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"To Swim In Air Forever Tooloud Laughcrying"
This thesis' focal presentable object – to swim in air – is a mythosystem comprising six iteratively malleable experiential systems of intermedial musical and visual performance works composed by myself between the years 2018 and 2023. Conceived through the lens of Jennifer Walshe's New Discipline, created within my practice cycle's nodal context, and connected by a sub/conscious structure of perceptual timbre, the mythosystem and its parts form the centerpiece of this discussion of context, process, and method. As described in this document, the creative practice of nodal context and the adaptive intermedial methods used in the conceptualization and composition of to swim in air were developed through a personal and pragmatic application of feminist writer and independent scholar Sarah Ahmed's Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others, and composer, musicologist and trombonist George Lewis' curatorial decolonization guidelines as outlined in his "8 Difficult Steps to Decolonizing Music" towards the creation of presentable cultural objects which invite variable and continuous interaction from their participants through the exploration of the reciprocity of community, multi-practice creative strategy and malleable forms. Throughout this document I discuss how through the exploration of the reciprocity of community, multi-practice creative strategy and malleable forms I have addressed concerns of …
Date:
December 2023
Creator:
Fristensky, Louise Anne
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Harmonic Function in Rock: A Melodic Approach
This dissertation explores the influence of melody on harmonic function in pop and rock songs from around 1950 to the present. While authors define the term "function" in several ways, none consider melody in their explanations, and I contend that any discussion of harmonic function in rock must include melody. I offer a novel perspective on function by defining it through what I call tension-as-anticipation, and I define a "melodic function" that accounts for the sense of tension and relaxation a melody creates within a particular moment in a track. My dissertation defines two types of melodic function—dominant and tonic—based on the melody's goal-directed scale-degree content, position within a phrase, and relation with the harmony. Dominant-melodic function results in two musical phenomena that I call the "imposed dominant" and the "dominant remainder." An imposed dominant occurs when a dominant-melodic function is initially dissonant with the harmony and resolves over a tonic. A dominant remainder occurs when a dominant-melodic function occurs over a harmonic resolution to the tonic, creating a slower dissipation of tension. Tonic-melodic function produces a phenomenon I call the "tonic anticipation," where a melody outlines a tonic mode over a pretonic harmony, creating a maximum sense of tension-as-anticipation. …
Date:
December 2023
Creator:
Oliver, Matthew Ryan
System:
The UNT Digital Library
"Music for the End of the World": Sound, Nature, and the Anthropocene
In this document, I discuss the creative process of a piece for instruments, electronics, and video titled Music for the End of the World in the context of the Anthropocene and music's relationship with it. The document is divided into two parts: Part I, divided into three chapters, is a critical essay and Part II, the score for Music for the End of the World. In the first two chapters, I present the conceptual basis for the creation of the piece and discuss relevant musical references. In the third chapter, I describe the creative process in detail and explain how the aesthetic decisions I made relate to the original concept. The first chapter starts by defining the Anthropocene and pointing out some connections between music, colonialism, and ecology. It also highlights some of the Anthropocene potential implications for the arts through the lens of Timothy Morton's post-humanist philosophy. In the second chapter, three important references for the creation of Music for the End of the World are presented: Luigi Nono's Prometeo; Francisco López La Selva; and João Pedro Oliveira's Neshamah. In the third chapter, I present the creative process of Music for the End of the World in detail. It …
Date:
July 2023
Creator:
Macedo de Castro Lima, Marcel
System:
The UNT Digital Library
"Utterances": Approaching a New Acousmatic Praxis
