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This project sheds light on trombonist Andy Martin's improvisation and provides tools for further learning. A biographical sketch gives background on Martin, establishing him as a newer jazz master. Through the transcription and analysis of nine improvised solos, Martin's improvisational voice and vocabulary is deciphered and presented as a series of seven thematic hooks. These patterns, rhythms, and gestures are described, analyzed, and presented as examples of how each is used in the solos. The hooks are also set as application exercises for learning jazz style and improvisation. These exercises demonstrate how to use Martin's hooks as a means for furthering one's own improvisation. A full method for successful transcription is also presented, along with the printed transcriptions and their accompanying information sheets.
ContributorsWilkinson, Michael Scott (Author) / Ericson, John (Thesis advisor) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (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
The ability of musicians to perform well in multiple musical styles is increasingly common and necessary. This paper profiles two trombonists who have gone well beyond the ability to function in multiple genres, and are instead considered significant artists. Tony Baker and Alex Iles were chosen to be profiled for this project because both have achieved recognition as solo artists in the genres of classical music and jazz and have performed on international stages as soloists. They also have significant ensemble experience in both classical and jazz settings and are active teachers as well. Both hold-high profile positions that have helped grow their reputations as performers: Mr. Baker as a professor at one of the largest music schools in the United States, the University of North Texas, and Mr. Iles as a highly in-demand freelance musician in Los Angeles. This paper presents interviews with both trombonists that investigate their development as musicians and soloists in both classical music and jazz. They are asked to describe the benefits and challenges of performing at a high level in both styles, and how these have affected their musical voices. Common traits found in their responses are examined, and recommendations are created for musicians seeking stylistic versatility.
ContributorsLennex, William (Author) / Pilafian, J. Samuel (Thesis advisor) / Bush, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Ericson, John (Committee member) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / Holbrook, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This project is a collection of four arrangements from Gustav Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn for French horn and marimba, with accompanying commentary. French horn and marimba is a beautiful combination that suffers from a lack of repertoire. These arrangements, composed by Kyle Nelson, are a step toward remedying that problem, while exploring the wide range of musical styles for which this combination is suited. The four songs that have been transcribed here are Urlicht, Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen, Der Tamboursg’sell, and Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt. Together, they provide a sampling of the many poems Mahler put to music in the late 1800’s for voice and piano. The sampling ranges from the very well-known (such as those featured in Mahler’s symphonies, like Urlicht) to one of the few lighthearted arrangements (Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt’s scherzo trio style) found in Mahler’s two original collections of lieder. The final product is performable as a duet with a talented horn and marimba duo, but in some circumstances it may be beneficial to divide the marimba part by stem direction and play as a trio on horn and two marimbas. The marimba part is best suited for four mallets on a 5-octave marimba.
ContributorsMartin, Stephanie Lorraine (Author) / Ericson, John (Thesis director) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This project examines over 40 publications consisting of published warm-ups, routines, and materials suitable for daily routines. The books were all written specifically for the horn and published between 1940 and 2015. They are split into periods of twenty years each during this timeframe: 1940-1959, 1960-1979, 1980-1999, and 2000-2015. Included are brief annotations for each of the books which consist of general biographical information on the author, a summary of the material presented in each routine including a breakdown of how much each author covers a set of defined components, and suggestions for which type of student would be best to utilize each routine through an assessment of its strengths. Trends are also examined within each time period that attempt to demonstrate the larger evolution within the project over the course of the entire 75-year period.
ContributorsManners, William Alexander (Author) / Ericson, John (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Swoboda, Deanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016