The Tārāb Saxophone - The development of a comprehensive culturally informed approach to the performance on the saxophone of music derived from Arabic maqāmāt.

This thesis details the synthesis of Arabic music performance practices with the idiolect of a non-Arab Australian saxophonist. The process is guided by principles inferred from tārāb, a phenomenon that encapsulates theoretical, technical and expressive information peculiar to the idiom. A retraining method based on conceptualisation, replication, activation and incorporation is applied. A robust theoretical, contextual, aesthetic and kinaesthetic conception is developed by accumulation of performance skills on the Arabic nāy (flute). Aural skills are redefined and systematically enhanced to accurately perceive and produce microtones intrinsic to Arabic maqāmāt (modes). The study demonstrates how this information is transferred by analogy to the saxophone, requiring a detailed investigation of the instrument in the development of a 24-tone chromatic technical approach, including a hierarchy of preferential fingerings. A range of saxophones are tested to ensure transferability of solutions, and limitations are defined and discussed. Contextual technical and kinaesthetic retraining relevant to performance of maqāmāt on saxophone is achieved through a process of development of drills, including idiomatic trills, melisma and ornaments, repertoire extracts and extensive transcription. This process enables a culturally informed and comprehensive performance approach to Arabic-maqām derived music, including traditional repertoire and contemporary intercultural performance practice. Skill sets derived from functional performance aspects of tārāb are used to enhance, direct and inform improvisation and composition practice, within and beyond the Arabic music context

Automatic transcription of traditional Turkish art music recordings: A computational ethnomusicology appraoach

Thesis (Doctoral)--Izmir Institute of Technology, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Izmir, 2012Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 96-109)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishxi, 131 leavesMusic Information Retrieval (MIR) is a recent research field, as an outcome of the revolutionary change in the distribution of, and access to the music recordings. Although MIR research already covers a wide range of applications, MIR methods are primarily developed for western music. Since the most important dimensions of music are fundamentally different in western and non-western musics, developing MIR methods for non-western musics is a challenging task. On the other hand, the discipline of ethnomusicology supplies some useful insights for the computational studies on nonwestern musics. Therefore, this thesis overcomes this challenging task within the framework of computational ethnomusicology, a new emerging interdisciplinary research domain. As a result, the main contribution of this study is the development of an automatic transcription system for traditional Turkish art music (Turkish music) for the first time in the literature. In order to develop such system for Turkish music, several subjects are also studied for the first time in the literature which constitute other contributions of the thesis: Automatic music transcription problem is considered from the perspective of ethnomusicology, an automatic makam recognition system is developed and the scale theory of Turkish music is evaluated computationally for nine makamlar in order to understand whether it can be used for makam detection. Furthermore, there is a wide geographical region such as Middle-East, North Africa and Asia sharing similarities with Turkish music. Therefore our study would also provide more relevant techniques and methods than the MIR literature for the study of these non-western musics

The Sound of Silence: An Ethnography on the Sama 'Ritual in the Nematollahi Kaneqah in Toronto

This thesis examines the Sufi ritual of Sama as practiced by the Nematollahi order in Toronto and will explore how music induces trance in Sufis during their ceremonies called Sama. My approach is ethnomusicological. Sama, includes poetry and music through which Sufis enter into trance. The structural coupling theory may be applied to understand how Sufis participate in ritual and through active faith, undergo physical and physiological changes. The Sufis are coupled to the ritual through a common history, music, or previous participation (conditioning), practiced consciously by a group of individuals. A Samas script is never predictable; it is always improvisatory. A good Sama is when the Sufis emotional arousal matches the intensity of the music and a transcendent symbiosis occurs. Based on my interviews with the Sufis in the Nematollahi Kaneqah, each experienced the central factors of happiness, which is synonymous with well-being, however subjective this term may be

Volume 39, Number 01 (January 1921)

Unseen Influences in Musical Composition and Interpretation (interview with Cyril Scott) How to Check Up a Child\u27s Progress Written Lesson in Music Why Does My Back Get Tired When I Practice? Intensive Left-Hand Practice Handicapped Players What are the Best Kind of Playing Fingers Adelina Patti: Queen of the Opera of the Last Century Use Up-to-Date Beginner\u27s Books How Would You Answer These Self-Searching Questions? When You Practice One Note: Some of the Fascinating Curiosities of Acoustics How Can I Find Out Whether My Child is Musical? Rhythmic Knack Peep Behind the Scenes De Gustibus Est Disputandum, I Say: Matters of Taste in Music a Question of Personal Development Practice and Muscle Fatigue Reminders in Teaching Children New Paths in Pianistic Expression Bag of Tricks Making the Most of the Practice Hour Cheerfulness and the Music Lover Revolutionary Etude: A Christmas Story of Music and the Great Unrest Plain Language Aids to the Correct Finering of Scales, Hands Together Unscrambling Difficult Passages Preparation for Action Finish in Piano Playing Goethe\u27s Neglect of Schubert When Shall I Stop Taking Lessons? How Teresa Carreño Taught the Piano Blundering Players Bonaparte\u27s Flute Folk Songs in the Home Their Fads Real Talent Always Triumphs Humorous Musical Anti-Climax Interesting Facts About the Operahttps://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/etude/1674/thumbnail.jp

Volume 46, Number 04 (April 1928)

What is a Symphony Concert? Musical Appreciation and Form Taking an Inventory Alleluia (Frontispiece) Reinforce the Weak Spots Aiming for It! Do You Know That Wrapping-Paper De Luxe Teaching the Fundamentals of Music Through Improvisation Accompanying as an Art Uses and Abuses of the Pedals Mozart (Etching) Parental Influence in the Lives of Famous Musicians Eighth Note Whither the Trend of Music? (interview with Darius Milhaud) Path of Music Daily Exercises for the Busy Teacher Keep It Up Simplicity Thoughts Finger Combinations Met With Every Day Youngest Performer Sight Reading Phonograph Record as a Master Teacher Fascinating Journals in Music Landhttps://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/etude/1754/thumbnail.jp

