La version intégrale de cette thèse est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l’Université de Montréal (http://www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Cette thèse de doctorat comprend l’analyse, les partitions et les enregistrements sonores de plusieurs compositions musicales écrites et improvisées qui furent enregistrées au cours des années 2009 et 2010. Elle vise le développement des éléments de détermination d’un langage musical personnel. Pour ce faire, divers outils furent mis en place, tels que le développement d’un système mélodico harmonique flexible et l’expansion de la palette sonore du vibraphone, grâce à la maîtrise du bending tone. Le corps de cet ouvrage se divise donc en deux parties consacrées à l’élaboration du système de superposition arborescente et à l’aspect soliste recherchant la flexibilité, la virtuosité et l’élargissement des possibilités liées au son de cet instrument de musique. Les concepts élaborés sont appuyés par des illustrations, des références aux partitions et des exemples musicaux ciblés de type jazz et de type classique occidental. / This doctoral thesis involves the analysis, scores and sound recordings of several composed and improvised musical compositions recorded during the years 2009 – 2010. Its main objective is the development of elements determining a personal musical language. To achieve this objective, different tools were put in place such as the development of a flexible harmonic and melodic system and the expansion of the multitude of sound effects of the vibraphone, both achieved by mastering the “bending tone”. The body of this document is divided in two parts devoted to the elaboration of a system of superposition of the different changes that can be brought to the core element and the aspect of the soloist searching for flexibility, virtuosity and the diversity of sounds linked to this particular instrument. The concepts elaborated are supported by illustrations, score references and targeted musical examples including jazz and western classical styles.

Vibraphone performance continues to be an expanding field of music. Earliest accounts of the presence of the vibraphone and vibraphone players can be found in American Vaudeville from the early 1900s; then found shortly thereafter in jazz bands as early as the 1930s, and on the classical concert stage beginning in 1949. Three Pieces for Vibraphone, Opus 27, composed by James Beale in 1959, is the first solo concert piece written exclusively for the instrument. Since 1959, there have been over 690 pieces written for solo concert vibraphone, which stands as evidence of the popularity of both the instrument and the genre of solo concert literature. Christopher Deane has contributed to solo vibraphone repertoire with works that are regarded as staples in the genre. Deane's compositions for vibraphone consistently expand the technical and musical potential of the instrument. Performance of Deane's vibraphone works requires a performer to utilize grips and specific performance techniques that are departures from standard performance practices. Many of the performance techniques needed to successfully execute these pieces are not routinely found in either percussion pedagogy courses or performance ensemble situations. As a result, most percussionists are not familiar with these techniques and will require additional assistance, instruction, or demonstrations. The impetus of this document is to present explanations and solutions for performance areas that require extended performance techniques, to offer recommendations on the creation, choosing, and manipulating of special implements, and to propose varied choices related to artistic interpretation of three of Deane's vibraphone pieces: Mourning Dove Sonnet (1983), The Apocryphal Still Life (1996), and Dis Qui Etude (2004).

A Postcard from Cairo is a chamber work for three performers (flute/soprano saxophone, vibraphone/conga, and electric guitar) supported by stereo tape and two digital sequencers. The musical content is a montage of Arabian, Indian, Spanish, and Moroccan ethnic music, combined with avant-garde sounds. The score reflects a mixture of traditional and contemporary elements featuring extensive use of improvisation and repetition. Each player is required to coordinate his responses in a variety of ways. Cues are governed by an analog clock, and pulses are provided by the tape/sequencer background.

