MMus, School of Music, Faculty of Humanities / The Development Works Report (2004:28) described the role played by live music performers in the sub-Saharan region as a military force, a ‘musician corps’ of foot soldiers out in the field of the music industry. Musicians have a vital role to play in defining the industry in which they work. The phrase ‘musician corps’ (2004:28) implies a well-trained, well-informed body of musicians, prepared for the terrain of the music industry. Locally this corps was unfortunately a fragmented body of soldiers, often ill equipped for its task. As a means to better understand how the South African musician corps was performing this vital role of growing the local music industry, research was conducted via interviews and surveys among local musicians in order to collaborate the experience of local performers. Other sources consulted in this research process included local music business conferences and reports and literature sources relevant to live music studies. This research aimed to uncover the state of the local musician corps, to assess the level of industry-relevant skills and knowledge that are required for effective troops and to reveal the attitudes and activities of local musicians. Through this process of data gathering, the question that this research aimed to uncover was whether or not local live performers were sufficiently skilled to develop the live music sector. The majority of the research findings were based on interviews and surveys conducted in the city of Johannesburg.

In this thesis I discuss, analyse and intend to answer the question: What is the best way to capture the sound of the acoustic accordion? It was my desire to explore this theme that led me to this research, and I believe that this question is important to many other accordionists as well. From the very beginning, I wanted the thesis to be not only an academic material but also that it can be used as an instruction manual, which could serve accordionists and others who are interested in this subject, to delve deeper into it, understand it and hopefully get answers to their questions about this subject. The thesis contains five main chapters: Amplifying of the accordion at live events, Processing of the accordion sound, Recording of the accordion in a studio - the specifics of recording of the accordion, Specific recording solutions and Examples of recording and amplifying of the accordion in practice of other accordion players, and two recordings: D. Scarlatti - Sonata D minor K 141, V. Trojan - The Collasped Cathedral. My aim is that this thesis will contribute to create a comprehensive insight into the specifics of capturing the accordion sound, contribute to better understanding of the acoustic properties of the instrument and bring practical answers to questions that many accordionists have. I have chosen to mention very basic technical aspects related to how to capture the sound of the acoustic accordion with respect to potential elementary knowledge of some people in this area. But, I also discuss very specific and professional details and focus on how different kinds of microphones can be used to capture the sound of the acoustic accordion. This is a subject that clearly is understudied and probably not has been a matter for proper research before. Most of my comments and analysis come from my personal experience and different experiments but there is also an interview included in the thesis with one very experienced accordionist who also is a professional music producer. I hope that my thesis will help other accordionists, sound engineers, and anyone else to understand the accordion and its specifics regarding both studio recording and live amplifying.

In the beginning of 2016 the politicians in the city of Stockholm made a decision to renovate the city's civic hall. The building accommodated, among a variety of businesses, a public arts school and a library. The building also accommodated Debaser, which was a one of Stockholm's most popular live music scenes that had hosted a lot of different bands and artist over the years. Due to the decision of renovating the civic hall Debaser had to shut down its business, and as a result of that a debate took off in newspapers and on social media. The debate brought up topics about the importance of Stockholm's live music scene and the process of decision-making in cultural politics. This study aims to describe how the decision was made by the politicians regarding the renovation of the civic hall and how the following debate discusses the topic of live music scenes. I have listed the arguments found in the debate and in the political documents regarding the decision-making process and analyzed them with Dorte Skot-Hansens three cultural rationales and Per Mangsets ten dilemmas of conflicts. Furthermore my result shows, not surprisingly, that the decision was based mainly upon the fact that the civic hall is owned by the municipality of Stockholm and the politicians wanted to promote the municipal enterprises by renovating the building. The discussion about the importance of the live music scene was held in the debate but it was not discussed as thoroughly as it may have seemed.

Heroes Are Born Then Made is a theatre piece involving live actors on stage, and live music originating from an orchestra pit. The script and music is original. The music is meant to literally depict actions and emotions on stage whether the actors are present or not. The duration of the entire production is about two and one-half hours long. Six main actors are used with additional walk-ons. Sixteen musicians are required to make up the orchestra which is organized into a woodwind quartet, a brass trio, a string quartet, a piano, and a percussion quartet. The play is based on the author's conception of how people tend to treat each other when someone is caught at a disadvantage. Specifically it is a depiction of the conflict involved when the minor characters discover that the main character is trying to do something quite different from their definition of "normal."

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Huston Gibson / Often cities are in a perpetual struggle to increase or maintain community development within their districts; how can cities revitalize struggling neighborhoods? How can cities bring energy and life into portions of the downtown? How can cities encourage development for night-time destinations? There is no clear-cut answer to these questions, but this study will examine what amenities within districts may be in the presence of successful music venues. I will determine the district-based criteria for potential venue placement for success based on multiple case studies of different venues located within St. Louis, MO; Omaha, NE; and Indianapolis, IN as described in Yin’s Case Study Research (2009). These case studies will be compared using the community capital framework (Green & Haines, 2012) using a matrix based upon a) social, b) physical, c) financial, and d) cultural capitals. Each study will contain both qualitative and quantitative analysis in order to tell the story of each district for more comprehensive analysis.

