Thesis (D.M.A.)--Conservatory of Music. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2006. / For wind ensemble. "A dissertation in music composition." Advisor: James Mobberley. "Inspired by central themes found in Walter M. Miller's science-fiction classic A canticle for Leibowitz"--p. ii. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Nov. 12, 2007. Online version of the print edition.

This work investigates brass instruments in the time domain, rather than the traditional frequency domain, and considers first, impulse measurements and secondly, their analysis. An existing apparatus for measuring the response to an acoustic impulse at the input of a brass instrument has been refined. Problems of impulse inconsistency, ambient temperature variation and source reflections have been resolved. Developments of the above equipment are used to test the quality of brass instruments on a factory production line. A prototype and a test instrument are compared by taking the arithmetical difference of their impulse responses. The equipment has detected small faults missed by normal inspection methods. The usefulness of this technique to brass instrument manufacturers is discussed. Links between the instrument's measured transient response and its bore geometry have been developed. The stages involved are deconvolution and bore reconstruction. Various deconvolution methods have been studied systematicaly by applying them to simulated noiseless and noisy data. Noise introduces errors, particularly at high frequencies, so deconvolution of real measured data is distorted. Techniques to reduce the effects of noise have been investigated. Attempts to employ the Gerchberg restoration algorithm 'to restore high frequency information proved unsuccessful. A new inverse method, based on an iterative z-transform procedure, of reconstructing an instrument's bore shape and damping profile from its transient response has been developed. It produces perfect results for noiseless model data, but even the smallest amount of noise renders the method unstable. Regularisation is therefore required. The corresponding direct process of predicting the transient response from bore and damping data is stable and produces results which compare well with measured responses. The work strengthens relationships between an instrument's shape and its musical quality, and will enhance the design of better instruments. Further research on the link between transient response and subjective quality is recommended.

The Akai EWI4000s is the most recent model of the EWI (Electric Wind Instrument) family, first conceived by Nyle Steiner in the late 1970’s. A relatively young electronic instrument, the EWI lacks a complete, organized publication explaining how to fully utilize its technical and expressive devices. Furthermore, no instructional aid exists to explain the parameters of the Vyzex computer editor used to create and manipulate the onboard sound bank of the EWI4000s. The purpose of this study is to inform the reader of how the EWI4000s came to fruition, to develop a complete technical and expressive method for learning to play the EWI4000s, and to create a musically based manual for using the Vyzex computer editor. Using text, diagrams, and musical examples, the method acquaints the reader with the EWI’s internal and external controls by explaining their functions using musical terms easily understood by the common musician. Additionally, new notation is created to constrain the EWI’s seven-octave range exclusively within the treble clef staff making it easier to compose and read EWI music without excessive clef changes and musical octave markings. The new notation also develops symbols to dictate use of the EWI’s expressive devices such as pitch bend, glissando, octave doubling, and harmonization.

Acoustic horns are used in musical instruments and loudspeakers in order to provide an impedance match between an acoustic source and the surrounding air. The aim of this study is to develop numerical tools for the analysis and optimisation of such horns, with respect to their input impedance spectra. Important effects such as visco-thermal damping and modal conversion are shown to be localised to different parts of a typical brass instrument. This makes it possible to construct hybrid methods that apply different numerical techniques in different parts of the instrument. Narrow and slowly flaring parts are modelled using a one-dimensional transmission line analogy, and the rapidly flaring bell is modelled using a two-dimensional finite-difference method. The connection between the different regions is done by the aid of impedance boundary conditions. The use of such boundary conditions is investigated with respect to the required number of degrees of freedom. Numerical shape optimisation is employed in order to design horns with desired impedance characteristics throughout a design frequency band. A loudspeaker horn is optimised with respect to its sound power output, and a brass instrument is optimised with respect to its intonation. The horns are modelled using the finite-element method and a transmission line analogy. In order to achieve rapid convergence of the optimisation, gradient based minimisation algorithms are used. A prerequisite for success is the ability to accurately and inexpensively compute the gradient of the objective function. The gradient for the finite-element method is computed by an adjoint equation technique, whereas for the transmission line analogy, it is derived by formal differentiation of the model. In order to find smooth solutions, a smoothing technique is used, where optimisation is done with respect to the right hand side of a Poisson type equation.

