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ContributorsKierum, Caitlin (Contributor) / Novak, Gail (Pianist) (Performer) / Liang, Jack (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-04-11
ContributorsBurton, Charlotte (Performer) / ASU Library. Music Library (Publisher)
Created2018-04-08
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 study examines the experiences of participants enrolled in an online community college jazz history course. I surveyed the participants before the course began and observed them in the online space through the duration of the course. Six students also participated in interviews during and after the course. Coded data from the interviews, surveys, and recorded discussion posts and journal entries provided evidence about the nature of interaction and engagement in learning in an online environment. I looked for evidence either supporting or detracting from a democratic online learning environment, concentrating on the categories of student engagement, freedom of expression, and accessibility. The data suggested that the participants' behaviors in and abilities to navigate the online class were influenced by their pre-existing native media habits. Participants' reasons for enrolling in the online course, which included convenience and schedule flexibility, informed their actions and behaviors in the class. Analysis revealed that perceived positive student engagement did not contribute to a democratic learning environment but rather to an easy, convenient experience in the online class. Finally, the data indicated that participants' behaviors in their future lives would not be affected by the online class in that their learning experiences were not potent enough to alter or inform their behavior in society. As online classes gain popularity, the ability of these classes to provide meaningful learning experiences must be questioned. Students in this online jazz history class presented, at times, a façade of participation and community building but demonstrated a lack of sincerity and interest in the course. The learning environment supported accessibility and freedom of expression to an extent, but students' engagement with their peers was limited. Overall, this study found a need for more research into the quality of online classes as learning platforms that support democracy, student-to-student interaction, and community building.
ContributorsHunter, Robert W. (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra L (Thesis advisor) / Tobias, Evan (Thesis advisor) / Bush, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Pilafian, Sam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
HgCdTe is the dominant material currently in use for infrared (IR) focal-plane-array (FPA) technology. In this dissertation, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used for the characterization of epitaxial HgCdTe epilayers and HgCdTe-based devices. The microstructure of CdTe surface passivation layers deposited either by hot-wall epitaxy (HWE) or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on HgCdTe heterostructures was evaluated. The as-deposited CdTe passivation layers were polycrystalline and columnar. The CdTe grains were larger and more irregular when deposited by HWE, whereas those deposited by MBE were generally well-textured with mostly vertical grain boundaries. Observations and measurements using several TEM techniques showed that the CdTe/HgCdTe interface became considerably more abrupt after annealing, and the crystallinity of the CdTe layer was also improved. The microstructure and compositional profiles of CdTe(211)B/ZnTe/Si(211) heterostructures grown by MBE was investigated. Many inclined {111}-type stacking faults were present throughout the thin ZnTe layer, terminating near the point of initiation of CdTe growth. A rotation angle of about 3.5° was observed between lattice planes of the Si substrate and the final CdTe epilayer. Lattice parameter measurement and elemental profiles indicated that some local intermixing of Zn and Cd had taken place. The average widths of the ZnTe layer and the (Cd, Zn)Te transition region were found to be roughly 6.5 nm and 3.5 nm, respectively. Initial observations of CdTe(211)B/GaAs(211) heterostructures indicated much reduced defect densities near the vicinity of the substrate and within the CdTe epilayers. HgCdTe epilayers grown on CdTe(211)B/GaAs(211) composite substrate were generally of high quality, despite the presence of precipitates at the HgCdTe/CdTe interface. The microstructure of HgCdSe thin films grown by MBE on ZnTe/Si(112) and GaSb(112) substrates were investigated. The quality of the HgCdSe growth was dependent on the growth temperature and materials flux, independent of the substrate. The materials grown at 100°C were generally of high quality, while those grown at 140°C had {111}-type stacking defects and high dislocation densities. For epitaxial growth of HgCdSe on GaSb substrates, better preparation of the GaSb buffer layer will be essential in order to ensure that high-quality HgCdSe can be grown.
