Academic literature on the topic 'Mathematics – Songs and music – Texts'

Songs play a vital role in the everyday life of the AmaXhosa. Each and every occasion or gathering is accompanied by singing. Their anger or pain, sorrow or joy is reflected in their singing. Although these songs are composed for social purposes and entertainment, they are also educational. Songs may be composed and sung to comment on political affairs, complain against the abuse of power by the authorities, declare war, protest, praise a hero, encourage working together and ridicule the foolishness of someone. Vocabulary and diction used in the composition of these songs, relays the message in a clever and witty style. Since the AmaXhosa are intellectuals, irony and satire are used. The satirical or ironical songs hide the meaning and the listener must unravel the real meaning. AmaXhosa singing, chanting and dancing is accompanied by instruments. These instruments add more rhythm to the dance.The AmaXhosa use anything at their disposal when carving their instruments. Their songs may be accompanied by the beating of cow-hide drums, blowing of reed-pipe whistles, animal horns, beating of sticks and hand-clapping. The most important instrument the AmaXhosa use is the human voice. They are experts in humming, gruff singing and whistling. The songs of the AmaXhosa encourage togetherness. When one composes a song, one does not express one’s own feelings, but also the feelings of the community. The AmaXhosa songs are about participation so group singing and dancing is encouraged. Everyone participates either by singing, dancing or clapping. x Respect is the central core of the AmaXhosa songs. That is why the songs are composed according to age groups and sex. Instruments are also used according to ages and sex. Written texts are also a tool to educate the reader. The writers have decided to include songs in their writings to act as a form of entertainment and education. Although some songs lack the hallmarks of a traditional song, they communicate the idea or relay the message the writer wants to convey to the reader. Terms: Mock enconuim, the grotesque and the principle of beautiful deformity, anaphoric construction, diction and connotation, authorial comments, the mask-persona form, usurping of authority and reduction of traditional status.

The purpose of this research was to determine whether folk songs versus songs composed for music education texts would improve the music memory and performance skills of kindergarten and first grade students in a Miami Dade County Public School as measured by “The Primary Grades Music Skills Test” (PGMST). The folk songs selected for this study are multi-ethnic. A sample of 80 students, 40 from kindergarten and 40 from first grade was drawn from the Lincoln-Marti School, an affiliate private school of the Miami Dade County Public School System. Within each grade level, 20 students composed the Experimental group and 20 the Control group (N=80). Before attempting this project, a Primary Grades Music Skills Test designed and piloted by myself was administered to determine reliability. Results were positive, students understood and were able to perform all tasks in the pilot test. Both, Experimental and Control groups for kindergarten and first grade were then administered the PGMST to determine baseline skills. An instruction period consisting of 20 consecutive daily music lessons of 20 minutes duration each, followed the Pretest. All lessons included 10 minutes of rudimentary music drills and 10 minutes of teaching four folk songs to the Experimental group and four songs composed for music education texts to the Control group. Upon completion of the instruction period, both the Experimental and Control groups were administered the PGMST as a Posttest in order to measure acquired musical achievement. Posttest findings showed positive gains in the mean scores for correct responses in both groups. On the Posttest, the kindergarten Experimental group exceeded the kindergarten Control group by a margin of 20.31%. The first grade Experimental group exceeded the first grade Control group by a margin of 18.43%.

Up to now there has been no attempt by Biblical scholars to compare the book of Psalms in the Old Testament with Pedi psalm-like songs. This study aims to fill that gap in the research and so contribute to the development of the African cultural heritage – especially that of the Pedi culture, by using indigenous knowledge systems. The research commences with a descriptive analysis of the various genres within the Book of Psalms. A variety of psalms types are discussed, including: Hymns of praise; Thanksgiving songs (communal and individual); Laments (communal and individual); Royal psalms; Hymns of Zion; Psalms of Yahweh’s kingship; Wisdom psalms; Liturgical psalms; Entrance liturgies; Judgement liturgies; Psalms of trust; Imprecatory psalms; Creation psalms; Torah (Law)-psalms; and Festival psalms. Each of these genres is described with reference to structural elements, characteristics and function(s). Then follows a descriptive assessment of numerous types and specific examples of Pedi Psalm-like songs via the provisioning of text, translation and a detailed commentary pertaining to contents and function. These include: Songs of Praise (e.g. Kgoparara); Thanksgiving songs (e.g. Mogale wa marumo - thanksgiving birth poem); Lament songs (e.g. Madi a manaba - a funeral song); Royal songs (e.g. Kgoshi - an inauguration song) Liberation songs (Ga e boe Afrika - a liberation song); Wisdom songs (Mokgoronyane - initiation song for boys and Kgogedi - initiation song for girls); Prayers of trust (e.g. Salane - a song of trust); Imprecatory songs (e.g. Leepo - song with irony); Law songs (e.g. Bana ba Modimo, thaetsang melao ya Modimo ka badimo - instruction song); Feasts (e.g. Ngwana malome nnyale - a lobola song and Hela Mmatswale, tlogela dipotwana - a wedding song). Finally the thesis provides a critical comparision between biblical psalms and Pedi psalm-like songs. The research demonstrates that, on the one hand, there are numerous interesting similarities between the two cultures’ songs with regard to a variety of aspects. On the other hand, the assessment also reveals substantial differences between the two musical traditions pertaining to an equally great number of issues.<br>Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009.<br>Biblical and Religious Studies<br>unrestricted

