Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Percussion music (Jazz)'

The vibraphone has been associated with improvisation since the beginning of the twentieth century. There have been many documents designed to guide students in both technical studies on the vibraphone and improvisational skills. This document includes three instructional courses dedicated to the teaching of those skills. It uses only materials found on the website vibesworkshop.com, which is curated by Philadelphia-based vibist Tony Miceli. These courses are designed for undergraduate college students through advanced amateurs or professionals. Many college curricula include insufficient vibraphone studies or do not include them at all. Currently, most college percussion studio professors specialize in areas other than vibraphone. Because of their lack of experience, professors supplement their teaching methods with materials that approach vibraphone in a subpar manner. Such materials instruct students to internalize and regurgitate bland materials instead of creating and developing their own ideas. The vibesworkshop.com courses aim to assist those professors and students by replacing older instructional materials with a system that cultivates students' affinity with the vibraphone, allowing them to continue contributing to the online vibes community after participation in these courses.

Darius Milhaud's 1923 ballet "La création du monde" ("The Creation of the World") was and is a fascinating work for chamber ensemble. The French composer's inventive blending of jazz harmony and compositional technique, Harlem musical instrumentation, and the discipline of cutting-edge European art music remains a milestone in the cross-Atlantic pollination that America's original art form engendered in the early 20th century. All of this was accomplished before Gershwin's ultimately better known Rhapsody in Blue. Milhaud's progressive percussion writing in the work, as well as his combination of jazz harmonies with his own particular polytonal voice, makes the work even more stunning. However, all of these features also make the work challenging to prepare and perform. Prior to this thesis, the extant literature on "La création du monde" examined the work either theoretically (specifically in terms of polytonality), or historically (in terms of its relationship to the cross-pollination of jazz and western art music). These publications do not provide the necessary information for a conductor and ensemble to effectively interpret and perform this work. The present study synthesizes the historical and biographical events that led to the composition of the work with the musical considerations of form and theme compounded by a foreign language score with period terminology, notation, and indications with the wind conductor as the intended audience. The purpose of this study was to collect, categorize, interpret, and synthesize the necessary information to enable a conductor to undertake this work, while simultaneously encouraging more modern conductors and performers to do just that. Using historical documentation from primary sources and careful study, translation, and interpretation of available editions, this study provides the wind conductor with all of the tools and information required to prepare and conduct this work. Through this thesis, it is hoped that a new generation of conductors will be encouraged to approach, study, interpret, and program this wonderful piece of music.

The creative work, ¡Latin Jazz! is a 50 minute radio documentary to be broadcast on ABC Classic FM. It looks at the evolution of Latin jazz from Spain, Cuba and the United States. It examines the social effects on the style and specifically on the syncretic movement between the countries. The documentary traces my travel to Madrid, Spain and looks at Latin jazz through a deconstruction of the style, musical examples and interviews with prominent artists. Artists interviewed were Chano Domínguez, a Spanish flamenco jazz pianist, Bobby Martínez an American saxophonist, Alain Pérez a Cuban bassist and Pepe Rivero a Cuban pianist. The exegesis supports the radio documentary by examining the style in more depth, and is broken into three main sections. First it traces the historical relationship that occurred through the Ida y Vuelta (To and Fro), the similarities and influences through the habanera, the decíma and the religion of Santería. This is followed by specific musical elements within Latin jazz such as instrumentation, clave, harmony and improvisation, whilst the third section looks at the influences of the new syncretic movement back to Spain.

The creative work, ¡Latin Jazz! is a 50 minute radio documentary to be broadcast on ABC Classic FM. It looks at the evolution of Latin jazz from Spain, Cuba and the United States. It examines the social effects on the style and specifically on the syncretic movement between the countries. The documentary traces my travel to Madrid, Spain and looks at Latin jazz through a deconstruction of the style, musical examples and interviews with prominent artists. Artists interviewed were Chano Domínguez, a Spanish flamenco jazz pianist, Bobby Martínez an American saxophonist, Alain Pérez a Cuban bassist and Pepe Rivero a Cuban pianist. The exegesis supports the radio documentary by examining the style in more depth, and is broken into three main sections. First it traces the historical relationship that occurred through the Ida y Vuelta (To and Fro), the similarities and influences through the habanera, the decíma and the religion of Santería. This is followed by specific musical elements within Latin jazz such as instrumentation, clave, harmony and improvisation, whilst the third section looks at the influences of the new syncretic movement back to Spain.

