Matching Items (8)
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- All Subjects: Music Education
- Creators: Hill, Gary W.
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Resource Type: Text
- Status: Published
Description
This research paper examines the close relationships between the visual arts and music and the implications of curatorial practice upon the work of conductors. While some conductors consider suitability the prime (or only) factor in determining which music to perform, curators use many more criteria. Five elements of exhibition design are particularly germane to musicians including setting, subject matter, visual weight, compositional direction, and narrative. Each of these five elements is discussed in terms of its impact on concert design with a goal of providing additional criteria to the conductor when planning concerts. Three concert experiences, designed with these principles in mind, are presented as examples. Upon consideration of the elements of exhibition design separately and corporately, one arrives at a new appreciation of the concert as a unified experience--capable of being much more than the sum of its parts. The aim of effective concert design is to eliminate unintentional communication--to present music in the most complimentary manner possible. To this end, this study has implications for conductors at all levels.
ContributorsHoughtalen, Brandon (Author) / Hill, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Bailey, Wayne A (Committee member) / Ericson, John Q (Committee member) / Feisst, Sabine M (Committee member) / Russell, Timothy W (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Although music is regarded as a universal language, it is rare to find musicians of different ages, ability levels, and backgrounds interacting with each other in collaborative performances. There is a dearth of mixed-ability-level wind band and string orchestra repertoire, and the few pieces that exist fail to celebrate the talents of the youngest and least-experienced performers. Composers writing music for school-age ensembles have also been excluded from the collaborative process, rarely communicating with the young musicians for whom they are writing.
This project introduced twenty-nine compositions into the wind band and string orchestra repertoire via a collaboration that engaged multiple constituencies. Students of wind and string instruments from Phoenix’s El Sistema-inspired Harmony Project and the Tijuana-based Niños de La Guadalupana Villa Del Campo worked together with students at Arizona State University and composers from Canada, Finland, and across the United States to learn and record concertos for novice-level soloists with intermediate-level accompaniment ensembles.
This project was influenced by the intergenerational ensembles common in Finnish music institutes. The author provides a document which includes a survey of the existing concerto repertoire for wind bands and previous intergenerational and multicultural studies in the field of music. The author then presents each of the mixed-ability concertos created and recorded in this project and offers biographical information on the composers. Finally, the author reflects upon qualitative surveys completed by the project’s participants.
Most the new concertos are available to the public. This music can be useful in the development and implementation of similar collaborations of musicians of all ages and abilities.
This project introduced twenty-nine compositions into the wind band and string orchestra repertoire via a collaboration that engaged multiple constituencies. Students of wind and string instruments from Phoenix’s El Sistema-inspired Harmony Project and the Tijuana-based Niños de La Guadalupana Villa Del Campo worked together with students at Arizona State University and composers from Canada, Finland, and across the United States to learn and record concertos for novice-level soloists with intermediate-level accompaniment ensembles.
This project was influenced by the intergenerational ensembles common in Finnish music institutes. The author provides a document which includes a survey of the existing concerto repertoire for wind bands and previous intergenerational and multicultural studies in the field of music. The author then presents each of the mixed-ability concertos created and recorded in this project and offers biographical information on the composers. Finally, the author reflects upon qualitative surveys completed by the project’s participants.
Most the new concertos are available to the public. This music can be useful in the development and implementation of similar collaborations of musicians of all ages and abilities.
ContributorsBrooks, Melanie Jane (Author) / Hill, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Caslor, Jason K (Thesis advisor) / Belgrave, Melita (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the events surrounding the creation of the oboe and its rapid spread throughout Europe during the mid to late seventeenth century. The first section describes similar instruments that existed for thousands of years before the invention of the oboe. The following sections examine reasons and methods for the oboe's invention, as well as possible causes of its migration from its starting place in France to other European countries, as well as many other places around the world. I conclude that the oboe was invented to suit the needs of composers in the court of Louis XIV, and that it was brought to other countries by French performers who left France for many reasons, including to escape from the authority of composer Jean-Baptiste Lully and in some cases to promote French culture in other countries.
ContributorsCook, Mary Katherine (Author) / Schuring, Martin (Thesis director) / Micklich, Albie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
People are motivated to participate in musical activities for many reasons. Whereas musicians may be driven by an intrinsic desire for musical growth, self-determination theory suggests that this drive must also be sustained and supported by the social environment. Social network analysis is an interdisciplinary theoretical framework and collection of analytical methods that allows us to describe the social context of a musical ensemble. These frameworks are utilized to investigate the relationship of participatory motivation and social networks in a large Division I collegiate marching band. This study concludes that marching band members are predominantly self-determined to participate in marching band and are particularly motivated for social reasons, regardless of their experience over the course of the band season. The members who are highly motived are also more integrated into the band's friendship and advice networks. These highly integrated members also tend to be motivated by the value and importance others display for the marching band activity suggesting these members have begun to internalized those values and seek out others with similar viewpoints. These findings highlight the central nature of the social experience of marching band and have possible implications for other musical leisure ensembles. After a brief review of social music making and the theoretical frameworks, I will provide illustrations of the relationship between motivation and social networks in a musical ensemble, consider the implications of these findings for promoting self-determined motivation and the wellbeing of musical ensembles, and identify directions for future research.
