Music’s allure lies in its power to stir the emotions. But the relation between the physical properties of an acoustic signal and its emotional impact remains an open area of research. This paper reports the results and possible implications of a pilot study and survey used to construct an emotion index for subjective ratings of music. The dimensions of pleasure and arousal exhibit high reliability. Eighty-five participants’ ratings of 100 song excerpts are used to benchmark the predictive accuracy of several combinations of acoustic preprocessing and statistical learning algorithms. The Euclidean distance between acoustic representations of an excerpt and corresponding emotionweighted visualizations of a corpus of music excerpts provided predictor variables for linear regression that resulted in the highest predictive accuracy of mean pleasure and arousal values of test songs. This new technique also generated visualizations that show how rhythm, pitch, and loudness interrelate to influence our appreciation of the emotional content of music.

This paper aims to assist cellists taking orchestral auditions by providing a detailed analysis of how to approach orchestral excerpts that, while standard, are not as commonly encountered in audition settings. The excerpts are Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (II. Molto vivace and IV. Presto); Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn (Variation V. Vivace); Mahler: Symphony No. 2 (I. Allegro maestoso); Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 (I. Moderato–Allegro non troppo); and lastly Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra (V. Finale). Each excerpt is organized into individual chapters containing comments and suggestions on basic technical and musical performance challenges. I provide detailed and structured advice for practicing the above excerpts, offer advice on musical refinement, and address alternative musical interpretations based on recordings sampled. This provides a framework for the practice of aspiring orchestral cellists. Forming good practice habits and developing a personalized practice routine when facing new excerpts (or other music) is crucial to orchestral audition preparation, and my goal is to provide cellists with the tools necessary to do this. / Music Performance

Orchestral excerpts have become one of the most, if not the most important component of classical trumpet education in the last 50 years. This monograph discusses how trumpet orchestral excerpts grew in importance and how the demand for it catalyzed a rush for publications. As the number of trumpet players grew exponentially more than the supply of orchestral jobs, the mindset toward perfect performances of these excerpts began to narrow the focus of learning to an emphasis on technical proficiency. Context and the understanding of how the trumpet part relates to the other instruments in the orchestra are relegated in priority. This monograph aims to restore a holistic and comprehensive approach to learning with an in-depth analysis of harmony, compositional techniques, and historical and musical contexts. / Music Performance

Dichterliebe : op. 48 / Robert Schumann -- Paris / Cesar Franck -- Gianni Schicchi. Avete torto! ; Firenze e come un albero fiorito / Giacomo Puccini -- Suite Espanola / Agustin Lara -- On the town. New York, New York / Leonard Bernstein -- The holy city / Michael Maybrick. / text

Auditions often require performance of orchestral excerpts as part of the screening process because orchestral literature contains a wealth of technical challenges at different levels of difficulty; however, many cello teachers still only use etudes, sonatas, and concertos for musical development and technical application and do not use orchestral excerpts as pedagogical tools or daily exercises. This dissertation, in an effort to standardize orchestral excerpts as part of common technical exercises, includes the ten most popular major excerpts selected from thirty audition lists from major orchestras in the United States. Analysis of each excerpt highlights different technical elements, provides short exercises to overcome these challenges, and discusses the aspects of cello playing that will benefit most from practicing orchestral excerpts. In this way, these selections can be played in preparation for auditions, as well as incorporated into daily practice routines.

The English horn has persevered as a popular solo instrument by the many composers who have written for it since its inception as a member of the oboe family at the Court of Louis XIV in the seventeenth century. While modern English horn popularity and performance practice continues to flourish through new literature, master classes, and recordings, a review of the existing literature reveals that there is a need for an informative guide for advanced, college-level oboists who wish to begin doubling on the English horn. The present study is intended to serve as a comprehensive resource for the novice English hornist who seeks pedagogical advice on the development of specialized performance techniques, along with a discussion on the significant differences between the oboe and English horn, specialized English horn reed makingtools and supplies, and procedures for making and finishing long-scrape English horn reeds. Additionally, this study includes a brief history of the English horn and a discography of selected English horn recordings. Finally, a discussion of selected etudes from A.M.R. Barret's Forty Progressive Melodies and W. Ferling's 48 Famous Studies and correlating symphonic English horn excerpts concludes the study.

