What is the relationship of music and language? Analogies and comparisons of music and language are plentiful in various types of literature. For researchers in the cognitive sciences, the importance of organization, patterning, and structuring of sounds is a common theme in analyzing both language and music. With the success of generative grammars for languages, a number of researchers have used similar kinds of grammars to describe or model particular aspects of music. In addition, researchers are interested in possible universals in musical grammars. However, while grammars of non-Western musics have been written, most of the work has been based on Western tonal systems. The purpose of this research is to analyze, in an information processing, linguistic framework, a non-Western musical system for which there is currently no formal grammar in the literature, and to describe an aspect of it in the form of a grammar. Kotekan, the system of interlocking parts in Balinese game/an music, is examined in this study. This study is based on library research, scores, tapes, and communication with experts in Balinese music. A number of previously written grammars for musical systems are examined, as well as literature concerning various types of formal grammars. Balinese kotekan data is collected, in the form of literature, scores, and tapes. Portions of the data are described in the form of a grammar. The rules are then tested on new data, that is, portions of other Balinese pieces. The natures of and the relationship between music and language can be examined more closely through the use of an information processing, linguistic framework. Grammars are a precise and formal way of describing structure and regularities in linguistic and musical systems, and of describing aspects of competence. Linguistic and musical grammars share some features and differ in others. The grammar for Balinese kotekan presented in this study exhibits features that are similar to other musical grammars. The system can be described as a hierarchy of constraints from global tendencies to specific rules for various types of kotekan. In addition, there are deep and surface structures, variation related to structure, ranked or preference rules, spatio-motor considerations, and the need for context-sensitive rules. The structure of po/os and sangsih (the interlocking parts of kotekan) as individual lines is described by context-free phrase structure rules. The relationship between pol os and sangsih is described by transformations. The grammar presented is a starting point for a complete grammar of Balinese kotekan.

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This thesis explores the interplay between hip hop culture, music and the state and commercial entities in New Zealand. Hip hop is a culture which is diverse and unique in that it can be viewed as both a form of expression and a form of empowerment for various cultures. It can also be used to make a profit for commercial organisations such as the recording and broadcasting industries. This study therefore seeks to approach the study of New Zealand hip hop in an innovative manner, and to provide a fresh perspective.There is also the need to provide a plausible definition which captures the complexities of hip hop culture. An assessment of both the American and New Zealand scene will provide a contrast in order to demonstrate that in both scenarios hip hop has the ability for empowerment and to create a new space for communities. Commercial exploitation has transformed hip hop in America, has severely reduced its ability to be seen as a source of public good and has reduced key aspects of the culture. New Zealand has managed to retain many elements of the sense of community and space of community inherent in hip hop culture and music. However commercial entities are gaining prominence in the exploitation of this culture. Hip hop locally has not made the transition to a purely commercial model, but is currently under threat.The means by which commercial organisations are gaining prominence is the unique aspect which shapes New Zealand hip hop and will be a focus of this study. State funding via New Zealand on Air (NZOA) is assisting in the transformation of hip hop from a source of public good to a music form capable of generating profit for organisations such as the recording industry. This study therefore will analyse the relationship between those who embrace hip hop as a culture capable of creating a sense of public good, organisations which are commercially exploiting this culture as a musical form, and the role of the state in assisting with the transition between public good and private consumption.

It is the aim of this thesis to trace the short history of rock journalism, to examine the factors that led to its development, and to evaluate Rolling stone, the most successful rock magazine and the only one to attract a general-interest audience. Emphasis was placed on the factual development of the publications. Personalities were not developed and a statistical content analysis was avoided in favor of an interpretation of trends. Rock journalism has not yet received an objective evaluation. Its treatment in the several books on the underground press has been superficial and couched in political or even moral terms. By every indication, the rock magazines have exerted more influence than have the underground newspapers and should be accorded proper study. / text

The Eighties were a time in Western popular music that seemed to exist only by virtue of it coming after something else---namely, the 1960s counterculture and the punk rock of the 1970s. Inheriting both the failure of permanent cultural revolution and the intense cynicism that is punk's strongest legacy, youth cultures in the 1980s found it increasingly difficult to live in the present. This thesis labels this historical dilemma postmodern. It will show how SPIN magazine attempted to move past this dilemma in order to assert a unique identity for 1980s popular music and youth cultures. In particular, John Leland, a columnist for SPIN, appropriated a pop aesthetic as an identity marker and, in the process, questioned the supposed ineffectiveness of pop music for a political postmodernism. An analysis of Leland's writing uncovers what accounts of this era tend to ignore: the social function of postmodernism.

