fantasia provides a link between musical rhetoric and performance, as seen through its improvisatory gestures. Issues of performance practice that arise in the G-minor Fantasia are the execution of ornaments, rhythmic alterations, registration, and articulation. This paper explores primary sources contemporary to Müthel to make sense of these issues. The unmeasured Fantasias are written for a keyboard with pedal. At the time that they were written, the pedal fortepiano and pedal clavichord were seen by musicians such as Carl Phillip Emanual Bach to be the superior instruments for performing improvisations. While the notation and texture of the Fantasias suggests that Müthel intended them for organ, a consideration of the possibilities provided by the fortepiano suggests that it may be more suited to conveying aspects of the galant aesthetic.
ContributorsMealey, Natalie (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
This paper provides a comprehensive study of Italian liturgical organ works from the 15th to 17th centuries. This music was composed for the Catholic Mass, and it demonstrates the development of Italian keyboard style and the incorporation of new genres into the organ Mass, such as a Toccata before the Mass, music for the Offertory, and the Elevation Toccata. This often neglected corpus of music deserves greater scholarly attention.
The Italian organ Mass begins with the Faenza Codex of c.1430, which contains the earliest surviving liturgical music for organ. Over a century would pass before Girolamo Cavazzoni published his three organ Masses in 1543: Mass IV (for feasts of apostles), Mass IX (for Marian feasts) and Mass XI (for typical Sundays of the year). The prevalence of publishing in Venice and the flourishing liturgical culture at San Marco led two notable organists, Andrea Gabrieli and Claudio Merulo, to publish their own Masses in 1563 and 1568. Both composers cultivated imitation and figurative lines which were often replete with ornamentation.
Frescobaldi’s Fiori musicali, published in Venice in 1635, represents the pinnacle of the Italian organ Mass. Reflecting the type of music he performed liturgically at San Pietro in Rome, this publication includes several new genres: canzonas after the reading of the Epistle and after Communion; ricercars after the Credo; and toccatas to be played during the Elevation of the Host. Frescobaldi’s music shows unparalleled mastery of counterpoint and invention of figuration. His liturgical music casts a long shadow over the three composers who published organ Masses in the decade following Fiori musicali: Giovanni Salvatore, Fra Antonio Croci and Giovanni Battista Fasolo.
This comprehensive look at Italian organ Masses from the 15th-17th centuries reveals the musical creativity inspired by the Catholic liturgy. Perhaps because of their practical use, these organ works are often neglected, mentioned merely as addenda to the other accomplishments of these composers. Hopefully insight into the contents of each organ Mass, along with the information about their style and aspects of performance practice, will make these musical gems more accessible to contemporary organists.
The Italian organ Mass begins with the Faenza Codex of c.1430, which contains the earliest surviving liturgical music for organ. Over a century would pass before Girolamo Cavazzoni published his three organ Masses in 1543: Mass IV (for feasts of apostles), Mass IX (for Marian feasts) and Mass XI (for typical Sundays of the year). The prevalence of publishing in Venice and the flourishing liturgical culture at San Marco led two notable organists, Andrea Gabrieli and Claudio Merulo, to publish their own Masses in 1563 and 1568. Both composers cultivated imitation and figurative lines which were often replete with ornamentation.
Frescobaldi’s Fiori musicali, published in Venice in 1635, represents the pinnacle of the Italian organ Mass. Reflecting the type of music he performed liturgically at San Pietro in Rome, this publication includes several new genres: canzonas after the reading of the Epistle and after Communion; ricercars after the Credo; and toccatas to be played during the Elevation of the Host. Frescobaldi’s music shows unparalleled mastery of counterpoint and invention of figuration. His liturgical music casts a long shadow over the three composers who published organ Masses in the decade following Fiori musicali: Giovanni Salvatore, Fra Antonio Croci and Giovanni Battista Fasolo.
This comprehensive look at Italian organ Masses from the 15th-17th centuries reveals the musical creativity inspired by the Catholic liturgy. Perhaps because of their practical use, these organ works are often neglected, mentioned merely as addenda to the other accomplishments of these composers. Hopefully insight into the contents of each organ Mass, along with the information about their style and aspects of performance practice, will make these musical gems more accessible to contemporary organists.
ContributorsHolton Prouty, Kristin Michelle (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The work of collaborative pianists can vary widely, requiring a large spectrum of musical and foreign language skills. In addition, many non-musical skills are required of collaborative pianists in order to adapt to various types of work, the roles they assume, and the needs of the people they encounter professionally. Collaborative pianists usually develop good habits for survival on the job, but rarely receive preliminary training in capacities such as facilitation, maintaining objectivity in collaboration, asking good questions, and giving feedback effectively. The emerging field of teaching artistry offers a wealth of information for the development of these non-musical skills in collaborative pianists. The skills necessary for teaching artistry and collaborative piano frequently overlap, which is instructive for collaborative pianists as they prepare for their various musical and leadership roles. This paper explores shared practices between these disciplines, how they can enhance the activities of a collaborative pianist, and also help them develop skills as arts advocates. Advocating techniques for new music and audience engagement are addressed, as well as programming, content development and building teams around projects. The idea of the collaborative pianist becoming a teaching artist is also explored, as the diverse activities and experiences of a collaborative pianist can serve as valuable resources. All of these approaches to non-musical skills focus on building strong processes, leading to creative activities that are process-driven rather than product-driven. This study seeks to enrich activities of collaborative pianists through the application of teaching artist capacities and pave pathways for new, more effective professional collaborations.
ContributorsWitt, Juliana (Author) / Campbell, Andrew (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020