This dissertation reexamines the music-theoretical writing of Georg Jospeh Vogler (1749-1814) in light of his educational background. His system, which is often characterized as "awkward" or "self-contradictory," is actually indicative of the rationalist/humanist preferences of Vogler's main source of training: the Jesuit Order. I argue that Vogler's theories and compositional style have been marginalized, partially due to their incompatibility with the more prevalent systems of his era, which were predominantly based in empirical modes of thought.

The harmonic practices of the late romantic period are often discussed in general terms, categorical phrases, and a score of subjectivisms characteristic of the era. It is the purpose of this thesis to clarify certain aspects of the harmonic vocabulary which developed in the late romantic period.

This study is an exploration of the integration in composition of theoretical and psychoacoustic properties of pitch and duration; its aims are essentially practical in showing how cognitive research can inform composition, but it also addresses more broadly the value and role cognition can have in the current musical compositional climate. Various contexts for this exploration are discussed: the mediating role analysis has within theory and composition; constraints imposed by aesthetic positions and music theory/pedagogy templates; the role of cognitive psychology in connecting music templates and listening experiences; and the ultimately mythopoetic (Cook, 1992) rather than scientific nature of any such theory/psychology integration. Using Huovinen’s “pitch constellation” approach and Lerdahl’s theory of tonal pitch space, a hierarchical pitch-space is set up for the string piece ed erra l’armonia, developing from pc set 5-22 a non-standard octatonic scale (pc set 8-27) as the basic pitch collection of the piece. Similarly, using the works of Fraisse, Hasty and London, a hierarchical rhythm-space is set up for the orchestral piece Pneuma developing, from the indifference interval in duration, the temporal and metric envelops and the duple and triple subdivisions of the tactus, a three layered metrical structure as the generative rhythmic template of the piece. This is contextualised against the problematic notion of metre in modern art-music. General characteristic of both spaces are discussed: redundancy according to information theory, hierarchy in relation to cognitive opaqueness, salience and association; and elaborational and permutational processes. It is argued that composition needs to bridge, in practice, the gap between music theory and psychology of music, looking beyond their often absolutist positions; that cognitive constrains in music should be seen as opportunities to work compositionally along the mind’s cognitive grains in order to maximise structural and expressive communication; and that at a time of a ‘deregulated’ musical language it is necessary to re-develop cognitive heuristics to secure the connection between compositional choices and listening experiences. Three principles are given as guidelines for the alignment of theoretical and cognitive issues in composition. It is proposed that cognitive analysis should be developed as an independent discipline as well as a compositional tool, and that the connections style/cognition should be looked at more closely to gain a more unified perspective on diverse (and divisive) stylistic musical camps.

I had performed a recital of my compositions on April 22, 2016. This thesis is a portfolio of all of my compositions, including the program from my recital, program notes for each piece, and all scores. My senior recital consisted of two distinct halves. The first half was an exploration of abstract, theoretical, and experimental concepts in Western Art Music. The second half was an exploration in synthesizing the Carnatic music system with Western Art Music styles. This half was also an experiment in reversing musical orientalism, which has been historically prevalent in Western Art Music.