ContributorsZhao, Wenfeng (Author) / Smith, David J. (Thesis advisor) / McCartney, Martha (Committee member) / Carpenter, Ray (Committee member) / Bennett, Peter (Committee member) / Treacy, Michael J. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orchestra was conceived in February of 2013, and conceptually it is my attempt to fuse personal expressions of jazz and classical music into one fully realized statement. It is a three movement work (fast, slow, fast) for 2 fl., 2 ob., 2 cl., bsn., 2 hrn., 2 tpt., tbn., pno., perc., str. (6,4,2,2,1). The work is approximately 27 minutes in duration. The first movement of the Concerto is written in a fluid sonata form. A fugato begins where the second theme would normally appear, and the second theme does not fully appear until near the end of the solo piano section. The result is that the second theme when finally revealed is so reminiscent of the history of jazz and classical synthesis that it does not sound completely new, and in fact is a return of something that was heard before, but only hinted at in this piece. The second movement is a kind of deconstructive set of variations, with a specific theme and harmonic pattern implied throughout the movement. However, the full theme is not disclosed until the final variation. The variations are interrupted by moments of pure rhythmic music, containing harmony made up of major chords with an added fourth, defying resolution, and dissolving each time back into a new variation. The third movement is in rondo form, using rhythmic and harmonic influences from jazz. The percussion plays a substantial role in this movement, acting as a counterpoint to the piano part throughout. This movement and the piece concludes with an extended coda, inspired indirectly by the simple complexities of an improvisational piano solo, building in complexity as the concerto draws to a close.
ContributorsSneider, Elliot (Author) / Rogers, Rodney (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Committee member) / Solis, Theodore (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The Vocal Jazz ensemble, a uniquely American choral form, has grown and flourished in the past half century largely through the efforts of professionals and educators throughout the collegiate music community. This document provides historical data as presented through live and published interviews with key individuals involved in the early development of collegiate Vocal Jazz, as well as those who continue this effort currently. It also offers a study of the most influential creative forces that provided the spark for everyone else's fire. A frank discussion on the obstacles encountered and overcome is central to the overall theme of this research into a genre that has moved from a marginalized afterthought to a legitimate, more widely accepted art form. In addition to the perspective provided to future generations of educators in this field, this document also discusses the role of collegiate music academia in preserving and promoting the Vocal Jazz ensemble. The discussion relies on recent data showing the benefits of Vocal Jazz training and the need for authenticity towards its universal integration into college and university vocal performance and music education training.
ContributorsAmerind, Gregory (Author) / Kocour, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Carpenter, Ellon (Committee member) / Britton, David (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In a conscious effort to combat the low enrollment of women in construction management, a program was created to retain women through a mentorship program - Advancing Women in Construction. A qualitative analysis, facilitated through a grounded theory approach, sought to understand if the program was indeed successful, and what value did the students derive from the programs and participating in the mentoring process.
ContributorsEicher, Matthew (Author) / Wilkinson, Christine Kajikawa (Thesis advisor) / Calleroz-White, Mistalene (Committee member) / Gibson, Jr., G. Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Jazz continues, into its second century, as one of the most important musics taught in public middle and high schools. Even so, research related to how students learn, especially in their earliest interactions with jazz culture, is limited. Weaving together interviews and observations of junior and senior high school jazz players and teachers, private studio instructors, current university students majoring in jazz, and university and college jazz faculty, I developed a composite sketch of a secondary school student learning to play jazz. Using arts-based educational research methods, including the use of narrative inquiry and literary non-fiction, the status of current jazz education and the experiences by novice jazz learners is explored. What emerges is a complex story of students and teachers negotiating the landscape of jazz in and out of early twenty-first century public schools. Suggestions for enhancing jazz experiences for all stakeholders follow, focusing on access and the preparation of future jazz teachers.
ContributorsKelly, Keith B (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra (Thesis advisor) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / Kocour, Michael (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Schmidt, Margaret (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013