Thesis (PhD) -- University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The researcher encountered the following problems while teaching braille IWSic notation to blind learners at the Pioneer School in Worcester: • Young learners learning to read braille IWSic notation with the piano as mediwn appeared to struggle technically. For example, blind children experienced difficulty finding the correct keys over seven octaves; they had generally weak posture; they had to learn to play one part with one hand while the other hand would read; they had to memorise the music for each clef individually and then combine them cognitively; they had to memorise the soprano, alto, tenor and bass parts of a piece; they often experienced discouragement because of the very slow progress they made compared with their sighted peers. • Although learners seemed to find the recorder technically more manageable, currently available braille recorder tutors proved to be inadequate. This inadequacy was a result of the tutors having been designed for the sighted child. The researcher thus set out to design a more appropriate approach than is currently available for teaching braille music notation to the blind, with the recorder as medium. The research method was qualitative and included a literature survey which covered the following unique needs of the blind learner: • psychological • emotional and social • concept development • motor skills (orientation, laterality, posture, coordination) • tactile perception • creativity and self expression The qualitative research also included video observation of a series ofiodividual and group lessons. The lesson material emerged from a programme designed by the researcher and was based on the literatme study. An observation panel. together with the researcher, evaluated the lessons on predetenDned coded assessment criteria 'The lessons and progrannne were adapted according to feedback from the lessons. The qualitative research includes interviews with five blind learners and six teachers of braille music notation. The interviews were designed to gather information on how blind learners can more appropriately be taught the braille music code. The unique needs of blind learners, in particular those concerning orientation and perceptual awareness, are considered in this alternative approach for teaching braille music notation to blind learners. 'The alternative programme is skills based and can be used convElliently in conlunetion with the Outcomes- Based Education (OBE) modeL / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorser het die volgende probleme ondervind tydens baar onderrig van braille musieknotasie aan blinde leerders by Pionierskool in Worcester: • Dit wil voorkom asofjong leerders wat braille musieknotasie moet aanleer met die klavier as medium, tegniese probleme ondervind. Blinde kinders het dit byvoorbeeld moeilik gevind om die korrekte toetse oor sewe oktawe te vind; oor die algemeen was hulle houding swak; hulle moes leer om een stemparty met een hand te lees terwyl die ander hand gespeel het; hulle moes die musiek vir elke sleutelteken apart memoriseer en die stemme kognitiefbymekaar sit; hulle moes die sopraan, alt. tenoor en bas stempartye van 'n stuk memoriseer, hulle is baie keer moedeloos, weens hulle stadige vordering, in vergelyking met hulle siende portuurgroep. • A1hoewel dit gelyk het asof leerders die bioldIuit tegnies meer hanteerbaar gevind het, blyk huidige beskikbare braille bloldluit handleidings nie geskik te wees nie. Hierdie ontoereikendheid is as gevolg van die feit dat die handleidings vir die siende kind ontwerp IS. Derhalwe het die navorser gepoog om 'n meer toeganklike benadering te ontwikkel as wat tans beskikbaar is vir die onderrig van braille misieknotasie aan die blinde, met die bioldIuit as medium. Die ondersoekmetode was kwalitatief van aard en het onder andere 'n literatuuroorsig ingesluit wat die volgende unieke behoeftes van die blinde leerder ingesluit het: • siellnmdig • emosioneel en sosiaal • konsep ontwikkeling • motoriese vaardighede (oriëntasie, lateraliteit, houding, koOrdinasie) • gevoelswaarneming

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this project, contextual readings of four works by Arnold van Wyk are developed. They are the Symphony No. 1 in A Minor, the First String Quartet, the Duo Concertante and the Missa in illo tempore. These readings are grounded in richly detailed descriptions of the compositional processes, drawing on material such as sketches, autographs, diaries, correspondence and reception documents, as well as in structural analyses of Van Wyk’s music and of certain peer compositions. Each reading is set in a separate theoretical frame, resulting in a multi-perspectival consideration of Arnold van Wyk’s music that partakes in a range of current disciplinary discourses. The First Symphony is discussed in the discursive context of English Sibelianism, and Arnold van Wyk’s dialogue with Sibelius’s symphonic works is investigated through comparisons of Van Wyk’s and Sibelius’s applications of two-dimensional sonata form and tragic reversed sonata form. The reading so developed sheds new musical light on the difficulties of Van Wyk’s position as a colonial composer residing in the centre of a crumbling Empire. The compositional process of Van Wyk’s First String