This thesis approaches the connection of the experience of sound/music and the experience of religion. The investigation applies a methodology of lens analysis, using the religious and mystical theories of Rudolf Otto and William James, to the case-study of Mantric chanting in a contemporary diasporic, orthopractic tradition of Sikh mysticism--3HO Kundalini Yoga. It is concluded that the experiences of sound/music and of religion are connected insofar as they are intrinsically corporeal experiences that exhibit a paradoxical immersive transcendence; Immersive because of how inescapably corporeally based they are, and yet transcendent because of how they can transport one’s consciousness to states of knowing, feeling, and understanding that are camouflaged from ordinary (non-musical, non-religious) mundane corporeal experiences.

The invention of the synthesizer meant the possibility of achieving virtually any sound in one mechanism, a superbly convenient device for musical creativity. Perhaps the perfect space for this approval of sound creativity was in the modern electronic film score. The synthesizer also flourished in popular music immediately following its emergence, but a common form began to solidify itself among synthesizer music. Shortly after, improvements in electronic instrument technology led to the democratization of electronic music and equipment, ultimately leading to electronic music as the new mainstream.

THE MEXICAN HYDRA: HOW CALDERÓN’S PURSUIT OF PEACE LED TO THE BLOODIEST WAR IN MEXICAN HISTORY. WILL THE MEXICAN PEOPLE INHERIT A FAILED STATE IN 2012? Abstract Marco Antonio Pinon-Farah The drug-war in Mexico (2006-present) has accelerated at a chilling rate, claiming the lives of 35,000 Mexican people. Since President Felipe Calderón assumed office, Mexico has been battling an internal beast unlike any it has known, the Mexican Hydra. Like the mythical creature, the Mexican cartels have proven capable of not only combating the government forces, but also of regenerating and strengthening themselves in the face of increasing government scrutiny and the loss of several prominent Mexican cartel leaders. Feuding between individual cartels and the Mexican government continue to maintain a significant portion of the country, particularly the states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa, in a paralytic state of fear. Struggling to maintain the safety of all people in Mexico, the military must also contend with the reality that it is often outgunned by the increasingly powerful drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs). Given the historical accusations of corruption in Mexican judicial, military, and police authorities, this branch of the government is constantly fighting for the trust and support of the Mexican people in order to fulfill its duties and obligations. The moral guide of Mexican society since Spanish conquest, the Catholic Church, has been notably missing from the debate until recent years in which it has chosen to speak up more frequently on behalf of those who have suffered human rights violations. In recent months, the Church and the State have been working towards a partnership to publicly condemn the violence and fear that has become all too common in Mexico. This state of chaos has been further examined by the musical phenomenon, “el narcocorrido,” (drug song). Derived from the “corrido,” one of Mexico’s most valued methods of cultural expression and storytelling, this new take on the genre provides a controversial view and analysis of the Mexican drug-trafficker. Much like the American gangsta-rap genre, the narcocorrido glamorizes the lives of individuals who are considered criminals by society. With police being criticized and the government accused of corruption and abuse, the narcocorrido is a manifestation of the sentiments of many Mexican people past and present. This cultural force allows for a greater understanding of the complexity of the drug-war in Mexico, in that it is not simply a struggle between the people and the drug industry, but rather it exposes the nature of the war for what it truly is, a battle between one Mexican presidential administration and the drug trafficking industry. President Calderón’s strategy has been successful in eliminating various important Mexican DTO leaders, however it also has been responsible for a rise in violence between the cartels and government. His strategy has left thousands dead and set a precedent for future Mexican presidents in that they are now all committed to this war, for a withdrawal from the conflict would be catastrophic for the Mexican state. Calderón is already struggling to maintain his government’s legitimacy, and it is becoming increasingly true that his state verges on failure due to its inability to guarantee and protect the rights afforded to its citizens by the Mexican Constitution.

This video is a visual representation of the frustrations that I suffered from when I, a queer, gender non-conforming, person of color, went to “pasty normals” (a term defined by Jose Esteban Munoz to describe normative, non-exotic individuals) to get a definition of what Punk meant and where I fit into it. In this video, I personify the Punk music movement. Through my actions, I depart from the grainy, low-quality, amateur aesthetics of the Punk film and music genres and create a new world where the Queer Person of Color defines Punk. In the piece, Punk definitively says, “Don’t try to define me. Shut up and leave me to rest.”

