Matching Items (89)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

Description
Works for clarinet in the twentieth century exist in abundance; furthermore, the number of extant works from the Classical period is substantial. However, works for solo clarinet in the late-Romantic style are lacking; most of the significant literature for clarinet is contained in orchestral works. Therefore, the purpose of this

Works for clarinet in the twentieth century exist in abundance; furthermore, the number of extant works from the Classical period is substantial. However, works for solo clarinet in the late-Romantic style are lacking; most of the significant literature for clarinet is contained in orchestral works. Therefore, the purpose of this project is to add to the solo clarinet repertoire of the late Romantic-style through the transcription of works written originally for viola. The four works transcribed for this project are by York Bowen. Bowen was a British composer and pianist who taught at the Royal Academy of Music in England. Although his career flourished in the twentieth century, his music reflects the music of the late-Romantic style. The project includes a transcription of Bowen's Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 18 for viola and piano, Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 22 for viola and piano, Romance in D-flat for viola and piano, and Phantasy in F, Op. 54 for viola and piano. Additionally, a brief examination of Bowen's life, an overview of each piece, details regarding transcription parts, a list of changes made to the original part, and a recording of each transcription is included in the document.
ContributorsDeBoer, Andrew Caleb (Author) / Spring, Robert S (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / McAllister, Timothy (Committee member) / Stauffer, Sandra (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
149842-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The name of Geechie Wiley has surfaced only rarely since 1931, when she recorded her second session with the Paramount Company in Grafton, WI. A few scholars including Paul Oliver and Greil Marcus unearthed and promoted her music and called for further research on this enigmatic figure. In other publications,

The name of Geechie Wiley has surfaced only rarely since 1931, when she recorded her second session with the Paramount Company in Grafton, WI. A few scholars including Paul Oliver and Greil Marcus unearthed and promoted her music and called for further research on this enigmatic figure. In other publications, Wiley is frequently given only passing mention in long lists of talented female blues singer-guitarists, or briefly discussed in descriptions of songsters. Her music is lauded in the liner notes of the myriad compilation albums that have re-released her recordings. However, prior to this study, Marcus's three-page profile is the longest work written about Wiley; other contributions range between one sentence and two paragraphs in length. None really answers the question: who was Geechie Wiley? This thesis begins by documenting my attempt to piece together all information presently available on Geechie Wiley. A biographical chapter, supplemented with a discussion of the blues songster, follows. I then discuss my methodology and philosophy for transcription. This is followed by a critical and comparative analysis of the recordings, using the transcriptions as supplements. Finally, my fifth chapter presents conclusions about Wiley's life, career, and disappearance. My transcriptions of Wiley's six songs are found in the first appendix. Reproductions of Paramount Records advertisements are located in the final appendix. In these ways, this thesis argues that Wiley's work traces the transformation of African-American music from the general secular music of the songsters to the iconic blues genre.
ContributorsCordeiro, AnneMarie Youell (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / Mook, Richard (Committee member) / Sunkett, Mark (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
149808-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Finger motion and hand posture of six professional clarinetists (defined by entrance into or completion of a doctorate of musical arts degree in clarinet performance) were recorded using a pair of CyberGloves® in Arizona State University's Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing Laboratory. Performance tasks included performing a slurred three-octave chromatic

Finger motion and hand posture of six professional clarinetists (defined by entrance into or completion of a doctorate of musical arts degree in clarinet performance) were recorded using a pair of CyberGloves® in Arizona State University's Center for Cognitive Ubiquitous Computing Laboratory. Performance tasks included performing a slurred three-octave chromatic scale in sixteenth notes, at sixty quarter-note beats per minute, three times, with a metronome and a short pause between repetitions, and forming three pedagogical hand postures. Following the CyberGloves® tasks, each subject completed a questionnaire about equipment, playing history, practice routines, health practices, and hand usage during computer and sports activities. CyberGlove® data were analyzed to find average hand/finger postures and differences for each pitch across subjects, subject variance in the performance task and differences in ascending and descending postures of the chromatic scale. The data were also analyzed to describe generalized finger posture characteristics based on hand size, whether right hand thumb position affects finger flexion, and whether professional clarinetists use similar finger/hand postures when performing on clarinet, holding a tennis ball, allowing hands to hang freely by the sides, or form a "C" shape. The findings of this study suggest an individual approach based on hand size is necessary for teaching clarinet hand posture.
ContributorsHarger, Stefanie (Author) / Spring, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Hill, Gary (Committee member) / Koonce, Frank (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Stauffer, Sandy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
149826-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
ABSTRACT &eacutetudes; written for violin ensemble, which include violin duets, trios, and quartets, are less numerous than solo &eacutetudes.; These works rarely go by the title "&eacutetude;," and have not been the focus of much scholarly research. Ensemble &eacutetudes; have much to offer students, teachers and

