Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2005. / Bibliography: leaves 343-371.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Kent State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed April 9, 2010). Advisor: Terry E. Miller. Keywords: Louis Moreau Gottschalk; Gottschalk; Amy Unruh; music; piano; African; Bamboula; night; tropics; New Orleans; Louisiana; American; composer. Includes bibliographical references (p. 308-323).

Orientador: Ricardo Machado Leite de Barro / Tese doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T04:29:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fernandes_LucianeFernandaRodriguesMartinho_D.pdf: 3317171 bytes, checksum: d8ce2a6b3254d65d49c5bd204aa6c559 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Este trabalho teve como objetivo a análise quantitativa dos padrões de preensão palmar de pianistas durante a realização de tarefas em função do tipo de preensão e da velocidade de execução. Vinte e cinco voluntários (11 pianistas e 14 não pianistas) realizaram 4 tipos de tarefas com a mão direta: Preensão grossa em velocidade rápida (T1); Preensão grossa em velocidade lenta (T2); Preensão em gancho em velocidade rápida (T3) e Preensão em gancho em velocidade lenta (T4). No dorso da mão foram colocados 16 marcadores nas extremidades proximais e distais dos ossos metacarpianos e falanges proximais do 2° ao 5° dedos. Para a captura das imagens foram utilizadas quatro câmeras de vídeo digital, conectadas a quatro microcomputadores. A medição das coordenadas e a reconstrução tridimensional dos marcadores foram realizadas através do sistema ¿Dvideow ¿ Digital Vídeo for Biomechanics¿, desenvolvido no Laboratório de Instrumentação para Biomecânica da Faculdade de Educação Física da UNICAMP. Os ângulos de flexão e extensão das articulações metacarpofalangeanas foram calculados a partir da medida das coordenadas dos marcadores. Foram utilizados diagramas de fase para caracterização do padrão e da regularidade das repetições. A Análise por Componentes Principais foi utilizada para quantificar o padrão e a regularidade dos ciclos de movimento e a correlação entre as curvas dos ângulos das articulações dedos foi utilizada para avaliar sinergia dos dedos durante a tarefa. A partir dos resultados, foram observados que as diferenças mais evidentes entre os grupos controle e pianista foram identificadas na regularidade da curva para tarefa T2, através da Análise por Componentes Principais e para todas as tarefas na análise da correlação entre os ângulos das articulações metacarpofalangeanas. Na comparação entre as tarefas foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre as realizadas com a preensão grossa e gancho, em todas as análises. Através da metodologia empregada e das análises foi possível caracterizar os padrões de preensão palmar de pianistas e evidenciar diferenças entre pianistas e não pianistas / Abstract: This work describes an experimental study that aimed to quantitatively analyze the palmer gripping patterns of pianists during the execution of function tasks relating to gripping and speed of execution. Twenty-five subjects (11 pianists and 14 non-pianists) carried out 4 tasks with their right hand: Gross gripping at fast speed (T1); Gross gripping at low speed (T2); Hook gripping at fast speed (T3); Hook gripping at low speed (T4). Sixteen markers were put on the dorsal surface of the hand, on the proximal and distal extremities of the metacarpian bones and proximal phalanges of the 2nd and 5th fingers. Four digital video cameras connected to two microcomputers were used to capture the images. The measurement of the coordinates and the three-dimensional reconstruction of the markers were carried out through the ¿Dvideow ¿Digital Video for Biomechanics¿ system, developed at the Instrumentation Laboratory for Biomechanics at the Physical Training College at UNICAMP. The flexion and extension angles of the metacarpophalangeal articulations were calculated from the measurement of the marker coordinates. The phase diagram movement cycles were used to analyze the alteration in the palmer gripping patterns in pianists. The Principal Components Analysis was used to quantify the movement patterns and the regularity of the the phase diagram movement cycles which were built from the position and angular speed curves; the correlation between the angle curves of finger joints was used to evaluate the finger synergy during the task. With these results as a starting point, it was possible to observe that the most evident differences between the control and pianist groups were identified in the regularity of the curve for the second task (T2) through the Principal Components Analysis, and for all the tasks, in the analysis of the correlation between the angles of the metacarpophalangeal joints. In the comparison between the tasks, a difference was observed among those carried out in gross and hook gripping in all the analysis.Through the methodology employed and the form of analysis, it was possible to estimate the alterations in the palmer gripping patterns of pianists and compare pianists with non-pianists / Doutorado / Biodinamica do Movimento Humano / Doutor em Educação Física

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 193-199).

