The purpose of this study is to investigate the g-d-G-C scordatura tuning for the double bass. The study will survey the historical use, develop a theoretical rational, investigate the pedagogical implications, and explore the compositional opportunities of the scordatura tuning.Though there are many unanswered questions concerning the historical use of this tuning system, it is clear that the double bass has a long history of using scordatura tunings. The sympathetic/fifths tuning (g-d-G-C) was the basis of Violoncello Suite No. 5 by J. S. Bach, and there are three known later uses of it.After a brief history of temperament, the study concludes that this particular tuning greatly improves the resonance and intonation of the double bass. The placement of the g/G strings between the d and C strings strengthens the sonic output and vibrancy of the bass because of the close relationships between the natural harmonic series of each string. The proximity of the tuning to the upper part of the circle of fifths (C/G/D) is an additional benefit.Though the scordatura tuning creates more difficult technical challenges than the all-fourths tuning, this tuning system works well in orchestral, solo and jazz performance. The scordatura tuning is easily adapted to the bass guitar and offers many new opportunities for jazz improvisation. This tuning system is not particularly effective in popular commercial music venues.Since the 1960's new pedagogical approaches to sequence of instruction, concepts of position and approaches to fingerings have emerged. This new school of bass pedagogy suggests how a method could be developed for learning the scordatura tuning.Most of the traditional orchestral, ensemble, solo and jazz literature can be adapted to the tuning. Though it may be technically possible to play a work originally written for the all-fourths tuning using sympathetic/fifths, such a transcription may not be appropriate.Finally, the study includes four original compositions with analysis and discussion that demonstrate the idiomatic possibilities of the tuning: Sonata No. 5 for Scordatura Double Bass, Quartet No. 3B for Mixed Double Basses, Overture for Jazz Combo, and Concerto No. 3 for Scordatura Double Bass.Total Words of Abstract: 347 (does not include title) / School of Music

Diverse practicing methods are evidence of the importance of applying creativity in our practice regimes. Regardless of a player's technique - traditional or modern - it must be regularly practiced and then applied. One of the most common ways to do that is through practicing technical exercises, which generally means the practice of scales, arpeggios and etudes. These exercises generally function as a warm-up regime for all musicians, but this regime doesn't necessarily provide enough reference for the player in the learning process of a new piece. Adapting exercises to address technical difficulties in a newly learned piece can provide the player with a wide range of practice methods to use, to be creative, to be more aware while practicing, and to build a solid technical foundation for the newly learned piece. Two well-known pedagogues who applied this approach are German bassist Ludwig Streicher and Czech violinist Otakar Ševčik. By implementing analytical studies and composing exercises based on the standard repertoire, Ševčik and Streicher became highly influential teachers in the 20th century. Their work serves as a model in achieving the purposes of this dissertation: the assessment of technical difficulties and compilation of a technique booklet based on six unaccompanied contemporary solo pieces written as required works for the solo competition of the International Society of Bassists' biennial convention since 2007.

This research investigates a microcosm of the free jazz/free improvisation environment of the 1970s in "Waterfall," from the album Dave Holland/Sam Rivers Vol. 1. This recording features Dave Holland and Sam Rivers exhibiting highly developed improvisational language and effortless interaction. The purpose of this investigation is to create pedagogical material for bassists who are unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with performing in an improvisational style that exists separately from the rigid, instrumental role hierarchy of common practice jazz. An analysis of musical elements including melody, rhythm, form, and energy through systems of musical contour, musical forces, and form analysis reveal constituent patterns that can be isolated. These patterns are codified and presented as pedagogical suggestions to assist in the practice of free improvisation.

One of the essential difficulties encountered while preparing a piece for a pre-professional player is defining the piece's technical challenges and doing exercises or etude studies accordingly. Based on this fact, in my thesis, I described the technical challenges of Edouard Nanny's Dragonetti A Major concerto under the headings and suggested technical studies suitable for these difficulties. The titles represented are string crossing, bow strokes, thumb position and vertical-horizontal approaches, harmonic arpeggios and horizontal playing in harmonics, intonation and shifting, and double stops. In the last step of each heading, I associate these technical studies with an excerpt from a more advanced piece than this concerto in the double bass repertoire. Accordingly, the thesis aims to define a working path for Nanny's Dragonetti A Major Double Bass Concerto and, at the same time, to be a preliminary preparation for the more technically challenging works of the repertoire.