Matching Items (12)
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- All Subjects: Music Education
- Creators: Solís, Ted
Description
The Fundación del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (FESNOJIV), also known as El Sistema, is an internationally recognized social phenomenon. By promoting social reform and development through music education, El Sistema is enriching the lives of thousands of impoverished youth in Venezuela by providing a nurturing environment for children in government-sponsored orchestras, choirs, and bands. In this thesis, I contend that the relationship between music education and social reform cultivates sociocultural ideas and expectations that are transmitted through FESNOJIV's curriculum to the participating youth and concert attendees. These ideas and El Sistema's live and recorded performances engage both the local Venezuelan community and the world-at-large. Ultimately, I will show that FESNOJIV has been instrumental in creating, promoting, and maintaining a national Venezuelan identity that is associated with pride and musical achievement.
ContributorsPalmer, Katherine (Author) / Solís, Ted (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Haefer, J. Richard (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The study of artist transcriptions is an effective vehicle for assimilating the language and style of jazz. Pairing transcriptions with historical context provides further insight into the back story of the artists' life and method. Innovators are often the subject of published studies of this kind, but transcriptions of plunger-mute master Al Grey have been overlooked. This document fills that void, combining historical context with thirteen transcriptions of Grey's trombone features and improvisations. Selection of transcribed materials was based on an examination of historically significant solos in Al Grey's fifty-five-year career. The results are a series of open-horn and plunger solos that showcase Grey's sound, technical brilliance, and wide range of dynamics and articulation. This collection includes performances from a mix of widely available and obscure recordings, the majority coming from engagements with the Count Basie Orchestra. Methods learned from the study of Al Grey's book Plunger Techniques were vital in the realization of his work. The digital transcription software Amazing Slow Downer by Roni Music aided in deciphering some of Grey's more complicated passages and, with octave displacement, helped bring previously inaudible moments to the foreground.
ContributorsHopkins, Charles E (Author) / Pilafian, Sam (Thesis advisor) / Stauffer, Sandra (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Ericson, John (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This project includes composer biographies, program notes, performance guides, composer questionnaires, and recordings of five new and lesser known works for saxophone quartet. Three of the compositions are new pieces commissioned by Woody Chenoweth for the Midwest-based saxophone quartet, The Shredtet. The other two pieces include a newer work for saxophone quartet never recorded in its final version, as well as an unpublished arrangement of a progressive rock masterpiece. The members of The Shredtet include saxophonists Woody Chenoweth, Jonathan Brink, Samuel Lana, and Austin Atkinson. The principal component of this project is a recording of each work, featuring the author and The Shredtet.
The first piece, Sax Quartet No. 2 (2018), was commissioned for The Shredtet and written by Frank Nawrot (b. 1989). The second piece, also commissioned for The Shredtet, was written by Dan Puccio (b. 1980) and titled, Scherzos for Saxophone Quartet (2018). The third original work for The Shredtet, Rhythm and Tone Study No. 3 (2018), was composed by Josh Bennett (b. 1982). The fourth piece, Fragments of a Narrative, was written by Ben Stevenson (b. 1979) in 2014 and revised in 2016, and was selected as runner-up in the Donald Sinta Quartet’s 2016 National Composition Competition. The final piece included in this project is a transcription and arrangement of Tarkus (1971), written by Keith Emerson (1944-2016) and Greg Lake (1947-2016) for the iconic progressive rock supergroup, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. This unique and unpublished arrangement was crafted by Peter Ford (b. 1964) for Ohio-based saxophone quartet Sax 4th Avenue and first featured on the ensemble’s 1998 album, Delusions de Grandeur. These pieces were recorded in the E-Media Studios of the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, as well as A2 Audio Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio, in January and February of 2019.
The first piece, Sax Quartet No. 2 (2018), was commissioned for The Shredtet and written by Frank Nawrot (b. 1989). The second piece, also commissioned for The Shredtet, was written by Dan Puccio (b. 1980) and titled, Scherzos for Saxophone Quartet (2018). The third original work for The Shredtet, Rhythm and Tone Study No. 3 (2018), was composed by Josh Bennett (b. 1982). The fourth piece, Fragments of a Narrative, was written by Ben Stevenson (b. 1979) in 2014 and revised in 2016, and was selected as runner-up in the Donald Sinta Quartet’s 2016 National Composition Competition. The final piece included in this project is a transcription and arrangement of Tarkus (1971), written by Keith Emerson (1944-2016) and Greg Lake (1947-2016) for the iconic progressive rock supergroup, Emerson, Lake & Palmer. This unique and unpublished arrangement was crafted by Peter Ford (b. 1964) for Ohio-based saxophone quartet Sax 4th Avenue and first featured on the ensemble’s 1998 album, Delusions de Grandeur. These pieces were recorded in the E-Media Studios of the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, as well as A2 Audio Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio, in January and February of 2019.
