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Description
The integration of yoga into the music curriculum has the potential of offering many immediate and life-long benefits to musicians. Yoga can help address issues such as performance anxiety and musculoskeletal problems, and enhance focus and awareness during musical practice and performance. Although the philosophy of yoga has many similarities to the process of learning a musical instrument, the benefits of yoga for musicians is a topic that has gained attention only recently. This document explores several ways in which the practice and philosophy of yoga can be fused with saxophone pedagogy as one way to prepare students for a healthy and successful musical career. A six-week study at Arizona State University was conducted to observe the effects of regular yoga practice on collegiate saxophone students. Nine participants attended a sixty-minute "yoga for musicians" class twice a week. Measures included pre- and post- study questionnaires as well as personal journals kept throughout the duration of the study. These self-reported results showed that yoga had positive effects on saxophone playing. It significantly increased physical comfort and positive thinking, and improved awareness of habitual patterns and breath control. Student participants responded positively to the idea of integrating such a course into the music curriculum. The integration of yoga and saxophone by qualified professionals could also be a natural part of studio class and individual instruction. Carrie Koffman, professor of saxophone at The Hartt School, University of Hartford, has established one strong model for the combination of these disciplines. Her methods and philosophy, together with the basics of Western-style hatha yoga, clinical reports on performance injuries, and qualitative data from the ASU study are explored. These inquiries form the foundation of a new model for integrating yoga practice regularly into the saxophone studio.
ContributorsAdams, Allison Dromgold (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / McAllister, Timothy (Committee member) / Micklich, Albie (Committee member) / Standley, Eileen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
New music is often created as a product of commissions resulting in a collaborative effort between the performer and the composer. This performer-composer relationship represents an important component of the role of the artist in expanding the repertoire of the instrument. Belgian composer, Norbert Goddaer (b. 1933), has written numerous works for clarinet that are the result of such collaborations. Mr. Goddaer's works for clarinet are well-crafted and audience-friendly, and are thus good programming choices for students and professionals alike. His clarinet works have been performed worldwide in artist recitals, conferences for organizations such as the International Clarinet Association, The Midwest Clinic, and the Texas Music Educators Association, and have been commercially recorded and released by some of the foremost contemporary clarinet artists. These works have a great education value given the fact that they are appropriate choices for such a wide range of clarinetists. In an effort to contribute to this body of performance history, the author has produced a recording of five of Goddaer's previously unrecorded works, accompanied by a performance guide to each work. This document provides detailed performance notes with corresponding musical examples, basic formal analyses, and musical suggestions for Las Mañas, Conversations, Ballad, Duets, and Restless by Norbert Goddaer. The author has included a full transcript of an interview with Norbert Goddaer, which includes a first-person discussion of each work, and additionally includes biographical information supported by concert programs and an annotated list of all of Goddaer's works for clarinet, and a discography of his works for clarinet.
ContributorsClasen, Kevin (Author) / Spring, Robert S (Thesis advisor) / Gardner, Joshua T (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / McAllister, Timothy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
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
String players have been identified as the most affected group of instrumentalists suffering from musculoskeletal disorders, and most of the problems are related to posture. The high prevalence of injuries among string players suggests that there is room in the music curriculum for a program tailored to this population and that can provide both immediate and long-term solutions. Pilates is a mind-body conditioning method of exercises and a philosophy that shares many similarities with string playing technique and performance, which suggests that its practice can be beneficial to improve not only the posture of string players but also various other areas. Studies about Pilates as a treatment show the varied areas in which Pilates can help, which are all of interest to instrumentalists. However, the application of Pilates into the music curriculum as a way to help string players improve awareness and reduce injuries has not yet been fully explored. This document addresses the similarities between Pilates and string playing, identifies postural tendencies of string players, and demonstrates how specific Pilates exercises can help counteract asymmetries, restore balance, and reduce the number of musculoskeletal injuries of string players. All anatomical drawings included in this document were adapted from other sources, as cited, or originally drawn by the author.
ContributorsGallo, María Luciana (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Landschoot, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Humphreys, Jere T. (Committee member) / Rotaru, Catalin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Beginning around the 1820s, the refinement of the piano mechanism increased the expressiveness of the instrument’s sonority and further attracted the composers’ attention and curiosity about the instrument. Concentration on piano music became a trend for composers between the mid to late nineteenth century. During this period, the massive output of music for piano and extremely developed keyboard techniques resulted in classical composers searching for fresh ideas. Starting in the twentieth century, composers became increasingly interested in music outside the classical world and new interpretations of meter, harmony, and form. As early as the 1910s, composers included tone clusters generated at keyboard and soon afterwards, began “playing” the internal components of the piano including strings. Concurrently, they blended different styles within a piece according to their cultural and educational background. A prime example of this compositional trend is the classically-trained Turkish pianist-composer Fazil Say (b. 1970). His ability as a pianist reflects his strong classical training as well as a stylistic freedom partly derived from jazz. Say’s inspiration is also drawn from his Turkish heritage, as traditional folk elements have helped to shape his compositions. Representing Say’s education, passion, and ethnic background, the three elements of classical, jazz, and folk music have become his primary devices within his solo piano compositions.
This brief investigation of Say’s life to date and his piano works offers an insight into the correlation between the multi-cultural environments in which he has lived and the formation of his styles. Chapter one, the summary of his life and educational background, illustrates the fact that the three facets within his piano compositions are strongly rooted in his exposure to different environments. The second chapter presents a clear overview of the development of Say’s compositional idiom and a deeper look at selected piano compositions: his transcription of J. S. Bach’s Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582, Three Ballads, Black Earth, Alla Turca Jazz, and Paganini Jazz. The goal is to provide current and future pianists with insight into the expressive performance of one composer’s extremely successful hybridization of classical, jazz, and Turkish folk music.
This brief investigation of Say’s life to date and his piano works offers an insight into the correlation between the multi-cultural environments in which he has lived and the formation of his styles. Chapter one, the summary of his life and educational background, illustrates the fact that the three facets within his piano compositions are strongly rooted in his exposure to different environments. The second chapter presents a clear overview of the development of Say’s compositional idiom and a deeper look at selected piano compositions: his transcription of J. S. Bach’s Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582, Three Ballads, Black Earth, Alla Turca Jazz, and Paganini Jazz. The goal is to provide current and future pianists with insight into the expressive performance of one composer’s extremely successful hybridization of classical, jazz, and Turkish folk music.
ContributorsChen, Yen-Wei (Author) / Meir, Baruch (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Hamilton, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
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