Music

Previous studies of the relative pitch of intervals composed of Shepard tones (Shepard, 1964) revealed a sinusoidal structure of the directional distortion. Deutsch and coworkers found a similar sinusoidal structure when tritones alone were presented to listeners (Deutsch, 1987). In the first study, the tritone paradox was studied among listeners in Florida. The typical sinusoidal response function appeared for averaged data as well as for tones generated in two different octave ranges, consistent with earlier work (Deutsch, 1991; 1994). The degree of context sensitivity of tritones composed of Shepard tones and Deutsch tones is discussed in terms of what we call a whole tone context. This idea is explored in the second study. The second study measures the relative distribution and rate of new musical information growth in melodic flows in pre-20th and 20th century diatonic styles, and compares these with 20th century melodies in whole tone and pantonal compositional settings. Three measures of complexity were used in these analyses: (1) metric or probabilistic entropy, hM, is derived from the melodic sequence as a Markov process yielding a logarithmic quantifier of the dispension of statistical weight in its asymptotic distribution; (2) topological entropy, hT, quantifies the logarithmic rate of growth of new pitch pattern subsequences along the melodic line; (3) hT - hM = 0 in a uniformly random system so that deviation from zero indicates nonuniformity in the melodic line, i.e., [(hT - hM) < 0]1 < [(hT - hM) < 0]2 says the former makes more motions on fewer melodic elements. Analyses of 34 compositions indicated that the metric entropy, hM, alone is not distinguishing, consistent with the findings of Boon and Decroly (1990). However, the topological entropy, hT, quantified differences within a composer's work, and the ratio hT - hM distinguished among composers. The findings suggest that complexity measured by the difference (ratio) in entropy computations is lower in 20th century styles in which the tritone is part of the interval vocabulary (e.g., Bartok and Schoenberg) than in 19th or 20th century styles (e.g., Mozart and Prokofiev) in which functional harmony dominates the tonal picture and the tritone is considered an altered fourth or fifth. The metric and topological entropies considered together suggest a technique for quantifiable characterization of differences between the works of composers studied, including those of the 20th century.

This study provides a phenomenological analysis of living the experience of listening to music while recovering from surgery. The qualitative method used was that of Van Manen, as adapted by Munhall and outlined by Madayag. Specifically, this study describes three themes that emerged from transcribed interviews from eight participants who listened to music during recovery: (1) "comfort" from a discomforting condition which reveals the existential lived world of temporality; (2) "familiarity" in a strange environment, revealing the lived world of spaciality, and (3) "distraction" from fear, pain and anxiety, as the lived world of corporeality. In addition, implications for nursing research, practice, and education are discussed.

The horn, though not a typical jazz instrument, has been a part of the jazz world from its earliest days. Harry James, Claude Thornhill and Glenn Miller Bands each used French horns. Julius Watkins and John Graas, both horn players, established themselves as composers and improvisers. Since the 1960's, others have followed in their footsteps: Vincent Chancey, Tom Varner, Peter Gordon, Arkady Shilkloper, John Clark, Sharon Freeman, Mark Taylor and Ken Wiley. That being said, the world of jazz horn, though expanding, is still exceedingly small. Horn players ready to explore the idiom of jazz may find teachers, resources and opportunities to be in short supply. This paper will explore various resources available to horn players and teachers. Included are transcriptions of three songs as performed by Willie Ruff.

The history of the Boca Pops, so named because it performed popular rather than classical music, began in 1951 with a modest municipal band of 20 volunteer musicians who performed at a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Boca Raton's Sanborn Square. Yearly, the Pops grew in size and popularity, dominating the local cultural scene, and, as success bred success, the Boca Pops grew into a Titanic. By the late 1980s, the Pops had blossomed into a 95-piece professional orchestra with an annual budget of $2.6 million. Obtaining funds from the state, corporations, ticket sales and wealthy social leaders, the Pops seemed to hum along successfully. However, unbeknownst to anyone outside the board room, financial problems surfaced and were left untreated, growing with each passing year. Huge amounts of debt snowballed out of control and ultimately sank the waterlogged organization in 2001.

I investigated how two types of rhythmic complexity, syncopation and tempo fluctuation, affect the neural and behavioral responses of listeners. The aim of Experiment 1 was to explore the role of attention in pulse and meter perception using complex rhythms. A selective attention paradigm was used in which participants attended either to a complex auditory rhythm or a visually presented list of words. Performance on a reproduction task was used to gauge whether participants were attending to the appropriate stimulus. Selective attention to rhythms led to increased BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent) responses in basal ganglia, and basal ganglia activity was observed only after the rhythms had cycled enough times for a stable pulse percept to develop. These observations show that attention is needed to recruit motor activations associated with the perception of pulse in complex rhythms. Moreover, attention to the auditory stimulus enhanced activity in an attentional sensory network including primary auditory, insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex, and suppressed activity in sensory areas associated with attending to the visual stimulus. In Experiment 2, the effect of tempo fluctuation in expressive music on emotional responding in musically experienced and inexperienced listeners was investigated. Participants listened to a skilled music performance, including natural fluctuations in timing and sound intensity that musicians use to evoke emotional responses, and a mechanical performance of the same piece, that served as a control. Participants reported emotional responses on a 2-dimensional rating scale (arousal and valence), before and after fMRI scanning. During fMRI scanning, participants listened without reporting emotional responses. Tempo fluctuations predicted emotional arousal ratings for all listeners.

The goal of this research is to discover Shostakovich's inspiration and motivation for writing the Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues. Through the in-depth research of the cycle, this thesis will discuss the different aspects of the unique harmonic ambiguity of both the preludes and the fugue subjects so that readers understand Shostakovich's language of musical communication. Shostakovich lived during a transitional period in the history of Russia when totalitarianism was being challenged. The research will also explore how the political environment influenced his composition during those years.

The Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965 initiated the translation of the Roman Catholic liturgy into languages other than Latin, spurring numerous ethnic musical settings which have seemingly departed from the unitive nature of a universal Latin liturgy. Following an examination of the musical history of the Latin liturgy, this document examines the changes introduced into music for the Roman Catholic liturgy after Vatican II, discussing how different parishes have subsequently incorporated the teachings of the Council with regard to music for the liturgy. The study then addresses specific post-Vatican II musical settings for the liturgy through an analysis of examples from different cultural backgrounds and a discussion of their positive usage and unifying effects within Catholic communities, in order to demonstrate that through their inclusion of diverse musical and cultural styles united with fidelity to Church teaching, post- Vatican II settings can continue the Church's catholic (universal) mission.

Mathilde Marchesi played a significant role in vocal education during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Marchesi taught many of the prominent female vocalists of her time and published a wealth of material based on the bel canto style and her own vocal methods. The research presented includes an examination of musical influences in early years, and provides information related to Marchesi's studies with Manuel Garcia II who played an important role in Mathilde's training and future devotion to the bel canto style. Section II defines the Marchesi method, with analysis of her techniques and methodology. Information on three of her most well known students - Nellie Melba, Emma Eames, and her own daughter, Blanche Marchesi, is presented in Section III along with narrative offering insight into Marchesi's personality and character. The thesis concludes with discussion of the viability and applicability of Marchesi's vocal pedagogy one hundred years after her death.