In this thesis I investigated how four student conductors made musical meaning from their scores in rehearsals with their peers and the mediating role that verbal language played in that process. Rosenblatt's (1978, 1994) transactional theory of the literary work provided a framework for conceptualizing the performed musical work as a musical event. Halliday's (1975, 1978, 1985) social theory of language use, particularly his notion of 'register' served as the framework for interpreting the intended meanings of conductors' utterances during rehearsals, and for understanding the dialogic nature of language use. Vygotsky's (1962, 1978) socio-psychological theory of the interdependence of thought and language framed my interpretation of the kinds of learning that might take place when student conductors use verbal language to shape performances of musical works. / I transcribed 12 videotaped practica, analyzed the transcripts, and interpreted the function and focus of the student conductors' utterances. The findings revealed that the students selected formal and expressive elements for attention, that they used proposals and appraisals to shape these elements in a variety of rehearsal contexts, that they used verbal language to explain, explore, and clarify their musical thinking within and beyond rehearsals. / I concluded that the student conductors built up the sense of the musical work with the players by selectively attending to the musical elements they deemed to be musically valuable, and that their verbal language served a mediating function for them both as shapers and as learners of musical ideas. Although there were qualitative differences how they engaged with their scores, and in their use of verbal language, the processes by which they engaged in construction and comprehension of musical meanings were the same and their verbal language played the same role. / The study led to the postulatation of three socially situated theoretical constructs that are relevant to a general theory of music teaching and learning: a construct of a transactional theory of the musical work, a construct of a 'rehearsal register' and a construct of the interconnectedness of verbal language and the formation of musical concepts and musical knowledge.

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Despite the many innovative contributions made toward the improvement of violin playing and teaching in the twentieth century, there is an abundance of pedagogy and musical literature which continues to propagate "old school" thinking. Many editions of violin music from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are still in print and do not present to student violinists the technical or aesthetic possibilities now considered by recognized artists. Consequently, these flawed versions of the repertoire hinder the development of aspiring violinists.Whether or not an edition is good, editorial notations reflect the violinistic idiosyncracies and peculiarities of individuals and should thus serve only as sources for reference and study. This is because the violinist's perception of and reaction to music would suffer compromise if he were to be unduly influenced by the editings of others. Therefore, it is for the good of his musical growth that he experiment with and discover which interpretive ideas and combinations of bowings and fingerings ultimately bring performances of compositions closest to his conception of them.Although numerous volumes have been written on performance techniques for violin, they usually do not address matters specifically related to deciding bowings and fingerings for given passages of music. Thus, by default, the major texts on editing music for violin might be said to be the books of Carl Flesch, Elizabeth. Green, and I. M. Yampolsky. None of these writings, though, presents both bowing and fingering in a complete and logical sequence of principles and supporting rationales. Conse4uantly, there has been a substantial need for a single volume which thoroughly covers such material in a style suitable for classroom use or for individual study.This presentation of principles for editing violin music is a comprehensive distillation, simplification, and clarification of the beliefs and concepts of others, combined-with those of the author. Systematically grouped and prefaced by rationales, the principles are enunciated in separate chapters on bowings and fingerings and are illustrated by excerpts selected from the violin literature.The author hopes that this approach to editing will facilitate the learning of good editorial practice in violin music and will challenge violinists to continuously seek better bowings and fingerings.The violinist must frequently make alterations in the printed bowing of notes to accommodate the mechanics of playing the instrument and to attain the desired nuance (subtle variation) involving tempo, rhythm, phrasing, dynamics, and tonal coloring. These changes are implemented by the transfer, deletion, or addition of slurs.Bowings considered conventional or "standard" are classified under (a) The Down-Bow Penchants dynamic, tonic, and agogic accents; resolutions; and dynamic gradations; (b) Uniformity of Articulations chords and successions of identical strokes; (c) Compensational Bowings: retaken, combined, and divided strokes; (d) Linked Bowings; for dynamic constancy and bow distribution; (e) Division of Prolonged Strokes: long slurs and long, sustained notes; (f) Oscillation between Strings; rapid alternation and slurred string crossings; (g) Pizzicatos use of the index and middle fingers and thumb."Optional" bowings, which are personal and not essential for efficient performance, are listed as (a) Phrase Accommodation, (b) Melodic Profiling by Slurring, Reslurring, or Separating, and (c) Pulse Dilution.Well chosen fingering reduces or eliminates unnecessary physical tensions, permits velocity of movement with greater accuracy, and promotes maximum expression. As with bowings, fingerings are distinguished by two types: "standard" for efficiency of mechanics and "optional" for personal expression.Principles of standard fingering are grouped in the following sections: (a) Positions, (b) Chromatic Passages, (c) Interval Congruity, (d) Determining Which Positions to Use, (e) Shifting: semitone, contraction, extension, open string, natural harmonic, and alternate finger shifts plus melodic fifths and reduction of shift spans or shift frequencies, (f) String Crossing, and (g) Sequential Patterns.Optional fingerings include (a) Exclusion of the Fourth Finger, (b) Regulation of Timbre, and (c) Portamento.