This thesis is a detailed biographical review of Brother Clement Sithole's life (1). This thesis traces Brother Clement's musical development, his acquisition of indigenous musical knowledge, and his application of this knowledge to his present experience. The purpose behind my enquiry is to further understand the relationship between historical musical practices and the present world experienced by the individual. What is the impact of past indigenous musical performance on the performer? Is indigenous musical performance an effective way for displaced people to alleviate alienation and disjuncture? What problems, complications, and contradictions are encountered by an individual when they attempt to use past musical practices to express their contemporary experience? The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter One is a general introduction to the Master's project. Chapter Two highlights Brother Clement's early years, and presents discussions related to the musical practices and cultural ideas acquired during this period. Certain childhood events are analyzed for the impact of these events on Brother Clement's later development. Chapter Three concerns Brother Clement's religious vocation and his liturgical compositions. Brother Clement has composed a number of religious songs for the umakhweyana bow and choral songs for Catholic Mass. In his compositions, he combines the text of the Catholic liturgy with indigenous Zulu musical styles. I discuss how indigenous Zulu music has assisted Brother Clement to create a sense of individuality, place, and belonging within the context of the Catholic community. In addition, I analyze how these compositions have brought a sense of continuity to his life through easing the tension between his commitments to the Catholic Church on the one hand, and to Zulu culture on the other. I also discuss some of the problems, and complications, which Brother Clement encountered when he attempted to introduce these indigenous musical styles to the context of the Catholic Church. In Chapter Four Brother Clement's work as a caregiver within his community is introduced. In the late 1980's, he opened a children's home to cater for needy children from the Vryheid area. Brother Clement is fully responsible for these children. In the home, the children practice and perform indigenous music on a regular basis. Brother Clement has named all of his musical work, including the children's home "Inyoni Kayiphumuli" which translates from isiZulu as "the bird that does not rest." The name is descriptive of his work within the abbey as a monk, and his continuous effort to transmit indigenous Zulu music and heritage to the youth. I focus on the impact of Brother Clement's work, and of the indigenous musical practice on the children from the Inyoni Kayiphumuli Children's Home. I analyze the relationship between the performance of past indigenous Zulu music and the introduction of certain moral values to the youth, and examine the relevance of these values in the context of contemporary South African society, in particular the national HIV/AIDS epidemic. Chapter Five provides a self-reflexive account of the creation of the accompanying video anthology. I discuss the relevance of video documentation in ethnomusicological study and analyze the relationship between the video and the written text presented in the thesis. Chapter Six serves as a conclusion to the thesis and presents an analytical summary of the project outcomes. I highlight the significance of this project and make some suggestions for future scholars undertaking similar research. (1) In this thesis, I use the name Mpimbili when referring to Brother Clement Sithole's formative years, since this is the name given to him at birth. In 1956, Mpimbili was baptized and his name changed to Albert, therefore when referring to these years I use the name Albert. In 1965, Albert takes his first vows as Benedictine brother, and his name changes to Brother Clement. Following this final name change I use his current name, which is Brother Clement. / Thesis (M.A.-Music)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of Natal, Durban,1994.

This thesis presents a method of algorithmic composition in which the music is seen as motion through a multidimensional musical space. An analogy is drawn between physical space and musical space, each direction of the physical space corresponding to a musical parameter. A computer program was developed using the MAX programming environment to simulate the goaldirected motion of a mobile robot through an environment containing obstacles. The potential field method of mobile robot path planning was used. The program maps the location of the robot to musical parameters in the musical space. Based on the instantaneous values of the musical parameters, the program generates melodic material and transmits the resulting MIDI data to a synthesizer. For this research, the program was limited to three spatial dimensions and one obstacle. The program successfully created simple compositions consisting of large musical gestures. A model composition was created. Suggestions were made for further development and more elaborate applications of the method. / School of Music