Quartet is described in juxtaposition with the compositional process of Bartók’s Sixth String Quartet, and the similarities and differences of the two narratives and the two compositions highlight a second aspect of Van Wyk’s colonial identity, namely the ambiguity of his return to South Africa from England, neither of which place could signify “home”. The reading of the Duo Concertante focuses on the Elegia from that work, interpreting the piece as part of a network of intertextual connections, including Van Wyk’s model for this piece, Martin Peerson’s (1580-1650) The Fall of the Leafe, Gerald Finzi’s Elegy for Orchestra Op. 20, entitled The Fall of the Leaf, as well as Van Wyk’s own theme for the Rondo of the Duo, to which he made various musical references in the Elegia which are associated with the concept of “prophecy”. This intertextual reading considers Van Wyk’s continuing problematic identification with the English musical culture and tradition, compounded by his uncomfortable place in the stifling cultural establishment of apartheid South Africa. Van Wyk’s Missa in illo tempore is interpreted in a post-apartheid context. The work purports to react to the conditions in London in 1945 at the end of the Second World War (when Van Wyk first started to work on it) as well as the conditions in apartheid South Africa in 1977-1979 (when he completed the work as a commission for the Stellenbosch Tercentenary Festival). The reading considers the ethics of art that intends to respond to situations of suffering, drawing on post-Holocaust art scholarship as a theoretical frame. In developing interpretations of compositions that have never been studied in such detail or with such theoretical rigour before, the thesis makes a significant contribution to Arnold van Wyk studies, and in its application of a range of methodological tools in order to construct poetic hermeneutic readings that are grounded in musical and contextual materials, it also represents a meaningful methodological innovation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie projek word kontekstuele lesings van vier werke deur Arnold van Wyk ontwikkel. Hulle is die Simfonie Nr. 1 in A Mineur, die Eerste Strykkwartet, die Duo Concertante en die Missa in illo tempore. Hierdie lesings is gegrond in ryk-gedetailleerde beskrywings van die komposisieproses, waarby materiaal soos sketse, outograwe, dagboeke, korrespondensie en resepsiedokumente gebruik word, asook in strukturele analises van Van Wyk se musiek en van sekere eweknie-komposisies. Elke lesing word in ʼn afsonderlike teoretiese raamwerk gestel, sodat ʼn veelperspektiewelike oorweging van Arnold van Wyk se musiek resulteer wat deelneem aan ʼn verskeidenheid hedendaagse dissiplinêre diskoerse. Die Eerste Simfonie word bespreek in die diskursiewe konteks van Sibelianisme in Engeland, en Arnold van Wyk se dialoog met Sibelius se simfoniese werke word ondersoek deur vergelykings van Van Wyk en Sibelius se toepassings van twee-dimensionele sonatevorm en tragies-omgekeerde sonatevorm. Die lesing wat sodoende ontwikkel word, werp nuwe musikale lig op die moeilikhede van Van Wyk se posisie as koloniale komponis woonagtig in die sentrum van ʼn verkrummelende Ryk. Die komposisieproses van Van Wyk se Eerste Strykkwartet word beskryf in jukstaposisie met die komposisieproses van Bartók se Sesde Strykkwartet, en die ooreenkomste en verskille van die twee narratiewe en die twee komposisies belig ʼn tweede aspek van Van Wyk se koloniale identiteit, naamlik die dubbelsinnigheid van sy terugkeer na Suid-Afrika uit Engeland, twee plekke waarvan geeneen die betekenis van sy “tuiste” kon dra nie. Die lesing van die Duo Concertante fokus op die Elegia uit daardie werk, en dit interpreteer die stuk as deel van ʼn netwerk van intertekstuele verbindings, insluitende Van Wyk se model vir hierdie stuk, Martin Peerson (1580-1650) se The Fall of the Leafe, Gerald Finzi se Elegie vir Orkes Op. 20, getiteld The Fall of the Leaf, asook Van Wyk se eie tema vir die Rondo van die Duo, waarna hy verskeie musikale verwysings in die Elegia gemaak het wat geassosieer word met die konsep van “profesie”. Hierdie intertekstuele lesing beskou Van Wyk se aangaande problematiese identifisering met Engelse musiekkultuur en –tradisie, vererger deur sy ongemaklike plek in die verstikkende kulturele establishment van apartheid Suid-Afrika. Van Wyk se Missa in illo tempore word in ʼn post-apartheid konteks geïnterpreteer. Die werk stel sigself voor as reaksie op die toestande in Londen in 1945 teen die einde van die Tweede Wêreldoorlog (toe Van Wyk die eerste keer daaraan begin werk het) asook die toestande in apartheid Suid-Afrika in 1977-1979 (toe hy die werk voltooi het as ʼn opdrag vir die Stellenbosch Drie-Eeue Fees). Die lesing oorweeg die etiek van kuns wat ten doel het om te reageer op situasies van lyding en gebruik post-Holocaust kunsstudies as teoretiese raam. In sy ontwikkeling van interpretasies van komposisies wat nog nooit in soveel besonderhede of só teoreties nougeset bestudeer is nie, maak die tesis ʼn beduidende bydrae tot Arnold van Wyk studies, en in sy toepassing van ʼn verskeidenheid metodologiese hulpmiddels om poëtiese hermeneutiese lesings te konstrueer wat gegrond is in musikale en kontekstuele materiale, verteenwoordig dit ook ʼn betekenisvolle metodologiese vernuwing.

