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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 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
Description
Hindustani classical music is an ancient art, where musicians perform ragas, or scales of notes with specific rules as to how one can move up/down the scales, which notes can be emphasized, what time of day they can be performed, what kinds of moods they evoke, and what phrases can and cannot be used. In this Honors thesis, I performed Raga Maru Bihag, an early night romantic raga. I performed three compositions within this raga, in slow, medium, and fast speeds. The majority of the performance was improvised, as is typical of Hindustani music. In addition to providing video footage of the performance, I have included an essay covering the history of Hindustani classical music, a stylistic analysis of my performance, and the cultural significance of the concert. The history section covers major developments in the art starting from its inception in 2500 BCE and details the contributions of important figures in Hindustani classical music. The stylistic analysis of the performance breaks down each and every element of the raga's presentation and development, with video links accompanying relevant descriptions. Lastly, the cultural significance section discusses the importance of the audience's behavior, artists' behavior, setting, invocation, gestures, etc. Collectively, the thesis will introduce the reader to Hindustani classical music and use a specific performance as a point of reference to showcase unique elements of the art style.
ContributorsSridhar, Swaroon (Author) / Little, Bliss (Thesis director) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This paper is based on research conducted during my ongoing collaboration as a participant-observer with the Cuyamungue Institute (CI) of New Mexico, a self-identified nonreligious organization that uses postures to help participants achieve ecstatic trance experiences via a ritual process that prominently features sonic support of trance by the sound of a rattle or drum. While the purpose of the practice—which the Institute has referred to in such terms as “Ecstatic Trance Postures (ETP)” and “Ritual Body Postures”—is ostensibly spiritual in nature, apparent benefits for physical and emotional health have been reported by participants and observed in empirical studies carried out in collaboration with the CI. With appropriate nuance, the Institute traditionally emphasizes the ways these benefits demonstrate the process’s spiritual efficacy more than how they are outcomes desirable on their own merit. As I have continued to work with the CI, the discourse has gradually shifted. At present, the leadership of the Institute give more consideration than before to emotional health benefits as specific goals of the practice, yet spiritual conceptions maintain a dominant presence in conversations and achieving a deep connection with the “alternate reality / spirit realm / unbounded universe” remains the primary objective.
ContributorsMalnory, Lawson (Author) / Fossum, Dave (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Solís, Ted (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
In recent years, several Indigenous female artists have emerged in country music. Given that country music is closely associated with whiteness, it may seem an unexpected form of expression for Indigenous women. So, why and how do Indigenous women make country music? I argue that country music appeals to these women due to its adaptability as a genre and its propensity for telling stories. Additionally, I identify several distinct strategies that these women use to interact with the genre and approach their own music making. I support my argument through a series of analyses of three country songs by Indigenous female country singers: “All I See is Red (Ten Little Indians)” by Kelly Derrickson; “Pray Sister Pray” by Crystal Shawanda; and “Run Carly Run” by Jade Turner. Some of the strategies these artists employ disrupt norms of the genre, foregrounding these women’s Indigenous identity and activism, while other strategies more subtly exploit resonances between Indigenous concerns or cultural practices and aspects of country music to assert their position within the genre. My discussion of these strategies draws on theorizations of intertextuality, interdiscursivity, and positionality from linguistic anthropology. Examining the strategies Indigenous artists use and highlighting the agency they have in the creation of their music reveals not only how they take up the genre but also how they are reshaping it.
ContributorsBaril, Alexis (Author) / Fossum, Dave (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Reed, Trevor (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023