Through an examination of 402 songs that charted in the top 20 of the Billboard year-end charts between the years 1990 and 2009, this dissertation builds upon previous research in form of popular song by addressing the following questions: 1) How might formal sections be identified through melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, and text? 2) How do these sections function and relate to one another and to the song as a whole? 3) How do these sections, and the resulting formal structures, relate to what has been described by previous theorists as normative? 4) What new norms and trends can be observed in popular song forms since 1990? Although many popular songs since 1990 do follow well-established forms, some songwriters and producers change and vary these forms. AAA strophic form, AABA form, Verse-Chorus form, Verse-Chorus with Prechorus and/or Postchorus sections, Verse-Chorus-Bridge form, “Other, with a Chorus” and “Other, without a Chorus” forms are addressed. An increasing number of the songs in each of the above listed forms are based on a repeating harmonic progression or no harmonic progression at all. In such songs, the traditional method of identifying sections and section-functions through harmonic analysis is less useful as an analytical tool, and other musical elements (melody, rhythm, instrumentation, and text) are as important, if not even more so, in determining the form of songs in the sample.

An important part of the recent growth in scholarship on meter focuses on reconstructing 18th-century listening practices. Danuta Mirka (2009) studies contemporary accounts of meter in theory treatises to build a model of 18th-century metric listening, while Stefan Love (2016) takes a corpus studies approach, arguing that surveying repertoire provides a more accurate view of meter than 18th-century theorists. But despite the known debt that much 18th-century art music owes to dance and dance music, Mirka and Love only briefly mention dance. In touching so lightly on dance, these and other authors overlook the more fundamental connection between meter and movement. In this paper I examine late 18th-century French contredanses and their music to propose a model of contemporary metric hearing that unites literal and musical motion. There are three features of the contredanse and dancing in general that support their relevance to 18th-century metric experience. First is the contredanse’s role in society—recent writers on 18th-century music often present the minuet as the premier dance of the century, but though it remained the most aristocratic dance, by the middle of the century it had been surpassed in popularity by the contredanse. Second, contredanses involved multiple dancers moving simultaneously, and music helped them coordinate their movements. As a result, hypermetrical schemas matching hypermeasures with dance moves could develop. Finally, the experience of moving in time with musical meter likely had a positive effect on dancers’ ability to find meter in music in general.

The purpose of the study was to develop a theory of the aural perception of simultaneous musical bitones, called vertical or harmonic intervals. The study was specifically concerned with: (1) formulating a theory of vertical interval perception, (2) documenting the psychological premises of the theory, ( 3) implementing the theory by developing a model, (4) testing the theory by utilizing the model to analyze empirical data of interval recognition errors, and (5) delineating implications of the new theory for pedagogy and research. The theory developed in the study is called the Theory of Property Arrays because it identifies the structure of the aural vertical interval as an array of properties derived from the interval as a whole. The theoretical model utilizes a binary coding of four property-null property pairs common to all vertical intervals: consonant-dissonant, perfect-imperfect, stable-unstable, and major-minor. Each interval is thus identified according to its unique array of properties an/or null properties and a system bf intervallic relationships based on the similarity of their respective property arrays is delineated. Hypotheses were developed to test the validity of the postulates-of the vertical interval perception theories of Watt, Seashore and Mursell as well as those of the Theory of Property Arrays. The data utilized for these tests were the responses of sixty-two University of the Pacific music majors to the aural presentation of vertical intervals. The conclusions of the study were: ( 1) the Theory of Property Arrays accounts for interval identification errors more successfully than any of the other three theories tested, (2) the Theory of Property Arrays offers a conceptual frame-· work for the orderly development of skill in identifying vertical intervals, ( 3) the Theory of Property Arrays offers a means for analyzing, diagnosing and correcting errors in vertical interval recognition, and (4) the identification of the perceptual structure of the vertical interval stim ulus developed by the Theory of Property Arrays makes possible the application of analytical techniques developed by information theorists to problems of musical analysis.