Thesis (M.Mus)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since its inception, educators across the board in South Africa have struggled to implement the new curriculum. Initial problems with terminology and availability of learning materials have been addressed, but still the resistance to Outcomes Based Education (0BE) and Curriculum 2005 (C2005) continues. Some of the reasons for the resistance point to feelings of disempowerment experienced by generalist and specialist educators who now have to teach the new Learning Area Arts and Culture. This has been attributed to, amongst others, a lack of training, resulting in feelings of inadequacy, inappropriate training for large multicultural classes and the lack of teaching resources. Another reason for the resistance has been described as a resistance to change. Many educators have found it difficult to make the paradigm shift from the previous educational system to OBE and C2005. The aim of the study is to research and explore ways of empowering educators to teach Arts and Culture. The new educational system is geared to redressing the imbalances of the past and giving more expression to the diversity of cultures represented in South African schools. Whereas the previous system was founded on exclusively Eurocentric ideology, principles and values, the new system aims at a more inclusive Afrocentric approach. However, criticisms leveled at C2005 have suggested that it is still basically Western in terms of values, terminology and methodology. This study is therefore aimed at investigating a culturally diverse music/arts curriculum, which draws on the wealth of resources, methods and modes readily accessible in South Africa. A comprehensive literature review guides the study towards a greater understanding of how cultural identities are formed out of a need to belong and how important recognition is to individuals and groups, particularly in terms of their diverse cultural expressions. Music and the arts are understood as being vitally important channels for expression of this diversity. Yet, true to the Afrocentric principle of holism, unity is found in diversity. As much common ground exists between an integrated approach and an Afrocentric approach to music/arts education, these principles are explored to determine whether they can be adapted for use in contemporary South African classrooms. An integrated project mode, which provides a balance between the specific knowledge contexts of the various Learning Areas and collaborative learning aimed at developing the natural links between learning areas to create a vibrant whole, is suggested. The researcher conducted an integrated project at her school with the common theme of "District Six" linking four Learning Areas and their components. Participatory action research using qualitative methods such as questionnaires were used to determine the feasibility of an integrated project mode of learning as a means of empowering educators to teach Arts and Culture. Subsequently recommendations were made regarding implementation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert die instelling van die nuwe kurrikulum in Suid-Afrika het opvoeders gesukkel om dit te implementeer. Die aanvanklike probleme met terminologie en die gebrek aan geskikte bronne is aangespreek, maar die weerstand het nie verminder nie. Van die redes hiervoor verwys na gevoelens van ontmagtiging onder algemene en gespesialiseerde opvoeders wat die nuwe leergebied van Kuns en Kultuur moes aanbied. Die weerstand word toegeskryf aan, onder andere, gevoelens van ontoereikendheid, onvanpaste opleiding om met groot multi-kulturele klasse te werk en 'n gebrek aan onderrigbronne. 'n Ander rede is beskryf as teëstand teen verandering. Baie opvoeders het dit moeilik gevind om die paradigma-skuif te maak vanaf die vorige stelsel na Uitkoms Gebaseerde Onderwys (UG0) en Kurrikulum 2005 (K2005). Die doel van die studie is dus om navorsing te doen en ondersoek in te stel na maniere waarop opvoeders bemagtig kan word om Kuns en Kultuur aan te bied. Die nuwe opvoedingstelsel is gefokus op regstelling van die onewewigtighede van die verlede en op 'n groter uitdrukking van die kulturele diversiteit wat in Suid-Afrikaanse skole verteenwoordig is. Terwyl die vorige stelsel gebaseer was op 'n Eurosentriese ideologie, beginsels en waardes, is die nuwe gefokus op 'n Afrosentriese benadering. Tog is daar kritiek teen Kurrikulum 2005 juis omdat dit nog altyd gebaseer is op Westerse waardes, terminologie en metodes. Die studie gaan dus oor 'n kurrikulum vir musiek en die kunste wat inspirasie put uit die rykdom van Suid-Afrikaanse bronne, metodes en modusse. 'n Omvattende literatuur oorsig voer die studie tot die begrip dat kulturele identiteit gevorm word uit 'n behoefte om te behoort en deel te wees, hoe belangrik erkenning van individue en groepe is, veral om hul diverse kulturele identiteit uit te druk. Eie aan die Afrosenstriese beginsel van holisme kan eenheid binne diversiteit gevind word. Omdat daar baie gemeenskaplikheid bestaan tussen 'n geïntegreerde en 'n Afrosentriese benadering tot musiek/kuns opvoeding, word die beginsels verken om te bepaal of dit aangepas kon word vir gebruik in hedendaagse Suid- Afrikaanse klaskamers. 