This dissertation is a thorough examination of the problems modern composers of electronic music face when writing or discussing acousmatic music as derived from Pierre Schaeffer. By taking a close examination of Schaeffer's own writings on the subjects of reduced listening and acousmatic sounds, I illustrate the difficulties and inconsistencies in Schaeffer's philosophy and the problems that his reliance on Husserl's phenomenology creates. Further examination of criticisms of Husserl from Derrida and Heidegger highlight the ways that Schaeffer's phenomenology needs to be updated for the modern acousmatic composer. Articles by modern acousmatic composers such as Adrian Moore, Denis Smalley, Simon Emmerson, and others illustrate how artists have dealt with the problems in Schaeffer's ideas and the inconsistent ways they have applied his principles of sound and the sound object. I argue that a new method of musical meaning as a method of composition and analysis is necessary to resolve these conflicts and inconsistencies. This method is found in the writings of J.L. Austin, and Ludwig Wittgenstein through Andrew Chung, who places significant emphasis on the actions and effects that music takes. By reframing the acousmatic problem through meaning-as-use, I attempt to modernize Schaeffer's conceptions of sound and emphasize the significance …
Date:
July 2023
Creator:
Smith, Jonathan Andrew
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Resonant Ecologies: Exploring Interrelationships between Ecological Disciplines and Music Composition
The histories of acoustic ecology, field recording, and soundscape composition are intertwined. This combination of disciplines has lead to the potential for powerful insights, but an over-emphasis on music composition using recorded sound has to led to some problematic tendencies in the study of soundscapes. I begin by tracing the development of acoustic ecology and related disciplines, leading to a proposal for a practice of acoustic ecology that centers the study of all sounds from an ecological perspective and incorporates the insights of creative practices. I include the results and data from my acoustic surveys in Patagonia, Iceland, and Texas. These three locations are varied in their climate, and they are all threatened by noise pollution or human interference from one source or another. Each survey plots out the daily sound activity in a given location and then includes information such as decibel level and the amount of anthropogenic noise. Using the field recordings from my acoustic surveys, I composed a non-linear piece, Resonance Ecology, that generates soundscapes by combining sounds from different locations based on connections such as geography or weather patterns. There is also the option for acoustic performers to perform alongside the electronics, creating an unpredictably evolving …
Date:
July 2023
Creator:
Gerard, Garrison C.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
"Rainpiece": A Modular Work for Flute, Harp, Viola, and Live Electronics
Rainpiece is a composition for flute, viola, harp, and computer, cyclic and open in form, and inviting collaborative improvisation by instrumentalists and computer operator together. It is also a study of water, from torrential downpours and bubbling springs to rivers and waterfalls. The movement of water through the phases of the water cycle is the central metaphor guiding the cyclic and theoretically endless structure of the work. Rainpiece is also a model of community, collaboration, and above all mindful meditation. The metaphor of water is one that focuses the mind, and brings together the community of performers and audience members into a context with which all can connect emotionally. Like the sound of flowing water (which is included in the piece in the form of processed field recordings), the musical ideas of Rainpiece are constantly changing, and yet continually recurring and returning; this connects with concepts of meditation and mantra as well. The work proposes a new direction in interactive chamber music that integrates natural and composed sound worlds, with the goal of shaping a social and acoustic environment that allows for openness, mindfulness, and connection.
Date:
July 2023
Creator:
Tempio, Madeline Grace
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Metaphor and Mimesis in an Animal Soundscape
Metaphor and Mimesis in an Animal Soundscape serves as a supplementary document for two pieces of contemporary concert music; HOWL, for viola, saxophone and fixed media, and Pastorale for viola and fixed media. Both works quote the second movement of Antonio Vivaldi's violin concerto, La Primavera. This quotation is used to support a musical program which explores the larger topic of metaphor in music. In addition, both pieces play with contemporary trends in music including, but not limited to, acoustic ecology and spectralism.