In the scholarship surrounding piano repertoire, Henry Cowell is seen as a kind of “one-hit-experimental-wonder,” being know mostly for his astonishingly progressive piece The Banshee. However, Cowell was an enigmatic composer, a diverse scholar, an influential proponent new music, as well as a music theorist and comparative musicologist. Therefore in order to gain a more complete understanding of Cowell and his deeply influential piano works, this project seeks to explore the philosophical, cultural, and non- Western musical influences that inspired Cowell’s novel experimentation at the piano.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Tonality cognition incorporates a number of diverse and multidisciplinary aspects, including music cognition, acoustics, culture, computer-aided modelling, music theory and brain science. Current research shows growing emphasis on the use of computational models implemented on digital computers for music analysis, particularly with reference to the analysis of statistical properties, form and tonal properties. The applications of these analytical techniques are numerous, including the classification of genre and style, Music Information Retrieval (MIR), data mining and algorithmic composition. The research described in this document focuses on three aspects of tonality analysis, namely music cognition, computational modelling and music theory, particularly from the perspectives of statistical analysis and key-finding. Mathematical formulations are presented for a number of computational algorithms for analysing the statistical and tonal properties of music encoded in symbolic format. These include algorithms for determining the distributions of note durations, pitch intervals and pitch classes for statistical analysis and for template-based key-finding for tonal analysis. The implementation and validation of these computational algorithms on the Matlab software platform are subsequently discussed. The software application is used to determine whether a more optimal combination of pitch class weighing model and key profile template for the template-based key-finding algorithm can be derived, using the 24 preludes from Bach’s Well-tempered Clavier Book I, the Courante from Bach's Cello Suite in C major and the Gavotte from Bach's French Suite No. 5 in G major (BWV 816) as test material. Four pitch class weighing models, namely histogram weighing, flat weighing, linear durational weighing and durational accent weighing, are investigated. Two prominent key profile templates proposed in literature are considered, namely a key profile derived from tonality cognition experiments and a key profile based on classical music theory principles. The results show that the key-finding performances of all the combinations of the pitch class weighing models and existing key profile templates depend on the nature of the test material and that none of the combinations perform optimally for all test material. The software application is subsequently used to determine whether a more optimal key profile template can be derived using a pattern search parameter estimation algorithm. This investigation was conducted for diverse sets of search conditions, including unconstrained and constrained key profile coefficients, different pitch class weighing models, various key resolutions and different search algorithm parameters. Using the same sample material as for the key-finding evaluations, the investigation showed that a more optimal key profile, compared to existing profiles, can be derived. In comparing the average key-finding scores for all of the test material, the optimised profiles outperform the existing profiles substantially. The optimised key profiles introduce new pitch class hierarchies where the supertonic and the subdominant rate higher at the expense of the mediant in the major profile to improve the tracking of key modulations. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Kognitiewe tonaliteit behels 'n aantal uiteenlopende en multidissiplinêre aspekte, insluitende musiek, akoestiek, kultuur, rekenaargesteunde modelering, musiekteorie en breinwetenskap. Huidige navorsing toon toenemende klem op die gebruik van berekenende modelering wat op digitale rekenaars geimplimenteer is vir musiekanalise, veral met verwysing na die analise van statistiese eienskappe, vorm en tonale eienskappe. Die aanwending van hierdie analitiese tegnieke is veelvoudig, insluitende die klassifikasie van genre of styl, onttrekking van musiekinformasie, dataversameling en algoritmiese komposisie. Die navorsing wat in hierdie dokument beskryf word fokus op drie aspekte van tonaliteit analise, naamlik musiekkognisie, berekenende modelering en musiekteorie, veral vanuit die perspektiewe van statistiese analise and toonsoortsoek. Wiskundige formulerings word aangebied vir 'n aantal berekeningalgoritmes vir die analise van die statistiese en tonale eienskappe van musiek wat in simboliese formaat ge-enkodeer is. Hierdie sluit algoritmes in vir die bepaling van die verspreidings van nootlengtes, toonintervalle en toonklasse vir statistiese analise en vir templaatgebaseerde toonsoortsoek vir tonale analise. Die implementering en validering van hierdie berekeningalgoritmes op die Matlab programmatuur platvorm word vervolgens bespreek. Die programmatuur toepassing word vervolgens gebruik om te bepaal of 'n meer optimale kombinasie van toonklas weegmodel en toonsoortprofiel templaat vir die templaat-gebaseerde toonsoortsoek algoritme afgelei kan word, deur gebruik te maak van Bach se Well-tempered Clavier Book I, die Courante van Bach se Cello Suite in C major en die Gavotte van Bach se French Suite No. 5 in G major (BWV 816) as toetsmateriaal. Vier toonklas weegmodelle, naamlik histogram weging, plat weging, lineêre duurtyd weging en duurtyd aksent weging, word ondersoek. Twee prominente toonsoortprofiel template uit die literatuur word oorweeg, naamlik 'n toonsoortprofiel wat van tonaliteit kognisie eksperimente afgelei is en 'n toonsoortprofiel gebaseer op klassieke musiekteoretiese beginsels. Die resultate wys dat die toonsoortsoek prestasies van al die kombinasies van die toonklas weegmodelle en bestaande toonsoortprofiel template afhang van die aard van die toetsmateriaal en dat geen van die kombinasies optimaal presteer vir alle toetsmateriaal nie. Die programmatuur toepassing word vervolgens aangewend om vas te stel of 'n meer optimale toonsoortprofiel afgelei kan word deur gebruik te maak van 'n patroonsoek parameterestimasie algoritme. Hierdie ondersoek is uitgevoer vir uiteenlopende stelle soektoestande, insluitende onbeperkte en beperkte toonsoortprofiel koëffisiënte, verskillende toonklas weegmodelle, 'n verskeidenheid toonsoort resolusies en verskillende soekalgoritme parameters. Deur gebruik te maak van dieselfde toetsmateriaal as vir die toonsoortsoek evaluerings, toon die ondersoek dat 'n meer optimale toonsoortprofiel, in vergelyking met bestaande profiele, afgegelei kan word. In 'n vergelyking van die gemiddelde toonsoortsoek prestasie vir al die toetsmateriaal, presteer die geoptimeerde profiele aansienlik beter as die bestaande profiele. The ge-optimeerde toonsoortprofiele lei tot nuwe toonklas hiërargiee waar die supertonikum en die subdominant hoër rangposissies beklee ten koste van die mediant in die majeur profiel, ten einde die navolg van toonsoort modulasies te verbeter.

An original composition in three movements for large orchestra. Following the score is a detailed analysis of the work, consisting of an introduction, three sections of analysis devoted to each of the three movements of the composition, and a short conclusion summarizing the analysis.