'n Geïntegreerde projek-modus word voorgestel, wat 'n balans skep tussen die spesifieke kontekste van kennis in verskeie Leerareas en koöperatiewe leer wat daarop gemik is om die natuurlike skakels tussen die verskillende Leerareas te ontwikkel sodat 'n groter geheel geskep word. Die navorser het by haar skool 'n geïntegreerde projek oor Distrik Ses geloods wat vier leergebiede, insluitend hul komponente, ingetrek het. Deelnemende aksie-navorsing soos vraelyste is gebruik om die uitvoerbaarheid van die geïntegreerde projek-metode te bepaal as 'n metode om opvoeders te bemagtig om Kuns en Kultuur by skole aan te bied. Dit sluit af met voorstelle wat gemaak is in verband met die implementering van die nuwe Kurrikulum.

Thesis (M.Mus.)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Countless scientists had been struggling for centuries to find a significant connection between cognition, emotion and reasoning – resulting in today’s rather embarrassingly imperfect understanding of even the most basic human cognition. We should apprehend that it is unlikely that major breakthroughs in the Cognitive Sciences, Psychology, Sociology or the Medical Sciences will elucidate everything about the human brain and -behaviour in the very near future. Realizing this, it is realistic that we should transfer our attention to things that we do know and understand, and reconsider the power that lies in the integration of results and an interdisciplinary perspective in research. Using the tools we have to our disposal today – digital tools such as ANNs which did not exist a few decades before – this is actually readily viable today. This thesis demonstrates that it is possible to break the traditional boundaries that have periodically prevented the Humanities and the Natural Sciences to join forces towards a greater understanding of human beings. By using ANNs, we are able to merge data from any subfield within the Humanities and Natural Sciences in a single study. The results, interpretations and applications which could develop from such a study would certainly be more inclusive than those derived from research conducted in one or two of these fields in isolation. Sufficient evidence is provided in this dissertation to support a methodology which employs an artificial neural network to assist with decision-making processes related to the choice of advertisement music. The main objective of this endeavour is to establish the feasibility of combining data from many diverse fields, in the creation of an ANN that can be helpful in research regarding South African advertisement music. The thesis explores the notion that knowledge from many interdisciplinary study fields ought to play a leading role in the creation and assessment of effective, target-group-specific advertisement music. In obtaining this goal, it examines the probability of producing a computer-based tool which can assist people working in the advertising industry to obtain an educated match between product, consumer, and advertisement music. Taking a multidisciplinary point of view, the author suggests a methodology for the design of a digital tool in the form of a musical network model. It is concluded that, by using this musical network, it is indeed possible to guarantee a functional musically-paired commercial, which effectively addresses its target-group and has an appropriate emotional effect in support of the marketing goals of the advertising agent. The thesis also demonstrates that it is possible to gain new insights regarding a fairly unstudied discipline, without necessarily conducting new research studies in the specified field. The thesis proves that - by taking an interdisciplinary approach and by using ANNs - it is possible to attain new data that is scientifically valid, even in an unacknowledged field such as South African advertisement music. Although the scope of the thesis does not provide for the actual implementation of the musical network, the feasibility of the conceptual idea is thoroughly examined, and it is concluded that the theory in it’s entirely is definitely feasible, and can be implemented in a future study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vir eeue al probeer wetenskaplikes ‘n betekenisvolle verwantskap tussen denke, emosie en redenasie vind. Nietemin het ons vandag slegs ‘n beperkte begrip van selfs die mees basiese menslike kognisie. Ons moet besef dat dit onwaarskynlik is dat deurbrake in die Kognitiewe Wetenskappe, Sielkunde, Sosiologie of die Mediese Wetenskap in die nabye toekoms die volle funksionaliteit van die menslike brein en gedrag sal bekendmaak. Met inagname hiervan, is ‘n aandagsverskuiwing geoorloof - na die dinge wat ons wel weet en verstaan. Die enorme potensiaal opgesluit in die integrasie van resultate en ‘n interdissiplinêre navorsingsperspektief behoort gevolglik heroorweeg te word. Ons beskik tans oor meer as voldoende digitale hulpbronne, waaronder