ContributorsChenoweth, Woodrow (Author) / Creviston, Christopher (Thesis advisor) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Gardner, Joshua (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The purpose of this study was to trouble existing conceptions of disability that ground music education literature and practice. I sought plausible insights into how disability is experienced in, through, and/or around music by participants who are disabled persons/persons with disabilities (DP/PwD). Insights gained might allow readers to complexify and trouble taken-for-granted assumptions about disability. Questions included: (a) How do participants experience disability in, through, and around music? (b) What plausible insights related to disability can be gained by attending to participants’ experiences of disability in, through, and around music? (c) What plausible insights related to inclusion can be gained by attending to participants’ experiences of disability in, through, and around music? The inquiry approach was grounded in Buberian relational ontology, phenomenology, interactional theories of disability, and narrative.
Seven DP/PwD participated in this study: (a) Erica, a 14-year-old diagnosed with a developmental disability of unknown etiology; (b) Duke, a drummer diagnosed with Williams syndrome; (c) Birdie, an abstract visual artist with epilepsy who used music to inform her art; (d) Daren, a b-boy/breakdancer diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, (e) Sienna, a legally blind social work college student who played banjo in a music therapy-based bluegrass band and participated in musical theatre; (f) Ice Queen, an undergraduate flute player recently diagnosed with Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and (g) Culann, an adult counselor and music listener with ADHD and mood disorders. Data generation included conversational interviews, observations, artmaking, and serendipitous data.
Data co-generated with participants were crafted into narratives of their lifeworlds, including description of their experiences with disability in, through, and around music and in other aspects of their lives. An envisioned conversation among all participants demonstrates the shifts and complexities in the meanings of disability and unpacks different ways participants describe and understand disability and the myriad roles that music plays in their lifeworlds. The final chapter of the study offers discussions and suggestions regarding thinking about and approaching disability (i.e., interactional theories, intersectionality, and identity), inclusion (i.e., belonging, suggestions by participants, and anti-ableist pedagogy), and research/writing.
Seven DP/PwD participated in this study: (a) Erica, a 14-year-old diagnosed with a developmental disability of unknown etiology; (b) Duke, a drummer diagnosed with Williams syndrome; (c) Birdie, an abstract visual artist with epilepsy who used music to inform her art; (d) Daren, a b-boy/breakdancer diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, (e) Sienna, a legally blind social work college student who played banjo in a music therapy-based bluegrass band and participated in musical theatre; (f) Ice Queen, an undergraduate flute player recently diagnosed with Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and (g) Culann, an adult counselor and music listener with ADHD and mood disorders. Data generation included conversational interviews, observations, artmaking, and serendipitous data.
Data co-generated with participants were crafted into narratives of their lifeworlds, including description of their experiences with disability in, through, and around music and in other aspects of their lives. An envisioned conversation among all participants demonstrates the shifts and complexities in the meanings of disability and unpacks different ways participants describe and understand disability and the myriad roles that music plays in their lifeworlds. The final chapter of the study offers discussions and suggestions regarding thinking about and approaching disability (i.e., interactional theories, intersectionality, and identity), inclusion (i.e., belonging, suggestions by participants, and anti-ableist pedagogy), and research/writing.
ContributorsRathgeber, Jesse (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra L (Thesis advisor) / Mantie, Roger (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Tobias, Evan S (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
E-Strings Academy (www.estringsacademy.wordpress.com) is a resource website intended for the beginning violinist, violist, cellist, and bassist. The mission of the website is to extend musical learning opportunities to students outside of the physical string classroom and to engage first-year string students in musical activities at home that supplement the instruction they receive in a school setting. The current website features five different areas for students to explore: lesson videos, tunes, listening activities, games, and resources. In each area, students have the opportunity to learn and reinforce musical concepts and skill sets that they will need in order to be successful in music, both in their first year of playing and beyond. I created E-Strings Academy with the intention that I use it with my own string students in my future teaching career. It is a flexible website that I will continue to revise, adapt, and enhance to best serve the needs of my students and enrich their musical learning outside of the classroom.
