In garages, practice rooms and classrooms, young people are composing music in rock and pop bands; engaged in working together in the shared enterprise of group music making. This study aims to contribute to scholarly knowledge through describing, analysing and interpreting the collaborative compositional processes (song writing) of three teenage rock bands. A theoretical model was developed and is applied to an analysis of the compositional processes of each group. Communication within each of the bands is analysed in terms of musical, nonverbal and verbal communication. The teaching and cooperative learning that occurred within each of the bands is presented, and each band is described in terms of a community of practice. An analysis of the compositional processes reveals that the three bands employed similar methods to generate ideas and construct their songs. However, when the data are viewed from a number of other theoretical perspectives, it is clear that two of the bands composed collaboratively, working together within mutually supportive, highly focussed and respectful communities; and that the third band’s songs were the work of a single composer, achieved through the cooperation and participation of the other band members. The young people in all three bands were highly engaged in selfdirected music learning, finding meaning and identity in the process.

This qualitative research study explored how verbal processing occurred in music therapy work with adolescent boys living in a shelter in Pretoria. The study examined both how the adolescent boys and the therapist engaged in verbal processing. Three audio excerpts derived from the music therapy sessions were analysed through a process of content analysis. The data was coded, categorised and organised into themes. Results indicated that verbal processing was interrelated between the therapist and the adolescent boys, both making use of various techniques of verbal processing. This proved to be invaluable with the verbal processing facilitating the therapeutic process as the boys were afforded with a safe space where any ideas, feelings, thoughts, hopes and dreams could be expressed and shared with each other, and the therapist was able to gain greater insight into the boys’ more intimate world. I am unaware of any published literature of music therapy with adolescent boys living in a shelter, as music therapy is in its early stages in South Africa, especially with this specific client group. The majority of music therapy literature however, not surprisingly, focuses on musical exchanges during sessions. I would therefore like to explore how verbal processing was used in the music therapy process, after music listening and during song writing, with adolescent boys living in a shelter. This is in order to facilitate a greater understanding and openness towards the possibilities of including clinically informed verbal processing as part of music therapy work with this population group. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / gm2014 / Music / Unrestricted

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka skapandet av popmusik (i en DAW) som är både lättillgänglig och innehåller oväntade inslag. Genom att analysera låtar av Susanne Sundfør och AURORA, samt genom att ta del av intervjuer med artisterna, undersöker jag olika konstnärliga val som kan göras i den musikaliska skapandeprocessen. Genom att använda egna upplevelser som grund för analysen, undersöker jag hur dessa val kan bidra till att skapa musik som är både lättillgänglig och konstnärligt meningsfull. Litteratur som behandlar ämnen som genreöverskridande musik och harmonik användes för att stödja analyserna.  Studien resulterade i fyra låtar som jag skrev och producerade, vilka representerar ett steg mot att förstå vad som krävs för att skapa lättillgänglig popmusik med oväntade inslag. Resultaten av studien inkluderar också en fördjupad förståelse av de konstnärliga valens musikaliska betydelse inom låtskrivande och musikproduktion. Resultatet ger insikt i möjligheterna att skapa popmusik som är både lättillgänglig och konstnärligt meningsfull. / The present study aims to investigate the characteristics of easily accessible pop music that also contains unexpected elements. To this end, songs by Susanne Sundfør and AURORA were analysed, and interviews with the artists were thoroughly examined. The analysis was based on a review of relevant literature, which covered topics such as genre-crossing music and music theory. The study explored the various artistic choices that can be made in the production process and considered their musical significance. The research approach was reflective and focused on the author's subjective experience of music. The analyses aimed to identify the specific musical elements that appealed to the author and consider their role in creating easily accessible pop music with unexpected elements.  The results of the study include four original songs written and produced by the author, which represent a step towards understanding the requirements for creating the desired music. The research also resulted in a deeper understanding of the musical significance of artistic choices in pop music production. The findings provide insight into the possibilities for creating pop music that is both accessible and artistically meaningful.

