A study of the critical work of Virgil Thomson, critic for the New York Herald Tribune and of Olin Downes, music critic for the New York Times, will perhaps give a better understanding of how different emphasis on purposes may influence critical work. Each man wrote brief, journalistic reviews. They attended many of the same concerts; yet, their critical judgments differed in many respects.
The traditional music of America in collection is musically representative of pioneer settlements of the country from Mexico to Canada and from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. To insure that each section of this vast country was musically represented naturally would require a systematic and thorough coverage by those persons who have made this work their primary concern for a good many years. A look at the map of these United States gives the observer an acute awareness of the stupendous undertaking for those who were first to begin their trek into the regions of the land where folk song abounds, into communities into which fast-moving civilization has been slow to penetrate. Early in their history these communities were isolated because of the hardships and dangers of travel. With the spread of civilization, however, the country was tamed and became more densely populated so that the growth of folk song and traditions within the social life of these isolated communities was a natural sequence.
The following study is designed to define the existing differences of opinion regarding the solution of vocal problems. Some twenty-five vocal methods have been examined with reference to the principles set forth on what are generally considered the most important vocal problems, viz., Breathing, Registers, Resonance, Tone and Interpretation.
The purpose of this thesis is to acquaint future band and orchestra directors with a successful, thoroughly "tried and tested" plan of building an instrumental program within the music department. This thesis presents the technique of instrumentating the senior high school band by planning an instrumental program from the first grade to the time the band student reaches the senior high school level.
This study is a progressive series of string quartets for children ages six to eight. A picture and a story for the child accompany each of the twenty lessons. The stories are written about animals, birds, and incidents that exist in the child's world. They are designed to arouse associations between familiar subjects or incidents and unfamiliar problems at hand. The second section of this work is entitled "Instructions to the Teacher." A child's interest is sacrificed when he is burdened with too many technicalities. Thus the teacher is fully informed of the difficulties in each lesson, and suggestions are given for solving the problems that arise.
It is the purpose of this thesis to list and evaluate the published materials for junior high school band that the director may have a comprehensive knowledge of materials adapted to that level.
Music educators admit that there is a great need for research in the field o public school music. Instrumental class teaching has suffered the trial and error method since its introduction into the schools. There is still an appalling lack of material on the subject. The two or three books published on instrumental class teaching are from twelve to seventeen years old. The Reader's Guide lists only nine magazine articles in the past ten years concerning the class teaching of string instruments. Yet, the successful teaching of instrumental classes requires a high type of organization and a specialized teaching technique. It is not only necessary for the teacher to be a good musician, but he must have a knowledge of proper classroom methods and apply it. The purpose of this study is to analyze and evolve from six recognized beginning string methods a course of study suitable for use in training a beginning string section.
The object of this paper is to effect a comparison between the early Shakespearean songs and their more recent settings and to discuss in detail differences in style and technique, with emphasis upon textual and melodic characteristics.
For several decades since the rise of extensive instrumental music instruction, various music periodicals have devoted a certain amount of space to printing comments, suggestions, and other pedagogical material to aid the student in playing a particular instrument. The writer, in his belief in the value of this material, has chosen to make a survey of various periodicals and to catalog certain items as a reference guide to the location of significant articles.
The problem of this study is to present a course in keyboard harmony based on the recitative style and figured bass of great works of music which can be used in the teaching of beginning and advanced college music theory.
Many persons who major in music with the intention of teaching, either at the public school or college level, are poorly equipped to cope with every problem confronting them. With this in mind, the author has attempted to assemble as much valuable and helpful material as possible into a course of study.
Since the music requirement does rest with the teacher training institutions, the elementary education major is required, in most colleges and universities, to take six hours of music education. My problem is to develop an adequate course of study in music education to fit the musical needs of the elementary education major which will prepare her as well as possible in the allotted six hours to teach music in a classroom aided or unaided by supervision
The main purpose of this study will be to analyze the impressionistic style and techniques of Debussy, how the idiom came to be, and the influence of this particular idiom on two American composers. For thorough understanding, the poetic and artistic backgrounds of impressionism must be brought out; the biography of the man who originated the idiom, as well as his aesthetic theories, must be briefly covered. More objectively, from biographies and various other studies the techniques peculiarly impressionistic will be listed, and analysis will be made of several of the Debussy songs from various periods of his composition.
