This dissertation examines a recently discovered archive of films, recordings, photographs and documents relating to the New York jazz lofts of the 1970s. The work not only reconstructs historical details about the lofts, but also explores the significance of the archival project itself, an independent venture founded in 2005 by musician and former loft organizer Juma Sultan. By combining historical research in the Sultan archive and ethnographic engagement with former loft artists, the study examines the continued symbolic significance of the loft era for musicians, listeners and historians. The jazz lofts were independently owned, musician-run spaces in lower Manhattan that served as performance venues, rehearsal halls, living quarters, classrooms and in a variety of other functions. Their emergence is best considered as part of a widespread, politically informed impetus among musicians of the period to organize their own concerts and collective organizations. While the activities shared many similarities with other artist-organized groups emerging in Chicago, St. Louis and elsewhere, the lofts’ independence and lack of a central organizing body led to a more diffuse set of activities than manifested in other cities. The dissertation is structured around two primary goals. First, through archival study and ethnographic engagement, the text traces the musical and social significance of the loft period. Following a basic historical chapter, two thematic discourses are examined at length. The first deals with multivalent forms of freedom envisioned by artists, while the second explores ways that participants conceptualized community and social cohesion. The choice of these discourses is informed by descriptions offered in ethnographic interviews with former loft artists. Second, the research considers the role of the archive itself in the re/construction of historical discourses. A notable self-archiving impulse emerged among jazz artists during the years under study, resulting in thousands of amateur recordings in dozens of private collections. Using the Sultan Archive as the primary case study, the dissertation argues that this self-archiving impulse acts as an artist-initiated intervention into historiographic processes that mirrors the musician-organized ethos of the lofts themselves. / Music

Improvisation is regarded as the most sublime element in the jíbaro folk music tradition of Puerto Rico. This tradition originated by the jíbaro, the simple rural farmer of Puerto Rico's heartland, involves the complicated art of improvising in décima, a ten-line poetic form, as well as improvisation of melodic lines played on the cuatro, a small guitar-like instrument. Since jíbaro improvisation is an art that is transmitted orally and involves a seemingly spontaneous act, it might seem odd to talk about a theory of improvisation within this style of music. My ethnographic research however has revealed that improvisation in jíbaro music is actually a highly structured performance practice and involves an informal theory that is based on the knowledge of archetypal patterns that generate and organize jíbaro improvisations.Recent theories of music which establish parallels between music, language, and cognition (Lerdhal and Jackendoff; Clarke; Gjerdingen) have lead me to believe that improvisation in jíbaro music is generated by the combination of archetypal patterns that create a musical syntax. These patterns are stored in minds of jíbaro performers as cognitive schemas. My study is also based on the work of Puerto Rican scholars Luis M. Alvarez and Angel Quintero who have identified African rhythmic patterns as the generative musical source in many styles of Puerto Rican folk music. By combining theories of music and ethnographic methods, this paper will provide a greater understanding of orally transmitted cultural expressions, which utilize improvisation, as well as give insight to the cognitive processes that shape this performance practice.

In this essay, I will treat the view of learning and musicianship among educated and uneducated musicians in improvised music. The survey is based on six different interviews with musicians in improvised music. In my inquiry, I have found that there are some differences between the two groups in their view of the subject.

In the education process of the elder students (of 8 – 12 classes) of the secondary school the pedagogical activity is to be oriehted to the needs of the needs of the student, upbringing of creative abilities improvising on the music lessons, capability to adopt the modern digital technologies in various self-expression areas. Namely the lack of digital technologies influences the little interest of students for music lesson: it conditions the passivity and causes the problems of discipline. The object of research is formation of creative activity of student of secondary school using digital technologies on music lessons. Objective is to reveal the importance of introduction of musical improvisations and particularities of creation by students using digital technologies, also forming the positive and active attitude of students towards the taught subject of music. Hypothesis is raised that if the synthesizer, computer and other digital technologies are used on music lesson in order to develop the creative activity of the student then the attitude of students toward subject of music will become more motivated, the musical subject will become more motivated, the musical subject will assume more attractiveness. The methods of theoretical, empirical and mathematical analysis are used in this work. The descriptive research was performed in the Dzukijos secondary school of Alytus. 226 students (of 8 – 12 classes) and teachers of music of secondary schools from Alytus city and... [to full text]