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In many South African schools where English is used as the language of instruction learners with a different mother tongue are accepted, yet they may experience many challenges. In this research study I investigated whether group music therapy sessions can have a positive impact on such learners in relation to particularly two of these difficulties. The first difficulty is social interaction and integration. The second difficulty is their negative attitude towards English, the school and their school work. This difficulty develops because of their weak competency in the language. The paradigm in which this study falls is interpretive and a qualitative approach was used. A case study design was utilised. Ten music therapy sessions were offered to a group of nine grade eight boys from three different linguistic backgrounds: three English home language speakers, three Portuguese home language speakers and three siSwati home language speakers. Music therapy offers a non-threatening environment in which group members can creatively interact. I made use of an array of techniques including improvisation, movement, song writing and musical games where group members had opportunities to express themselves in an unconventional way. Three different sources of naturally-occurring data were used. Questionnaires were filled in by all participants before the commencement of the sessions, five video excerpts were selected from the music therapy group sessions and a focus group was held with all participants after the last session. Data was analysed according to Ansdell and Pavlicevic’s (2001) qualitative content analysis. Responses from the questionnaires and focus group and thick descriptions from the selected video excerpts were coded and categorised according to Gibb’s (2007) proposed technique of open coding. Results generated from the analysed data indicated that, through the opportunities afforded to the group in music therapy sessions, social interaction was experienced in a novel way and integration was enhanced. Findings also indicated that, through this unique way of interacting, the attitude of some members towards English improved. There were also indications that improvement was not across the board and individuals reacted differently to the process. A much longer process could hold far more convincing results. / Dissertation (MMus)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmchunu2014 / Music / unrestricted

Syfte med detta självständiga arbete har varit att introspektivt undersöka vilka musikaliska och kreativa aspekter som är viktigast för mig i mitt konstnärliga uttryck, och hur dessa har påverkat mig som musikproducent. I arbetet har jag också undersökt min konstnärliga arbetsprocess och vilka metoder som är mer eller mindre gynnsamma. Med en teoretisk utgångspunkt i filosofen Martin Heideggers teori om konstverkets ursprung, och musikpedagogen Fred V. Nielsens teorier om meningslager i det musikaliska objektet, har jag valt att analysera tre låtar inom mitt artistprojekt LiLL. I analysen har jag fått syn på hur viktigt det är för mig att de tre meningslagren, emotion, spänning och kinetik/kroppsligt, är sammankopplade samt hur jag använder visioner, färg och inre bilder för att förhålla mig till ett abstrakt skapande i en DAW och realisera mitt musikaliska uttryck. Insikter som denna studie har lett till är bland annat att min musikaliska process gynnas både tidsmässigt och kreativt av samarbeten. Jag har också konstaterat att jag skapar mig själv som musikproducent och artist genom att skapa musik. Min konstnärliga och tekniska förmåga utvecklas i takt med att jag skapat ett musikaliskt verk i enlighet med Heideggers teori. / The purpose of this study has been to introspectively examine which musical and creative aspects are important to me in my artistic expression, and how these aspects have affected me as a music producer. I have also examined my artistic working process and which methods are more or less favorable. With a theoretical starting point in the philosopher Martin Heidegger's theory of the origin of the work of art, and the theories of layers of meaning in the musical object by the professor in musical education Fred V. Nielsen, I have chosen to analyze three songs within my artist project - LiLL. By analyzing these songs, I have seen how important it is for me that the three layers of meaning, emotions, tension and kinetics / bodily, are connected and how I use visions and inner images to relate to the abstract creation of music in DAW:s. This study has led to insights regarding my artistic working process which are that my musical process benefits from collaborations and, in affordance with Heidegger's theory, that I create myself as a music producer by creating music at the same time as my musical ability develops by creating music.