The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of the identification of nasality using waveshape analysis, as opposed to spectrum analysis. Previously attempted spectrographic studies have revealed no consistent or reliable results. Further spectrum analysis failed to discover any consistent distinguishing accoustical characteristics that could reliably aid in the discrimination between nasality and other vocal qualities. / The results of this study indicate that the number of zero crossings in a waveform varies directly with the degree of nasality in a singer's voice. Electronic instrumentation was desgned to measue the frequency of the zero crossing in a waveshape. This instrumentation was used in the analysis procedure. / It was found that the zero crossing circuit correctly identified nasal samples in 9 out of 10 cases. These results indicate that the electronic zero crossing indicator used in this study provided a valid means of detection of the presence of nasality in the singing voice. / Continued investigation is urged to utilize waveshape analysis in the design of an electronic nasality detection system. Zero crossing measurements should be used either as the basis of the design or in conjunction with other identifying characteristics of nasality that may be determined from further analysis. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, Section: A, page: 0579. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

A concerted work for Violoncello solo and symphony orchestra, approximately 23 minutes in duration. The composition is in one continuous movement, divided into three major sections with distinct subsections. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-06, Section: A, page: 1739. / Thesis (D.Mus.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The purpose of this study is to examine the formal designs and stylistic characteristics that U2 employs. It is my contention that, in addition to business savvy and commercial promotion, U2's sustained success has been a result of stylistic originality and musical complexity. The research in this dissertation is three-tiered. First, it identifies the salient sonic characteristics that distinguish U2's music from the music of other bands. Second, using those characteristics, it examines the various formal organizations U2 uses throughout its catalogue. This step requires analysis of each section's function and relationship to surrounding sections as well as to the song as a whole, which entails detailed examination of several elements including harmony, melody, lyrics, instrumentation, timbre, recording and production techniques, rhythm, meter, and motivic content. Third, I provide detailed analyses of several songs across the band's career to demonstrate how U2 constructs songs and how each member incorporates his own unique musical perspective into these formal designs. This study adopts a hybrid outlook on form and formal process, one that combines aspects of several different theories of form with original analytical strategies. I employ both "bottom-up" and "top-down" approaches to formal construction, graphical analysis in the form of electronic waveforms and spectrographs, as well as linear reductive methods, and traditional rhythmic, metric, melodic, and harmonic analysis. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music. / Spring Semester, 2008. / Date of Defense: February 25, 2008. / Irish, Rock Music Analysis, Popular Music Analysis, Specific Form, Overall Form, Bridge, Interverse, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Bono, Style, Form, U2, Spectrograph, Arch-Map / Includes bibliographical references. / Jane Piper Clendinning, Professor Directing Dissertation; James R. Mathes, Committee Member; Matthew R. Shaftel, Committee Member; Charles E. Brewer, Outside Committee Member.

In his thirty years as Executive Director of ACDA, Dr. Gene Brooks has demonstrated his passion for choral music through his work in the organization. The present study documents (1) Brooks' development from childhood through his early career as a musician and choral music educator; (2) his early involvements with ACDA; and (3) his contributions to ACDA as Executive Director. This study concludes that the contacts Brooks made in his early childhood proved to be beneficial in his work with ACDA. Brooks' relationship with Louise D. McMahon and the McMahon Foundation allowed him to raise funds needed for the building of the original ACDA Headquarters in Lawton, Oklahoma, the expansion of the Lawton headquarters, and the McMahon International Museum of Choral Music which is part of the new national headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Former ACDA Presidents and officers credit Brooks for the financial success of ACDA, and for his commitment to promoting the organization and the choral music art through divisional and national conventions. Brooks enlisted Raymond W. Brock to establish the ACDA Endowment, which supports several projects and awards, including the Raymond W. Brock Commissions, the Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Competition, the Student Conducting Competition, the Colleen J. Kirk Award, the Allen Lannom Award, and the James Mulholland Fellowship. During Brooks' tenure, the membership of the organization grew from 4,000 to over 20,000. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2007. / Date of Defense: April 3, 2007. / Gene Brooks, ACDA / Includes bibliographical references. / Kevin A. Fenton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Larry Gerber, Outside Committee Member; André J. Thomas, Committee Member; Judy Bowers, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the musical demographics and educational values of popular musicians and music education majors. Participants (N=60) were musicians performing popular music (n=30) and undergraduate and graduate music education majors (n=30) at a large southeastern university. All participants responded to the same questionnaire, which included personal and musical demographics, such as age, gender, musical training, school experience, as well as instruments and styles played. The second section of the questionnaire addressed participants' musical values, as evidenced by their Likert-type ratings of eleven musical goals, which were based on the national standards for music education. Participants also listed their opinion concerning the most important skill for a musician to have. Results displayed many similarities between the two groups. Among the differences in demographics was a higher average number of styles of music played reported by popular musicians. Ratings of musical goals revealed that music education majors value singing, reading, listening, and having formal training significantly higher than popular musicians. A high number of participants from both groups reported aural skills as the most important skill for a musician to have. Significant differences in ratings of musical goals were also found between: participants with and without self-teaching, participants playing classical music and those not playing classical, and participants playing rock and those not playing rock. Recommendations for further research include using a mixed approach of questionnaires and interviews. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music Education. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2011. / Date of Defense: April 4, 2011. / Music Education, Popular Music, National Standards, Curriculum, Value, Perception, Rock Band, Guitar / Includes bibliographical references. / Kimberly VanWeelden, Professor Directing Thesis; Patrick Dunnigan, Committee Member; Stephen Kelly, Committee Member.