Typescript (photocopy). / Contents: Sonata in E Major, Op. 109 / Ludwig van Beethoven (Audio file 1); Variationen für Klavier, op. 27 / Anton Webern (Audio file 2); Années de pèlerinage, 2me année : Italie / Franz Liszt (Audio file 3); Improvisations, Op. 20 / Béla Bartók (Audio file 4)

It was the purpose of this thesis (1) to show the need for emphasis on the teaching of song-interpretation; (2) to go to a new source for methods of teaching interpretation; and (3) to show how these methods can be used in teaching voice students.

A interpretação musical, enquanto campo de pesquisa, trava ainda importantes embates em torno da epistemologia. A sua auto-compreensão alterna-se entre posturas subjetivas e normatividades estanques, deixando em estado latente os pressupostos históricos que validam as possibilidades interpretativas. Como a hermenêutica estuda as condições de validade da interpretação, propusemo-nos apresentar uma formulação da interpretação musical baseada nessa vertente filosófica tal qual é elaborada por Hans-Georg Gadamer. A consciência hermeneuticamente formada propõe uma sistematização que visa tanto à obra quanto ao intérprete, no potencial de crítica e superação dos limites normativos que a discussão de sua estrutura prévia de compreensão permite. Dois estudos de caso exemplificam o ganho interpretativo que a abordagem hermenêutica oferece: um manual técnico de Andrés Segovia e uma obra de Domenico Scarlatti, transcrita para violão por Sérgio Abreu / Performance, as research field, takes an argumentation about epistemology. Its self-comprehension changes from a subjectivity to fixed normativities, letting hidden the historic pre-supositions that makes valid the statements of validly. Since hermeneutics, in the proposition of Hans-Georg Gadamer, studies the conditions of validly of interpretation, we propose think musical interpretation based on this philosophical approach. The conscience hermeneutically formed makes systematic study of the interpreter as well as the work, in the potential critics and overwhelming of the normativity limits that the discussion about the previous structure of comprehension allows. Two cases give the examples of the interpretative gain of hermeneutic offers: a manual of technics by Andrés Segovia, and a Domenico Scarlatti\'s work transcribed for guitar by Sérgio Abreu.

In this study the author investigates his interpretive practice as a conductor, revealing how interpretive operations occur not as discrete and isolated activities, but rather an intertwined cyclic process. The study was based on an experiment of the author conducting five scores on two different occasions separated in time by between one day and several months. The study design included extensive content analysis of over 30 hours of video in which more than 12,000 codes were applied and collated. The study design also included traditional texted research, autoethnographic writing (a 25,000-word practice journal), semi-structured interviews, the use of Sonic Visualiser, and the documentation of a range of score study methods which the author describes as ‘listening in silence'. Although there are numerous studies that compare different performances of the same piece, and consider the extent to which differences are intentional and/or creative, none has been undertaken by a conductor in the role of artist-researcher. The study develops what the author calls the ‘ethos of multiple interpretability', suggesting that a conductor can be ‘animated by' the belief that there is no single correct way to perform a work specified by a score.

A interpretação musical, enquanto campo de pesquisa, trava ainda importantes embates em torno da epistemologia. A sua auto-compreensão alterna-se entre posturas subjetivas e normatividades estanques, deixando em estado latente os pressupostos históricos que validam as possibilidades interpretativas. Como a hermenêutica estuda as condições de validade da interpretação, propusemo-nos apresentar uma formulação da interpretação musical baseada nessa vertente filosófica tal qual é elaborada por Hans-Georg Gadamer. A consciência hermeneuticamente formada propõe uma sistematização que visa tanto à obra quanto ao intérprete, no potencial de crítica e superação dos limites normativos que a discussão de sua estrutura prévia de compreensão permite. Dois estudos de caso exemplificam o ganho interpretativo que a abordagem hermenêutica oferece: um manual técnico de Andrés Segovia e uma obra de Domenico Scarlatti, transcrita para violão por Sérgio Abreu / Performance, as research field, takes an argumentation about epistemology. Its self-comprehension changes from a subjectivity to fixed normativities, letting hidden the historic pre-supositions that makes valid the statements of validly. Since hermeneutics, in the proposition of Hans-Georg Gadamer, studies the conditions of validly of interpretation, we propose think musical interpretation based on this philosophical approach. The conscience hermeneutically formed makes systematic study of the interpreter as well as the work, in the potential critics and overwhelming of the normativity limits that the discussion about the previous structure of comprehension allows. Two cases give the examples of the interpretative gain of hermeneutic offers: a manual of technics by Andrés Segovia, and a Domenico Scarlatti\'s work transcribed for guitar by Sérgio Abreu.

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