The instrumental composition of the band is an outgrowth of utilitarian improvisation. The well-developed percussion section, and the voluminous reed and brass sections are a carry-over from the Military, where the emphasis was on functional beating of time for marching. Mobility and volume sufficient for the accompaniment of troop movements were also necessary. Until recent times, the band existed only for functional matters, never as an independent and self-justifying medium with its purpose being a musical organization. Through the growth of military, professional, and school bands, the band of today has developed into a musical organization in its own right, which can perform almost anything in the technical range of composition.
This study is an evaluation of individual music textbooks from eight series for grades four, five, and six, by a definite criterion basis. It seems very worthwhile to have an evaluation of such books: (a) to aid in the wise selection of music books, and (b) to become familiar with the contributions of each series.
This study was made in conjunction with a recital of contemporary American song literature. It it designed to show how the modern composer has taken the tools of words and music and utilized them in creating a valid art-form. I believe it is the first study of its kind that has been made. The song literature which formed the basis of the study has been attested to as valid data by Otto Luening, prominent modern composer and pedagogue and twice winner of the Guggenheim Fellowship in composition, and John Kirk, distinguished pianist and lecturer on modern music.
The purpose of this study is to create a curriculum for beginning instrumentalists who have no background in music and are young students not yet capable of deciphering highly technical and academic sentences, phrases, and terms. This method is designed to give the student a foundation in theory without taking undue time from the instrumental phase of the curriculum and at the same time to increase the tempo of training in both phases.
The purpose of the creative approach in music education is to furnish the child with opportunities for originality of expression and for freedom and adventure. This thesis examines the goals and purposes of using creativity in music eduction.
This paper attempts to give a complete musical and dramatic analysis of the character of Isolde, from both the legend and Richard Wagner's opera, Tristan and Isolde, by first comparing the events as related in the two principal sources of the legend and then by an examination of Wagner's version of the story.
The English classical song is peculiarly native to Britain. It roots in the mystic elements of ballads and nature. It was the influence of the early English ballad, first spoken, then sung, then joined in the happy culmination of voice and melody to make a song that is immortal and unique in music.
The purpose of this thesis is to present an evaluated list of motion picture films which are related to the field of music and the teaching of music in order that both teacher and student of music may become familiar with the films which are available for use in music education and with the relative merit of each film.
It is the purpose of this study to set forth facts, substantiated by investigation of authoritative sources, proving that all selections used on the concert program of a high school chorus should serve a permanently constructive purpose toward the musical growth of the students. The first part of the thesis concerns those elements which have to be taken into consideration in teaeching any high school music group These are: 1. The psychological make-up of the group in regard to age and physical development. 2. The psychological make-up of its audience. 3. The existing level of musical skill of the group as a whole. 4. The existing degree of aesthetic appreciation of the chorus and its audience. The latter part of the work specifies the aims in vocal instruction of the high school choral course. These include sight reading, breathing, tone, pitch, diction, phrasing, and interpretation. It also attempts to demonstrate how the preparation of a concert program serves to accomplish these aims. This involves a critical evaluation of each number on a proposed program in reference to the following points: 1. Psychological reception by the group and its audience. 2. Its contribution toward improved aesthetic discrimination on the part of singers and listeners. 3. The opportunity afforded for specific vocal and musical training.
Material relating to the viola, its history, technique, use as a solo and orchestral instrument, and its use in chamber music, is practically non-existent. For this reason, this document is being written in an attempt first, to collect and discuss, for the benefit of the author as well as for any who might have some interest in the viola, facts which might eliminate some of the common misunderstandings about the instrument, and second, to show, through examination of viola music, the use to which the viola has been put in solo, orchestral, and chamber music from the Baroque period to the present.
The public school of Vanderbilt, Texas is in the process of building a band. The steady growth of the band will depend upon a long-range planning program. It is the band director's aim to set up such a long-range plan to cover the five years from the 1947 school year and including the 1952 school year. The following chapters will cover most of the phases of the band's work, and that of the director's work, and his relation to the band and the community.