ABSTRACT &eacutetudes; written for violin ensemble, which include violin duets, trios, and quartets, are less numerous than solo &eacutetudes.; These works rarely go by the title "&eacutetude;," and have not been the focus of much scholarly research. Ensemble &eacutetudes; have much to offer students, teachers and composers, however, because they add an extra dimension to the learning, teaching, and composing processes. This document establishes the value of ensemble &eacutetudes; in pedagogy and explores applications of the repertoire currently available. Rather than focus on violin duets, the most common form of ensemble &eacutetude;, it mainly considers works for three and four violins without accompaniment. Concentrating on the pedagogical possibilities of studying &eacutetudes; in a group, this document introduces creative ways that works for violin ensemble can be used as both &eacutetudes; and performance pieces. The first two chapters explore the history and philosophy of the violin &eacutetude; and multiple-violin works, the practice of arranging of solo &eacutetudes; for multiple instruments, and the benefits of group learning and cooperative learning that distinguish ensemble &eacutetude; study from solo &eacutetude; study. The third chapter is an annotated survey of works for three and four violins without accompaniment, and serves as a pedagogical guide to some of the available repertoire. Representing a wide variety of styles, techniques and levels, it illuminates an historical association between violin ensemble works and pedagogy. The fourth chapter presents an original composition by the author, titled Variations on a Scottish Folk Song: &eacutetude; for Four Violins, with an explanation of the process and techniques used to create this ensemble &eacutetude.; This work is an example of the musical and technical integration essential to &eacutetude; study, and demonstrates various compositional traits that promote cooperative learning. Ensemble &eacutetudes; are valuable pedagogical tools that deserve wider exposure. It is my hope that the information and ideas about ensemble &eacutetudes; in this paper and the individual descriptions of the works presented will increase interest in and application of violin trios and quartets at the university level.
ContributorsLundell, Eva Rachel (Contributor) / Swartz, Jonathan (Thesis advisor) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Buck, Nancy (Committee member) / Koonce, Frank (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
150560-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The number of Brazilian immigrants in the United States has greatly increased over the past three decades. In Phoenix, Arizona, this population increase reveals itself through a greater number of large Brazilian cultural events and higher demand for live Brazilian music. Music is so embedded in Brazilian culture that it

The number of Brazilian immigrants in the United States has greatly increased over the past three decades. In Phoenix, Arizona, this population increase reveals itself through a greater number of large Brazilian cultural events and higher demand for live Brazilian music. Music is so embedded in Brazilian culture that it serves as the ideal medium through which immigrants can reconnect to their Brazilian heritage. In this thesis, I contend that Brazilian immigrants in Phoenix, Arizona maintain their identity as Brazilians through various activities extracted from their home culture, the most prominent being musical interaction and participation. My research reveals three primary factors which form a foundation for maintaining cultural identity through music within the Brazilian immigrant community in Phoenix. These include the common experiences of immigration, diasporic identity, and the role of music within this diaspora. Music is one of the stronger art forms for representing emotions and creating an experience of relationship and connections. Music creates a medium with which to confirm identity, and makes the Brazilian immigrant population visible to other Americans and outsiders. While other Brazilian activities can also serve to maintain immigrants' identity, it is clear to me from five years of participant-observation that musical interaction and participation is the most prominent and effective means for Brazilians in Phoenix to maintain their cultural identity while living in the U.S. As a community, music unites the experiences of the Brazilian immigrants and removes them from the periphery of life in a new society.
ContributorsSwietlik, Amy (Author) / Solís, Ted (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Pilafian, Sam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
150445-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Emily Dickinson is a well-known American poet of the nineteenth century, and her oeuvre consists of nearly 2,000 posthumously published poems. Written largely in hymn form with unique ideas of punctuation and grammar, her poetry attracts composers with its inherent musicality. The twentieth-century American composers Aaron Copland, Ernst Bacon, Lee