ContributorsWeren, Serena (Author) / Hill, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Granger, Douglas (Committee member) / Bailey, Wayne (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Reber, William (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
ABSTRACT
Improvisation, or extemporization, has always played an important role in all
genres of music across the globe. In Western art music alone, improvisation has been used in many settings throughout history, such as composition, public extemporization, and ornamenting existing notated music. Why is it then, that improvisation is not an important part in the education of the Western Art Music tradition?
Introducing improvisation to music education develops a more well-rounded musical ability, a firmer understanding of musical concepts, and a clearer insight to the composition of music. To examine this issue, I discuss a number of scientific explorations into the use of improvisation. First, new technology in the study of the brain gives insight into how the brain functions during improvisation. Adding to this evidence, I contextualize the use of improvisation into four scientifically developed educational scenarios based on how humans most effectively learn information and skills. To conclude, the discussion then shifts to simple exercises designed to assist musicians and teachers of any skill level in utilizing improvisation in practicing, lessons, and performance.
To prevent students of music from reaffirming a continuously narrowing viewpoint of music’s creation, cultural implications, and performance, educational systems should make an effort to teach more than just the preparation of increasingly complex scores. Improvisation is not only a solid foundation for understanding the roots of western music’s own musical traditions, but also a gateway to understanding the musical traditions of the world.
Improvisation, or extemporization, has always played an important role in all
genres of music across the globe. In Western art music alone, improvisation has been used in many settings throughout history, such as composition, public extemporization, and ornamenting existing notated music. Why is it then, that improvisation is not an important part in the education of the Western Art Music tradition?
Introducing improvisation to music education develops a more well-rounded musical ability, a firmer understanding of musical concepts, and a clearer insight to the composition of music. To examine this issue, I discuss a number of scientific explorations into the use of improvisation. First, new technology in the study of the brain gives insight into how the brain functions during improvisation. Adding to this evidence, I contextualize the use of improvisation into four scientifically developed educational scenarios based on how humans most effectively learn information and skills. To conclude, the discussion then shifts to simple exercises designed to assist musicians and teachers of any skill level in utilizing improvisation in practicing, lessons, and performance.
To prevent students of music from reaffirming a continuously narrowing viewpoint of music’s creation, cultural implications, and performance, educational systems should make an effort to teach more than just the preparation of increasingly complex scores. Improvisation is not only a solid foundation for understanding the roots of western music’s own musical traditions, but also a gateway to understanding the musical traditions of the world.
ContributorsBreadon, Thomas, Jr (Author) / Micklich, Albie (Thesis advisor) / Creviston, Christopher (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) began holding
national conferences in 1941, and the organization's six divisions have held biennial conferences on alternating years beginning in 1950. The CBDNA Statement of Purpose specifies, "CBDNA is committed to serving as a dynamic hub connecting individuals to communities, ideas and resources." The regional and national conferences are one of the strongest means to that end. This study presents a history and documentation of the events of the College Band Directors National Association Western/Northwestern Divisional Conference held in Reno, Nevada from 1990 to 2016. The events leading up to the first conference are reported. The details of the clinics and concerts are chronicled to provide a foundation for analyses of various trends and threads regarding number and types of ensembles that performed, types and content of clinics presented, trends in repertoire selection, details of featured composers and commissions, and a discussion of gender disparity across all of these facets.
national conferences in 1941, and the organization's six divisions have held biennial conferences on alternating years beginning in 1950. The CBDNA Statement of Purpose specifies, "CBDNA is committed to serving as a dynamic hub connecting individuals to communities, ideas and resources." The regional and national conferences are one of the strongest means to that end. This study presents a history and documentation of the events of the College Band Directors National Association Western/Northwestern Divisional Conference held in Reno, Nevada from 1990 to 2016. The events leading up to the first conference are reported. The details of the clinics and concerts are chronicled to provide a foundation for analyses of various trends and threads regarding number and types of ensembles that performed, types and content of clinics presented, trends in repertoire selection, details of featured composers and commissions, and a discussion of gender disparity across all of these facets.
ContributorsMartin, Stephen (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary W. (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill M. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
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
The North Park Middle School Band, in Pico Rivera, California, is an exemplary model of a band program grounded in the principles of social justice. Three facets guide the program: Social Outreach, Cultural Outreach, and Kids Helping Kids. This qualitative study explores what led the director to create this program, its current structure as well as its historical development, and the impact the program is having on the students involved and the community to which they reach. Between the months of September and December 2012, I spent a total of three weeks with the students, parents, and the director of the North Park Band, Ron Wakefield. In that time, the students were observed during band rehearsals on typical school days. Additionally, I traveled with the band to three separate outreach concerts at the Los Angeles Veterans Healthcare Facility, nursing homes and assisted living centers, as well as the Isaiah House, a homeless shelter for women and children. I observed the students and their interactions with the residents of those facilities, and took detailed observation notes. In addition, a survey was distributed to students in the top two bands, interviews were conducted with current students and a former student, a parent and a former parent, and the director. The North Park Band program structure leads students to develop an unusually high level of responsibility. Students gain an understanding of current issues in society and demonstrate compassion towards other human beings. In many cases, the students discover a sense of life purpose through the program and feel that they have a responsibility to help their community. While a central focus of the program is on humanistic values, it is evident that the students also receive a quality music education.
ContributorsPawelski, Carrie (Author) / Hill, Gary W. (Thesis advisor) / Schmidt, Margaret E (Thesis advisor) / Bailey, Wayne (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Russell, Timothy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013