The purpose of this study was to examine the evolution of choral sound of the St. Olaf Choir and the Westminster Choir, by describing the choral sound employed by each conductor throughout the history of the choirs including F. Melius Christiansen, Olaf C. Christiansen, Kenneth Jennings, and Anton Armstrong of the St. Olaf Choir and John Finley Williamson, George Lynn, Joseph Flummerfelt, and Joe Miller of the Westminster Choir. After describing each conductor's desired choral sound, their methodologies were determined using the following research questions: 1) What methodologies were utilized by each conductor in the selection of singers? 2) What methodologies were utilized by each conductor in the placement of singers? 3) What methodologies were utilized by each conductor with regards to vowels and diction? 4) What methodologies were utilized by each conductor with regards to vocal pedagogy? The St. Olaf Choir began by achieving a blended overall choral sound that matched the tone quality of one individual voice in each section. The choral sound evolved to include an ensemble of intelligent soloists based on the lyric, art-song approach to singing. F. Melius Christiansen sought a dark blended choral sound where singers matched individual tone quality to that of an ideal. Olaf Christiansen developed a bright overall choral sound that emphasized clarity and meaning of text. Kenneth Jennings produced a free, relaxed choral sound by developing a lyric, art-song approach to choral singing. Anton Armstrong also crafted a lyric art-song approach to choral sound, but one that was made up of a combination of intelligent soloists. In the beginning, the main choral sound created by the Westminster Choir consisted of a group of singers who produced their own individual tone quality, which was full, dark, and vibrant. The sound has evolved to include a greater emphasis on core, resulting in a bright, blended choral sound. John Finley Williamson sought a dark, rich, vibrant tone quality that emphasized the individual voices within the ensemble rather than blend. George Lynn approached choral sound in a similar way to John Finley Williamson. Joseph Flummerfelt also employed a soloistic approach to choral singing, but achieved a sense of blend through rhythmic alignment of vowels and placement of singers. Joe Miller generated a core in the choral sound that resulted in a bright, less-soloistic overall sound. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2010. / Date of Defense: March 3, 2010. / Singer Placement, Vocal Pedagogy, Placement of Singers, Vowels and Diction, Selection of Singers, Vocal Technique, Choral Tone Quality / Includes bibliographical references. / Kevin Fenton, Professor Directing Dissertation; Matthew Shaftel, University Representative; André J. Thomas, Committee Member; Judy Bowers, Committee Member.