Emily Dickinson is a well-known American poet of the nineteenth century, and her oeuvre consists of nearly 2,000 posthumously published poems. Written largely in hymn form with unique ideas of punctuation and grammar, her poetry attracts composers with its inherent musicality. The twentieth-century American composers Aaron Copland, Ernst Bacon, Lee Hoiby, and Gordon Getty have created song settings of Dickinson's poetry. Copland's song cycle Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson (1949-50) is admired by many as an illustration of poetry; however, the Dickinson cycles by Bacon, Hoiby, and Getty are also valuable, lesser-known representations of her writing. Settings of one poem, "There came a Wind like a Bugle--", are common among Copland's Twelve Poems, Bacon's cycle Songs from Emily Dickinson: Nature, Time, and Space (1930), Hoiby's Four Dickinson Songs (1988), and Getty's The White Election (1982). These latter three settings have previously undergone some theoretical analysis; however, this paper considers a performance analysis of these songs from a singer's point of view. Chapter 1 provides background for this study. Chapter 2 consists of a biographical overview of Dickinson's life and writing style, as well as a brief literary analysis of "There came a Wind like a Bugle--". Chapters 3, 4, and 5 discuss Ernst Bacon, Lee Hoiby, and Gordon Getty, respectively; each chapter consists of a short biography of the composer and a discussion of his writing style, a brief theoretical analysis of his song setting, and commentary on the merits of his setting from the point of view of a singer. Observations of the depiction of mood in the song and challenges for the singer are also noted. This paper provides a comparative analysis of three solo vocal settings of one Emily Dickinson poem as a guide for singers who wish to begin studying song settings of this poem. The Bacon and Hoiby settings were found to be lyrical, tonal representations of the imagery presented in "There came a Wind like a Bugle--". The Getty setting was found to be a musically starker representation of the poem's atmosphere. These settings are distinctive and worthy of study and performance.
ContributorsCastellone, Amanda Beth (Author) / Doan, Jerry (Thesis advisor) / Kopta, Anne E (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Mills, Robert (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
150273-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The purpose of this project was to examine the lives and solo piano works of four members of the early generation of female composers in Taiwan. These four women were born between 1950 and 1960, began to appear on the Taiwanese musical scene after 1980, and were still active as

The purpose of this project was to examine the lives and solo piano works of four members of the early generation of female composers in Taiwan. These four women were born between 1950 and 1960, began to appear on the Taiwanese musical scene after 1980, and were still active as composers at the time of this study. They include Fan-Ling Su (b. 1955), Hwei-Lee Chang (b. 1956), Shyh-Ji Pan-Chew (b. 1957), and Kwang-I Ying (b. 1960). Detailed biographical information on the four composers is presented and discussed. In addition, the musical form and features of all solo piano works at all levels by the four composers are analyzed, and the musical characteristics of each composer's work are discussed. The biography of a fifth composer, Wei-Ho Dai (b. 1950), is also discussed but is placed in the Appendices because her piano music could not be located. This research paper is presented in six chapters: (1) Prologue; the life and music of (2) Fan-Ling Su, (3) Hwei-Lee Chang, (4) Shyh-Ji Pan-Chew, and (5) Kwang-I Ying; and (6) Conclusion. The Prologue provides an overview of the development of Western classical music in Taiwan, a review of extant literature on the selected composers and their music, and the development of piano music in Taiwan. The Conclusion is comprised of comparisons of the four composers' music, including their personal interests and preferences as exhibited in their music. For example, all of the composers have used atonality in their music. Two of the composers, Fan-Ling Su and Kwang-I Ying, openly apply Chinese elements in their piano works, while Hwei-Lee Chang tries to avoid direct use of the Chinese pentatonic scale. The piano works of Hwei-Lee Chang and Shyh-Ji Pan-Chew are chromatic and atonal, and show an economical usage of material. Biographical information on Wei-Ho Dai and an overview of Taiwanese history are presented in the Appendices.
ContributorsWang, Jinding (Author) / Pagano, Caio (Thesis advisor) / Campbell, Andrew (Committee member) / Humphreys, Jere T. (Committee member) / Meyer-Thompson, Janice (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
151098-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
The craft of improvisation at the organ has survived a long period of dormancy and is experiencing a strong resurgence in the twenty-first century. This project seeks to establish a precedence for the value of notated music as a resource in learning improvisation, and then, through music analysis, provide examples

