This study first narrates on the importance of theory of lü-lü (theory of tone generation) in the history of Chinese music from the Chou Dynasty (ca. 400 B.C.) to the Chin Dynasty (ca. end of 19th century), its symbolism and ramification. The main body of this study is devoted to critical translation of Huang Ti-Pei's Perspectives of Chinese Music, particularly those sections which give chronological narratives and comparative critiques of major theories of lü-lü, in order to provide the western scholarship with documents toward understanding the evolution of tone system of Chinese music. The study concludes with a comparison of Chinese tone systems from ancient time to present, and offers comments on comparison of tone systems between the eastern and western musics.

Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916-1968) et Ingvar Lidholm (né en 1921) sont deux chefs de file de la musique suédoise moderne. Étudiants à Stockholm, ils forment un cercle d’études connu sous le nom de Groupe du Lundi. Perçus comme des antiromantiques, ils renouvellent la création musicale en plaçant au cœur de leurs intérêts la technique de composition (hantverk), la ligne mélodique et des notions gestaltistes comme l’organisme.À la suite d’une étude concernant ce cadre historique, esthétique et théorique commun, cette thèse propose une analyse détaillée de trente œuvres de Blomdahl et de Lidholm datant des années 1940. Élaborée à partir du contexte esthétique et théorique initial, mais aussi à partir des théories de Schenker et de Meyer, la méthode d’analyse permet de représenter graphiquement et textuellement la cohérence compositionnelle et la dynamique des œuvres. Cette thèse démontre les divergences mélodiques, tonales et organiques essentielles concernant les langages musicaux de Blomdahl et de Lidholm. Elle démontre aussi que les notions de linéarité, de dissonance et de contrepoint revêtent plus de significations dans leurs langages respectifs que celles qui sont initialement évoquées par les textes de l’époque. Finalement, elle met en lumière des éléments esthétiques et compositionnels qui contribuent à donner un élan significatif à la musique moderne en Suède. / Karl-Birger Blomdahl (1916-1968) and Ingvar Lidholm (1921- ) were two leading figures in modern Swedish music. While studying in Stockholm they created a study circle known as the Monday Group. Regarded as anti-romanticists, Blomdahl and Lidholm revitalized musical creation by prioritizing compositional technique (as in hantverk, i.e. craft), melodic line and Gestalt concepts such as organicism.Following a study of this shared historical, aesthetic and theoretical framework, this thesis proposes a detailed analysis of thirty works by Blomdahl and Lidholm, dating from the 1940s. Based on the initial aesthetic and theoretical context and also on the theories of Schenker and Meyer, the analytical method used enables a graphical and textual representation of the compositional coherence and dynamic of the respective works.This thesis establishes the essential melodic, tonal and organic divergences in the musical languages of Blomdahl and Lidholm. Additionally, this thesis shows that the notions of linearity, dissonance and counterpoint have a deeper significance in Blomdahl’s and Lidholm’s respective musical languages than is to be found in many texts dating from this period. Finally, this thesis highlights aesthetic and compositional components that significantly invigorate modern music in Sweden.

This study has been conceived to verify whether Francesco Cavalli (Crema, 1602--Venice, 1676), the most representative composer of seventeenth-century Venetian opera, used what is called "key symbolism." Key symbolism, or the association of one particular mood or meaning with one specific key, has been a topos in music theory literature ever since Plato and Aristotle. Many scholars maintain that early modern composers believed in the connotative power of the keys and selected them according to the "affect" they meant to convey. These assumptions are mostly based on the treatises of the time and significant examples, but key symbolism had never been investigated systematically as a poetic code. This study on key symbolism focused on the identification of patterns in the associations of the expressive content ("affect" or "affection") and the key of Cavalli's arias. Arias represent the best place to investigate this association because they form semantic and musical units. Cavalli's twenty-seven extant operas include more than 850 arias and, thus, provide a sufficient sampling for testing the consistency of these patterns in the work of the same composer. My analysis and categorization of Cavalli's arias, which resulted in the compilation of a complete thematic catalogue, was based directly on the manuscript sources of the Contarini Collection held by the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice, and the collection of librettos owned by the same library. This study on Cavalli's key selection determined the following points: 1) the complete spectrum of the keys actually used by Cavalli, and how his tonal palette compares with the one proposed by contemporary theorists; 2) how practical factors, such as orchestration or the voice of the singer, influenced Cavalli's choice of the key; 3) the frequency with which the composer associated recurring topics in arias with particular tonalities; 4) whether Cavalli's usage is consistent with the connotations of the keys described in theoretical literature; and, finally, 5) whether the association of a topic with a key is systematic enough to be considered a poetical code. In the end it appears that Cavalli's choice of the key was certainly influenced but not determined by the content of the text. On the one hand, it is possible to identify some of the affective characteristics he attributed to keys; on the other hand, the link between the key (signifier) and the expressive content of the aria text (signified) cannot be codified as a system of meanings.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2001. / Includes abstract. "MQ-66385"--Fiche header. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 30-40).

