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- Creators: School of Life Sciences
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Description
The purpose of this study is to analyze the stereotypes surrounding four wind instruments (flutes, oboes, clarinets, and saxophones), and the ways in which those stereotypes propagate through various levels of musical professionalism in Western culture. In order to determine what these stereotypes might entail, several thousand social media and blog posts were analyzed, and direct quotations detailing the perceived stereotypical personality profiles for each of the four instruments were collected. From these, the three most commonly mentioned characteristics were isolated for each of the instrument groups as follows: female gender, femininity, and giggliness for flutists, intelligence, studiousness, and demographics (specifically being an Asian male) for clarinetists, quirkiness, eccentricity, and being seen as a misfit for oboists, and overconfidence, attention-seeking behavior, and coolness for saxophonists. From these traits, a survey was drafted which asked participating college-aged musicians various multiple choice, opinion scale, and short-answer questions that gathered how much they agree or disagree with each trait describing the instrument from which it was derived. Their responses were then analyzed to determine how much correlation existed between the researched characteristics and the opinions of modern musicians. From these results, it was determined that 75% of the traits that were isolated for a particular instrument were, in fact, recognized as being true in the survey data, demonstrating that the stereotypes do exist and seem to be widely recognizable across many age groups, locations, and levels of musical skill. Further, 89% of participants admitted that the instrument they play has a certain stereotype associated with it, but only 38% of people identify with that profile. Overall, it was concluded that stereotypes, which are overwhelmingly negative and gendered by nature, are indeed propagated, but musicians do not appear to want to identify with them, and they reflect a more archaic and immature sense that does not correlate to the trends observed in modern, professional music.
ContributorsAllison, Lauren Nicole (Author) / Bhattacharjya, Nilanjana (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Only in the world of acting can an individual be denied a job simply on the basis of their appearance, and in my thesis, I sought to explore alternatives to this through the concept of nontraditional casting and casting against "type", which included the presentation of a full-length production of the musical "Once on this Island" which I attempted to cast based on vocal quality and skill alone rather than taking physical characteristics into account. I researched the history and implementation of nontraditional casting, both in regards to race and other factors such as gender, socio-economic status, and disability. I also considered the legal and intellectual property challenges that nontraditional casting can pose. I concluded from this research that while nontraditional casting is only one solution to the problem, it still has a great deal of potential to create diversity in theater. For my own show, I held the initial auditions via audio recording, though the callback auditions were held in person so that I and my crew could appraise dance and acting ability. Though there were many challenges with our cast after this initial round of auditions, we were able to solidify our cast and continue through the rehearsal process. All things said, the show was very successful. It is my hope that those who were a part of the show, either as part of the production or the audience, are inspired to challenge the concept of typecasting in contemporary theater.
ContributorsBriggs, Timothy James (Author) / Yatso, Toby (Thesis director) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The study compares the pretest and posttest results of three groups of second-grade students studying a phonics rule to determine the effect of using music as an instructional aid. For two groups in the study, the teachers used melodies to instruct students, while the third group was held to direct instruction with no music to use for assistance. The study groups were three second-grade classes at Ishikawa Elementary School, where I was serving as a student teacher. Parental consent was received for each of the students participating in the study. The duration of the study was one week. The first test group was given a familiar melody with new lyrics to reflect the content of the phonics rule "I before E except after C." The second test group was given a melody composed specifically to accompany the phonics rule and to reflect the appropriate phonics content. On the first day of the study, students were given a pretest; these scores were recorded and then compared to the posttest scores from the end of the week. The data that were collected compared groups as a whole through composite scores from pretest to posttest to determine most effective methodology. The groups that were instructed using music demonstrated greater growth and had higher posttest scores.
ContributorsFrazee, Madison Marie (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis director) / Stauffer, Sandy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Rainbow Connection is an integrated choir with members on and off the autism spectrum. It was founded in the spring of 2012 by Barrett students Ali Friedman, Megan Howell, and Victoria Gilman as part of an honors thesis creative project. Rainbow Connection uses the rehearsal process and other creative endeavors to foster natural relationship building across social gaps. A process-oriented choir, Rainbow Connection's main goals concern the connections made throughout the experience rather than the final musical product. The authors believe that individual, non-hierarchical relationships are the keys to breaking down systemized gaps between identity groups and that music is an ideal facilitator for fostering such relationships. Rainbow Connection operates under the premise that, like colors in a rainbow, choir members create something beautiful not by melding into one homogenous group, but by collaboratively showcasing their individual gifts. This paper will highlight the basic premise and structure of Rainbow Connection, outline the process of enacting the choir, and describe the authors' personal reactions and takeaways from the project.
ContributorsFriedman, Alexandra (Co-author) / Gilman, Victoria (Co-author) / Howell, Megan (Co-author) / Rio, Robin (Thesis director) / Schildkret, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This thesis explores my experience in teaching a high school music class through composition. I detail pedagogical approaches that helped to shape my lesson planning including constructivism, informal learning, and project based learning. The music education theory is put into action in a real high school setting and I explain what happened: what worked, what didn't, and what can we learn from this?