Parsimonious voice leading is a term, first used by Richard Cohn, to describe non-diatonic motion among triads that will preserve as many common tones as possible, while limiting the distance traveled by the voice that does move to a tone or, better yet, a semitone. Some scholars have applied these principles to seventh chords, laying the groundwork for this study, which strives toward a reasonably comprehensive, usable model for musical analysis. Rather than emphasizing mathematical proofs, as a number of approaches have done, this study relies on two- and three-dimensional geometric visualizations and spatial analogies to describe pitch-class and harmonic relationships. These geometric realizations are based on the organization of the neo-Riemannian Tonnetz, but they expand and apply the organizational principles of the Tonnetz to seventh sonorities. It allows for the descriptive “mapping” or prescriptive “navigation” of harmonic paths through a defined space. The viability of the theoretical model is examined in analyses of passages from the repertoire of Frédéric Chopin. These passages exhibit a harmonic syntax that is often difficult to analyze as anything other than “tonally unstable” or “transitional.” This study seeks to analyze these passages in terms of what they are, rather than what they are not.

Despite an international interest in flamenco music, there has not been much analytical work on the genre. In fact, flamenco music has only recently started to be notated, let alone be analyzed by music theorists. Due to its multi-cultural influence, flamenco music incorporates characteristics and trends from both Eastern and Western societies. Although its melodies are fundamentally derived from the Phrygian mode, the flamenco style includes alterations that create symmetrical pitch collections. In Concerto del Fuego, composer Loris O. Chobanian expands upon the Eastern and Western traditions by writing a twentieth-century concert piece that combines the flamenco harmonic and melodic language within a concert setting. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate how Loris O. Chobanian successfully exploits symmetrical collections that are inherent in traditional flamenco scales and cadences to create a concert piece.

Syftet med denna undersökning är att ta reda på om och i vilken grad elever, och lärare i ensemble och musikteori, upplever att eleverna integrerar musikteori och ensemble samt ifall bakgrund i musik- eller kulturskola påverkade integrationen. Jag använde mig av en kvantitativ undersökningsmetod, det vill säga enkätundersökning i mitt datainsamlande. Fyra skolor i olika storlek och olika delar av Sverige deltog i undersökning som genomfördes med ett ”emic” insider- och ”epic” outsiderperspektiv, det vill säga elev- och lärarperspektiv.I min bakgrund visar jag att musiklära kurs A enligt kursplanen ska ligga till grund för det egna musicerandet. Ensemblekursen har främst för avsikt att ge grundläggande färdigheter relaterade till sång eller instrument, men påvisar koppling i B-kursen. Rostvall & West skriver om kognitiva scheman för att lära in nya saker, och beskriver hur man kan gå igenom dem på olika sätt för att få djupare kunskap. Flera av examensarbetena jag läst visar att vikten av integration mellan teori och praktik skiljer beroende på vilken genre man spelar.Resultatet visar att elever i storstadsområden i högre grad än de i glesbygden gått i musik- eller kulturskola innan gymnasiet, samt att elever med förutbildning håller teoriintegration i det praktiska musicerandet högre än de andra. De flesta eleverna upplever sig göra kopplingen mellan teori och praktik i relativt stor utsträckning, medan lärarna upplever att de gör detta ganska lite. De flesta lärarna upplever även att kunskapsnivån på eleverna sjunker varje år. Teorilärarna hoppas på mer koppling till praktiken i framtiden och eleverna efterfrågar mer koppling till sina egna instrument i teoriundervisningen. Ensemblelärarna tror att undervisningen i framtiden mer kommer att utgå ifrån elevernas musik och bli mer gehörsbaserad. / The purpose of this study was to discern the extent of how students and teachers of ensemble and music theory, regard the integration of the students’ knowledge of music theory and ensemble, and if a background in music school affected the integration. I used a quantitative survey method. Four schools of different sizes and different parts of Sweden participated in the survey conducted by a "emic" inside and "epic" outsider perspective, that is, student and teacher perspectives.In my background, I show that music theory A according to curriculum will form the basis for their musicianship. The ensemble course is primarily intended to provide basic skills related to their vocals or instruments, but showing a link to theory the B-course. Rostvall & West write about cognitive schedules, and describe how to teach something in different ways for a deeper learning. Several of the works I have read show that integration is greatly affected by each individual genre.The results show that students in metropolitan areas to a greater extent than those in rural areas have attended music schools before high school, and students who already possess a basic understanding of theory place a greater value of its inclusion in their playing. Most students feel they make the connection between theory and practice in a relatively large scale, while teachers feel the extent is rather small. Most teachers also feel that the knowledge level of students drops each year. Music theory teachers would prefer a greater connection between theory and performance in the future, and students would like more access to their own instruments in the music theory classroom. Ensemble teachers are of the opinion that teaching in the future will be based more on the students’ repertoire, with added emphasis on aural skills.