kunsmatige neurale netwerke, wat wel so ‘n benadering kan bewerkstellig. In hierdie tesis word daar gedemonstreer dat dit moontlik is om die grense wat tradisioneel ‘n samewerking tussen die Geestes- en Natuurwetenskappe beperk het, af te breek - ‘n werkswyse wat noodwendig sal lei tot ‘n beter begrip van die mens. Kunsmatige neurale netwerke maak dit moontlik om navorsingsdata uit die Geestes- en Natuurwetenskappe te kombineer in ‘n enkele onderneming. Die bevindinge, interpretasies en toepasings wat potensieel uit so ‘n metodologie sou kon voortspruit, is sonder twyfel meer omvattend as dié afkomstig vanuit ‘n eendimensionele studie. Voldoende bewyse word deur die loop van hierdie studie voorgehou ter ondersteuning van ‘n kunsmatige neurale netwerk-metodologie in die assistering van besluitnemingsprosesse rakende advertensiemusiek. Die hoofdoelwit van die onderneming is om te toets of die ontwerp van ‘n kunsmatige neurale netwerk - deur die kombinasie van data uit diverse studierigtings - wel geoorloof en funksioneel sou kon wees. Die aanname dat inligting uit ‘n aantal interdissiplinêre studierigtings ‘n prominente rol behoort te speel tydens die skep en beoordeling van effektiewe, teikengroep-gerigte advertensiemusiek, word gevolglik ondersoek. Om hierdie objektief te bewerkstellig, word die waarskynlikheid bestudeer na die ontwerp van ‘n rekenaargebaseerde hulpbron - wat mense in die advertensiewese behulpsaam kan wees om ‘n berekende en ingeligte keuse uit te oefen om produk, verbruiker en advertensiemusiek te laat pas. Die outeur benader die probleem vanuit ‘n multidissiplinêne oogpunt, en stel ‘n werkswyse voor vir die ontwerp van ‘n digitale hulpbron – in die vorm van ‘n musikale netwerk model. Daar word bevind dat - deur die gebruik van die voorgestelde model, dit wel moontlik is om die funksionaliteit van ‘n musiekgepaarde advertensie te verseker. Verder word daar gedemonstreer dat nuwe insigte rakende ‘n grotendeels afgeskeepte studierigting soos Suid-Afrikaanse advertensiemusiek moeiteloos bekom kan word, sonder om noodwendig navorsing binne die spesifieke gebied te loods. Laasgenoemde is doenbaar deur ‘n interdissiplinêre navorsingsbenadering, gekombineerd met ‘n kunsmatige neurale netwerk-metodologie. Die omvang van hierdie studie maak nie voorsiening vir die implementering van die musikale netwerk nie. Nietemin word die werkbaarheid van die konseptuele idee in diepte ondersoek, met die gevolgtrekking dat die teorie in sy geheel sonder twyfel prakties is, en in ‘n toekomstige studie geïmplementeer kan word.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Priaulx Rainier (1903-1986) was a South-African born composer whose highly original compositional style attracted great attention during her lifetime. She spent most of her life in England, but was inspired by the images and recollections of her youth in Africa. Despite the critical acclaim she received, little research has been done about her, both in South Africa and abroad. Additionally, the nature of existing sources is mostly not analytical, but rather provides an overview of her life or general aspects of her style. Although some conclusions have been drawn about her compositional style, they are not thoroughly substantiated by concrete analytical evidence. Also, the focus is mostly on her prominent rhythmic use (often linked by authors to the “African” element of her idiom), with an evident disregard of the other aspects of style, most notably with regard to pitch coherence. This research attempts to correct this unbalanced discourse by analysing one of her few solo piano works, the Barbaric Dance Suite (composed in 1949), and pointing out significant pitch relations, similarities and contrasts. The rationale for selecting this specific work originated from Rainier’s own pronouncement that “The Suite is a key to all my later music, for in the three DANCES, their structural embryo is, on a small scale, the basis for most of the later works.” Although the scope of the research did not allow for a comparative analysis, it is strongly believed that the conclusions reached in this study could also be applicable to many of Rainier’s other works, especially of the early period. The study consists of an introduction in which the Barbaric Dance Suite is contextualised, followed by the main body of the thesis that consists of a detailed analysis of each of the three movements. The foremost method of analysis used is set theory analysis, which could be briefly described as a method whereby (particularly atonal) music is segmented and categorised in pitch class sets. As set theory focuses exclusively on the dimension of pitch, traditional methods of analysis are employed to examine the other musical parameters. In the conclusion, the analytical results are contextualised with regard to existing pronouncements on Rainier’s oeuvre. The study also comments on the applicability of set theory as analytical system in Rainier’s music. The many complex pitch relations that were discovered by the intensive analysis of pitch content has given enough evidence to conclude that Rainier’s use of sonorities has been unjustly neglected in the discourse of this work and perhaps also in her musical style as a whole. It is hoped that further detailed analysis of her use of sonorities in other works could lead authorities to revise the insistent pronouncements on her rhythmic use in favour of a more balanced assessment of all aspects of her compositional style.