ContributorsWhelihan, Brian Peter (Author) / Tobias, Evan (Thesis director) / Schildkret, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In light of the intensifying environmental, social, and economic challenges facing the world, sustainable development is more necessary than ever. Approaching sustainability problems through Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) programs involving music is unconventional, but holds potential for grand results. An examination of various existing community development projects, from the Playing for Change Foundation to the Arizona State University Barrett Choir, shows that music-related activities are highly effective at fostering community development. Once a foundation of community connectedness is created, other issues such as social injustices or natural disasters can be more effectively addressed and overcome. Music and other fine arts can contribute, in a variety of ways, to the health of communities. This should be recognized and utilized in the pursuit of sustainable community development to preserve the health of the planet and its inhabitants.
ContributorsPaonessa, Carlotta Colleen (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis director) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
A piece of music consisting of a single movement was composed with baroque and classical elements. The piece is written in common time in D minor, and the key, along with the slow tempo, give the piece a somber mood. It is written for a string quartet: violin I, violin II, viola, and cello. The prominence and complexity of each of the four parts is evenly balanced so as not to give the impression that certain parts are more important. The piece is centered around a theme, which each of the parts plays in some form in the piece. This structure was largely inspired by Bach's Art of the Fugue, which introduces a theme (first played unaccompanied and unmodified in Contrapunctus I) and adds different variations in later movements. Like Bach's Art of the Fugue, the theme is passed between the four parts with new modifications in each introduction. After the completion of the theme, the progression was composed without specific inspiration to keep the piece as original as possible. To maintain a baroque style, the parts were composed separately and viewed as independent melodic lines. Ensuring that the lines were harmoniously interdependent was one of the largest challenges in this project. The piece was originally composed by hand on notebook paper, but a majority of the work was done using the professional music writing program Dorico. Dorico was an incredibly useful tool in this process because it easy to learn and allows users to try it free for a month.
ContributorsMunson, Cody (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis director) / Fritz, Gregory (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
DescriptionReflections of Self is an original score containing three movements composed and transcribed entirely by myself (Cameron Labban) under the guidance of Dr. David Schildkret. The foundation of the movements within the score are based upon stand-alone melodies created since I first began teaching myself how to play the piano.
ContributorsLabban, Cameron Wael (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis director) / Evans, Bartlett (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In everyday life, unfocused attention can be detrimental to life either through driving vehicles, cutting vegetables, and learning new languages. In order to increase sustained attention, Binaural Beats were introduced. Binaural Beats have two different frequency tones which oscillate to produce different effects. Each of these beats operates at different frequencies thus having different sound production: theta, delta, alpha, beta, and gamma. In the experiment beta Binaural Beats with frequencies of 200 and 216 Hertz, Hz (unit of measurement for frequency), were used with a control of 200 Hz flat noise. The experiment utilized the psychomotor vigilance task to measure changes in response times and utilized Affectiva to measure changes in facial musculature. The response times were then analyzed to explain why the Binaural Beats condition had significantly shorter response times compared to the control group throughout the task. In terms of emotional change, some trends were noticed for the Binaural Beats and the control condition; however, none of the trends were significant. Moving forward with the experiment, an increased number of participants can be recorded to strengthen the validity and test different frequencies of Binaural Beats for accuracy.
ContributorsObulasetty, Mohitha (Author) / Brewer, Gene (Thesis director) / Wingert, Kimberly (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This creative project includes a self-reflection, four original compositions by Drew Hensley, and supplementary song commentaries. The self-reflection section of the project contains an extensive look into how Hensley's musical experiences and upbringing influenced his song writing process and compositional voice. Specifically, the piece analyzes how Hensley's gravitation to jazz music and musical styles of various cultures influenced the chord structures, rhythms, and melodies in his pop compositions. The track list for the project includes "Do It Anyway," "Puppeteer," "You Really Kind of Suck at Love," and "Drag You Down." Each piece includes lyrics and composed sheet music for vocals and instruments including guitar, piano, bass, and violin. The pieces were supplemented with commentaries describing specific inspirations for both the lyrics and music. "Do It Anyway" discusses Hensley's decision to pursue music and takes inspiration from classic American jazz melodies and Latin jazz rhythms. "Puppeteer" addresses the complexities of control through the metaphor strings. The piece pulls inspiration from the double harmonic scale often associated with Arabic music. "You Really Kind Of Suck At Love" addresses a break up through expertly placed humor and sarcasm. The piece is a new take on the standard 12 bar blues song form. "Drag You Down" tells of Hensley's personal struggles in music using thoroughly developed metaphors and chord progressions native to American rock music of the 1990's and 2000's. Together, the work will be recorded as an Extended Play entitled Do It Anyway. Hensley plans move to Los Angeles, California and use the recordings to pursue a career in pop music performance.
ContributorsHensley, Andrew Michael (Author) / McAdams, Charity (Thesis director) / Bhattacharjya, Nilanjana (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05