ContributorsCook, Christa Marie (Author) / Schmidt, Margaret (Thesis director) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The activities of drum corps and high school marching band are similar in many ways, and yet drum corps is styled as the "major league" of the marching arts. What makes the learning environment different between drum corps and high school marching band? While drum corps has a denser rehearsal schedule, and involved an audition process where high school marching band does not, the biggest difference between the two activities lies in the instructional practices utilized. Drum corps does not have to adhere to state or national arts education standards, and so the instructors must create their own standards and forms of assessment for the students, which directly affects student motivation. This student motivation can be understood through the Self-Determination Theory pioneered by Deci & Ryan, in which the conditions of autonomy, competency, and relatedness must be supported for students to reach the highest levels of motivation. By interviewing the directors of the Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Casa Grande Union High School marching band, and surveying students of each organization, a comparison can be made in the instructional practices of each organization and the subsequent effect on student motivation. Through the interviews with the directors, it was gathered that instructors in drum corps had more chances to work with the students one on one, and assess their personal growth in a subjective manner than the instructors in the high school marching band. This affected the way in which the drum corps instructors structured their rehearsals and set their goals. High school instructors were able to assess technical skill more often with graded assessments such as playing tests or scale checks, though this did not always take into account the students' personal growth or experience. From the anonymous surveys of the students of both organizations, a desire for relatedness was communicated from the high school students more than the drum corps students, and a greater lack of comfort with asking questions was displayed from the high school students. Interpreting these results with SDT, it could be said that these high school students were feeling less motivated than the drum corps students due to a lack of fulfillment in the areas of relatedness and competence. In the end, it would seem that the differentiated instruction that is possible in drum corps sets the activity apart from high school marching band, as the instructors are able to work with students on setting personal goals and may subjectively assess their growth within the activity. Self- and peer-evaluation in drum corps is also facilitated through video assignments in which other students may give comments to their peers, which builds the area of relatedness more within drum corps students than in high school students.
ContributorsRogers, Sierra Kathryn (Author) / Mantie, Roger (Thesis director) / Farrand, Kathleen (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This entire project looks at color guard from the perspective of a music educator and is meant to be a resource for other music educators, specifically, color guard instructors. Within the thesis project “A Guide to Coaching Color Guard” there are four sub-components.
The first is a historical research paper titled “The History and Evolution of Color Guard within Marching Band”. This paper defines what color guard is, identifies its origins, and outlines the major events that contributed to its development over time, leading up to what the sport and art of color guard has evolved into today.
The second component is a paper titled “Coaching Color Guard: My Experiences with Planning, Teaching, and Building a High School Color Guard Program”, which is a summarization of how a season of coaching color guard can be organized and examples of various learning opportunities a color guard coach could take advantage of during a season. Many education-specific teaching strategies are explained, such as the use of modeling, I do - we do - you do, whole-part-whole, scaffolding, sequencing from simple to complex, direct instruction vs. small groups, teaching to various learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), instructor/peer/group feedback, assessment, and opportunities for student contribution and creativity.
The third component is paper titled “Color Guard Coaching Resources”, which is made up of ten different documents that are examples or resources for color guard instructors. These resources are referenced in the second component of this project and include samples of flyers, audition scoring sheets, a student handbook, participation sheet, and written choreography as well as providing a list of other outside resources as well as a list of the video tutorials.
These video tutorials are the final component of this project. There are 44 tutorial videos broken up into five categories. Each video is a step-by-step teaching video demonstrating and articulating how to spin a color guard flag. The first category consists of 10 introductory videos, which discuss terms and concepts that are overarching in all of the tutorial videos. Then, there are 23 tutorials within the category titled ‘Basic Moves’. The next category of ‘Intermediate Moves’ consists of 5 teaching videos for moves that are more difficult to execute than the basic moves. The fourth category has 5 video tutorials for ‘Tosses’. The last category is called ‘Move Sequences’ and only has 1 video. This tutorial shows how some moves have similar rotation patterns and can easily be strung together to create a choreography sequence.
The first is a historical research paper titled “The History and Evolution of Color Guard within Marching Band”. This paper defines what color guard is, identifies its origins, and outlines the major events that contributed to its development over time, leading up to what the sport and art of color guard has evolved into today.
The second component is a paper titled “Coaching Color Guard: My Experiences with Planning, Teaching, and Building a High School Color Guard Program”, which is a summarization of how a season of coaching color guard can be organized and examples of various learning opportunities a color guard coach could take advantage of during a season. Many education-specific teaching strategies are explained, such as the use of modeling, I do - we do - you do, whole-part-whole, scaffolding, sequencing from simple to complex, direct instruction vs. small groups, teaching to various learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), instructor/peer/group feedback, assessment, and opportunities for student contribution and creativity.
The third component is paper titled “Color Guard Coaching Resources”, which is made up of ten different documents that are examples or resources for color guard instructors. These resources are referenced in the second component of this project and include samples of flyers, audition scoring sheets, a student handbook, participation sheet, and written choreography as well as providing a list of other outside resources as well as a list of the video tutorials.
These video tutorials are the final component of this project. There are 44 tutorial videos broken up into five categories. Each video is a step-by-step teaching video demonstrating and articulating how to spin a color guard flag. The first category consists of 10 introductory videos, which discuss terms and concepts that are overarching in all of the tutorial videos. Then, there are 23 tutorials within the category titled ‘Basic Moves’. The next category of ‘Intermediate Moves’ consists of 5 teaching videos for moves that are more difficult to execute than the basic moves. The fourth category has 5 video tutorials for ‘Tosses’. The last category is called ‘Move Sequences’ and only has 1 video. This tutorial shows how some moves have similar rotation patterns and can easily be strung together to create a choreography sequence.
