A Transformational Approach to Gesture in Shō Performance

Through an analysis of contemporary shō performance practice, this article explores the relationship between instrumental gesture and modal theory in contemporary gagaku. I demonstrate that the idiosyncratic arrangement of the pipes on the shō is closely related to the pitch structure and tonal function of the aitake pitch clusters. My analysis synthesizes two approaches. First, I adopt David Lewin’s (1987) transformational attitude to conceptualize the aitake not as static musical objects but as processes of motion enacted by the te-utsuri—standardized fingering movements for shifting between two aitake. Second, I treat the aitake as sonic byproducts of a performer's instrumental gestures to examine how the aitake are related to one another kinesthetically, and whether these relationships correlate with the pitch structures of the aitake. I argue that relatedness between aitake is determined by the parsimony of te-utsuri. The most parsimonious movements can be enacted between four aitake: bō, kotsu, ichi and otsu. These aitake are identical to the clusters that accompany the fundamental tones of five of the six modes: Ichikotsu-chō, Hyōjō, Taishiki-chō, Oshiki-chō and Banshiki-chō. These findings demonstrate that the pipes of the shō, while seemingly arranged in no discernable order, prioritize parsimonious te-utsuri between each of the aitake accompanying the fundamental modal degrees. An analysis of the pitch structure of aitake through the lens of te-utsuri reveals a striking correlation between gestural parsimony and tonal function

Music Analysis and the Politics of Knowledge Production: Interculturality in the Music of Honjoh Hidejirō, Miyata Mayumi, and Mitski

This dissertation proposes a framework for analyzing musical interculturality—the processes through which musicians weave together multiple musical and cultural identities through performance—in twenty-first-century music. By attending to the specific sociopolitical contexts of the intercultural environment in which each performer takes part, I challenge multiculturalist assumptions of cultural purity, homogeneity, and authenticity that often undergird music theoretical analyses of non-Western music. My analysis of interculturality centers on musicians whose work risks being excluded from nation-state-based conceptions of cultural authenticity that have dominated music theoretical work on non-Western music. Through three case studies of active Japanese musicians, I explore how a collaborative project between shamisen player Honjoh Hidejirō (本條秀慈郎) and composer Fujikura Dai (藤倉大), performances by shō player Miyata Mayumi (宮田まゆみ), and the music of mixed-race Japanese American singer-songwriter Mitski present heterogeneous possibilities of national and cultural identity. Through close readings of musical recordings, videos, and scores, as well as through interviews and archival work, I demonstrate how cultural and musical identities are constructed through the particular historical and sociopolitical contexts within which performers operate. Focusing on how Honjoh, Miyata, and Mitski complicate and challenge strict dichotomies between Japanese and non-Japanese cultural, national, and musical affiliations, I pay close attention to how intercultural meanings are constructed through their performances, dialogues, and collaborations. In each case study, I argue that an analysis of interculturality necessitates a flexible, interdisciplinary, and transnational methodology that is tailored to the precise historical and sociopolitical circumstances in which the music is being created, performed, and interpreted. By understanding characterizations of Japanese, Western, and Japanese American as contingent categorizations that do not exist a priori but materialize through musical performance, I draw attention to the distinctive ways in which Honjoh, Miyata, and Mitski engage in intercultural music-making. This dissertation challenges essentialist narratives that continue to assume a rigid and homogeneous view of Japanese culture while fetishizing traditional music as a singular marker of authenticity. Given that oppositional binaries between the West/non-West and cultural insider/outsider continue to shape the interpretation of music by non-white non-Euroamerican musicians, I argue that it is crucial for music analysis to confront and complicate—rather than uncritically affirm—these narratives. First, I problematize monolithic and essentialist conceptions of Japanese music. Through analyses of performers who deviate from these narratives, I disconnect expressions of musical identity from ethno-nationalist assumptions and situate ethnicity as one of many factors that shape cultural identity. Second, I interrogate the underlying epistemological frameworks that produce reductive misrepresentations of Japanese music. This dissertation disrupts the underlying Eurocentric epistemological framework that essentializes—and therefore exerts control over—non-Western cultures. I therefore conceive of interculturality not only as an issue of representation, but also as a strategy for challenging the imposed authority of Western systems of knowledge. Third, by analyzing the agency of performers in negotiating and contesting dominant narratives of Japanese ethnic, cultural, and musical identity, I approach interculturality as an embodied and lived phenomenon rather than as only an intellectual analytical endeavor

Ductile damage evolution law for proportional and non-proportional loading conditions

The characterization of ductile damage evolution, and its description, have been the object of extensive research in the continuum damage mechanic field. Many different models have been developed since the pioneering works carried out a few decades ago. In detail, the stress triaxiality and the Lode angle parameters have been identified as the two main variables that affect the material ductility. The literature offers a great number of investigations under monotonic loading conditions, however, a proper characterization of the damage evolution under cyclic loading or non-proportional loading is still missing. In this paper, an unconventional coupled elastoplastic and damage constitutive model with a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is presented. The novelty of this study is represented by the modification of the ductile damage law in order to consider the damage evolution under non-proportional loading conditions. Therefore, the idea is to investigate the structural response of a steel bridge column subjected to a cyclic non-proportional loading, showing how, a different approach in the description of the ductile damage evolution, is necessary for a realistic description of the pier behavior

Ductile damage evolution law for proportional and non-proportional loading conditions

The characterization of ductile damage evolution, and its description, have been the object of extensive research in the continuum damage mechanic field. Many different models have been developed since the pioneering works carried out a few decades ago. In detail, the stress triaxiality and the Lode angle parameters have been identified as the two main variables that affect the material ductility. The literature offers a great number of investigations under monotonic loading conditions, however, a proper characterization of the damage evolution under cyclic loading or nonproportional loading is still missing. In this paper, an unconventional coupled elastoplastic and damage constitutive model with a Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion is presented. The novelty of this study is represented by the modification of the ductile damage law in order to consider the damage evolution under non-proportional loading conditions. Therefore, the idea is to investigate the structural response of a steel bridge column subjected to a cyclic non-proportional loading, showing how, a different approach in the description of the ductile damage evolution, is necessary for a realistic description of the pier behaviou

Fatigue life assessment of a non-load carrying fillet joint considering the effects of a cyclic plasticity and weld bead shape

Fatigue life depends strongly on irreversible contributions that accumulate during cyclic loading and unloading of structures. However, the correct identification of the loading path in terms of uniaxial or multi-axial stress states, proportional or non-proportional loading is essential because these factors can significantly alter the material response. In this study, finite element analysis was conducted to assess the fatigue crack initiation life of a non-load carrying fillet joint by considering weld bead shape and a cyclic plasticity accumulation during fatigue loading, which is a main cause of crack initiation. Cyclic plasticity behaviour including cyclic hardening and softening together was investigated with an unconventional plasticity model called the subloading surface model and extended to include both elastic boundary and cyclic damage concepts. The cyclic plasticity model can capture realistic plastic strain accumulation during high cycle fatigue under macroscopically elastic stressing conditions. KEYWORDS. Unconventional plasticity; Fatigue; Loading path; Crack initiation