Date:
May 2023
Creator:
Whiting, Willyn R.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Exploring Texas Music Educators' Health Literacy, Musician Health Literacy, and Intentions to Address the Health-Related Fine Arts TEKS in Ensemble Instruction Using the Newest Vital Sign, MHL-Q19, and Integrated Behavior Model
This study assessed music educators' health literacy, musician health literacy, and intentions to teach the health-related Fine Arts TEKS in ensembles. An online survey was developed using the integrated behavior model, Newest Vital Sign (NVS), and Musician Health Literacy Questionnaire (MHL-Q19). Texas music educators who taught secondary band, choir, or orchestra were recruited via email and social media. Results: This survey yielded N = 207 respondents, with 43%, 29%, 14.5%, and 13.5% teaching band, choir, orchestra, and multiple ensembles, respectively. Most participants (67.6%) demonstrated adequate health literacy by answering at least four items correctly on the NVS. Attitude (p =.47) and personal agency (p =.30) were significant predictors of behavioral intention, while perceived norm was not (R2 =.484). Including NVS total score and MHL-Q19 total score in the model showed that while both factors improved the model (ΔR2=.038), only NVS total score was significant (p =.26) in predicting behavioral intention. Music educators in this study had adequate health literacy, which may contribute to their intentions to teach health concepts in ensembles. However, future efforts to improve these intentions should focus on bolstering perceived norms and personal agency by providing music educators with opportunities to take charge of implementing these concepts …
Date:
May 2023
Creator:
Taylor, Meghan S.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
"Idle Flux": A Composer/Choreographer Collaboration
The following thesis documents the collaboration process behind Idle Flux, a collaboration between Samuel A. Montgomery, a graduate composer at University of North Texas, and Emily Jensen, a graduate choreographer at Texas Woman's University. Comprising an 18-minute stereo fixed media composition and choreography for seven dancers, Idle Flux seeks to challenge the traditional spatial relationship between audience members and performers through restructuring seating and stage arrangements while featuring immersive sound design in multiple venues. This thesis considers multiple sources of inspiration, including Immersive Van Gogh® Exhibit Dallas, John Jasperse's Canyon, Zoe | Juniper's BeginAgain, Francisco López's installations, Alexander Ekman's A Swan Lake, Imagine Dragons' "Enemy," Son Lux's "Dream State (Dark Day)," and Ryan Lott's dance compositions. This thesis also examines the interdependent collaborative relationship between composer and choreographer by considering the issues of autonomy and creative control, examining previous collaborative models proposed or implemented by Van Stiefel, José Limón and Norman Lloyd, John Cage and Merce Cunningham, Doris Humphrey and Norman Lloyd. In addition, this thesis discusses the creative process and foundational concepts behind the fixed media composition, including the use of sound samples, exploration of timbre through synthesizers, development of motives and musical language, and the spatialization of sound …
Date:
May 2023
Creator:
Montgomery, Samuel A.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Everything and the Kitchen Sink; or, Towards an Understanding of a Creative Practice, "Codex Symphonia," Metamodernism, and Rhizomic Composition
Creativity is not a hierarchical, but an intertextual, rhizomic process, pulling from a vast array of interests, experiences, and influences. These feed into each other, to inform and motivate artists as creating persons in an ongoing process we call the creative act. Anytime an artist sets out to make something, they are experiencing a dynamic yet concentrated moment of energy in the chaotic cloud of creativity. To demonstrate this, I explore several ideas that inform my piece, Codex Symphonia, including musical influences, but also visual art, film, literature, philosophy, social theory, and politics. In this document, I show that the act of creating a musical work is a deeply personal process that relies heavily on the experiences and vast network of influences on the composer. With this document I look to the contextual structure(s) that point to the possibilities that a work might exist. That is to say that the composition Codex Symphonia is a specific result of an extensive network of ideas and influences not coming from a single origin—it is, in fact all of them together at the same time in a metamodernist act of reconciliation.
Date:
May 2023
Creator:
Reeder, Kory
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Semi-Occluded Vocal Tract Exercises: Understanding the Prevalence and Purposes within the Collegiate Voice Instructor Population
Semi-occluded vocal tract exercises (SOVTEs) have been a topic of research and interest among voice specialists for over three decades. An SOVTE is "any exercise in which the vocal tract is made partially closed at or near the lips." When this kind of occlusion occurs there are numerous consequences that follow, but of primary interest is a beneficial change of impedance. These beneficial changes are still being studied, but efficiency in phonation, as well as a shift in the configuration of the vocal folds during phonation are two significant findings thus far. Efficiency in vocal production is paramount to a performer's vocal health. Therefore, a dissipating impedance or a hindering reactance would be undesirable. Research over the last three decades has largely addressed the degree of reactive inertance possible through such impedance and its health benefits on the speaking and singing voice. The performing arts health aspects of these benefits are increasingly relevant to professional voice users. Although research on SOVTEs has become plentiful and widely available to voice teachers, it is unknown how or if this population is digesting the current performing arts health research and implementing it within their vocal instruction. Understanding the extent to which SOVTE science …
Date:
May 2023
Creator:
Sullivan, Kristen Janell
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Influence of the Preludes from the Well-Tempered Clavier of J. S. Bach on the Preludes and Etudes of Chopin
Bach and Chopin were both virtuosi on their respective keyboard instruments and were considered as successful performers. This study analyzes the Influence of the Preludes from the Well-Tempered Clavier of J. S. Bach on the Preludes and Etudes of Chopin. They both exploited their keyboard instruments to the fullest. The study concluded that what Bach achieved in his preludes and fugues, Chopin imitated in the spirit of his age.
