<p> The purpose of this thesis is to share the process behind the development of an approach to composing for central Javanese gamelans that utilizes vertical harmony. This paper will include my history with Javanese gamelan, work on the development of a piano tuning that would work with a gamelan, compositional works that led to the development of the system, a study of existing Javanese gamelan tunings, and a presentation of intervallic relationships and cadences that can be utilized with any gamelan. All of this is done with hope that others who may take interest in writing for central Javanese gamelan will have a new tool at their disposal, and to pique the interest of others in the rich world of possibilities that exist within the instruments. </p><p> There is also an explanation of the process of developing a piano tuning to be used with a traditional gamelan to perform the Concerto for PIano And Javanese Gamelan by Lou Harrison. </p><p> There is some brief discussion on the cognition of interval, and how the brain simplifies complex intervals, and begins to hear them as more simple intervals.</p>

<p> This thesis is about the process behind building, tuning, and composing music for a new set of metallophones called the "Lightbulb" instruments. This project began in 2011 and has continued to expand over the past two years: the first piece to be written for the instruments is titled <i> Prana,</i> and this thesis describes how the process of building and tuning the instruments informed the compositional process behind <i><b> Prana.</b></i> The premiere of <i>Prana</i> led to the formation of the Lightbulb Ensemble, which performs on these new instruments. The instruments and the group continue to develop.</p>

<p> <i>Gran Duo</i> (1999-2000) by Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958) is the result of a commission by Sir Simon Rattle, former conductor of the City of Birmingham (England) Symphony Orchestra, and the Royal Festival Hall to commemorate the third millennium. Composed for twenty-four woodwinds and brass, Lindberg divides the woodwind and brass families into eight characters that serve as participants in an attentive twenty-minute conversation.</p><p> The document includes biographical information about the composition to further understand Lindberg&rsquo;s writing style. The composer&rsquo;s use of computer-assisted composition techniques inspires an alternative structural analysis of <i>Gran Duo.</i> Spectral graphs provide a supplementary tool for score study assisting with the verification of formal structural elements. A tempo chart allows the conductor to easily identify form and tempo relationships between each of the nineteen sections throughout the five-movement composition.</p><p> In order to reveal character areas and their relation to the structure of the work, the analysis of texture, timbre, and rhythm reveal the formal structure of the composition, which reflects a conversation between the brass and woodwinds in this setting for wind instruments.</p>