The craft of improvisation at the organ has survived a long period of dormancy and is experiencing a strong resurgence in the twenty-first century. This project seeks to establish a precedence for the value of notated music as a resource in learning improvisation, and then, through music analysis, provide examples of how that process can develop. The result of the ideas presented here is a pathway whereby any disciplined organist can learn to imitate composed music, assimilate the musical ideas, and innovate through the act of spontaneous improvisation.
ContributorsHoward, Devon (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Illuminating Silent Voices: An African-American Contribution to the Percussion Literature in the Western Art Music Tradition will discuss how Raymond Ridley's original composition, FyrStar (2009), is comparable to other pre-existing percussion works in the literature. Selected compositions for comparison included Darius Milhaud's Concerto for Marimba, Vibraphone and Orchestra, Op. 278

Illuminating Silent Voices: An African-American Contribution to the Percussion Literature in the Western Art Music Tradition will discuss how Raymond Ridley's original composition, FyrStar (2009), is comparable to other pre-existing percussion works in the literature. Selected compositions for comparison included Darius Milhaud's Concerto for Marimba, Vibraphone and Orchestra, Op. 278 (1949); David Friedman's and Dave Samuels's Carousel (1985); Raymond Helble's Duo Concertante for Vibraphone and Marimba, Op. 54 (2009); Tera de Marez Oyens's Octopus: for Bass Clarinet and one Percussionist (marimba/vibraphone) (1982). In the course of this document, the author will discuss the uniqueness of FyrStar's instrumentation of nine single reed instruments--E-flat clarinet, B-flat clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, B-flat contrabass clarinet, B-flat soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, and B-flat baritone saxophone, juxtaposing this unique instrumentation to the symbolic relationship between the ensemble, marimba, and vibraphone.
ContributorsThompson, Darrell Irwin (Author) / Sunkett, Mark E (Thesis advisor) / Bush, Jeffrey (Committee member) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Little, Bliss (Committee member) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
150868-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Zwischen in the German language means `between,' and over the past century, as operatic voices have evolved in both range and size, the voice classification of Zwischenfach has become much more relevant - particularly to the female voice. Identifying whether nineteenth century composers recognized the growing opportunities for vocal drama,

Zwischen in the German language means `between,' and over the past century, as operatic voices have evolved in both range and size, the voice classification of Zwischenfach has become much more relevant - particularly to the female voice. Identifying whether nineteenth century composers recognized the growing opportunities for vocal drama, size, and range in singers and therefore wrote roles for `between' singers; or conversely whether, singers began to challenge and develop their voices to sing the new influx of romantic, verismo and grand repertoire is difficult to determine. Whichever the case, teachers and students should not be surprised about the existence of this nebulous Fach. A clear and concise definition of the word Fach for the purpose of this paper is as follows: a specific voice classification. Zwischenfach is an important topic because young singers are often confused and over-eager to self-label due to the discipline's excessive labeling of Fachs. Rushing to categorize a young voice ultimately leads to misperceptions. To address some of the confusion, this paper briefly explores surveys of the pedagogy and history of the Fach system. To gain insights into the relevance of Zwischenfach in today's marketplace, I developed with my advisors, colleagues and students a set of subjects willing to fill out questionnaires. This paper incorporates current interviews from two casting directors of national and international opera houses, an emerging American mezzo-soprano, a mid-career working European mezzo-soprano, an operatic stage director, an education director for opera houses and a composer. These interviews, along with modern examples of zwischenfach voices are analyzed and discussed.
ContributorsAllen, Jennifer, D.M.A (Author) / Norton, Kay (Thesis advisor) / FitzPatrick, Carole (Thesis advisor) / Dreyfoos, Dale (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Barefield, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012