Orientador: Eduardo Augusto Ostergren / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T02:17:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fuchigami_RafaelHirochi_M.pdf: 4928207 bytes, checksum: a0ed12a80c12607b98a9de37140877a4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014 / Resumo: Este trabalho organiza informações sobre a introdução e difusão das tradições da flauta shakuhachi no Brasil, desde os primórdios do século XX até os dias atuais, levando em consideração os aspectos históricos e etnomusicológicos desse processo. Partimos dos estudos realizados por Olsen (1982, 1983, 2004) e Satomi (2004), tocando em assuntos relacionados com a difusão da música e cultura pelos imigrantes japoneses e seus descendentes. Entretanto, o objetivo central desta pesquisa é tratar da presença do shakuhachi em nosso país, independentemente da região ou grupo étnico no qual está inserido. Se, por um lado, restringimos o foco para um único instrumento da cultura japonesa, por outro, aprofundamos sua abordagem e ampliamos a pesquisa para todo o país, para além do estado de São Paulo. Discorremos sobre a trajetória da flauta a partir de um levantamento bibliográfico e acrescentamos novas informações que se revelaram durante o trabalho de campo. Abordamos a utilização atual do shakuhachi, visto que nos últimos anos estão ocorrendo mudanças significativas em seu panorama no país, como a introdução das obras e estilo difundidos por Katsuya Yokoyama (1934-2010), o aumento significativo de tocadores não-descendentes de japoneses, entre os quais alguns se tornaram líderes de grupos de música japonesa, e a utilização da internet como ferramenta de difusão das tradições do shakuhachi. Essas transformações evidenciaram o fato de que a cultura japonesa está se deslocando independentemente da população japonesa, um fenômeno recente no contexto do shakuhachi no Brasil / Abstract: The present work attempts to organize information gathered about the introduction and dissemination of the shakuhachi flute tradition in Brasil, from the earliest days of the twentieth-century to the present time, taking into consideration the historical and ethnomusicological aspects of this process. We began with the studies done by Olsen (1982, 1983, 2004) and Satomi (2004) touching on subjects related to the diffusion of music and culture of the immigrants and its descendants as it would be expected. However the focal point of this research is to call attention to the presence of the Shakuhachi flute in our country independently of the geographic region or ethnic group in which it is inserted. If on one hand one narrows the focus of the research to consider just one single instrument of the Japanese culture, on the other one furthers its approach thereby extending the study process to go beyond the borders of the State of São Paulo so to cover the entire country. We have examined the path of the flute¿s evolution begining with a bibliographical survey and adding new information that appeared in the course of our fieldwork. We approached current use of the Shakuhachi taking into consideration the fact that in recent years significant changes have occurred in this country as to the instrument¿s scenario such as the introducing of works and styles diffused by Katsuya Yokoyama (1934-2010), the significant increasing in numbers of non- Japanese descendent players, among which few have become group leaders of Japanese music, and the use of the internet as a tool to promote and divulge Shakuhachi tradition. These transformations make it evident the fact that Japanese culture is gradually being shifted independently from Japanese settlements, a new phenomenon in the environment context of the Shakuhachi in Brazil / Mestrado / Fundamentos Teoricos / Mestre em Música

Arnold Jacobs var en världsberömd tubaist och pedagog som utvecklade en metod som han kallade för song and wind. Metoden kopplades tydligt till vetenskapliga upptäckter inom fysiologi och psykologi och gick ut på att jobba med sång och mentala föreställningar och att använda luftflödet. I det här arbetet undersöks en praktiskt applicerad metod från Arnold Jacobs metod. Metoden går ut på att ta korta bitar musik och arbeta med dem genom fyra steg, sjunga, sjunga i huvudet, blåsa, sjunga i huvudet och trycka ner ventilerna och till sist spela på instrumentet. Resultatet följs upp genom omdömen från ett inspelningstillfälle före och ett efter arbetet med metoden samt loggbok av arbetets gång. Genom att arbeta med metoden förbättrades klang, intonation och träffsäkerhet och en oväntad positivt förändrad attityd uppkom som ledde till säkrare insatser, mer uttryck och energi. / <p>Den klingande delen utgörs av följande inspelningar: Inspelningstillfälle 1 orkesterutdrag, Inspelningstillfälle 1 Tomasi, Inspelningstillfälle 2 orkesterutdrag, Inspelningstillfälle 2 Jolivet och Tomasi. Coronavirussituationen vt 2020 har medfört begränsningar i inspelningsmöjligheterna. Inspelningen kan komma att kompletteras. </p>