The purpose of this paper is to give a historical and stylistic analysis of the Sonata, Op.31, No.2 in D minor of Beethoven. The historical background of Beethoven, the time period the sonata was written, and the influence that the piano of the time had on the sonata is first discussed. The author then discusses the general aspects of Beethoven's style followed by a detailed analysis of the sonata.
Though perhaps we shall never know the music to which these religious lyrics were written, the poems have never ceased to be the source of inspiration for the spirits of men since they were first sung. Each psalm seems to have an underlying purpose with a personal message for each reader. In the Book one can find a reply to every sort of question, for the Psalms are filled with expressions of emotion brought about by all human experience. The collection of these 150 songs or psalms makes up what is known as the Hebrew hymn-book or the Book of Psalms.
There is often difficulty in determining the most desirable medium to be used in the composition of music. After careful consideration, the writer chose the medium of piano to present the following musical composition. In the initial investigations, it appeared that the vocal idiom might provide a more suitable choice. However, piano teaching rather than work in the vocal field will probably consume a greater part of the writer's time in the future. The writing of a piano composition, then, appeared to be a justifiable decision.
Within this document, the writer hopes to present a thorough study of the various methods and materials which are available for the beginning, intermediate, and advanced band classes of the Goose Creek Independent School District, Goose Creek, Texas, taking into consideration the organization of the school system as it exists at the present time.
It is the purpose of this thesis to present some of the material to be employed in the pedagogy of the woodwind instrument classes at the college level in order that this material may serve as a useful and beneficial guide for the students and teachers of the woodwind instrument classes. This study has been prepared in the belief that a most serious obstacle in the teaching of woodwind instrument classes is the lack of a comprehensive text dealing with the fundamentals underlying the selection of teaching materials to be used. In a large number of instances young teachers are confronted with the necessity of developing a woodwind department in their schools without having had any systematic preparation for the task. This thesis attempts to meet this need.
The conviction that the music competition festivals should be better organized and better administered has led to the study of this topic by many serious-minded music leaders.The present study will deal with this all important phase of the contest or festival--the organization and administration of a vocal competition festival. The writer has no intention of setting down a set of rules and regulations to be followed by all directors of contests in all situations. He rather would suggest the use of a set of findings which should help contest directors to organize and administer an event which should be of great educational value both to the directors and the students.
This thesis is designed to acquaint vocalists with the history of the solo cantata and to give a bibliography of available cantatas. Very few singers know that solo cantatas exist and little material is available on the subject in comparison to the material available on other musical forms.This work endeavors to aid the vocalist by compiling the solo cantata material that is available in the North Texas State College Library.
The teaching of singing is fraught with psychological problems not met with in the other branches of applied music. The inordinate physical and mental concepts with which the singing teacher must deal result in the necessity that the singing teacher, to be highly efficient, must be a practicing psychologist. In the writer's experience, first as student and then as teacher and observer of the work of other teachers, it has become obvious that in the minds of the majority of pupils, diction problems are so paramount that they supercede the purely vocal aspects of singing. As the language sounds are rightly but a point of departure for the building of a beautiful and expressive singing tone, it seems absolutely essential that the way must be pointed whereby language in singing can find its proper place in the pupil's development, where it can assume the position of a help rather than a hindrance in vocal achievement.
The purpose of this study is to make the Protestant church workers more efficient in their use of music in religious work by giving them a clear conception of the kind of music to be used and by suggesting detailed plans and methods by which desirable results may be secured in the use of church music. Ideal standards have their place, but here it is proposed to be matter-of-fact, practical and concrete, and to secure immediate results with the average church member and choir singer as the final criterion in every phase of the work. The purpose is not to emphasize high ideals but to instruct and inspire all those who have leadership in the service of church music, that they may be able here to provide the greatest religious helpfulness that the use of music can bring the souls to whom they minister.
This study was prompted by the writer's interest and experience in the field of two-piano performance. At the beginning of this writer's two-piano work the available material was scarce, and much of it was inadequate in quality from the standpoint of both composition and arrangement. It seems strange that this particular form of chamber music, so delightful to play and so enjoyable to listen to, did not completely take popular fancy until the twentieth century. During the past ten years however, teachers are realizing the benefits derived from training students in two-piano playing. There is no doubt in the writer's opinion that two-piano concerts will henceforth always be in demand.