The Master’s Recital recorded on the compact disc that accompanies this paper presents seven compositions. Five of them are my own, and two are my arrangements of compositions by musicians that I admire. The paper includes scores of the original compositions and arrangements, as well as program notes that offer historical background, summaries of the form, and observations on performance practice for each selection. My goal is to demonstrate to jazz devotees and to music lovers in general the capabilities of the steel pan instrument within a jazz combo setting. Each composition exploits the full range of challenges the percussionist faces in a jazz combo performance. I explore different stylistic approaches and musical concepts that enable a high level of improvised musical performance on an instrument that is relatively new to jazz.

This practice-led project investigates the crafting of approaches to solo jazz piano performance. Through a study and application of assimilation techniques derived from a range of different music styles, a series of self-accompaniments were devised. In addition, the process of developing improvisational facility over these accompaniment patterns was documented. Although performing solo requires a different approach to ensemble work, jazz pianists are commonly only trained in ensemble practices, rendering the solo setting a potentially overwhelming challenge. In order to move away from ensemble-based methods, the project sought to develop pianistic techniques and exercises that provide an independent approach in solo performance. Techniques such as ‘splitting’ the pianist’s hands to achieve multiple voices, voice-leading, ostinato, and rhythmic focus were explored as methods to develop independent solo performance. The project follows two trajectories. The first was to develop self-accompaniment patterns for solo jazz piano, an area explored by assimilating techniques outside of the jazz idiom into a solo jazz piano context. These techniques were developed within compositions and arrangements. The second was an examination of the practice processes engaged when performing these techniques, including the development of rhythmic coordination to facilitate improvisation over the composed accompaniment patterns. The outcome is an exploration of different approaches to developing confidence and aptitude in solo jazz piano performance. As well as the creation of accompaniment patterns for solo jazz piano performance, outcomes of this project include a greater descriptive understanding of the process of assimilating performance techniques onto the piano, and developing an improvisational approach over ostinato accompaniment figures. The scores, as well as recorded performances featuring improvisations over the composed accompaniments, are included with the exegesis.

The purpose of this study is to provide a historiographical and musical analysis examining the jazz ride cymbal pattern, from its inception on woodblock, small accessory cymbals, hand cymbal mechanisms and brushes through what becomes known as the modern-day ride cymbal pattern. This research examines a wide array of drummers and bandleaders, with the objective of identifying the earliest recordings of this important addition to jazz drumming, and popular music history while analyzing the ride cymbal pattern's evolution through definitive recordings. The study begins with the earliest known recordings that clearly display the pattern as it is played on any of the instruments mentioned above. The research concludes with the jam sessions of the early 1940s at Minton's Playhouse, where the pioneer of bebop drumming, Kenny Clarke, experimented with altering the pattern. At this point, the pattern reach its final level of maturity and has since experienced no subsequent major modification. The historical and geographical analysis uses relevant literature from the field of jazz history in order to interpret and evaluate the impact of the the overall trajectory of the music and players. By surveying newspaper and magazine articles, archival interviews, and photographic sources, combined with audio and film analysis, it is clear that drummers navigated a path to the maturation of the pattern.

Thesis (M.M.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007.
For alto saxophone in E♭, violoncello, piano, percussion (vibraphone, crystal glasses (C,E,G♯, B)) Document formatted into pages; contains 1 score (19 p.) Duration: ca. 13 min. Includes bibliographical references.

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The present work is a study on the relationship in music for brass quintet and percussion Charanga Jazz Mambo by Pedro Rodrigues Carneiro, focusing on expressive accents, specifically in the diction used by brass players. Based on the analogy developed by Harnoncourt (1998) between the onset of sound and speech, as well as, the historical changes of attitude in relation to composers writing detailed the score, the research points to the development of instrumental technique, exposing the model standard quintet metals, their variations as well as collaboration in the drafting, interpretation and dissemination of the piece contained in this work. As a source of information about the author, still unknown in academia, we present a brief biography of the composer. Expressive elements such as tempo and articulation, are explained in the description of the work, focusing attention on expressive accents, suggesting the phonemes “TA” or “DA” depending on the nature harder or softer, respectively, from the beginning of each note.
O presente trabalho é um estudo sobre a articulação na música para quinteto de metais e percussão Charanga Jazz Mambo de Pedro Rodrigues Carneiro, com foco nos acentos expressivos, especificamente na dicção utilizada pelos instrumentistas de metais. Partindo da analogia desenvolvida por Harnoncourt (1998) entre a maneira como o som é iniciado e a fala, bem como das mudanças históricas da atitude de compositores em relação à escrita minuciosa da partitura, a pesquisa aponta o desenvolvimento da técnica instrumental como um dos responsáveis pelo surgimento de conjuntos de sopro, expondo o modelo padrão de quinteto de metais, suas variações, bem como a colaboração na elaboração e interpretação da obra constante deste trabalho. Como fonte de informações sobre o autor, ainda desconhecido no meio acadêmico, é apresentada uma sucinta biografia. A articulação é explicitada na descrição da obra, concentrando a atenção na dicção, ao sugerir os fonemas “TA” ou “DA” conforme a natureza mais dura ou mais suave, respectivamente, do começo de cada nota, relacionando-os às especificidades do mambo, como a moña, o tumbao, o montuno e principalmente a clave.

