A Memetic Analysis of a Phrase by Beethoven: Calvinian Perspectives on Similarity and Lexicon-Abstraction

This article discusses some general issues arising from the study of similarity in music, both human-conducted and computer-aided, and then progresses to a consideration of similarity relationships between patterns in a phrase by Beethoven, from the first movement of the Piano Sonata in A flat major op. 110 (1821), and various potential memetic precursors. This analysis is followed by a consideration of how the kinds of similarity identified in the Beethoven phrase might be understood in psychological/conceptual and then neurobiological terms, the latter by means of William Calvin’s Hexagonal Cloning Theory. This theory offers a mechanism for the operation of David Cope’s concept of the lexicon, conceived here as a museme allele-class. I conclude by attempting to correlate and map the various spaces within which memetic replication occurs

Musical allusion to The Rite of Spring in four contemporary works for solo bassoon

The bassoon solo that begins The Rite of Spring has had a profound and lasting influence on the treatment of the bassoon as a melodic instrument, both in the context of the orchestra and as a solo instrument. It has been alluded to and directly quoted in many works over the past century, and has become associated with the modern concept of the bassoon as a solo instrument. Four works for solo bassoon by contemporary composers—Canto XII by Samuel Adler, Metamorphoses by Leslie Bassett, Paisagem sonora no. 5 by Rodrigo Lima, and From Rite to Rite by Claudia and Maíra Cimbleris—all adapt the bassoon solo from the introduction to The Rite of Spring. Although the passages in these four works that contain musical allusion to The Rite of Spring vary widely in content and character, they demonstrate certain similarities in the treatment of material borrowed from the bassoon solo and other parts of the ballet. These similarities suggest a common way of thinking about Stravinsky’s bassoon solo, and its continued use by contemporary composers suggests its long lasting impact on modern bassoon writing

A Stylistic Analysis and Performance Guide for James Sclater\u27s Variations and Toccata on a Theme by Paganini

This document exists as a resource for understanding and performing the piano music of the American composer James Sclater. It focuses specifically on the Variations and Toccata on a Theme by Paganini (2002), his most important solo piano composition. Sclater’s extensive output includes works for orchestra, voice, opera, band, chorus, as well as compositions for soloists and chamber music. After a brief biographical summary and some historical background for the subjects under discussion, the main portion of the study provides a stylistic analysis of Sclater’s Variations and Toccata on a Theme by Paganini, a significant and heretofore unexamined piano work which fuses elements of twentieth-century techniques with a more traditional style of composition. The piece continues a tradition of works by various composers that utilize the well-known caprice theme of Paganini as a point of departure, with Sclater’s colorful contribution to this lineage reflecting his individual predilections, aesthetics, and temperament. The attractive conflation of old and new qualities, adept compositional craftsmanship, and appealing musicality found in James Sclater’s work produces admirable creations which are worthy of examination, research, and performance. His compositions offer intriguing, vital responses to the confrontation of tradition and innovation in twentieth-century art music. Because of the quality, accessibility, and gratifying style of Sclater’s compositions, his work is deserving of support, research, and appreciation. The analysis and discussion contained within this document explicates, elucidates, and supports these assertions. The material to be learned in this study includes a deeper understanding of the piano music of James Sclater, as well as insight and perspective regarding his style of composition resulting from the analysis and discussion associated with the dissertation. The musical elements of melody, tonality, harmony, rhythm, texture, tempo, and form are analyzed and explored. As this document is also a performance guide, performance concerns found in the music are addressed. Appendixes include a complete list of works, a letter of permission from James Sclater, an IRB approval form, and excerpts from an interview with the composer

Direct quotation in the music of George Crumb.

Wut Tai Ming.Thesis submitted in: December 2004.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 75-81).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Abstract --- p.iiiList of Examples --- p.ivList of Tables --- p.vChapter Chapter 1 --- George Crumb's Music --- p.1Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature critique --- p.4Chapter Chapter 3 --- Crumb's Musical Borrowing --- p.13Chapter Chapter 4 --- "Borrowing of ""Canon""" --- p.17Chapter Chapter 5 --- Borrowing of Hymn Tunes --- p.42Chapter Chapter 6 --- Conclusion --- p.70BibliographyWritings by George Crumb --- p.75Interviews --- p.76Writings by others --- p.76AppendixChapter 1.1 --- List of Compositions by George CrumbChapter 3.1 --- Reference/Allusion/ParodyChapter 3.2 --- Strict QuotationChapter 4.1 --- Tritone spanChapter 4.2 --- """Bist de bei mir"" from Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach"Chapter 4.3 --- """Dream Images"" from Makrokosmos I"Chapter 4.4 --- """Litany of the Galactic Bells"" from Makrokosmos II"Chapter 4.5 --- """Music of the Starry Night"" from Makrokosmos III"Chapter 4.6 --- A Chinese poemChapter 5.1 --- """Remembrance of Time"" from Echoes of Time and the River"Chapter 5.2 --- "Comparison between original tune ""Were you there"" and Crumb's quotation"Chapter 5.3 --- """Devil-music"" and ""Danse Macabre"" from Black Angels"Chapter 5.4 --- """Night-Spell"" from Makrokosmos I"Chapter 5.5 --- "Comparison between original tune ""Will there be any stars in my crown?""and Crumb's quotation"Chapter 5.6 --- Giotto's paintingsChapter 5.7 --- """Coventry Carol"""Chapter 5.8 --- "Riddle Song"""Chapter 5.9 --- """The Realm of Morpheus"" from Zeitgeist"Chapter 5.10 --- "Comparison between original tune ""Amazing Grace"" and Crumb's quotation