The problem undertaken in this paper is a study of sonata form in regard to the number, types, and key schemes of movements in the pre-Haydn sonatas and a comparison of these with the sonata form as Haydn established it. Finally, a detailed analysis of the Haydn E-Flat Major sonata is presented showing typical formal characteristics. The history of the sonata form does not begin simultaneously with the advent of the sonata itself, for the sonata as we know it today is the result of many stages of experimentation. Its growth and development were a gradual process which lasted the better part of three centuries. Many composers contributed to this growth, but the sonata form itself cannot be ascribed to any particular composer.
Due to the increased importance of music in everyday life, the expanding enrollment in most colleges brought on by the return of war veterans, and the ever increasing popularity of dance music, more and more schools are incorporating dance bands as part of their musical program in connection with their recreation and college promotion activities. Since this is more or less a new development, it is of interest to all school administrators to see just what is being done in regard to dance music in the schools. Therefore, it is the purpose of this study to determine the extent and usage of popular dance bands in colleges at the present time, and to present certain problems which are apt to confront the administrator of such an organization.
The following study deals with the structural elements of the six Mendelssohn Organ Sonatas, opus 65. The problem excludes stylistic considerations. The Mendelssohn organ works are the greatest that appeared from the time of J. S. Bach until the nineteenth century. The Sonatas "have long been accepted as 'classics' of the instrument." Of them Mendelssohn himself wrote in a letter to his publisher, "I attach much importance to these Sonatas." They have no formal predecessor and no formal counterpart in subsequent organ literature. Their structures are hybrid, contrasting, unique, and unconventional; yet, to the writer's knowledge, there is no material available which presents a thorough, scientific formal analysis. It is hoped that the following study will fill this need.
This study considers only one aspect of music of the twentieth century--that of dissonance. Through an analysis of harmonic tension in the twelve fugues of the "Ludus Tonalis" by Paul Hindemith, a two-fold significance is notable. First, consideration of the broad tendencies of modernism is necessary. second, with Hindemith as a chosen representative of certain aspects of the twentieth century style, the study attempts to show more specifically certain characteristics of the composer himself in the use and treatment of dissonance, one of the more technical features of style in modern music.
Ravel' s "Tombeau de Couperin," a suite for piano, was published in 1918 by Durand. Its first performance was in the Salle Gaveau in Paris in April, 1919. Shortly afterwards Ravel scored four of the six movements of the piano suite for small orchestra, composed of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, and horns in pairs, English horn, trumpet, harp, and strings, The new version was introduced in America in 1920. The four orchestrated movements, Prelude, Forlane, Menuet, and Rigaudon, have no programmatic content and the titles identify the forms used. "Le Tombeau de Couperin" is a souvenir of World War I. Each movement is dedicated to the memory of a French soldier fallen in battle. The "Tombeau" form dates from the seventeenth century and is a musical "homage" to Francois Couperin, clavecinist of Louis XIV, and one of the great names of French music. "The separate movements, cast in eighteenth century dance forms often used by Qouperin have been described as "tonal wreaths," not too somber nor too profuse, laid with tenderness on an unforgotten tomb." This piece represents Ravel's extreme effort to express himself in the simplest possible manner. The music is subtly archaic; form, line and texture artfully suggest eighteenth century, but the harmony suggests twentieth century. "A transparent serenity full of color and feeling pervades this piece of classic purity written in tribute to Ravel's fallen comrades." A study of the piano suite has been made. The pieces are charmingly and precisely orchestrated. They have been used for a ballet which will not be dealt with.
The purpose of this study is to present a brief history of the work, a discussion of the ornamentation which occurs therein and suggestions for the performance of the ornaments, an analysis covering especially the characteristics of each movement in regard to form and style and inasmuch as possible to show the influence of this early work on the later compositions of J. S. Bach.