Teorin÷s žinios apie ritminių mušamųjų instrumentų naudojimo specifiką tradiciniuose lengvosios muzikos stiliuose labai naudingos šių instrumentų gerb÷jams ir atlik÷jams.Pradedantiems bei pažengusiems būgnininkams šių ypatumų pažinimas pad÷tų lengviau perprasti ir išmokti atlikti įvairių stilių kūrinius.Bakalauro darbe analizuojami tradiciniai lengvosios muzikos stiliai, ritminių mušamųjų instrumentų ypatumai, jų grojimo specifika nagrin÷jamuose muzikiniuose stiliuose.
Acquisition of these peculiarities would help beginners and advanced drummers easily comprehend and perform various styles of music.This paper analyses traditional styles of light music, as well as peculiarities of rhythmic percussion instruments and playing techniques in various styles.

abstract: The percussion jazz ensemble is a long-established yet rare component of 21st century percussion studios in the United States. While many American collegiate programs have percussion ensembles that perform jazz-based pieces, none are identified as a “percussion jazz ensemble.” This may be for a variety of reasons. Professors may not have considered adding a percussion jazz ensemble to their program because of its scarcity in American universities. Including such a class would be challenging if the instructors did not feel comfortable or familiar enough with jazz idioms and vernacular. Additionally, very few compositions or arrangements are available for this group. While there are several method books on jazz vibraphone, there are no pedagogical resources designed specifically for the percussion jazz ensemble. The purpose of this document is to provide historical context, curricula, resource materials, and arrangements necessary for establishing a percussion jazz ensemble at the collegiate level. The end result will be to demonstrate the importance of an ensemble such as this for aspiring percussionists and motivate institutions focused on Western classical music to incorporate jazz elements into their percussion program. Research conducted for this project was limited to academic universities, pedagogical approaches, and ensembles found only in the United States and will not include a survey of those outside this country.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Music 2016

O repertório escrito para a bateria tem crescido continuamente nos últimos trinta anos. Tanto como solista, ou incorporada ou em grupos de música de câmara, os conceitos e abordagens propostos pelos compositores para a bateria têm sido variados. Em ocasiões, a bateria é-nos proposta, com a mesma tipologia que traz da música popular, mas, colocada num outro contexto. Também é possível, encontrarmos a bateria modificada e preparada, propondo o próprio instrumento, uma mudança de paradigma. O núcleo do projecto consiste em quatro peças compostas exclusivamente para a bateria. Serão apresentadas em formato áudio com partitura e descrição. O trabalho também irá contextualizar o instrumento historicamente, e apresentar, nalguma extensão, os instrumentos constituintes da bateria. Pretende-se reforçar e propor a abordagem da bateria, enquanto instrumento solista no contexto da música contemporânea de tradição artística europeia. Reforçar porque, a ideia que vai ser trabalhada e apresentada não é inédita, mas é de origem relativamente recente, e propor, porque a abordagem pessoal é sempre singular e única
Repertoire for the drum set has developed continuously in the last thirty years. Either as a soloist, or in chamber music, the composer's proposed concepts and approaches have been variable. Sometimes, the drum set is proposed as we know it from popular music, but placed in a different context. It is also possible, to find a modified and prepared drum set, suggesting the instrument itself a paradigma change. The main aspect of this project comprises four pieces written exclusively for the drum set. They will be presented in audio format with score, and piece description. The work will contextualise the instrument historically, and to some extent, introduce the different instruments which built the drum set. The aim is to strenghthen and propose the drum set as a soloist instrument within the contemporary music of european tradition. To strenghthen, because, it is not an unprecedented idea, but is a relatively new one. To propose, because the personal approach is always distinctive and unique.