Kind of Blue and the Signifyin(g) Voice of Miles Davis

Kind of Blue remains one of the most influential and successful jazz albums ever recorded, yet we know surprisingly few details concerning how it was written and the creative roles played by its participants. Previous studies in the literature emphasise modal and blues content within the album, overlooking the creative principle that underpins Kind of Blue – repetition and variation. Davis composed his album by Signifyin(g), transforming and recombining musical items of interest adopted from recent recordings of the period. This thesis employs an interdisciplinary framework that combines note-based observations with intertextual theory. It maps out the intertextual associations of each piece on Kind of Blue, illuminating Davis’s creative practice and more generally, Signifyin(g) in jazz. The study presents a more rounded account of the trumpeter, identifying Significations that possess a transformative power indicative of his idiosyncratic voice. This derives from the trumpeter’s skill in recognising the musical potential implicit in each borrowed item. Davis employed varied modes of revision in response to each insight, which nevertheless exhibit common traits – simplicity/neatness of approach, economical use of materials and revisional instinct. The study catches Davis in the act of revising musical tradition, as the trumpeter renegotiates African-American traditional forms using contemporary jazz devices. Some tracks exhibit “indirection” by saying one thing but meaning another. Thus, while the bluesy vamps of “All Blues” appear to affirm the blues tradition, a series of intertextual readings reveal a hidden dialogue concerning the mutability of style, as musical items traverse stylistic boundaries with ease courtesy of Davis’s Signifyin(g) voice

An empirical investigation of the concept of memes in music using mass data analysis of string quartets

Dawkins introduced the concept of the meme as the cultural equivalent to the gene (1989, pp. 189-201). To illustrate the concept, Dawkins cited ‘tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes, fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches’ (1989, p. 192) as examples of memes. All of Dawkins’ examples are elements of culture that have evolved over time. Because music is a part of culture, then under Dawkins’ hypothesis, memes should exist in music. After all, the first of Dawkins’ examples was a ‘tune’. Jan expanded on Dawkins’ ideas with a thorough investigation into memes in music (2007). This was done on a number of different levels within music, from melodic lines to overall structure, using a range of examples within music. Whilst providing a strong case for memes, Jan was not able to provide evidence from an analysis encompassing a large dataset of music. However, Jan does provide a number of possible methodologies for analysing memes in music, including investigating memes across time periods using single lines of notes (2007, p. 211). The present research expands on Jan’s suggested methodology by looking at short monophonic three- to eleven-note patterns in music across five different non-traditional musicological time periods within a large dataset of string quartets. A search for memes in music is conducted using a range of scores. These are converted to MusicXML documents, which are then imported into a relational database. Data mining is then implemented on the resultant dataset to produce a series of ranking positions for monophonic note patterns within the music based upon the relative frequencies of their appearances within specified time periods. Additionally, a similarity algorithm is used to investigate the possible ancestral relationships between different monophonic note patterns. Within the limitations of the working definitions and assumptions made in the research, it was shown that there is evidence for the evolutionary properties of selection, replication and variation, and the replicator properties of longevity, fecundity and copying fidelity for some monophonic note patterns within the dataset

Mapping gestures in the creation of intangible artworks

"Mapping gestures in the creation of intangible artworks" considers that what is normally understood as an artwork, such as a painting or music, is in fact a tangible thing experienced via excitation of the physical senses. It is the perceiver's interpretation of this excitation that creates their unique experience of the object, and this interpretation creates the artwork. Rather than a linear, single-trajectory interaction from the art-maker to the art-perceiver, “Mapping gestures ...” hypothesises that this relationship is best understood as having the qualities of a Möbius strip, in that the maker and perceiver are engaged in an interaction in which each are simultaneously creator and perceiver. "Mapping gestures ...” has two parts: the three art-objects, MOTION, SPEECH and VISION, and the accompanying exegesis, which discusses the ideas and processes that informed their development. Its process is to explore the making of these art-objects and the discoveries that that generates. These discoveries in turn influence the process of creating the art-objects, which consequently leads to more discoveries. MOTION, SPEECH, and VISION are designed to engage the perceiver both physically and mentally, and to represent that engagement through simultaneously showing the result of their physical and their mental interactions with it. "Mapping gestures in the creation of intangible artworks" coalesces a bricolage of diverse aspects, including: concepts and theories relating to art making and communication, various art works, and art making concepts and processes, into a set of art-objects that overtly, fundamentally, and in essence rely on the interaction and interpretation of the perceiver in order to become artworks

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music

Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music by Steven Jan is a comprehensive account of the relationships between evolutionary theory and music. Examining the ‘evolutionary algorithm’ that drives biological and musical-cultural evolution, the book provides a distinctive commentary on how musicality and music can shed light on our understanding of Darwin’s famous theory, and vice-versa. Comprised of seven chapters, with several musical examples, figures and definitions of terms, this original and accessible book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in the relationships between music and evolutionary thought. Jan guides the reader through key evolutionary ideas and the development of human musicality, before exploring cultural evolution, evolutionary ideas in musical scholarship, animal vocalisations, music generated through technology, and the nature of consciousness as an evolutionary phenomenon. A unique examination of how evolutionary thought intersects with music, Music in Evolution and Evolution in Music is essential to our understanding of how and why music arose in our species and why it is such a significant presence in our lives