The purpose if this study is to make an analysis of the structural elements and stylistic characteristics in the Concerto in A Minor for Piano by the nineteenth century German composer, Robert Schumann. These elements include the composer's treatment of melody, rhythm, form, and piano idiom. This problem has been limited to a stylistic analysis of Schumann's only concerto in A minor for piano and orchestra, Op. 54. Its purpose is to make an analysis of the structural and stylistic elements in the Concerto. These include the composer's treatment of melody, rhythm, form and the piano idiom. Since the matter of harmony is not of primary importance in this work, it is not discussed here. The present study does not include a consideration of the orchestral score and its relationship to the piano; however mention of it is made in the chapter on piano idiom.
Both of the Chopin concertos are the earliest of his works to be found in the ordinary piano repertoire, and they possess the direct influences and inherited traits of the composer. Since he did no more orchestral work after completing these two works, it is evident that he thought only in terms of pianistic expression. Probably one of the reasons for Chopin's ineffectiveness as an orchestral writer is due to his inability to conform to the classical form: sonata allegro. The e minor concerto is representative of his treatment of the larger forms. Analyzing the elements of an early work of the composer reveals the degree of maturity in individual traits. Elements of basic chord structure and use of harmony, melodic characteristics, and pianistic expression mark the style of a composer. This concerto demonstrates the beginning of chromatic harmony in his time and in his own writing; it contains melodic beauty and pianistic features which make it acceptable in standard concerto repertoire in spite of its many defects.
The purpose of the following study is to make to stylistic analysis, on the basis of form, harmony, melody, and rhythm, of the Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra by Harl McDonald, a twentieth-century American composer. When a composer begins the composition of a concerto he is faced with a series of specific problems, e.g., the degree of prominence to be given the soloist in relation to the orchestra, the technique of the solo instrument, the traditional first movement sonata form, and the balance between solo and orchestra in regard to tone color and sound mass. By determining the elements of style typical of this particular work, the investigator aims to set forth in a general way to how the composer treated each of the problems stated above.The concerto for Two Pianos was selected for study because of its modernity and because of the writer's active interest in works for this medium.
The mass and the motet are the most important musical components of the Catholic liturgy. The development of vocal polyphony in the Medieval Period culminated in the perfection of these forms in the sixteenth century. The purpose of this thesis is to give an account of the development of religious monody and polyphony that led to the inception of the motet in the early part of the thirteenth century; to show the development of the motet through the sixteenth century; to give a more detailed analysis of the style of Palestrina; and to emphasize the analysis with a stylistic examination of a Palestrina motet.
The purpose of this survey is to determine the educational and professional status of piano teachers in the colleges and universities of the United States. This survey will attempt to evaluate the musical and educational background as well as the professional status of people engaged actively in the teaching profession today.
The purpose of this study is to make an investigation of the musical score of "The Passion According to St. Matthew" with attention given to the pictorial elements or symbolism in the composition. The study is confined mainly to the one composition, but attention is given to the historical background of the work, and examples of the pictorial technique of sacred music as it had been developed in the Netherlands.
To further the effectiveness of music in the schools, to create a more meaningful and enjoyable musical experience in the junior high school -- these are the ideals that prompted the writing of this thesis. The need for this work is set forth in three subordinate needs. First, there is need for uniformity in aspects of music to be taught at the junior high school level. Second is the need for emphasis on certain aspects of music which carry over into future life. Last to consider is the need for organization of material to insure the proper background or further music study.
It is the purpose of the study to make a survey of the larger libraries in this region and to compile a list of the holdings of books about music. With the impetus of the North Texas Regional Union List of Serials, 1943; Comprising the libraries of North Texas State Teachers College. Southern Methodist University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Texas Christian University Texas State College for Women, and the Public Libraries of Dallas and Fort Worth, and its two supplements of 1943-45 and 1945-46, and following the general form of that work, the present "Union List of Musical Literature in North Texas Regional Libraries, 1946," has been compiled. The libraries represented in the North Texas Regional Union List of Serials are included here, with holdings listed as of March 1, 1946. These libraries are: North Texas State Teachers College and Texas State College for Women, Denton, Texas; Texas Christian University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Fort worth Public Library, Fort Worth, Texas; Southern Methodist University and Dallas Public Library, Dallas, Texas.
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