The object of the present work has been to trace the evolution of stringed keyboard instruments from the monochord to the present day piano forte. So many inventions have occurred that a chronology of these would be both tedious and of little added value to the existing literature. In the present work the emphasis has been on those innovations which achieved some measure of popularity and can be regarded as essential steps in arriving at the products and methods of modern piano manufacturers. In order to bring this work up to date, visits have been paid to John Broadwood & Sons and the British Piano Museum in London; to the Essex Institute and Pingree House in Salem, Massachusetts; the Smithsonian Institute (Division of Musical Instruments) in Washington; the various Yamaha Factories in Hamamatsu, Japan; and the Piano Manufacturing Company in Wellington, South Africa. Special attention has also been paid to the development and popularity trends of mechanical, pneumatic and electric pianos. In the last Chapter of this study, the information gained is applied to the identification and dating of stringed keyboard instruments found in South Africa or referred to in newspapers or Africana.

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System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Accompanied by 4 recitals, recorded Jan. 12, 2004, Nov. 22, 2004, Apr. 14, 2006, and June 10, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66).

Thesis supervisor: Christine S. Getz. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-111).

Dietrich Buxtehude (ca. 1637-1707) was a North German composer of the mid-Baroque period. He lived in a time and place in which classical rhetoric, the study of oratory, influenced education, religion, and music. Applying the definition of rhetoric as the art of persuasion, this study surveys the different persuasive strategies employed by Buxtehude in his various keyboard genres. The elements considered in this inquiry include the affects of keys and modes, rhetorical figures, and structures of speeches as applied to music. The style and setting (ethos), intellectual content (logos), and emotional effect (pathos) are explored in each genre as elements of rhetorical persuasion. This study reveals that different genres of Buxtehude's keyboard music utilize different rhetorical strategies and techniques. These strategies vary according to the purpose of the music (i.e., secular or sacred), the presence or absence of an associated text, and the form of the composition. The chorale preludes, since they are driven by texts, use figures such as hypotyposis, assimilatio, anabasis and catabasis, to musically highlight important words in the text, or to amplify the text's underlying meaning. The suites, and parts of the variations, reflect the affects of the various dance movements as described by Johann Mattheson, Gregory Butler, and Patricia Ranum. The rhetorical nature of contrapuntal works is considered in terms of solving a musical issue through musical proofs, as described by Daniel Harrison. Finally, the praeludia embody the rhetorical form of the classical dispositio, or form of a forensic speech. These sectional works are arranged in such a way as to advantageously present both emotional and intellectual facets of a musical oration.The study also asserts that it is stylistically appropriate, given the audience-centered values of rhetorical persuasion, to perform Buxtehude's manualiter works at the piano, providing that they are played in a manner consistent with the style and structure of the music. This view is fortified by evidence that Baroque musicians, compared to modern musicians, were far less specific about instrumentation and musical details. An appendix offers specific performance suggestions for pianists in each of the works discussed in the study.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Yamaha Music In Education (MIE) keyboard instructional approach on selected musical and nonmusical outcomes of middle school students. One hundred and thirty-four middle school students from Miami, Florida were involved in the study. Experimental group participants (n = 68) received the MIE keyboard instructional approach, and were compared to a control group (n = 66) with no music instruction. The study was implemented for the academic school year from November 2004 to April 2005. Musical outcomes were reflected in students' music achievement and music attitudes. Music achievement was measured using the Iowa Tests of Music Literacy (ITML) (Gordon, 1991), and music attitude was evaluated through the Instrumental Music Attitude Inventory (IMAI) (Fortney, 1992). The nonmusical outcomes included students' motivation and self-esteem, using the Achievement Motivation Profile (AMP-Junior Form) (Mandel, Friedland, & Marcus, 2006), and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) (Coopersmith, 1981) respectively. Report card grades in math and reading, as well as school attendance records were obtained from the participating school to measure students' academic achievement and school attendance.

Abstract A piano is called ¡§the king of instruments¡¨. Almost every great musician writes good compositions for piano, and they are also good pianoists. Piano almost appears in every concert. Bartolomeo Cristofori made the first instrument that we recognize as a piano today in 1709.It is an important invention in music history. The basic structure of a modern piano was approximately decided in 19 century. Many patents were designed to improve the performance of piano in these years, but they didn¡¦t change the basic structure of piano. The research adopts the method of structure synthesis to design new piano and brings up a new idea ¡§linkage controls a hammer¡¨ to improve the performance of a piano.

The purpose of this paper was to analyze and discuss Joan Tower’s solo keyboard compositions through 2007. This includes five piano pieces—Circles, Fantasia, Red Garnet Waltz, No Longer Very Clear, Big Steps—and an organ piece, Ascent. Tower’s compositional style can be divided into two periods. In the first period, where serial music predominates, I discussed twelve-tone row forms and contemporary keyboard techniques as found in two works, Circles and Fantasia. In her second period, I discussed these characteristics: one movement structures, her organic approach to composition, and her use of motivic development. Further, I included a discussion of form, scales, harmony, rhythm, and some performance issues. / School of Music

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Dissertation (D.M.A.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2009. / Directed by Andrew Willis; submitted to the School of Music. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 6, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 54).