Date:
May 1984
Creator:
Tavaglione, Eunice J.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
A Discussion of Four Cadenzas Written for the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto Opus 58
This paper evaluates the style of four candezas written for the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto, Opus 58. Dennis W. Hay introduces the history of the cadenza before focusing on the works by the individual composers: Beethoven, Brahms, Medtner, and Casadesus.
Date:
August 1983
Creator:
Hay, Dennis W.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Sonny Rollins, His Life and His Music
This paper provides a biographical tribute and analysis of the life and music of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, who is known as one of the greatest jazz musicians. John Gunnar Mossblad explores the man's past, travels, and contributions.
Date:
August 1981
Creator:
Mossblad, John Gunnar
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Vocal-Piano Relationship in Robert Schumann’s Music
This paper highlights the relationship between the vocal and piano music created by composer Robert Schumann. Christina Finch provides an analysis of songful and literary allusion in his piano music and pianistic and instrumental allusion in his songs to draw a prominent connection.
Date:
August 1981
Creator:
Finch, Christina
System:
The UNT Digital Library
A Structural Analysis of the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and String Orchestra in E-flat Major, Opus 109, by Alexander Glazunov, With Suggested Performance Application
This paper provides a historical overview of the creation of the Concerto in E-flat Major for alto saxophone and string orchestra, Op. 109, by Alexander Glazunov, performs a structural and melodic analysis of the piece, and makes suggestions for the application of the findings.
Date:
December 1981
Creator:
Duke, Stephen R.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
An Assessment of the Role of James ”Jimmy” Blanton in the Development of Jazz Bass
This paper evaluates the musical contributions of Jimmy Blanton to the history of jazz bass playing. Rex O. Bozarth investigates the development of the jazz bass throughout the twentieth century, the influences that impacted Blanton's style, and the musical innovations the performer introduced.
Date:
December 1981
Creator:
Bozarth, Rex O.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Evolution of Music for the Flute and Guitar
This paper provides findings on the history of music for flute and guitar in combination. Karen Futterer explores the background of this combination in the seventeenth century and follows its development into the modern day, including prominent forms, composers, and musical trends.
Date:
December 1980
Creator:
Futterer, Karen
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Three Leading Female Roles in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss
This paper discusses De Rosenkavalier, an opera written by Richard Strauss through collaboration with Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and its three leading female roles. Martha Hartman Whitmore divulges the historical background behind the work and compares the three soprano roles.
Date:
December 1980
Creator:
Whitmore, Martha Hartman
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Les Hotteterre et les Chédeville: Three Biographical Sketches in Translation
This paper traces the genealogy of the Hotteterre and the Chédeville families through a translation of three works by Jules Carlez, Ernest Thoinan, Nicolas Mauger. Carol Padgham Albrecht annotates these translations with biographical information and highlights the contributions of the instrument makers.
Date:
December 1980
Creator:
Albrecht, Carol Padgham
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Compositional Techniques Using the Clarinet in the Swing Period in Big Band Jazz
This paper discusses the compositional techniques developed for the clarinet during the Swing period of big band jazz. Victor E. Wertz traces the history of big band jazz and highlights some major clarinetists and their performance techniques.
Date:
August 1979
Creator:
Wertz, Victor E.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of Technical Solutions With Possible Alternatives in the Performance of Chopin’s Etudes, Op. 10
This paper explores the development of the practice of etudes and provides technical solutions for Frédéric Chopin's Etudes, Op. 10. David McKamie explores each etude in turn and considers various methods to perform them.
Date:
August 1979
Creator:
McKamie, David
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Six Mélodies Populaires Grecques, by Maurice Ravel
This paper provides an analysis of Maurice Ravel's song cycle Cinq mélodies populaires grecques and "Tripatos." Pamela D. Hamblin discusses Ravel's musical style of composition and investigates the background and the individuality of the songs.
Date:
August 1979
Creator:
Hamblin, Pamela D.
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Comparison of Bach’s Chaconne in D Minor for Solo Violin and Its Piano Transcription by Ferrucio Busoni (1866-1924)
This paper provides an analysis of Johann Sebastian Bach's Chaconne in D minor for Solo Violin and its piano transcription by Ferrucio Busoni. Hsiao-Hung Ku highlights the value of transcribing music and compares the original work to its transcription.
Date:
August 1979
Creator:
Ku, Hsiao-Hung
System:
The UNT Digital Library