<p>The local wind band in Lilla Edet, <em>Lilla Edets Musikförening</em>, springs from work and activities in the late 19:th century. Since then, the band has developed from a brass sextet to mixed wind band. It has been an appreciated contribution to the society on festive occasions. Yet, it seems like the band more and more has lost it´s useful purpose. Also, the recruiting of new members has ceased, as the music school has trouble with attracting pupils to learn to play wind instruments.</p><p>The reasons for this reduced interest are more then one. One aspect can be lack of atten-tion to the genre in music education, both in the music school and in the regular school. It may also be due to the media not showing enough of the wind music. That this genre, in many purposes, has been replaced by today´s popular music also makes the average Swede unaware of it´s qualities.</p><p>There are, however, places where the wind music tradition is stronger. This can, for example, come from special wind instrument education at an early age. It can also be due to the local band playing a prominent part in the society.</p><p>To help a languishing band activity, the band itself must cooperate with the music school and the society. All parts must do what they can to make sure the business stays alive.</p> / <p>Lilla Edets Musikförening har sitt ursprung ur föreningslivet i slutet av 1800-talet. Musik-kåren har sedan dess utvecklats från mässingssextett till blandad blåsorkester. Den har uppskattats och haft sin givna plats vid högtider i, och i många fall utanför, kommunen. Dock har musikföreningens funktion i samhället med åren successivt blivit mindre befintlig. Därtill har rekryteringen av nya medlemmar avstannat, i takt med att musikskolan lockar färre och färre elever till att spela blåsinstrument.</p><p>Anledningarna till detta minskande blåsmusikintresse kan dels vara brist på uppmärksamhet på genren i musikundervisningen, både i musikskolan och i den vanliga skolan, dels kan det vara att blåsmusiken syns för lite i media. Att blåsmusiken, som underhållnings- och funktionsmusik, ersatts av dagens populärmusik, gör också att kunskapen om blåsmusiken är liten hos medelsvensken.</p><p>Dock finns platser där blåsmusiktraditionen är starkare. Detta kan t.ex. komma sig av att man satsar på särskild blåsundervisning i tidig ålder, eller att musikkårsverksamheten har en väldigt framträdande och självklar roll i samhället.</p><p>För att en tynande musikkårsverksamhet ska överleva krävs insatser från både musikkåren själv, musikskolan och kommunen. Alla parter måste samverka och vara beredda att satsa för att trygga verksamhetens framtid.</p>