Spanish composer María Teresa Prieto (1895-1982) belongs to a group of Spanish exiles who left their country for Mexico as a result of the Spanish Civil War. She arrived in Mexico in 1936 and developed her compositional career in there. Her first composition after her arrival in the new country was the song cycle Seis Melodías, a work that includes six songs with poetry by Ricardo de Alcázar, Juan Ramón Jiménez, Federico García Lorca, and María Teresa Prieto herself. This document analyzes each one of the songs, both musically and poetically, as well as the relationship between music and text. Seis Melodías' structural organization as a cycle is very particular, since Prieto organized the cycle in pairs—namely I and II, III and IV, and V and VI—each group with strong poetic and thematic unity. The songs belonging to this cycle, present the duality of being independent and dependent at the same time, given that each song stands by itself, but together they create a meta-narrative that progresses from hope to desolation, not as a political statement, but as a homage to, as well as a lament, for the Spanish land and freedom. The cyclical nature of this work is accomplished by Prieto through motivic unity, a clear harmonic plan, and poetic relationships between the songs.

Childhood friends Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal founded the band Tears for Fears, and were the two primary members from 1982-1990. Their songs describe the struggle of coping with childhood abuse. This thesis analyzes the rhetorical aspects of their lyrics, emphasizing how the words of their songs express the fundamental human response to abuse, and the painful process of recovery. It explores how the songwriters use the psychological theories of Arthur Janov and Carl Jung to scaffold their experience of working through emotional trauma; and how they combine those theories with astrological symbolism to explore the idea of destiny. This thesis uses a combined rhetorical and psychological approach to analyze the manner in which the ethos and pathos inherent in the lyrics generated recognition, understanding, and sympathy in the listener.

This study examines popular female Christian vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s, their images and their contemporary Christian music (CCM) lyrics. This literature illustrates how music becomes popular, and also how it becomes a powerful source of communication, which prompts popular culture and society to buy into its style and lyrics. The implications of this study illustrates the importance of image and lyrics and how certain female CCM vocalists had greater influences, impact and had the ability to make changes within their female audiences towards Christianity.

Hymns are handed down from generation to generation, from country to country, and from church to church. In every time in history, hymns and songs are needed that are new for that time and generation – hymns through which the timeless message can be voiced in a new and unique way. The historical binding, as well as the ecumenical tie, are thus indispensable features for the church, her liturgy and her music. In the processes of creating new hymns and liturgical forms, the una sancta ecclesia always needs to be in focus. In this study the ecumenical and liturgical movements of the twentieth century, their goals, and the influence they exerted on liturgical renewal and hymn singing, are investigated. The ecumenical meaning of new hymns and liturgical forms is evaluated in terms of these goals. To determine the functionality of new hymns, a theoretical grounding for the various functions of hymns is given. Renewal in the form of contemporary material, new styles and ecumenical-liturgical forms is reflected in the Liedboek van die Kerk (2001), the new hymnal for the Afrikaans-speaking churches. The hymnal is discussed with regard to the content, and the processes of compilation. The versification of the psalms, fundamentalist views, and the resistance to transformation in the processes of canonization, also comes under scrutiny. Documentation, motivation and report of about sixty new hymns and liturgical forms in the Liedboek van die Kerk (2001) are given. Hymns, songs and liturgical forms are researched from hymnological perspectives, by relevant musical and textual analysis, and by exploring their origin, history, working history, and liturgical function. The functionality of the hymns is assessed, and their hymnological, liturgical, contextual and ecumenical significance determined, with regard to the theoretical grounding in the preceding chapters. The conclusion is that ecumenicity is a sine qua non for the hymns and songs of a new generation. History and tradition, but also the contemporary church as a whole, should co-determine processes. The future of liturgical singing depends on the way in which theological, liturgical, hymnological, ecumenical and anthropological fields of tension could be kept in balance. Balance thus needs to be found between functionality, ethics, and aesthetics; between tradition and creativity; historical fidelity and contemporary embodiment; individualism and community; between the individual church and ecumenism; quality and popularity; between Christian/confessional identity, and general religiosity; between orthodox expressions of faith, and the poetical-symbolical shifting of boundaries. Boundaries are exceeded through the singing of hymns – boundaries of language, of confession, of time and space, and boundaries between individuals and groups. Liturgical singing can be the singing of believers of all times and all places only by preserving the traditional ecumenical heritage on the one hand, and on the other hand, through ecumenical cooperation when creating new hymns and forms – thus the one faith in many languages, the audible sign of the una sancta ecclesia.<br>Thesis (DMus)--University of Pretoria, 2005.<br>Music<br>Unrestricted

