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Fractus I for Trumpet in C and Electronic Sound: A Critical Examination of the Compositional Process (open access)

Fractus I for Trumpet in C and Electronic Sound: A Critical Examination of the Compositional Process

Fractus I is a composition for trumpet in C and live electronic sound. The electronics were primarily created using SuperCollider, an environment and programming language for real time audio synthesis. This project investigates SuperCollider's pattern and task functionality as a means of supporting and enriching the compositional process. Fractus I develops several different code architectures in order to randomize as well as synchronize various musical elements. The piece exploits SuperCollider as both an audio synthesis tool and a performance conduit. Additionally, the nature of SuperCollider's patterns and tasks influences the form and content of the composition. The project underscores SuperCollider as a powerful, versatile and open-ended tool for musical composition and examines future directions and improvements.
Date: May 2010
Creator: Fieldsteel, Eli Mulvey
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Aesthetic and Technical Analysis on Soar! (open access)

Aesthetic and Technical Analysis on Soar!

Soar! is a musical composition written for wind ensemble and computer music. The total duration of the work is approximately 10 minutes. Flocking behavior of migratory birds serves as the most prominent influence on the imagery and local structure of the composition. The cyclical nature of the birds' journey inspires palindromic designs in the temporal domain. Aesthetically, Soar! portrays the fluid shapes of the flocks with numerous grains in the sounds. This effect is achieved by giving individual parts high degree of independence, especially in regards to rhythm. Technically, Soar! explores various interactions among instrumental lines in a wind ensemble, constructs overarching symmetrical structures, and integrates a large ensemble with computer music. The conductor acts as the leader at several improvisational moments in Soar! The use of conductor-initiated musical events in the piece can be traced back through the historic lineage of aleatoric compositions since the middle of the twentieth century. [Score is on p. 54-92.]
Date: August 2010
Creator: Wang, Hsiao-Lan
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Characterizing Noise and Harmonicity: The Structural Function of Contrasting Sonic Components in Electronic Composition (open access)

Characterizing Noise and Harmonicity: The Structural Function of Contrasting Sonic Components in Electronic Composition

This dissertation examines the role of noise in shaping the form of several recent musical compositions. This study demonstrates how the contrast of noisy sounds and harmonic sounds can impact the structure of compositions. Depending on context, however, the specific use and function of noise can vary substantially from one work to the next. The first portion of this paper describes methods for quantifying noise content using FFT analysis procedures. A number of tests on instrumental and synthetic sound sources are described in order to demonstrate how the analysis system may react to certain sounds. The second part of this document consists of several analyses of whole musical works. Works for acoustic instruments are examined first, followed by works for electronic media. During these analyses, it becomes clear that while the use of noise in each work is based largely upon context, some common patterns do exist across different works. The final portion of the paper examines an original work which was written with the function of noise specifically in mind. The original work is put through the same analysis procedures as works seen earlier in the paper, and some conclusions are drawn regarding both the possibilities and limitations of …
Date: May 2010
Creator: Dribus, John Alexander
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Source-bonding as a Variable in Electroacoustic Composition: Faktura and Acoustics in Understatements (open access)

Source-bonding as a Variable in Electroacoustic Composition: Faktura and Acoustics in Understatements

Understatements for two-channel fixed media is a four-movement study of the sonic potential of acoustic instruments within the practice of electroacoustic studio composition. The musical identity of the entire composition is achieved through consistent approaches to disparate instrumental materials and a focused investigation of the relationships between the various acoustic timbres and their electroacoustic treatments. The analytical section of this paper builds on contemporary research in electroacoustic arts. The analysis of the work is preceded by a summary of theoretical and aesthetic approaches within electroacoustic composition and the introduction of primary criteria of sonic faktura (material essence) used in the compositional process. The analyses address the idiosyncratic use of the concept of faktura to contextualize and guide the unfolding of the work. The reconciliation of the illusory electronic textures and the acoustic sources that parented them may be considered the ultimate goal of Understatements.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Rostovtsev, Ilya Y.
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
This Creature, Bride of Christ (open access)

This Creature, Bride of Christ

This Creature, Bride of Christ is a composition for soprano, alto flute, viola, marimba, and computer running custom software for live interactive performance in the Max/MSP environment. The work is a setting of excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe, an early autobiographical manuscript depicting the life of a Christian mystic. The thesis discusses the historical, sociological, and musical context of the text and its musical setting; the use of borrowed materials from music of John Dunstable, Richard Wagner, and the tradition of change ringing; and the technologies used to realize the computer accompaniment. A score of the work is also included in the appendix.
Date: May 2010
Creator: Bober, Nicholas Bradburn
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Creative Process in Cross-Influential Composition (open access)