The local wind band in Lilla Edet, Lilla Edets Musikförening, springs from work and activities in the late 19:th century. Since then, the band has developed from a brass sextet to mixed wind band. It has been an appreciated contribution to the society on festive occasions. Yet, it seems like the band more and more has lost it´s useful purpose. Also, the recruiting of new members has ceased, as the music school has trouble with attracting pupils to learn to play wind instruments. The reasons for this reduced interest are more then one. One aspect can be lack of atten-tion to the genre in music education, both in the music school and in the regular school. It may also be due to the media not showing enough of the wind music. That this genre, in many purposes, has been replaced by today´s popular music also makes the average Swede unaware of it´s qualities. There are, however, places where the wind music tradition is stronger. This can, for example, come from special wind instrument education at an early age. It can also be due to the local band playing a prominent part in the society. To help a languishing band activity, the band itself must cooperate with the music school and the society. All parts must do what they can to make sure the business stays alive. / Lilla Edets Musikförening har sitt ursprung ur föreningslivet i slutet av 1800-talet. Musik-kåren har sedan dess utvecklats från mässingssextett till blandad blåsorkester. Den har uppskattats och haft sin givna plats vid högtider i, och i många fall utanför, kommunen. Dock har musikföreningens funktion i samhället med åren successivt blivit mindre befintlig. Därtill har rekryteringen av nya medlemmar avstannat, i takt med att musikskolan lockar färre och färre elever till att spela blåsinstrument. Anledningarna till detta minskande blåsmusikintresse kan dels vara brist på uppmärksamhet på genren i musikundervisningen, både i musikskolan och i den vanliga skolan, dels kan det vara att blåsmusiken syns för lite i media. Att blåsmusiken, som underhållnings- och funktionsmusik, ersatts av dagens populärmusik, gör också att kunskapen om blåsmusiken är liten hos medelsvensken. Dock finns platser där blåsmusiktraditionen är starkare. Detta kan t.ex. komma sig av att man satsar på särskild blåsundervisning i tidig ålder, eller att musikkårsverksamheten har en väldigt framträdande och självklar roll i samhället. För att en tynande musikkårsverksamhet ska överleva krävs insatser från både musikkåren själv, musikskolan och kommunen. Alla parter måste samverka och vara beredda att satsa för att trygga verksamhetens framtid.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T17:06:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 122575.pdf: 1879558 bytes, checksum: e893766e97468f704ae16cd4b4b3982c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta pesquisa investiga os processos de aprendizagem, no que se refere à composição musical, de três instrumentistas de sopro catarinenses, procurando evidenciar como esta prática contribui na aprendizagem musical destes músicos. Para isso, realizou-se um estudo multicaso, dentro de uma abordagem qualitativa, com instrumentistas profissionais, membros de uma banda de música catarinense. Como técnica de pesquisa, optou-se pela utilização de três modelos agregados: a entrevista semiestruturada, o Grupo Focal e o Portfólio. Os referenciais teóricos que nortearam este trabalho foram: Wilkins (2006), que embasa os processos de ensino e aprendizagem da composição musical; e Illeris (2013), que traz suporte à aprendizagem humana, através de uma visão contemporânea. As categorias de análise centraram-se em cinco modalidades: a) os músicos participantes, sua formação e experiências musicais; b) as influências das bandas na formação musical dos participantes da pesquisa; c) a tomada de decisões composicionais; d) a análise das composições; e) as percepções dos músicos sobre os processos de aprendizagem da composição. Os resultados descrevem o cenário de aprendizagem, as tomadas de decisões composicionais e os processos de aprendizagem da composição de três instrumentistas pesquisados. As considerações finais trazem reflexões acerca do processo de pesquisa, dos dados recolhidos, e também apresentam sugestões para pesquisas futuras.

The bassoon is a conical woodwind instrument blown with a double-reed mouthpiece. The sound is generated by the periodic oscillation of the mouthpiece which excites the air column. The fundamental frequency of this oscillation is determined to a large extent by the resonances of the air column. These can be varied by opening or closing tone-holes. For any given tone hole setting a fine-tuning in pitch is necessary during playing. Musicians adjust the slit opening of the double-reed by pressing their lips against the opposing reed blades. These so-called embouchure corrections are required to tune the pitch, loudness and sound color of single notes. They may be tedious, especially if successive notes require inverse corrections. However, such corrections are essential: Due to the very high frequency sensitivity of the human ear playing in tune is the paramount requirement when playing music. This implies, that embouchure actions provide an important insight into a subjective quality assessment of reed wind instruments from the viewpoint of the musician: An instrument requiring only small corrections will be comfortable to play. Theoretical investigations of the whole system of resonator, reed, and musician by use of a physical model nowadays still seem insufficient with respect to the required precision. Therefore the path of well-described artificial mouth measurements has been chosen here. For the separate treatment of the resonator and the double-reed, existing classical models have been used. Modifications to these models are suggested and verified experimentally. The influence of the musician is incorporated by the lip force-dependent initial reed slit height. For this investigation a measurement setup has been built that allows precise adjustment of lip force during playing. With measurements of the artificial mouth parameters blowing pressure, mouthpiece pressure, volume-flow rate and axial lip position on reed, the experiment is fully described for a given resonator setting represented by an input impedance curve. By use of the suggested empirical model the adjustment parameters can be turned into model parameters. A large data set from blowing experiments covering the full tonal and dynamical range on five modern German bassoons of different make is given and interpreted. The experimental data presented with this work can be a basis for extending the knowledge and understanding of the interaction of instrument, mouthpiece and player. On the one hand, they provide an objective insight into tuning aspects of the studied bassoons. On the other hand the experiments define working points of the coupled system by means of quasi-static model parameters. These may be useful to validate dynamical physical models in further studies. The experimental data provide an important prerequisite for scientific proposals of optimizations of the bassoon and other reed wind instruments. It can further serve as a fundament for the interdisciplinary communication between musicians, musical instrument makers and scientists.