Through the example of students at Fisk University, a historically black university in Nashville, Tennessee, this dissertation ethnographically examines how vocality is racialized as "black" in the United States. For students at Fisk, voice serves as a mechanism of speaking and singing, and mediates ideological, discursive, embodied and affective constructions of blackness. Fisk built its legacy by cultivating and promoting a specific kind of New World blackness through vocal expression, and the indispensability of Fisk's historical legacy shapes how the university continues to promote the self-worth of its students as well as a remembrance of and recommitment to the social justice and citizenship journey of black people through the 21st century. The relationships between expressive culture, the politics of racial inequality, and higher education experiences overdetermine Fisk students' vocality in relation to blackness, in addition to students' agentive choices to express and (re)form black racial identity. This dissertation traces the differences between curricular and non-curricular vocality to foreground the ways that students resist 21st century forms of racial violence and create paths towards the world they desire. The project opens with an analysis of the role of diction in the performance practice of the Fisk Jubilee Singers®. The following chapter compares the repertoire and rehearsal style of the two primary choral ensembles at Fisk. The dissertation then explores how the neo soul genre figures in the Fisk Idol vocal competition. The concluding chapter describes students' different renditions of singing the university's alma mater, "The Gold and the Blue." These analyses of students' embodied, ritualized vocality show how Fisk students' voices performatively (re)construct blackness, gender, class, genre and institutionality.

The published works that form the basis of this PhD are a selection of hip-hop songs written over a period of six years between 2010 and 2015. The lyrics for these pieces are all written by the author and performed with hip-hop group Stanley Odd. The songs have been recorded and commercially released by a number of independent record labels (Circular Records, Handsome Tramp Records and A Modern Way Recordings) with worldwide digital distributionlicensed to Fine Tunes, and physical sales through Proper Music Distribution. Considering the poetics of Scottish hip-hop, the accompanying critical reflection is an autoethnographic study, focused on rap lyricism, identity and performance. The significance of the writing lies in how the pieces collectively explore notions of identity, ‘outsiderdom', politics and society in a Scottish context. Further to this, the pieces are noteworthy in their interpretation of US hip-hop frameworks and structures, adapted and reworked through Scottish culture, dialect and perspective. Reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of hip-hop studies, an autoethnographic framework (Monaco, 2010; Munro 2011) is combined with poetic analysis, musicological discussion and social and cultural studies toexamine the pieces that comprise the published works. Through a consideration of poetics, linguistics, sociological issues and cultural considerations, a schematic emerges, describing a construct of lyrical techniques, signifying practices, social interactions and outsider narratives that speak to (re)imagining, (re)creating and (re)constructing local culture by expressing it through hip-hop and vice versa. This study demonstrates new knowledge regarding global and local intersections in Scottish hip-hop, identity construction and negotiation, and creative approaches to rap storytelling.

The 'Portfolio of Compositions' comprises three works, 'Contretemps', 'Awaken' and 'The Pit and the Pendulum', all of which share a common origin, a point of conception. The circumstances of their inception and subsequent development are explained in the commentary, a document which also sets out in an attempt to contextualise the relationship, diversity and scope of their respective content, through reference to both the commonality of the compositional stimulus and the precepts of my research plan. The main focus of the portfolio, 'The Pit and the Pendulum', is a work of operatic stature, inspired by a short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. The two shorter pieces were completed first, but were also, however, born out of the beginnings of the major work; a few pages of orchestral score, scribbled quickly, the result of my initial emotional response to Poe's opening lines. Pages that survive virtually unchanged in the final orchestration, setting the 'harmonic' scene for the unfolding tale. Developing an interest in the complex and algorithmic properties of effective or fulfilling musical ‘line', I wondered if there might be found, in Poe's written prose, some suggestion of a literary equivalence of melodic line and counterpoint, mirrored in his narrative style. The objectives of my research questions, then, are as follows: The production of a large-scale musical composition, created entirely in artistic response to Edgar Allen Poe's short tale. The composition shall sit within the restrictive framework of Poe's unaltered narrative: the perceived spoken rhythm of each line of his prose, at first carefully transcribed as a stream of un-pitched notation, thereby providing a clearly defined stimulus for subsequent melodic and harmonic development. This ‘musicalisation' to be inspired by the characteristics and style of Poe's narrative content, fully preserved and presented, verbatim, in the finished work as the vocal line. Through intertextual exposition, it is anticipated that some justification of my postulations on Poe's method might be revealed. The process has generated an outcome for further discussion; a portfolio of three discrete compositions, all inspired by the same source and which can be directly related to each other through reflective consideration and articulation of the creative process.

Amidah - תפילת העמידה – for soprano voice, clarinet, cello, and piano – is a liturgical work in three movements that uses common Jewish prayers as its text. These three movements focus on specific prayers that can be found in the Amidah, the central portion of a Jewish prayer service. This work uses prayers that can be performed on a Friday evening Shabbat service. The first movement focuses on accompanimental music to the Silent Amidah, a silent prayer. The prelude uses the traditional Jewish melody of the opening prayer of the Amidah, Adonai S’fatai Tiftach (אדני שפתי תפתח), leading directly into the first movement. This movement, while harkening to some Jewish melodies, takes ideas from classical Western harmony. While conveying both a sense of calmness and unease, the movement allows for the listener to silently reflect and meditate while absorbing the music. The second movement, Oseh Shalom (עושה שלום), takes its root in Freylach music, a traditional, fast-paced, upbeat style of Klezmer music. While keeping traditional elements, it also uses contemporary harmony and extensive ornamentation in a joyous, energetic fashion. The third movement, Mi Shebeirach (מי שברך), combines flowing lines, ornamental ancient Hebrew trope cantillation, liturgical elements, Middle-Eastern aspects, and spectral harmonies to create a slow, lamenting prayer for healing, a prayer that cries out in pain and suffering, begging for a restoration of mind, body, and soul. The movement closes in mournful sadness comforted by the presence of the Divine.