"Pictures for an audition" are a visual tool I created to help in performing orchestral excerpts. I always had the aim to get deeper in the knowledge of the Zeitgeist of the composers I was facing, and as a consequence the aim to communicate this knowledge, this richness of roots, to the audience in a way as widely understandable as possible. I have been reflecting on the role of roots and background keeping as a reference point the figure of Dvořák, due to his strong connections with the Czech land and tradition. The inspiration I get from the composers’ background influences choices I do in dynamics, colors, articulation, and most of all expression. But how to get this inspiration when the situation is that of an orchestral audition, when the excerpts are so short, different in style and background, and played in a row with just few seconds between one and the other one? It is not possible for me to remember in few seconds what is more important about a particular excerpt, not even if I would prepare a written summary, since only to read that it would take at least one minute. Instead, visual memory is instantaneous, and somehow produces in me a more immediate inspiration than written concepts. Therefore, I decided to translate into visual inputs, i.e. selected pictures, photographs, or very short evocative sentences, the concepts which are for me more relevant about five excerpts which are often required in clarinet auditions. For each excerpt, these visual inputs have been put together in a A4 paper, and the outcome I called, for the sake of simplicity, the “picture for an audition”. I used this tool during my practice; after a while I recorded myself, and, finally, I used the picture as a reference point to check if in the recording it was clear enough what I wanted to express. In this comparison, the pictures made me more attentive to details I would have otherwise overlooked, and became an inspiration also to find new ways to practice the excerpts.

"Little Black slave child" : operatic expressions of Black cultural trauma from William Grant Still's A troubled island and A bayou legend: Introduction -- From Troubled island (1939). Little black slave child ; 'Tis sunset in the garden -- From A bayou legend. In ages past ; Now they will be coming to the tree -- Lecture. / text

It is widely known that intonation in live professional trombone auditions is one of the most critical factors for which execution is paramount. However, the musician who practices dutifully and precisely with a chromatic tuner, even to the point of technical mastery, will not be prepared sufficiently. He or she will find that in certain environments where heavy reverberation is present, the harmonies inadvertently created are not in tune, even when equal-tempered tuning is executed perfectly, due to the harmonic interactions that those reverberations create. Therefore, it is important that trombonists know how to play auditions excerpts with just intonation, a system that accounts for harmony to deliver results that are truly in tune, for use in the solo round of an audition in such an acoustically "wet" space. This document demonstrates the need for a solution in this regard, the factors involved in a practical application of these concepts in varying scenarios, and presents analyses in just intonation of ten of the most commonly requested excerpts. In addition, guidance and resources are provided for application beyond the excerpts that have been included. It is intended that the trombonist who reads this document will have a better understanding of the basics of just intonation as they apply to solo auditions, so that the quality of his or her audition is improved by leaving at least one less element, intonation, up to chance.

abstract: Every year hundreds of aspiring musicians audition for positions with professional orchestras throughout the United States. This study is designed to provide a comprehensive look at professional orchestral auditions for trumpet. While other resources rely on the single opinion of their author, this study gathers information from a broad range of sources to develop its conclusions. This project was completed in three phases. In the first phase, lists of excerpts from trumpet auditions were compiled. In the second phase, an online survey of musicians who have served on a trumpet audition committee was conducted. In the final phase, four principal trumpet players of major orchestras and one conductor were interviewed to look further into the criteria and procedures used in orchestral trumpet auditions. The results of this study can be grouped into four categories: the desired qualities sought in a trumpet audition, common mistakes and concerns for those taking auditions, common mistakes and concerns for audition committees, and a discussion of the top fifteen excerpts asked in auditions. The data from this study can be used to consider two different perspectives: what does an aspiring trumpet player need to do to win an audition? And also, what should a committee want to hear? Although there is a broad range of opinion when considering trumpet auditions, certain standards remain. Also, while most of those involved in this study agree that the audition process is among the fairest ways to determine the winner of a job with an orchestra, they also agree that significant changes to the process still need to be made. This is especially true with reference to the types of excerpts asked and the audition procedures used. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2012