This submission consists of three parts, found in two volumes. Volume 1 consists of a folio of eight original compositions, composed during the tenure of my PhD candidature at the University of Adelaide. These works cover a range of media, including symphony orchestra with soloist, large chamber ensemble, string quartet with soprano solo, guitar quintet, mixed choir and vocal trio. Volume 2 presents an exegesis that contains commentary on the genesis and analysis of the submitted works, together with an explanation of certain modal processes that have been explored and applied. Volume 2 also contains three minor compositions that were composed during my candidature, presented as an Appendix. These are analysed and referenced within the exegesis discussion. Two CDs of live recordings of some of the submitted works are included as part of Volume 2. The Exegesis, Appendix and Sound Recordings found in Volume 2 act as secondary material to support the primary material presented in Volume 1. Of the eight compositions presented in Volume 1, Skin, Metal, Wood – Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra is the major orchestral work of over 30 minutes, in fulfilment of submission requirements. The musical works contained within this submission offer a personal exploration of certain modal processes. In particular, the tonal principles of modulation and key relationships have been transferred into a modal system that features church, folk and synthetic modes. The exploration of modal processes has been carried out through the works themselves, and the accompanying exegesis acts as a commentary on the genesis of the works. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, Elder Conservatorium of Music, 2008

The main purpose of this dissertation is to offer classical guitarists an additional analytical technique for interpreting and performing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. While this mode of analysis can be successfully applied to any of the instrumental works by Bach frequently transcribed and performed by guitarists, I have chosen for this study my recent transcription of the Partita in A minor for solo flute traverso, BWV 1013. With a continuo-based, harmonic realization of the Partita, I contribute to the existing guitar repertoire by offering a new transcription of this work, while demonstrating how historical concepts of rhetorical structure and aesthetics found in relevant primary source material can inspire a new approach to analysis, transcription, and performance practice. In this way, my investigations create additional perspectives for classical guitarists regarding the analysis and performance of this work, while complementing traditional harmonic analysis and subject labeling. Although it is my hope that this new transcription of the Partita will serve as an important contribution to the existing literature, the main purpose of this dissertation resides in the musico-rhetorical analytical technique and its implications on performance practice for classical guitarists.

This study investigates how different guitarists introduced saxophone-like phrasing into the improvisatory and compositional vocabulary of jazz guitar through their collaborations with saxophonists. This research presents a comparative analysis of phrasing, articulation, and melodic design in solo improvisations. The mixed approach to this study includes analysis of motives, voice leading, articulation, length of phrases, melodic contour, and the execution of bebop vocabulary on the guitar. The findings are based on original transcriptions from significant recordings by guitar-saxophone pairs. These highlight the similarities between and adaptations of musical devices from saxophonists Stan Getz, Jimmy Giuffre, and Joe Lovano into the jazz guitar styles of Jimmy Raney, Jim Hall, and John Scofield. This study supports the argument that the evolution of modern jazz guitar playing is directly connected to the adaptation of saxophone-like phrasing at an improvisatory and compositional level. It also shows that the concept of style in jazz flows between different instruments' lineages. Understanding these findings provides a more complex and accurate concept of the development of style in jazz.