Tyrimo tikslas: atskleisti jaunojo suaugusiojo amžiaus asmenų požiūrį į improvizacijos taikymą universitetiniame teatre. Tyrimo objektas: teatrinis ugdymas universitetiniame teatre. Tyrimo nulinė hipotezė: improvizacijos taikymas universitetiniame teatre yra prasmingas ir aktualus išryškinantis naujas teatrinės formos bei teatrinės technikos sklaidos ypatybes teatriniame ugdyme. Tyrimo uždaviniai. 1) Išanalizuoti mokslinę literatūrą apie pagrįsti universitetinio teatro, improvizacijos sampratas. 2) Išanalizuoti požiūrį į improvizacijos taikymą Vilniaus universiteto „Kiemo“ teatre. 3) Atskleisti būdingiausius improvizacijos taikymo bruožus, jos vietą ir paskirtį šiuolaikiniame studentiškame teatre. 4) Pateikti tobulinimo gaires ir ateities perspektyvas improvizacijos tema. Tyrimo metodai. Teoriniai: mokslinės literatūros sisteminė analizė. Empiriniai: kiekybiniai metodai (anketinė apklausa); kokybiniai metodai (iš dalies struktūruotas interviu). Tyrimo etapai: 1 etapas: išanalizuoti mokslinę literatūrą, apibrėžiančią studentiško teatro, improvizacijos sampratas. 2 etapas atlikti kiekybinę analizę (apklausa tarp VU „Kiemo“ teatro, VGTU teatro - studijos „Palėpė“ ir S. Bernotaitės trupės „Insider“). 3 etapas atlikti kokybinę duomenų analizę (interviu) ir pateikti išvadas. Išvados: 1) Improvizacija gali būti taikoma kaip metodas ir kaip savarankiška meninio ugdymo technika, kuri pasižymi tarpdiscipilniškumu. Improvizacija gali aprėpti kūrybinio proceso intelektinių galių plėtotę... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the research: to discover the attitude of young matured person towards the application of improvisation in the university theatre. The object of the research: theatre education at the university theatre. The initial hypothesis of the research: the application of improvisation in the university theatre is meaningful and of present interest, emphasizes new forms of the theatre as well as spreads the features of theatre techniques in theatre education. The goals of the research. 1) To analyze scientific literature about amateur theatre and to prove the conception of improvisation at the university theatre. 2) To analyze attitude towards application of improvisation at Vilnius University „Kiemas“ theatre. 3) To reveal the most common features of applying improvisation, improvisation‘s place and purpose in modern student theatre. 4) To provide improvement guidelines and future perspectives concerning improvisation theme. The methods of the research. Theoretic: the systematic analysis of scientific literature. Empiric: quantitative methods (survey with questionnaire); qualitative methods (partly structured interview). The stages of the research: 1 stage: to analyze scientific literature, that describes the understanding of improvisation in the student theatre. 2 stage: to accomplish quantitative analysis (the questionnaire for Vilnius University „Kiemas“theatre, VGTU theatre - studio „Palėpė“ and S. Bernotaitė troupe „Insider“). 3 stage: to perform qualitative analysis... [to full text]

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1988.

Following López, I claim that although any sound can be music, not all sound is music. Soundscape composition begins when a soundscape prompts the composer to engage musically with it. How this engagement manifests is influenced by composers’ differing philosophical, practical and aesthetic positions. These are explained in Part I and provide the basis to my analysis of soundscape composition. Part II focuses on how my soundscape composition manifests (in ways prescriptive, spontaneous and retrospective), how it is explored both temporally and spatially and how the listening subject and the acoustic agent are inextricably linked. Within the developmental phases of context, field work and editing, my first compositional approach, through which my works can be identified, is defined in three ways: as hyper-real (in which particular acoustic elements are exaggerated, distorted or re-combined); as soundwalks (in which the microphone is moved through space) and as improvisational intervention (using musical instruments to acoustically illuminate the space being recorded). My second compositional approach presents the perception of sound as micro, macro and ambient. My third approach, which is at the heart of all my soundscape composition, uses the microphone as a musical instrument in its own right. In all approaches, serendipity and my own acoustic presence are embraced. Diffusion of my work is intended to engage the listener in creative contemplation of soundscapes, any other perceived agendas such as documentation being incidental.