The neoclassical movement in France influenced Spanish composers whose classical musical culture had been exhausted and overplayed. The Spanish composers of the early Twentieth Century were looking for new and fresh ideas to include in their musical works. Although some Spanish composers had great success composing in late Romantic and impressionist styles, French neoclassicism was the new concept they needed in order to transform their compositions from having only local significance into works which would have an artistic impact outside of Spain. Joaquín Rodrigo was influenced by this new trend, and, in turn, created his own style of Spanish neoclassicism known as neocasticismo. Apart from composition, Rodrigo was also interested in musicology, which he studied while in Paris in the mid 1930s. He presented these interests through various media. As a musicologist, he wrote a paper about the vihuela and vihuelist composers of the Sixteenth Century, which he presented in 1936 at an event celebrating the works of the sixteenth-century Spanish composer Luis de Milán. In his music, Rodrigo incorporated in his guitar works the forms and compositional techniques commonly found in Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical music. Moreover, he quoted several works by prominent sixteenth- and seventeenth-century composers. This thesis illustrates how Joaquín Rodrigo's interest in musicology influenced what and how he composed for guitar, and demonstrates how Rodrigo contributed to Spanish musicology by revealing the importance of sixteenth-century vihuelist composers. The paper Rodrigo wrote is transcribed in its original Spanish along with an English translation, followed by a brief analysis of the paper. This thesis also elucidates the importance of Rodrigo's guitar compositions within a musicological and historical context. Finally this research essentially shows how Rodrigo combined his musicological studies and interests along with his knowledge of composition to create guitar works that led him to worldwide fame and popularity. Analysis of three guitar concertos provides evidence of the use of musicological research as a tool, resource, and influence in these works. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. / Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2005. / Date of Defense: June 9, 2005. / José Donis, Concierto Madrigal, Fantasia Para Un Gentilhombre, Concierto De Aranjuez, Guitar Concertos, Joaquín Rodrigo, Neocasticismo Twentieth Century Music, Spanish Music 20th Century, Guitar Music 20th Century, Vihuela, La Vihuela Y Los Vihuelistas En El Siglo Xvi, Neoclassicism / Includes bibliographical references. / Charles E. Brewer, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeffery T. Kite-Powell, Committee Member; Bruce Holzman, Committee Member.

Andy Teirstein (b. 1957 in New York, NY) is a composer, performer, and producer who is passionate about the characteristics of folk music found at the root of different cultures around the world. Intrigued by the compositional style and folk song collection of Béla Bartók, Teirstein followed the same formula used by Béla Bartók to achieve many successful compositions. Teirstein traveled to Maramureş County in Romania and collected many traditional Eastern European tunes. During a trip around the United States, Teirstein composed a string quartet on American folk tunes. The use of these traditional folk tunes in these two compositions, Maramures and Restless Nation, are analyzed in this treatise. Maramures, a concerto for viola and orchestra was written in 1997 (rev 2008), and the string quartet Restless Nation was composed in 2010. This treatise will present Teirstein's approach to folk music from different parts of the world. It is important to study these pieces, bringing Teirstein's music to wider audiences of performers and listeners, and keeping folk music alive and accessible to the world. The methodology and procedures for analyzing Teirstein's pieces are performances of the works; formal analysis of rhythmic, melodic, and modal features, as well as an interview with the composer. / A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Music. / Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2016. / April 6, 2016. / folk, Maramures, restless nation, Teirstein, Viola concerto / Includes bibliographical references. / Pamela L. Ryan, Professor Directing Dissertation; James R. Mathes, Committee Member; Benjamin Sung, Committee Member; Gregory D. Sauer, Committee Member; , .

This treatise focuses on John Luther Adams's piece Inuksuit, a percussion composition for nine to ninety-nine percussionists to be performed outdoors. A biographical overview of Adams's life and inspiration of Inuksuit will be presented, followed by a survey of compositional and performance practices of the work and exploration behind the meaning of this singular piece of music. The origins of Inuksuit, its construction and form, and the elaborate production logistics will be outlined in concert with input from professional percussionists with intimate knowledge of the work, as well as the composer himself. / A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Music. / Fall Semester 2015. / November 5, 2015. / Inuksuit, John Luther Adams, Percussion, Strange and Sacred Noise / Includes bibliographical references. / John W. Parks, IV, Professor Directing Treatise; Mark Wingate, University Representative; Eva Amsler, Committee Member; Alexander Jiménez, Committee Member.

A Night Time Rain is a work for five live performers with four channels of prerecorded sound and two channels of click track. At this point in 2005 DVD-A, SACD, and a computer are options for playback. / A Thesis submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music. / Spring Semester, 2005. / February 9, 2005. / Music, Electro-acoustic, Multichannel Sound, Composition / Includes bibliographical references. / Clifton Callender, Professor Directing Thesis; Mark Wingate, Committee Member; Evan Jones, Committee Member.