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / This study is concerned with determining whether the application of Ned Herrmann’s “whole-brain” model would impact violin teaching in any way. Our educational system places great importance on what has become known as the left-brain modes, that is, reading, writing and arithmetic, to the neglect of the socalled right brain’s cognitive abilities, such as, music, art, intuition and dance. Wellintentioned, yet ill-informed teachers teach learners in ways that make learning difficult or impossible, as they are unaware of how to determine and use the preferred learning style of each learner. When a learner’s learning style is not matched with the method of instruction, the learner’s discomfort level may be so great that it not only interferes with the learning process but it could also ultimately prevent learning from taking place. The researcher, therefore, set out to determine whether the use of whole-brain development would lead to any significant changes in the learning process. For a period of two school terms, case studies using action research were conducted on five of the learners that received instruction from the researcher. The research participants were so chosen as to make the experimental group as homogenous as possible. Data was collected qualitatively by means of diaries and was presented descriptively. Every week the learners received a printed copy of the homework exercises. They recorded their feedback weekly, in their diaries. The researcher, as the teacher of the learners, made weekly observations during lessons. During this research the process of triangulation was used. This process added validity to the study as information about specific aspects was gained from three different perspectives, namely, that of the learners, the teacher and the learners’ accompanists. The accompanists gave their feedback before the start of the research and again at the end. After applying Herrmann’s model for two terms, the following became apparent: • The learners practised more, were more motivated and there was a general improvement in their attitude. • The learners felt that having received a printed copy of the exercises, a whole brain exercise in itself, had helped them to know what and how to practise. • There was a significant change in the playing of the majority of learners (three of the five). • The learners, where significant changes were not apparent in their playing, indicated that their understanding of their practising methods and playing had increased. • The learners felt that they had benefited from the experiment as they all indicated that they would like future lessons to be conducted in the same manner. In view of the positive outcome of the research, and given that this was a pilot study, the researcher suggests that similar studies using larger numbers of learners and involving a longer period of time, be conducted. The inclusion of a control group would also render the findings more conclusive. The researcher also suggests that violin teachers become knowledgeable about learning styles and whole-brain learning if they wish to reach all learners and enable them to achieve their potential.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Arnold van Wyk was a composer and a pianist. He recorded his largest work for piano, Night Music (1958), on LP in 1963. Steven de Groote performed Night Music on 21 July 1984 at the Cheltenham International Festival of Music. This live performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 24 September 1984 and a copy of this broadcast exists in the Arnold van Wyk collection in the J.S. Gericke Library at Stellenbosch University. Night Music is a perfect example of Van Wyk’s compositional techniques for the keyboard. It demands a considerable musical imagination and piano technique from the performer. The score of Night Music contains many detailed instructions regarding the different musical parameters and it also encloses unusual terms such as glacial or lugubre. It shows that the composer is extremely concerned to control all aspects of the performance and expects great depth of interpretation of the performer. Analysing the score of Night Music together with a performance by the composer enables one to consider two versions of “authenticated text”. The comparison between Arnold van Wyk’s recording, score and Steven de Groote’s performance allows the researcher to draw conclusions about score fidelity as a condition for “authenticity” in performance. Therefore, the primary aim of this research project is to yield interesting perspectives on notions of authenticity in performance with regard to these two particular performances of Night