Wong Chi Hang.<br>Thesis submitted in: October 2005.<br>Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006.<br>Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-94).<br>Abstracts in English and Chinese.<br>Abstract --- p.ii<br>摘要 --- p.iii<br>Acknowledgement --- p.iv<br>Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1<br>Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.5<br>Chapter 2.1 --- LyricAlly --- p.5<br>Chapter 2.2 --- Singing Voice Detection --- p.6<br>Chapter 2.3 --- Singing Transcription System --- p.7<br>Chapter 3 --- Background and System Overview --- p.9<br>Chapter 3.1 --- Background --- p.9<br>Chapter 3.1.1 --- Audio Mixing Practices of the popular music industry --- p.10<br>Chapter 3.1.2 --- Cantonese lyric writer practice --- p.11<br>Chapter 3.2 --- System Overview --- p.13<br>Chapter 4 --- Vocal Signal Enhancement --- p.15<br>Chapter 4.1 --- Method --- p.15<br>Chapter 4.1.1 --- Non-center Signal Estimation --- p.16<br>Chapter 4.1.2 --- Center Signal Estimation --- p.17<br>Chapter 4.1.3 --- Bass and drum reduction --- p.21<br>Chapter 4.2 --- Experimental Results --- p.21<br>Chapter 4.2.1 --- Experimental Setup --- p.21<br>Chapter 4.2.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.24<br>Chapter 5 --- Onset Detection --- p.29<br>Chapter 5.1 --- Method --- p.29<br>Chapter 5.1.1 --- Envelope Extraction --- p.30<br>Chapter 5.1.2 --- Relative Difference Function --- p.32<br>Chapter 5.1.3 --- Post-Processing --- p.32<br>Chapter 5.2 --- Experimental Results --- p.34<br>Chapter 5.2.1 --- Experimental Setup --- p.34<br>Chapter 5.2.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.35<br>Chapter 6 --- Non-vocal Pruning --- p.39<br>Chapter 6.1 --- Method --- p.39<br>Chapter 6.1.1 --- Vocal Feature Selection --- p.39<br>Chapter 6.1.2 --- Feed-forward neural network --- p.44<br>Chapter 6.2 --- Experimental Results --- p.46<br>Chapter 6.2.1 --- Experimental Setup --- p.46<br>Chapter 6.2.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.48<br>Chapter 7 --- Lyric Feature Extraction --- p.51<br>Chapter 7.1 --- Features --- p.52<br>Chapter 7.1.1 --- Relative Pitch Feature --- p.52<br>Chapter 7.1.2 --- Time Distance Feature --- p.54<br>Chapter 7.2 --- Pitch Extraction --- p.56<br>Chapter 7.2.1 --- f0 Detection Algorithms --- p.56<br>Chapter 7.2.2 --- Post-Processing --- p.64<br>Chapter 7.2.3 --- Experimental Results --- p.64<br>Chapter 8 --- Lyrics Alignment --- p.69<br>Chapter 8.1 --- Dynamic Time Warping --- p.69<br>Chapter 8.2 --- Experimental Results --- p.72<br>Chapter 8.2.1 --- Experimental Setup --- p.72<br>Chapter 8.2.2 --- Results and Discussion --- p.74<br>Chapter 9 --- Conclusion and Future Work --- p.82<br>Chapter 9.1 --- Conclusion --- p.82<br>Chapter 9.2 --- Future Work --- p.83<br>Chapter A --- Publications --- p.85<br>Chapter B --- Symbol Table --- p.86<br>Bibliography --- p.89

Sometimes students struggle to interpret literary texts because some of these texts do not lend themselves to the deduction of the interpretative processes with which they are familiar, but the same is not true when students pull interpretations from songs. Is it possible that students’ familiarity with songs might enable them to connect a song with a book and aid interpretation that way? This study attempted to explore the possibility of bridging songs to literary texts in my Community College English classroom, to ascertain if or how the use of song can support or extend students’ interpretive strategies across different types of texts. I investigated how songs might work as a bridge to other texts, like novels, and, if the students use songs as texts, to what extent do the students develop and hone their interpretative skills? Because of this, how might including songs as texts in English writing or English Literature curriculum contribute to the enhancement of students’ writing? The students’ responses disclosed that the songs appealed to their cognition and memories and helped them to interpret and write about the novels they read. Moreover, the students’ responses revealed that pairing or matching songs with novels strengthened interpretation of the book in a plethora of ways, such as meta-message deduction, applying contexts, applying comparisons, and examining thematic correlations. When a novel is bridged or paired with a song, interpretation can also be derived by examining different perspectives, characterizations, personal connections, and life experiences. Exploring emotional connections as well as signs and symbolism can also enable interpretation. Another way to deduce interpretation, according to the students, is to locate a reoccurring issue or thread in a song and transfer the analysis from the song to the novel. However, although a few students might not use songs to interpret literary texts, they might still be able to recognize that the possibility exists to grasp meaning that way.