My research will attempt to determine how award academies choose their nominations through the analysis of select musical aesthetics. As a trained musician (pianist) and avid gamer, I will bring my two passions together, contributing to the field of ludomusicology (the study of video game music). My research consists of an overview of video game scores spanning a decade (2004 – 2013) with a select sample of three soundtracks per year (a total of thirty soundtracks). The samples will be taken from the BAFTA- (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), VGX- (formerly known as Spike), and D.I.C.E. awards (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain). Through engaging a music theory macro analysis, I will discuss melodic themes used in each soundtrack, the setting of the score (instrumental or electronic), and whether the soundtrack samples contain the epic musical idiom. At the end of my dissertation my research reveals what kind of music these award academy panels favour. If the award academies are a reflection of popular taste, my research indicates what the audiences like to hear in video game music. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Music / MMus / Unrestricted

The analysis of computer music presents new challenges to the field of music theory. This study examines the fixed media composition Phoné by John Chowning from its aesthetic perspective, compositional theory and computer sound synthesis techniques. Fast Fourier Transform analyses are used to create spectrograms. The findings from the spectrograms are juxtaposed with compositional philosophies of John Chowning, Jean-Claude Risset, Pierre Schaeffer and Arnold Schoenberg and the techniques are represented via PureData patches.

This study aims to deepen knowledge of active ensemble and music theory teachers' approaches to the use of digital tools and digital technology as a tool for students' musical development in music education. To investigate music teachers' approaches to the subject, four individual semi-structured interviews, with two music theory teachers and two ensemble teachers, were conducted. Data collection has undergone a thematic analysis from a socio-cultural perspective, to analyze the connection between digital tools and students' musical development. The results of the study show both positive and negative effects digital tools have on music teaching. Positive effects that music teachers highlight with the application of digital tools are the teachers' lesson preparations that become more effective, and that lessons can be more individually adapted. In addition, interviewed music teachers highlight how students can use digital tools both before and after school when studying subject-relevant material. Negative effects the music teachers highlight are that the function of digital tools as an aid can result in students taking shortcuts for faster results. Music teachers describe that digital tools and programs make music moreaccessible, which can give students the impression that the theory behind making music is irrelevant. The aid that was meant to facilitate something efficient may instead be an obstacle to students' development of musical tools, an obstacle to musical learning.

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Despite many scholars having explored Beethoven’s compositional rhythmic processes, no systematic study has been done in this regard for the sketches for String Quartet Op. 127, and any mention of rhythm in the current literature tends to be incidental. I combine the theories of Rothstein, Krebs and others, an approach that has been more effective in understanding the changes during the compositional process from metrical and hypermetrical perspectives. I examine how Beethoven’s rhythmic patterns add to both musical coherence and contrast. My thesis demonstrates that Beethoven’s starting point is usually a conventional 8- or 16-measure phrase; later, according to the sketches, he makes rhythmic adjustments, such as grouping dissonances, expansions, or displacements, using a variety of parameters. Also added later are rhythmic patterns that individualize each of the four instruments. These processes are found throughout the two movements studied. Therefore, rhythm and its manipulations are used as unifying features.

The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate a comprehensive first semester college jazz improvisation curriculum. Specific problems concerning the evaluation of the curriculum were, (a) to assess achievement in music theory fundamentals, (b) to assess achievement in jazz listening, (c) to assess improvement in jazz improvisation performance, (d) to assess student attitudes toward jazz improvisation and the curriculum. Based on the findings, the conclusions were as follows students benefited from the study of jazz improvisation, utilizing the developed curriculum, in the areas of, (1) knowledge of music fundamentals, namely, chord spelling, scale spelling and harmonic analysis; (2) identification of jazz tunes, composers, musical forms and prominent jazz performers; (3) improvisation performance in a jazz style, and (4) positive attitude toward improvement in jazz improvisation.