The purpose of this thesis was to show that cooperative learning strategies are suitable teaching techniques for the instruction of undergraduate music theory. Literature in music theory pedagogy has concentrated primarily on content-based teaching issues and offers little information on the range of teaching techniques available for promoting student learning. Many instructors may be relying on traditional teaching methods with which they are familiar-lectures, lecture-demonstrations and teacher-led discussions-to instruct tonal theory classes and may not be aware of cooperative learning or its potential usefulness as another instructional strategy. The body of this thesis is divided into three main sections. The opening section demonstrates how traditional teaching methods alone fail to meet many learning needs of students and points to cooperative learning strategies as one alternative method that addresses these needs. In the next section, cooperative learning is further defined in order to differentiate it from traditional group work. The third and largest section contains ten sample lesson plans based on topics central to first- and second-year tonal harmony courses. Each lesson includes at least one cooperative learning technique and a discussion of why the particular technique was applied to the topic. Instructors of tonal harmony who are looking for additional teaching strategies that actively involve the learners should consider using cooperative learning. The sample lesson plans offered in this thesis illustrate how these techniques may be used either briefly in conjunction with more traditional methods or on their own in more extensive activities. Variety within cooperative learning strategies has also been demonstrated by providing techniques ranging from simple, user-friendly ideas for the inexperienced, to more complex and challenging activities requiring higher levels of experience and collaborative skills. A selected bibliography is included to assist readers in becoming familiar with some of the resources available to those who use cooperative groups for instruction.

The present study investigated how knowledge of tonality is used in sight-reading by comparing sight-reading accuracy across three tonal constructs: major, minor and atonal. It was hypothesized that sight-reading performance would be the worst in instances with no tonal information, as participants would be unable to generate appropriate top-down expectancies to guide their sight-reading. To test this, twelve pianists sight-read major, minor and atonal versions of monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic excerpts. The results indicated that pianists performed the major excerpts with greater accuracy than the atonal excerpts. Furthermore, the errors made within the major excerpts were significantly biased towards diatonicism, and there was a global shift towards tonality in participants’ atonal performances, providing a clear demonstration of how pianists’ expectations might have contributed to their sight-reading performance. The diatonic bias was not found in the minor excerpts, suggesting that the minor hierarchy does exert as strong of an influence during sight-reading.

The present study investigated how knowledge of tonality is used in sight-reading by comparing sight-reading accuracy across three tonal constructs: major, minor and atonal. It was hypothesized that sight-reading performance would be the worst in instances with no tonal information, as participants would be unable to generate appropriate top-down expectancies to guide their sight-reading. To test this, twelve pianists sight-read major, minor and atonal versions of monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic excerpts. The results indicated that pianists performed the major excerpts with greater accuracy than the atonal excerpts. Furthermore, the errors made within the major excerpts were significantly biased towards diatonicism, and there was a global shift towards tonality in participants’ atonal performances, providing a clear demonstration of how pianists’ expectations might have contributed to their sight-reading performance. The diatonic bias was not found in the minor excerpts, suggesting that the minor hierarchy does exert as strong of an influence during sight-reading.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 250-253). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on November 29, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-121). Also available on the Internet.