As a little boy, Dmitriĭ Dmitrievich Shostakovich pressed his ear against the wall to hear his neighbors play chamber music. He matured into one of the most prominent Soviet era composers. While the majority of academic interest Shostakovich centers on his symphonic works, his string quartets provide a window into a more intimate facet of Shostakovich’s life. This thesis explores first, why Shostakovich turned to the string quartet after some of the most fearful years of his life: his demise and rise after the scathing Pravda letter that all but threatened his life. Second, this thesis analyzes three of Shostakovich’s String Quartets: No. 1, No. 8, and No. 15. String Quartet No. 1, despite its simplicity, illuminates tender expressivity. Following years of intense artistic and personal scrutiny, Shostakovich sought an escape into an aural world of innocence. However, the quartet proves more complex than its surface suggests. Obscured harmonic complexities, intimate dialogue between instruments, and subtle recollection of prior movements lend the quartet a deeper meaning than its aural simplicity suggests. Decades later, amidst personal crisis, Shostakovich turned to the quartet, again. Composed in 1960, the year of his invocation into the communist party, String Quartet No. 8 demonstrates how Shostakovich utilized the string quartet as an avenue for personal self-expression. The intertwining of his musical signature with constant self-quotations and allusions confirms the deep, personal reflection the quartet provided Shostakovich. This study recounts the quotations previously uncovered by David Fanning, but goes beyond identification and relates the content of the quotations to Shostakovich’s emotional turmoil at the time of his party invocation. Finally, enduring anguishing physical pain and facing death, Shostakovich turned to the string quartet at the end of his life. String Quartet No. 15 provided Shostakovich an external outlet for his internal dialogue on death. Sentiments of meditation, fury, resistance, anguish, and resignation musically intertwine during Shostakovich’s longest and most painful string quartet. This study demonstrates how Shostakovich used the string quartet as a medium for deeper self-expression.

The Story and Song Centered Pedagogy (SSCP) is a workshop that uses songs, stories and reflective questioning to increase empathy. This preliminary study tested the prediction that being exposed to the SSCP would increase empathy using, the Emotional Concern (EC) and Perspective Taking (PT) subscales of the renowned Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis, 1990). Subjects self-reported their answers to the IRI before and after undergoing the SSCP intervention. Comparing their pre and post intervention results, no statistically significant changes were noticed for the EC and PT scales (p-value = 0.7093 for EC; p-value = 0.6328 for PT). These results stand in direct tension with the anecdotal evidence gathered from 10 years of action research that shows that the SSCP impacts audiences' ability to empathize. This opens the door for additional research with more rigorous methodology and a larger sample size which will allow for more interpretative analysis. These results also probe the concern about whether the IRI is the most suitable tool to quantitatively measure the empathetic responses caused by the SSCP and evidenced by action research.

Free Jazz/ Black Power was written by French journalists Philippe Carles and Jean-Louis Comolli, and published in 1971 in France. It offers a post-colonialist Marxist critique of African American free jazz of the 1960s and presents the argument that the existence of free jazz and its musical characteristics are a result of the long history of oppression that African Americans have faced in the United States. The present work presents the first English language translation of the Introduction and Part III of the book. The introduction to the translation looks at the history of jazz in France and particularly the French critical response to free jazz in the 1960s. The translation of the Introduction and Part III of Free Jazz/ Black Power immediately follows an extended essay on linguistic, historical, and cultural problems encountered in the process of translation.

This qualitative study examined how three accomplished traditional string musicians learned music in their homeschool environments. Data were derived from formal interviews of the three musicians. The research framework for this qualitative study is based upon the socio-educational model of second language learning motivation developed by R. C. Gardner (1959, 1985, 2004, 2010) and applied to the study of instrumental music learning motivation by P. D. MacIntyre (2012). Structured interview questions, triangulated by additional informal dialogues, field observations, externally documented sources, and collaboration with an expert review panel were the data collection activities utilized in the research. Five overarching themes emerged: (1) social and cultural surroundings influence musical achievement, (2) the desire to acquire the attributes and acceptance of other musicians supports musical achievement, (3) motivation impacts musical achievement, (4) learning and performing music causes anxiety, and (5) informal learning environments foster musical attainment. The examination of homeschooled, traditional musicians via the overarching themes, may provide valuable insights for educators in the area of acquisition and development of musical skill in high school students.

This study looks at alternative models of follow-up album success in order to determine if there is a relationship between the decrease in Metascore ratings (assigned by Metacritic.com) between the first and second album for a musician or band and the 1) music genre or 2) the number of years between the first and second album release. The results support the dominant thought, which suggests that neither belonging to a certain genre of music nor waiting more or less time to drop the second album makes an artist more susceptible to the Sophomore Slump. This finding is important because it forces us to identify other potential causes for the observed disappointing performance of a generally favorable musician’s second album.

Self-care can be seen as not only critical for individual professionals, but also for the growth of the helping professions and the quality of care which clients receive. The purpose of this study was to investigate use of career-sustaining behaviors and the levels of professional quality of life in music therapy professionals. This study investigated research questions regarding use of career sustaining behaviors and levels of professional quality of life, the relationship between these variables, the differences in the use of career sustaining behavior by demographics, and the use of music as a self-care strategy. An online survey was sent to all professional members of the American Music Therapy Association. A total of 403 participants were included in the study for the purposes of data analysis. Findings from the study indicate that music therapy professionals are in the average to low ranges for burnout and secondary traumatic stress. However, a portion of the sample was identified to be at risk for these factors. Differences existed in the use of career sustaining behaviors between demographic variables, indicating self-care behaviors vary among professionals. The field of music therapy should further investigate these areas to best provide opportunities for professional self-care.