Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 269-294). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Hamburg, 1985. / Includes bibliographical references (p. lxxvii-lxxxiv).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Iowa, 2004. / Supervisor: Kembrew McLeod. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 219-228).

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2005. Graduate Programme in Social Anthropology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves160-169). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url%5Fver=Z39.88-2004&res%5Fdat=xri:pqdiss &rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR11765

In-depth interviews were conducted with women who use ecstasy for recreation, mainly in the context of the dance event. The aim was to discover the meaning of ecstasy use, and its surrounding culture, for women in the late 1990s. A further endeavour involved disclosing how the body was experienced at the dance event and what this meant to the women. Existential phenomenological analysis led to the following key conclusions. The dance event is experienced as a social space that allows women to be themselves and find a strong sense of belonging. There may be apparent dependence upon the experiences surrounding ecstasy. But, the journey of ecstasy use allows alterations in attitude, and transitions in life, to be experienced, which the women view positively. The women use ecstasy for pleasure, believe themselves to be independent in their use, and do not view their actions as deviant. These findings are important to scholarly literature on female drug users because they redress the gender balance by presenting the specific experiences of women. They also have implications for social policy and health service provision, in the sense that this description of a social world enables understanding, enhances communication and, thus, betters education.

Trance and house music are sub-genres within the genre of electronic dance music. The form of breakdown, buildup and anthem is the main driving force behind trance and house music. This thesis analyzes transcriptions from 22 trance and house songs in order to establish and define new terminology for formal devices used within the breakdown, buildup and anthem sections of the music.

Note:

This is a study about active and passive music listening within the culture of dansband. The purpose of my study is to analyze how the concepts of active and passive music listening operate within the dansband genre and to shed light on the significance of dansband music for its listeners. In addition, I look at the dansband culture to explore how practitioners understand and motivates their engagement with dansband. To this end, I construct a theoretical framework building on previous literature about active and passive music listening. The data consists of qualitative interviews conducted with people who dances and are engaged within the dansband culture. According to the informants, there are a few themes that are more central than others within the dansband culture. I have presented these thematically under the headings “Dansband gives a kind of joy that otherwise is not experienced”, “The question of alcohol”, “Is it possible to separate the dancing from the music and vice versa?”, “Dansband music = music that you can dance to?” and “Skill level in the dance affects the role of music” in an attempt to contribute to a more complex picture of dansband. The results show that the concepts of active and passive music listening could be of better use within dansband if the definitions were wider, seen as a continuum where the concepts could be fluid, and more inclusive when it comes to contextual factors. This is also supported by previous research done in a context of music listening in everyday life.

L’Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) est un courant de musique électronique semi-expérimental qui a émergé au Royaume-Uni au début des années 1990. Souvent considérée comme une musique cérébrale peu propice à la danse, l’IDM n’avait jamais fait l’objet de l’étude nécessaire à la justification d’un tel jugement. Les analyses formelles menées ici sur des œuvres représentatives d’Aphex Twin, pionnier et figure principale du courant, montrent une démarche sophistiquée de complexification rythmique qui a pour effet de solliciter activement l’attention de l’auditeur. D’une part, l’asymétrie organisée aux différents niveaux du rythme provoque des phénomènes d’ambigüité et de rupture sur le plan de la perception métrique. D’autre part, l’abondance d’ensembles microrythmiques, parfaitement synchronisés avec la structure métrique, produit un dense et précis enrichissement du rythme opéré sous forme d’agréments gestuels ou texturaux. Ces particularités musicales résultent d’un lot de choix prédominants définissant le style de l’artiste et, par la même occasion, fournissent les premiers éléments d’une définition de l’IDM basée sur des caractéristiques formelles. / Intelligent Dance Music (IDM) is a semi-experimental genre of electronic music that emerged in UK at the turn of the 1990s. Even though IDM has been described as a kind of cerebral music not appropriate for dancing, it has not been considered worth of musicological study until now. This thesis presents formal analyses of pieces by pioneering act and main IDM figure Aphex Twin: listeners’ attention is notably drawn by Aphex Twin's sophisticated approach and complex rhythmic structures. On the one hand, the different rhythmic layers are characterized by an organized asymmetry leading to ambiguity and rupture in the domain of metrical perception. On the other, the large amount of microrhythmic elements, all perfectly synchronized to the metric structure, contribute to greatly enrich rhythm through gestural and textural material. These musical characteristics, that are the result of a number of choices peculiar to the artist’s style, open the way to a formal definition of IDM.

The purpose of this study is to set forth certain principals or rules, Which, if adhered to, will be a beginning in the training of the young musician who would make the playing of dance music his profession. Be it understood that this is only an embryonic work and as such it should not be considered a final and irrevocable treatise on this topic. Actual work and development in this field will probably see many of the practices recommended herein relegated to a less important stage while items not mentioned, or perhaps mentioned and treated without undue stress, may come to the foreground of importance. It is hoped that this work will help in paving the way for a sincere and unprejudiced program of training for the young dance musician. However, before venturing into any discussion concerning dance music, it is necessary to have a clear understanding as to what fields of music are included in the term dance music.