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Studiens syfte är att undersöka min lärandeprocess när jag på det melodiska slagverksinstrumentet vibrafon studerar in tre folkmusiklåtar på gehör utifrån ljudinspelningar. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för studien är det sociokulturella perspektivet och den decentrerade mästarläran. Studiens frågeställningar berör tillvägagångssätt, vilka kulturella redskap som används samt hur lärandet visar sig. I resultatet framkommer att många olika materiella och intellektuella redskap används i inlärningsprocessen och att lärandet visar sig genom exempelvis ökat tempo och tillägnande av fler och fler detaljer i musiken. I diskussionen ställs dessa resultat i relation till presenterad litteratur och forskning och aspekter som diskuteras är bland annat hur olika kulturella redskap samspelar och tillsammans främjar lärandet, hur den musikkulturella inramningen sätts utifrån den utövandes tidigare erfarenheter och kunskaper samt hur samspel och kommunikation kan visa sig i enskild övning utan tydlig praxisgemenskap. / The purpose of this studie is to analyse my learningprocess when learning three swedish folkmusic tunes by ear on the vibraphone, with the help of audio recordings. The theoretical basis of the studie is the sociocultural theory and a decentered view of master-learning. The issues of the studie has been to examine the ways in which I structure my practice to reach my goals, the use of different cultural tools and how the development can be seen. The result reveals that a lot of different tools, both material and intellectual, are being used in the learningprocess and that the development can be seen in increasing of tempo and appropriation of more and more details in the musical perfomance. In the discussion the results are put in relation to the litterature and theory which has been presented. Some aspects that is discussed is how the use of different cultural tools together can have a positive effect, how a musicians previous experience and knowledge affects the learningprocess and how interaction and communication can be seen in individual practice without a clear social context.

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This thesis covers pretty much everything about the 4’th movement of “I Ching” by Per Nørgård (“IV. Towards Completion. Fire over Water”). I have delved deep into an analysis, that helped me develop my own interpretation and understanding of the piece.  While I was doing my research, I discovered fascinating links between music and mathematics, that showed me how much we don’t know and that there are interesting subjects left for us to find. My exploration did not stop there just yet, I also found out about the “I Ching”, an ancient Chinese book, that covers a broad topic, which can be summed up in two words: Yin & Yang. This, combined with a bit of mathematics contributed to the creation of a unique vocabulary that Per Nørgård pioneered, called: “infinity series”. My thesis aim is to promote Per Nørgård’s music, that has not yet been discovered by enough percussionists.

Time for Bee consists of a series of ten original musical/theatrical compositions created between September 1992 and January 1994, first performed on the evening of January 28, 1994 in the Recital Hall of the University of British Columbia. While each of the works can be performed individually, it was the composer’s intent to create a recital which is logical in its progression. This should suggest that in some way the pieces belong together as a larger whole. The concept of “waiting” circulates throughout all the works, in the sense that the actual material is either minimalist (and so one is forced to “wait” for changes), or the philosophy behind a given piece is similarly based, but may not be evident in the sounding music. The studies in the music machine, for example, try to incorporate necessary stage changes between pieces (and the waiting the audience goes through) into musical events about such waiting. A secondary interest concerns the concept of contradiction. The majority of the works are, for example, based upon high-sounding textures (flute, violin, clarinet, high piano and mallets, etc). The studies in the music machine attempt to introduce low-sounding textures as a contrast, however, and throughout the recital a timpani and a bass drum sit off to the side of the stage, unplayed. These ideas, and others, are meant to serve as a contradiction to the unified high-sounding textures of the majority of the recital. Individual pieces are similarly based upon concepts of contradiction and waiting. Memory, as a concept, plays a prominent role in several pieces as well.

Time for Bee consists of a series of ten original musical/theatrical compositions created between September 1992 and January 1994, first performed on the evening of January 28, 1994 in the Recital Hall of the University of British Columbia. While each of the works can be performed individually, it was the composer’s intent to create a recital which is logical in its progression. This should suggest that in some way the pieces belong together as a larger whole. The concept of “waiting” circulates throughout all the works, in the sense that the actual material is either minimalist (and so one is forced to “wait” for changes), or the philosophy behind a given piece is similarly based, but may not be evident in the sounding music. The studies in the music machine, for example, try to incorporate necessary stage changes between pieces (and the waiting the audience goes through) into musical events about such waiting. A secondary interest concerns the concept of contradiction. The majority of the works are, for example, based upon high-sounding textures (flute, violin, clarinet, high piano and mallets, etc). The studies in the music machine attempt to introduce low-sounding textures as a contrast, however, and throughout the recital a timpani and a bass drum sit off to the side of the stage, unplayed. These ideas, and others, are meant to serve as a contradiction to the unified high-sounding textures of the majority of the recital. Individual pieces are similarly based upon concepts of contradiction and waiting. Memory, as a concept, plays a prominent role in several pieces as well. / Arts, Faculty of / Music, School of / Includes 1 sound cassette / Graduate