The standard vocal repertoire for soprano requires use of the uppermost segment of the female voice, which is typically produced using whistle register phonation. Voice teachers recognize that sopranos use whistle register phonation during performance to produce pitches in the highest segment of their range; however, the use of whistle register phonation as a training tool for female singers of all voice types is less common and the benefits of using whistle registration exercises to condition the female voice are not widely known. While several pedagogical manuals recommend vocal exercises that use whistle register phonation in the range of the second passaggio and in the highest segment of the female voice, no research has been conducted to investigate the benefits of singing in whistle register. The purpose of this study was to measure the efficacy of vocal exercises that incorporate whistle register phonation as treatment for poor intonation and pressed and/or breathy vocal quality in female singers with vocal challenges in the second passaggio of their voice. The influence of whistle register phonation on extending vocal range was also investigated. A treatment-no treatment (ABAB) research design was used. Five female vocalists attended 16 weekly sessions. During the treatment phases, participants received weekly instruction in vocal exercises using whistle register phonation and practiced these activities daily. Audio samples of two vocal exercises and a repertoire excerpt were collected weekly. Measurements taken during the treatment phases were compared to measurements taken during the no-treatment phases. Results of comparative Voice Range Profiles and a weekly Range Extension Measurement Task showed a positive relationship between practice of whistle register exercises and an increase in the upper pitch range in all subjects. Subjects gained an average of 2.4 semitones during Treatment Phase 1, when the whistle register tasks were introduced. Subjects lost an average of 1.2 semitones during the No Treatment phase, when the practice of whistle register tasks was withdrawn. Subjects gained an average of 2.2 semitones during Treatment Phase 2, when the whistle register tasks were reintroduced. The average overall gain in the upper pitch range was +4.3 semitones for mezzo-sopranos and +2 semitones for sopranos. In addition, data collected to measure the pitch range over which whistle register phonation was possible showed an average range of 14 semitones (D5 - E6); supporting the notion that whistle register phonation is possible in the range of the second passaggio and could be developed in this range by female singers of all voice types. Eight voice teachers rated each audio sample for intonation and vocal quality during register transition through the second passaggio. Mixed-model ANOVA (analysis of variance) was conducted to compare the effect of whistle register phonation exercises on quality of intonation, vocal quality, the presence and severity of breathiness, and the presence and severity of strain at each phase of the study. Significance was determined at the p<.05 level. There was a significant effect of whistle register phonation exercises on severity of Breathiness [F(3,209) = 6.66, p = 0.0003]. Mean severity ratings for Breathiness for all subjects were significantly lower during No Treatment than in Treatment Phase 1 and Treatment Phase 2, suggesting that breathiness was less severe when the subjects were not practicing whistle register exercises. Severity of strain generally decreased continually throughout all phases. Mean severity ratings for Strain were consistently lower for Treatment Phase 1, No Treatment, and Treatment Phase 2 compared to Baseline. The differences between Treatment Phase 1, No Treatment, and Treatment Phase 2 were statistically significant [F(3,209) = 3.52, p = 0.0161]. Mean Intonation ratings generally increased through Treatment Phase 1 and were significantly higher for the No Treatment phase and Treatment Phase 2 compared to Baseline [F(3,209) = 2.99, p = 0.0322]. The effect of whistle register phonation exercises on vocal quality was not significant at the p<.05 level. A Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) was used to calculate the intra-judge reliability for perceptual evaluation of all vocal tasks. Statistical analysis comparing the judges' ratings for identical audio samples shows that in this study the judges were consistent in their rating of Breathiness (PCC = 0.76) and had difficulty rating Strain (0.57), Vocal Quality (0.60), and Intonation (0.65). A PCC was used to calculate the correlations between each pair of judges' rating for all vocal tasks, and Cronbach's Alpha was used as an overall measure of the inter-rater reliability. Statistical analysis comparing the judges' ratings for all audio samples shows that in this study the judges were consistent in their rating of Breathiness (α = 0.80), mediocre in rating Strain (0.62) and Vocal Quality (0.69), and not consistent in their rating of Intonation (0.53). The results of the current study suggest that whistle register exercises can be used to facilitate range extension for all female voice types. That performance of whistle register phonation exercises correlated to increased breathiness implies that the exercises tested in this study may not be an effective treatment for singers with breathy voices. Further research investigating the influence of whistle register exercises on intonation, overall vocal quality, and severity of strain is needed. Results of the intra- and inter-rater reliability tests demonstrate a need for research that explores more reliable ways to quantify perceptual evaluation of vocal quality in singers.

Abstract not available

Prelude -- Ray of lights -- Convergencias -- One art -- Dreams. / text

Seven Poems was written for a text in combination with live and recorded sounds. The sound sources used for the recorded portion of the composition came from Bb clarinet and male voice. The taped sound was processed with filters, amplifiers, modulators, reverberators, and various other signal modifiers to expand the timbral possibilities.The text that was used for this piece is a poem by Mark Strand written in 1970. This poem is divided into seven sections. Each of the sections has its own character, although all are related to the same idea - the separation of man from himself. / School of Music

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-144).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Faculty of Music, University of Melbourne, 2000. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. 257-280).