Music. The main body of this thesis consists of four chapters. In Chapter One a philosophical discussion about authenticity in performance is presented. Chapter Two focuses on the contextualisation of the work under discussion, including the reception and a short analysis of Night Music. It is followed by Chapter Three which compares the pianism of Arnold van Wyk and Steven de Groote. These latter two chapters form the background of the comparative performance analysis of the renditions of Night Music by these two performers which are presented in Chapter Four. Through the careful comparative analysis of Arnold van Wyk’s and Steven de Groote’s performances of Night Music it was possible to observe that a composer can present a version of his work that departs quite radically from the score. As “authenticity in performance” strives to honour the composer’s intentions as notated in the score, this discrepancy illustrates the controversial nature of the discourse on the “authentic” in music.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / In the absence of a state-sponsored South African archive that focuses on collecting, ordering, cataloguing and preserving special music collections for research, the Documentation Centre for Music (DOMUS) was established in 2005 as a research project at the University of Stellenbosch. Music research in South Africa is often impeded by inaccessibility of materials, staff shortages at archives and libraries, financial constraints and time-consuming ordering and cataloguing processes. Additionally there is, locally, restricted knowledge of the existence, location and status of relevant primary sources. Accessibility clearly depends on knowing of the existence of materials, as well as the extent to which collections have been ordered and catalogued. An overview of repositories such as the Nasionale Afrikaanse Letterkundige Museum and Navorsingsentrum (NALN), the now defunct National Documentation Centre for Music and the International Library of African Music (ILAM) paints a troubling picture of archival neglect and disintegration. Apart from ILAM, which has a very specific collecting and research focus, this trend was one that ostensibly started in the 1980s and is still continuing. It could be ascribed to a lack of planning and forward thinking under the previous political dispensation, aggravated by policies of transformation and restructuring in the current one. Existing sources supporting research on primary materials are dated and not discipline-specific. Thus this study aims to address issues of inaccessibility of primary music materials by creating a comprehensive and ongoing national electronic database of special music collections in South Africa. It is hoped that this will help to alert researchers to the existence and status of special music collections housed at various levels of South African academic and civil society.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / The work presented herewith is an orchestration of one of the most idiomatic piano pieces composed by Alexander Scriabin: the Sonata no.3 in F‐sharp minor, Op. 23. This particular orchestration involved a process of profound examination and comprehension of the form of the sonata, as well as understanding the role of each instrument of the symphony orchestra, and how they could contribute to an orchestral reconstruction of Scriabin’s work. The re‐creation of the piano part, and the whole experience that supported this challenge, resulted in the individual production in which my particular interpretation of Scriabin’s music reflects the maturity of an absorbed investigation of his style of composition.

Thesis (MMus (Music))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / In this thesis, an attempt is made to create an aesthetically pleasing musical scale based on the ratio of phi. Precedents for the application of phi in aesthetic fields exist; noteworthy is Le Corbusier’s architectural works, the measurements of which are based on phi. A brief discussion of the unique mathematical properties of phi is given, followed by a discussion of the manifestations of phi in the physical ratios as they appear in animal and plant life. Specific scales which have found an application in art music are discussed, and the properties to which their success is attributable are identified. Consequently, during the design of the phi scale, these characteristics are incorporated. The design of the phi scale is facilitated by the use of the most sophisticated modern computer software in the field of psychacoustics. During the scale’s design process, particular emphasis is placed on the requirement of obtaining maximal sensory consonance. For this reason, an in-depth discussion of the theories regarding consonance perception is undertaken. During this discussion, the reader’s attention is drawn to the difference between musical and perceptual consonance, and a discussion of the developmental history of musical consonance is given. Lastly, the scale is tested to see whether it complies with the requirements for successful scales.