Practical Approach In this project I have been exploring how to work intuitively and exploratory with animation, lyrical animation, dynamic paintings – whatever you might call it. Traditional animation is meticulous; it has a strong emphasis on planning the storytelling. This approach derives from the fact that the production of traditional animation is extremely time-­‐consuming and thus expensive in either time or money. I started this project with an experience of how modern software and hardware can help you bypass these hurdles, and perhaps enabling a more experimental, improvising approach without necessarily compromising the output quality. I have my starting point in illustration and acrylic painting as a medium, which I, in this project have been implementing in the software After Effects Theoretical Approach I make sense of the world through metaphors. The metaphor allows me to understand something even though I haven’t experienced it myself. An experience, a sensation, can have transparent qualities. It can be superimposed onto the experiences of others; scaled up or down a bit or change the time and the setting. Perhaps it is this, which allows us to have empathy? When I tell a story, I am making a room of my feelings that others can step into and we can share an experience. In this project, I have been trying to find a way to tap into the vapors of my imagination. Through intuition-­‐driven animation excises, I try to solidify my vague inklings, hoping to make my mind somewhat permeable to yours.

This thesis argues that how-to manuals and cue sheets are indicative of ideal performance practice amongst musicians from the silent film era. Pre-scored music was widely practiced amongst musicians. How-to manuals and cue sheets helped the musician accurately and consistently accompany a film. Authors of period manuals include W. Tyacke George, Edith Lang and George West, Ernst Luz and George Tootell. Compilers of cue sheet include James C. Bradford, Ernst Luz, Edward Kilenyi and Michael P. Krueger. Cue by cue analyses of The Cat and the Canary and The Gaucho show a high repetition of music, establishing continuity between the music played and the image on the screen. This shows how compilers associated music and film. These manuals and cue sheets prove that the musician community strove for a close connection between the image on screen and accompaniment. By 1920, arbitrary improvisation was unacceptable.

Syftet med det här utvecklingsarbetet har varit att pröva olika metoder att arbeta med dansimprovisation på gymnasieskolans estetiska program dansinriktningen. Jag har upplevt att detofta har varit svårt i början för eleverna att släppa hämningar och krav och att våga utforskaegna rörelser i tid, rum och kraft. I det här utvecklingsarbetet prövades som metod tre olikauttryck: rörliga bilder, en text eller ett musikstycke. Därför var jag nyfiken på hur elevernaupplevde de olika estetiska inspirationskällorna och om någon kunde öka elevens motivationatt arbeta med dansimprovisation. Samtidigt ville jag knyta ihop några moment ur kursernascentrala innehåll med förhoppning om att eleverna skulle få en ökad förståelse för denskapande processen i dans. För att få en uppfattning av hur eleverna upplevde det härupplägget utvärderades arbetet genom egna observationer och intervjuer av eleverna.Resultatet visade att eleverna upplevde en ökad motivation att improvisera till rörliga bilderoch musik. Eleverna uppfattade även att de hade fått en bredare förståelse avdansimprovisation verktyg för att skapa dans när några moment ur kursernas centrala innehållsamverkade som en helhet. Samtliga elever upplevde arbetet med de olika metoderna som enpositiv erfarenhet. / The aim of this developing project has been to try different ways of inspiration when workingwith dance improvisation at the dance programme in upper secondary education. The sourcesI used in this project were moving pictures, a piece of music and a text. I was interested toexplore if the dance students experienced a greater inspiration from any particular source thatcould result in increased motivation to work with dance improvisation. I also wanted to linkrelevant parts of the purposes of each subjects from the curriculum of the dance programmehoping to bridge the gap between the practice of dance and dance theory and to see if thestudents gained a better understanding of the creative process in dance. The project was assessed through my observations and interviews of the students. The results showed that thestudents felt more motivated to improvise to moving pictures and to music. Students alsoperceived that they had received an increased understanding of dance improvisation as a toolfor creating dance when relevant contents of the different courses interacted as a whole. Allstudents experienced the work of the various methods as positive experience.