Volume 34, Number 10 (October 1916)

Getting Results Through Right Practice: A Talk to Students Points to Remember in Sight Reading What\u27s Wrong with My Piece Teacher and His Business Building of Music: A Practical Lesson in the Principles of Musical Form Self-Help Road to Success in Music Overcoming Stage Fright Common Sense in Pianoforte Touch and Technic Why Should I Study Theory Some Facts About Pitch Composer and the Organ Grinder: A Powerful and Fascinating Romance of Modern Musical Life What Every Student Should Know About Phrasing Learning to Depend Upon One\u27s Self Honor to the Teacher George Noyes Rockwell Master Lesson—Mendelssohn\u27s Scherzo in E Minor Facts About Our Keyboard Helps in Good Sight Reading Teachers\u27 English Mendelssohn\u27s Letters From Switzerlandhttps://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/etude/1628/thumbnail.jp

The Music Sound

A guide for music: compositions, events, forms, genres, groups, history, industry, instruments, language, live music, musicians, songs, musicology, techniques, terminology , theory, music video. Music is a human activity which involves structured and audible sounds, which is used for artistic or aesthetic, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The traditional or classical European aspects of music often listed are those elements given primacy in European-influenced classical music: melody, harmony, rhythm, tone color/timbre, and form. A more comprehensive list is given by stating the aspects of sound: pitch, timbre, loudness, and duration. Common terms used to discuss particular pieces include melody, which is a succession of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord, which is a simultaneity of notes heard as some sort of unit; chord progression, which is a succession of chords (simultaneity succession); harmony, which is the relationship between two or more pitches; counterpoint, which is the simultaneity and organization of different melodies; and rhythm, which is the organization of the durational aspects of music

Gamaka and Alamkara : concepts of vocal ornamentation with reference to Bara Khayal

This research explores questions relating to ornamentation in North Indian classical vocal music with particular reference to ba1khayil. At a technical level it addresses the question, "What is 'ornamentation' in khayal.?" and subsequently approaches the question, "How does ornamentation transform simple melodic ideas into aesthetic experiences?" The study re-examines the possible origins and evolution of khayl as a context for subsequent examination and analysis of ornamentation in performance practice. The study examines the components of rga structure in two stages; Chapter II discusses the tripartite structure of ruti, svara and phrase with reference to the sastraic tradition as well as to twentieth century sources. The components are found to represent different levels of melodic activity. The discussion is continued in Chapter III where additional components of rga are introduced. 'Ornamentation' proves to be inadequate as a term to describe the many aspects of melodic movement which take place in performance. Consequently this term has to be redefined in the context of khayil and the problem of terminology addressed. The study shows the presence of an accumulative process whereby components of rãga, including gamaka and alaipkra, work at different levels. Their combination expands simple melodic ideas thus creating the melodic texture of performance. Transcription and analysis of a three-level demonstration of ãipa illustrates this process. Additional aspects of gamaka in relation to phrasal structures are subsequently discussed. The last two chapters expand the frame of reference for the discussion relating to amaka and alaqikira. Chapter VI relates the findings of the foregoing chapters to the musical context of lãpa while Chapter VII discusses gamaka within a wider cultural context

The gaze of the listener : representations of domestic music-making in English literature 1550-1918

Introduction 1. Sex and the Virginals: Gender and Keyboards around 1600 2. “Musick in the House, Musick in the Heart, and Musick also in Heaven”: The Harpsichord 3. “Accomplishments, Accomplishments, Accomplishments”: The Piano-Forté 4. “Glorious disability”: The Piano and the Mid-Victorians 5. Triumph and Oblivion: The Piano after 1880 Conclusion Works Cited This study analyzes representations of music in fiction, drama and poetry as well as normative texts in order to contribute to a gendered cultural history of domestic performance. From the Tudors to the First World War, playing the harpsichord or piano was an indispensable asset of any potential bride, and education manuals as well as courtship plots and love poems pay homage to this social function of music. The Gaze of the Listener charts the fundamental tension which determines all these texts: Music is God’s greatest gift and its performance may serve the goal of holy matrimony – but this includes a distracting display of the female body and its attractions. Music is warmly recommended in conduct books and provides standard metaphors for virtuous love such as concord and harmony; but a fundamental anxiety about its inarticulate sensuousness and implicit femininity unsettles all descriptions of actual music-making. The ambivalence of desire and anxiety is strikingly evident in the way in which textual representations privilege visual perception. English men were discouraged from playing instruments for three centuries; implicitly taught to despise music but conditioned to find its performance erotically attractive, they rarely listen appreciatively but instead train an objectifying ‘gaze of the listener’ on women players. This socially institutionalized scenario is omnipresent but consistently accompanied by narratorial disapproval and repression: imposed on all girls in reality, music in fiction inevitably facilitates adultery or husband-trapping, rates girls on the marriage market or exposes performers to bored or lecherous spectators. The Gaze of the Listener is the first coherent account of this discourse and its continuity from the Elizabethan to the Edwardian period. It provides a significant background for more narrowly focused accounts which have been typical of the research field. The Gaze of the Listener is distinguished not only by its historical range and innovative focus but also by a uniquely wide database, which contextualizes numerous ‘minor’ works with classics without limiting itself to the fringe phenomenon of “musician novels”. Including a fresh account of Jane Austen’s texts (which have often been musically lumped with the Victorians), the book is of interest to scholars and students in Gender, English and Cultural Studies as well as to musicologists