The purpose of this research is to investigate the life and piano teaching of Olga Samaroff in order to determine her contribution to American music.The sub-problems were to survey the important influences upon her life; examine her association with wealthy patrons, concert managers, and conductors; scrutinize her personal relationship with Leopold Stokowski; define and discuss her piano teaching method; assess her application of it with a cross section of students; and reveal the problems that her method encountered.Olga Samaroff (San Antonio, Texas, 8 August 1882-New York, 17 May 1948), christened Lucie Mary Olga Agnes Hickenlooper, first studied piano with her grandmother, Mrs. Lucie Loening Grunewald. Grunewald emphasized the importance of recreating accurately the composer's text. Much of Samaroffs teaching method evolved from her early training with Grunewald.Samaroff, the first American female to win a scholarship at the Paris Conservatoire, entered it in 1896. Studies in Berlin (1898-1900) followed with Ernst Jedlickza and Ernest Hutcheson. In Paris and Berlin, Samaroff personally expE!rienced a slavish attitude towards musicaltradition, and later eschewed such adherence to any single school or style.Her first marriage (1900) to a Russian named Boris Loutzky subsequently caused her to settle in St. Petersburg (now Leningrad). After leaving Loutzky in 1904, Samaroff returned to the US and began her concert career. The vicissitudes of her career presented her with first hand experience. Samaroff withdrew several times from the concert stage, retiring officially in 1926 due to an arm injury. In the meantime, she married and later divorced conductor Leopold Stokowski_(1911-23), whose rehearsal technique she cited as an important influence on her teaching.She began teaching at the newly established Juilliard Graduate School in 1924. She also taught at the Philadelphia Conservatory (1924-48).Samaroff s two-part approach of artistic independence and human development contrasted with the artist-coach method of other prominent teachers of the day. Her students were surveyed about the efficacy of her teaching. In addition Samaroffs own files and personal correspondence, hitherto unavailable, are included as evidence in support of this author's findings. / School of Music

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Accompanied by 4 recitals, recorded Jan. 12, 2004, Nov. 22, 2004, Apr. 14, 2006, and June 10, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-66).

The purpose of this research was to explore the fundamental elements that constitute, shape and define the thinking and creative processes embodied in musical style of ten prominent South African jazz pianists. The study was qualitative and underpinned by an exploratory research design. Using a collection of case studies, the study used semi-structured interviews to probe participants’ backgrounds, formative influences, and musical style within a South African context. An analysis of the findings resulted in the emergence of three main themes, namely; Developing a musical identity; Negotiating a personal style; and, Finding the South Africanness in jazz. The first main theme outlined the core influences that shaped the participants’ earliest conceptions of musical style, and thus their developing identities. Family members: modelling their parents’ and siblings’ musical interests, immediate environment, interacting with professional jazz musicians, and the socio-political environment, were found to be highly influential. Other factors included; learning which happened through formal, informal, social and self-directed. Listening and musical preferences were also found to be key to the forming identities of the pianists. The second main theme reflected a progression from an ‘outward’ technical understanding of style to an assimilated ‘inner’ one. The first manifested in the descriptions of noticeable elements in jazz music that have been shaped over time, while the second describes ways in which the pianists’ individual social and cultural experiences inform their musical styles. The third theme highlights participants’ challenge in defining a South African style, resulting in a need to conceptualise a term(s) that would better describe the nature of the music. South African works were found to be at the core of acquiring an understanding of the musical styles of South African jazz pianists. External influences within the South African musical style, and idiosyncratic features based on indigenous musical influences were key to the musical identities of South African jazz pianists. Furthermore, understanding the metanarratives that serve as creative inspirations for these compositions is vital. The study concludes that a South African jazz style represents an amalgam of internal and external musical influences, evolving over time. The incorporation of eclectic musical elements from the indigenous ‘musics’ of the various South African ethnic cultures add an inimitably South African articulation and prosody to the jazz language. The unique histories and narratives of South African jazz pianists have resulted in their distinct approach to the jazz style. / Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Music / DMus / Unrestricted

Musicians can develop and suffer from playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) with pianists being a group of instrumentalists that experience a higher occurrence of PRMDs in comparison with other musicians. One cause of PRMDs is posture. The Alexander Technique (AT) is a popular somatic method among musicians that purports to alter its students’ postural and movement behaviour. Such changes may be beneficial in improving music performance. However, there is a lack of quantitative research to offer support for the effectiveness of the AT in altering posture in musicians, especially in pianists. To address this issue, four studies were conducted. The first study addressed the AT alone to determine what postural changes could be expected following lessons in the AT. Findings of this study showed that changes include a larger craniovertebral angle, head tilt, and head-neck-trunk angle as well as smaller trunk, thoracic, and thoracolumbar angles. The second study addressed variability in individual pianists’ postures and its implications for intervention studies. The results of this study demonstrated that within-person variability is present in posture between performances but does not vary widely enough to exhibit inconsistent posture across measurements. The third study examined the effects of 10 AT lessons on pianists’ postures. Findings showed that, in comparison with their pre-lesson measurements, pianists demonstrate a postural pattern of larger craniovertebral and head-neck-trunk angles as well as smaller trunk, thoracic, and thoracolumbar angles in both the post-test and follow-up tests. The fourth study explored the relationship between pianists’ perceptions of their posture and their application of the AT with quantitatively measured changes in their posture. The results of this study showed that participant perception and reported application of the AT does not necessarily always reflect the postural changes that have occurred.