This thesis examines creativity as manifested in an online and transnational network of musicians who compose chipmusic, a kind of electronic music characteristic of 1980s early home computers and videogame sounds. The primary argument is that creativity in chipmusic worlds is networked, meaning that it is dispersed across various activities that are labelled as creative: chipmusic-making, technology-hacking practices that underpin the music, digital cultural practices such as use of social media, online releases, crowdsourcing, staged and screened performances, and any other activity related to chipmusic. The thesis examines the ways in which networked creativity is mediated in the chipscene from an interdisciplinary methodological viewpoint informed by ethnomusicology, anthropology, and sociology. Although the chipscene is geographically dispersed across more than thirty countries worldwide, the chipscene network is well-connected. Communication and music circulation practices of chipmusicians are enabled by the internet. This thesis primarily discusses chipmusic culture that suggests a rich context where creativity discourse is as intensely diverse as the chipscene itself, in which it is embedded. In looking at the creative process and performance practices, I employ a mixed methods approach based on ethnographic research methods and social network analysis, to examine how intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of chipmusic-making, such as ideology, cultural values, network infrastructure, chiptune poetics and aesthetics, distribution of creative roles, authenticity, differentiation, genre dynamics, and intellectual property issues, shape creativity.

Etudes have been composed to address the primary challenges found in ten selected euphonium wind band pieces. Each work was chosen based on its frequency of occurrence in military band auditions as well as its appearance in excerpt books and journal articles. Practice drills, practice variations, and overtraining studies are the primary concepts used for composing each etude. List of selected works: (1) Roman Carnival Overture Op. 9, Hector Berlioz; (2) First Suite in E-flat for Military Band Op. 28 No. 1, Gustav Holst; (3) Barnum and Bailey's Favorite, Karl King; (4) The Melody Shop, Karl King; (5) Aegean Festival Overture, Andreas Makris arr. Albert Bader; (6) Theme and Variations Op. 43 A, Arnold Schoenberg; (7) Festive Overture Op. 96, Dmitri Shostakovich arr. Donald Hunsberger; (8) Festival Variations, Claude T. Smith; (9) The Stars and Stripes Forever, John Philip Sousa; and (10) Suite from the Ballet: Pineapple Poll, Arthur Sullivan arr. Charles Mackerras.

Diverse practicing methods are evidence of the importance of applying creativity in our practice regimes. Regardless of a player's technique - traditional or modern - it must be regularly practiced and then applied. One of the most common ways to do that is through practicing technical exercises, which generally means the practice of scales, arpeggios and etudes. These exercises generally function as a warm-up regime for all musicians, but this regime doesn't necessarily provide enough reference for the player in the learning process of a new piece. Adapting exercises to address technical difficulties in a newly learned piece can provide the player with a wide range of practice methods to use, to be creative, to be more aware while practicing, and to build a solid technical foundation for the newly learned piece. Two well-known pedagogues who applied this approach are German bassist Ludwig Streicher and Czech violinist Otakar Ševčik. By implementing analytical studies and composing exercises based on the standard repertoire, Ševčik and Streicher became highly influential teachers in the 20th century. Their work serves as a model in achieving the purposes of this dissertation: the assessment of technical difficulties and compilation of a technique booklet based on six unaccompanied contemporary solo pieces written as required works for the solo competition of the International Society of Bassists' biennial convention since 2007.

English abstract The master's thesis deals with different representations of non-European cultures and their inhabitants in musical dramas (operas and related genres) of the eighteenth century. Firstly it gives some typical characteristics of these musical artworks in historical context (focusing on Italian and French examples especially) than it concentrates on the topic of so-called exoticism in general. The final part of the thesis which is based on three case studies formulates some typical approaches to the problem of representation of non- european cultures by analyzing musical settings, stage representations and especially librettoes of three important operatic works by Vivaldi (Motezuma), Graun (Montezuma) and Rameau (Les Indes Galantes). The topic of exoticism in Handel 's selected operas is mentioned in a short survey. Keywords: 18th century, music history, opera history, Italian opera, French opera, exoticism, inrercultural relationships, comparative studies

Contemporary music for horn often requires techniques and musical or notational considerations that are unconventional with respect to the standard pedagogy of the instrument. As such, these considerations often represent a level of challenge to which the average-intermediate to advanced-hornist is unprepared to approach or altogether unfamiliar. The most prominent of these demands arising in the last few decades of the twentieth century through today include microtonality (such as extended just intonation and quarter tones), extended techniques in combination or juxtaposition (such as multiphonics and right hand technique), rhythmic complexity (including metric modulation, non-dyadic meters, additive rhythms, and nested tuplets), and unconventional notations (graphic, spatial, and other temporal notations). This document first surveys the challenges of the repertoire in question, which includes works by György Ligeti, Thea Musgrave, Milton Babbitt, Brian Ferneyhough, Iannis Xenakis, Heinz Holliger, and Douglas Hill, among others. After considering the merits and limitations of existing pedagogical materials that work towards these ends, the document then underlines a strategic pedagogical goal for understanding and approaching unconventional contemporary repertoire through newly-composed etudes. This document is written in conjunction with and justification for the author's 24 Unconventional Etudes for Horn, and includes examples therefrom.

This dissertation aims to address the pedagogical gap in introductory material for contemporary clarinet instruction. Through examining the most prominent contemporary methods for the clarinet, the pedagogical gap is highlighted, particularly regarding material aimed at newcomers and early undergraduate students. To address these needs, a new collection of etudes is proposed, introducing extended techniques and contemporary notation for newcomers to modern music.