The rise in the prevalence of the Internet has had a wide range of implications in nearly every industry. Within the music business, the turn of the millennium came with a unique, and difficult, set of challenges. While the majority of academic literature in the area focuses specifically on the aspect of file sharing within the Internet as it negatively impacts sales within the recording sector, this study aims to assess the Internet’s wider impacts on the broader music industry. In the same time that record sales have plummeted, the live music sector has thrived, potentially presenting alternative business models and opportunities. This paper will discuss a variety of recent Internet-related developments including the rise of legal digital distribution, key economic implications, general welfare effects, changes in consumer preference and social phenomena as they relate to both the recording and live entertainment sectors. I employ a time series multiple regression model to evaluate the statistical significance of the relationship between the Internet’s rise and the value of record sales. For the concert industry, I will examine recent trends and descriptive data as they relate to the Internet’s prevalence.

Austin is the self-proclaimed “Live Music Capital of the World,” and its commitment to the practice of musical performance has created a unique environment for musicians and audiences. In particular, this paper focuses on the history of music in public places in Austin. This creative identity has helped encourage growth that creates stress on cultural and social relations. The conflict over amplified music is one front where this opposition plays out. Currently, the Austin noise ordinance is a decibel-based, quantifiable measurement, but everyone involved must make a greater effort to communicate and compromise in the social sphere. To cultivate a thriving live music scene, a strong commitment from venues, musicians, residents, and city hall is necessary. / text

Increasingly, people attend live music event for diversified experiences that they could not have from listening to music at home or watching a broadcast on TV. Some seek to interact with their idol on site; others enjoy the collective action with audience members who share with them the same music preference. Enhancing audience experiences on live events, therefore, gains popularity. Research focus on crowd behaviors and the possibility of how implementing new technologies into this area. However, few studies have investigated have investigated the impact of individual promotion in the crowds by offering them a particular moment enabling them to feel more connected to the event. To deeply understand requirements from different stakeholders, audiences, and performers, a participatory workshop was conducted through which they acted as co-creators in the development process. Additionally, three qualitative evaluations were carried out to collect feedback on how the design system “HeartBeat” could enhance the audience’s experience. The research found that promoting individual impact and collective action are not conflicting with each other. Instead, they complement one another throughout the live session. “HeartBeat” is not only a design prototype that aims to increase audience experience but also a starting point for future design explorations in live music settings.

Two common vocal processing techniques in pop- and rock music are the use of artificial reverberation or delay. The differences between these effects have been thoroughly studied in the studio environment (Case, 2007; Henriques & Rietveld, 2018; Ronen, 2015), but research is lacking in the live realm. The purpose of this study was to answer the research question: “Understanding the perceived differences in artificial reverberation and delay (echo) on vocals in a live environment. What differences do listeners hear? What do they prefer?”. This was done through a listening test with two groups of participants, the results of which were then compared to opinions and experiences of live sound engineers working professionally within the field. The results of the study showed that listeners preferred stimuli that had been processed with delay and reverb over stimuli that had only been processed with one of the effects. In one of the listener groups, it could be determined that delay was preferred over reverb, but in the other the results were inconclusive. Overall, listeners seemed to prefer hall reverb above plate reverb, and an eighth-note delay over a quarter-note delay.

Background: During live concerts attendees are exposed to excessive high intensity sounds for durations considered dangerous to the auditory system. Thus, regular live music concert attendees are at risk for developing Music Induced Hearing Loss (MIHL) due to their recreational habits. Although MIHL is preventable, current hearing conservation is limited at live music venues. As personal hearing protection is poor within this community, a need for alternative hearing conservation strategies is evident. Method: The objectives of this multi-method quantitative research study was to determine whether venue-based hearing conservation strategies in live music venues are a plausible means of reducing the risk of music induced hearing loss. Four live rock and heavy metal music venues in Johannesburg (South Africa) were included in the study. The current venuebased hearing conservation strategies as well as the acoustic and structural characteristics of these venues are described. In addition, the Sound Pressure Levels (SPLs) were measured throughout the venues. The variance of the mean SPLs between different areas within these venues were then calculated and effects of the structural characteristics on the variance of the sound levels within the venues were determined. Results: The results indicated that hearing conservation including awareness programs and availability of Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) are not currently occurring in the music venues. Music venues further do not comply with the OHSA (2003) regulations nor are they compliant in terms of the acoustic and structural recommendations for reducing the intensity levels in music venues. Statistical analysis indicated at least one pair of significant differences in the mean SPLs recorded in the different areas in each venue. Results further indicated trends in the variance of intensity levels between different areas confirming a positive relationship between each of these five trends and the variance of sound levels. Thus, this study indicates that venue-based hearing conservation strategies may be a plausible means for reducing the risk for MIHL in attendees at live music venues. Implications: Implications of this study are discussed in relation to clinical and practice guidelines for both audiologists, and occupational health personnel, whilst the need for changes in legislation are highlighted.