The Creative Process in Cross-Influential Composition

This dissertation describes a compositional model rooted in cross-influential methodology between complementary musical compositions that share generative source material. In their simultaneous construction, two composition pairs presented challenges that influenced and mediated the other's development with respect to timbre, transposition, pitch material, effects processing, and form. A working prototype first provides a model that is later developed. The first work Thema is for piano alone, and the companion piece Am3ht is for piano and live computer processing via the graphical programming environment Max/MSP. Compositional processes used in the prototype solidify the cross-influential model, demanding flexibility and a dialectic approach. Ideas set forth in the prototype are then explored through a second pair of compositions rooted in cross-influential methodology. The first work Lusmore is scored for solo contrabass and Max/MSP. The second composition Knockgrafton is scored for string orchestra. The flexibility of the cross-influential model is revealed more fully through a discussion of each work's musical development. The utility of the cross-influential compositional model is discussed, particularly within higher academia.
Date: May 2010
Creator: Anderson, Jonathan Douglas
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library

Senior Recital: 2010-11-11 - Kohsuke Tajima, composition

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Music (BM) degree.
Date: November 11, 2010
Creator: Tajima, Kohsuke
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library

Senior Recital: 2010-12-03 - Stephen Dunning, composer

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Recital presented at the UNT College of Music MEIT (M1001) in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Music (BM) degree.
Date: December 3, 2010
Creator: Dunning, Stephen
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library

Senior Recital: 2010-04-16 - Gabriel Bautista, composer and Benjamin Shirey, composer

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Recital presented at the UNT College of Music MEIT (M1001) in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Music (BM) degree.
Date: April 16, 2010
Creator: Bautista, Gabriel & Shirey, Benjamin, 1985-
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library

Senior Recital: 2010-04-02 - Cody W. Forrest, composer (b. 1988) and Michael A. Garman, composer (b. 1988)

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Recital presented at the UNT College of Music MEIT (M1001) in partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Music (BM) degree.
Date: April 2, 2010
Creator: Forrest, Cody W. & Garman, Michael A.
Object Type: Sound
System: The UNT Digital Library
Critical Discussion of Pleroma: A Digital Drama and Its Relevance to Tragic Form in Music (open access)

Critical Discussion of Pleroma: A Digital Drama and Its Relevance to Tragic Form in Music

Pleroma is a digital drama: a work composed of digital animation combined with electroacoustic music, presenting an original dramatic narrative. Pleroma's dramatic elements evoke both the classical form of tragedy and the concept of perceptual paradox. A structural overview of the drama and its characters and a plot synopsis are given to provide context for the critical discussion. Analytical descriptions of Beethoven's Coriolan Overture Op.62 and Mahler's Symphony No. 9 are provided to give background on tragic form and Platonic allegory in music. An investigation into the elements discussed in the analysis of the instrumental works reveals several layers of possible interpretation in Pleroma. Dramatic elements allow for tragic narratives to be constructed, but they are complemented by character associations formed by pitch relationships, stylistic juxtapositions, and instrumentation. A copy of the dramatic text is included to supplement the multimedia production.
Date: December 2010
Creator: Lucas, Stephen, 1985-
Object Type: Thesis or Dissertation
System: The UNT Digital Library
Critical Discussion of Pleroma: A Digital Drama and Its Relevance to Tragic Form in Music captions transcript

Critical Discussion of Pleroma: A Digital Drama and Its Relevance to Tragic Form in Music

Pleroma is a digital drama: a work composed of digital animation combined with electroacoustic music, presenting an original dramatic narrative. Pleroma's dramatic elements evoke both the classical form of tragedy and the concept of perceptual paradox. A structural overview of the drama and its characters and a plot synopsis are given to provide context for the critical discussion. Analytical descriptions of Beethoven's Coriolan Overture Op.62 and Mahler's Symphony No. 9 are provided to give background on tragic form and Platonic allegory in music. An investigation into the elements discussed in the analysis of the instrumental works reveals several layers of possible interpretation in Pleroma. Dramatic elements allow for tragic narratives to be constructed, but they are complemented by character associations formed by pitch relationships, stylistic juxtapositions, and instrumentation. A copy of the dramatic text is included to supplement the multimedia production: http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc33228/
Date: December 2010
Creator: Lucas, Stephen, 1985-
Object Type: Video
System: The UNT Digital Library