ContributorsKnutson, Dakota Rae (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra (Thesis director) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This project examines the relationship between individuals' musical preferences and the amount of musical education they have received, as well as some other supporting variables. Data was collected from 43 participants regarding general and musical background information. Participants then listened to eight musical samples and answered a series of related questions. These sets of data were compared to investigate how musical preference varies with changes in background information, principally the level of musical education received. Musical preference was gauged in part according to a system which relied more on discrete musical features than common genre categorizations. The population studied was made up of honors students from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. The research questions addressed are: is musical preference dependent on level of musical education; if so, how; and what are some possible explanations for any relationships? This study was conducted in order to obtain a clearer understanding of the nature of musical preference which may be of use to musicologists and modern musicians alike. Results indicated that musical education does have an effect on musical preferences and listening habits, but that this effect is not correlated in any straightforward relationship, and there are likely more diverse issues at play.
ContributorsKauffman, Parker Stone (Author) / Mantie, Roger (Thesis director) / Knowles, Kristina (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In Arizona part-time instrumental music educators often spend more time per week with high school students than full-time core subject teachers. Members of the gig economy and heavily involved in the marching arts, these part-time teachers make the conscious choice to seek multiple gig positions to piece together a full-time income void of traditional employee benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the American workforce, prompting employers to hire more gig workers than standard salaried employees across all industries. However, some part-time workers who rely on social interactions for income are struggling to maintain a career throughout the health crisis. Although unable to see their students in person and prepare for competitions like a normal season, part-time instrumental music educators are continuing to work and teach. Whether each teacher is explicitly aware of it or not, the entire part-time teaching community relies on the accrual and mobilization of social capital to secure and maintain gigs and, by extension, a living. In this thesis, I employ Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of capital to investigate how part-time instrumental music educators are adapting to virtual remote teaching prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic and why they have not experienced job loss to the same extent as many other Americans in this arduous time. Through participant-observer ethnography and direct interviews with 12 active part-time instrumental marching music teachers I analyze not only the social mechanisms that lead to career success but also how each teacher conceptualizes their own vocational narrative. Unlike the idealized “American Dream” narrative of hard work and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps, part-time teachers attribute their success to social relationships and luck. As Arizona prepares for a harsh decline in music student enrollment over the next five years due to the pandemic part-time music educators must be aware of how to encourage their students to become the next generation of teachers and how they can work to overcome the daunting privilege gap in musical ensemble participation.
ContributorsBranson, Tabitha Ann (Author) / Fossum, David (Thesis advisor) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Traditional jazz refers specifically to iterations of New Orleans style jazz since its beginnings in the early 20th century. It has been labelled "Dixieland," "Classic Jazz," "New Orleans jazz," "Trad," or "Our Kind of Music (OKOM)" among other names. As a scholar-performer, I learned this style of music in my undergraduate studies in Provo, Utah and later taught it as a graduate student in Phoenix, Arizona. This research grows out of the challenges I encountered mediating between the academic institution, the non-academic tradition, and student needs. Combining musicological methods such as historiography and artifact analysis with reflexive ethnography and performance pedagogy more typical of other disciplines, I consider how educators might represent traditional jazz in a more culturally responsible way. To begin, I reference historical newspapers and oral histories to show how the labels of “Dixieland” and “traditional jazz” have evolved over time and taken on a variety of associations. Specifically, I note how the word “Dixieland” is problematic for the ways it reinforces nostalgic fantasies of the “old south” and prevents African Americans from participating without the oppressive and offensive stereotypes created by white minstrel entertainers. I then consider how prominent figures have established their authority to speak for traditional jazz by looking at several pedagogical artifacts for the style of traditional jazz drumming. I highlight how each of these artifacts’ authors present the subject and color their audience’s view of traditional jazz. Having analyzed these methods of genre definition, I discuss the tenuous place of traditional jazz within university jazz programs and its potential futures through interviews I conducted with jazz educators. These interviews focus on teaching traditional jazz within the academy and the potential for the jazz ensemble as a site of scholar-performer interdisciplinary collaboration. Finally, following models of reflexive ethnography established by ethnomusicologists leading world music ensembles, I analyze my own experience teaching traditional jazz ensembles. My synthesis of methods from musicology, ethnomusicology, music education, and jazz performance departments serves as an important bridge between these disciplines, and in turn, improves jazz instruction, offers insight into genre definition, and illuminates how institutional structures shape the subject.
ContributorsWiggins, Zachary Thomas (Author) / Wells, Christi Jay (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021