Research

April 10, 2021

“Throughout my graduate studies, I was able to synthesize a variety of teaching methodologies and philosophies that have contributed to my growth as a musician and educator. Each item in my portfolio has contributed not only to my daily instructional methods in my classroom, but also a shift in philosophy and expectations that I place on my students. The music curriculum presented by large institutions often felt limited and singularly focused throughout my education. After completing this degree, I feel much more equipped to present a broad, fresh approach to music of all styles for children of all ages. While some items in my portfolio deal in the abstract and analytical, others are more practical and ready to be used to teach a lesson on-the-spot. This statement aims to further clarify the role of items in my portfolio and how each contribute to my daily thought processes as an educator.”

July 27, 2019

Final Research Proposal:
“Music education in America has many specific implications and expectations regarding its widespread and standardized administration in public school systems. Music is as far reaching and broad as humanity itself, yet music is expected to be instructed in a very specific and codified manner that is approved by a larger governing body. The types of pieces that are accepted as canon, and expected to be taught, has severe implications regarding the repertoire that teachers may program. Pieces that are chosen to be taught truly define the meaning of each musical experience for all students, and therefore must be chosen carefully and with many factors in mind. Many educators focus on a seemingly objective standard of musical worth based on categories created under a more classical and historical model of assessment—creating a body of acceptable literature that is almost forced upon future teachers, regardless of the cultural setting. This phenomenon raises the following question: What exactly is being programmed in band, orchestra, and choir programs in public schools today? In reviewing the literature, how have researchers conducted surveys of repertoire in the past, and what can these reveal about the methodology, findings, and viability of conducting such a study?”

July 24, 2019

Final Paper:
“Prelude, Cadence et Final is a post-tonal composition by Alfred Desenclos that uses highly dissonant harmonies, melodies, and gestures, organized in an unusual form when compared to previous tonal structures. On the surface, it seems difficult to ascribe any sort of obvious narrative to the structure of the work. However, after deeper analysis of thematic presentation and transformation, a narrative becomes quite audibly and theoretically apparent. How does Prelude, Cadence et Final use thematic transformation to present a narrative, and what sort of narrative does this piece convey through its formulaic organization? The piece presents a tragic narrative through juxtaposition of two thematic ideas—a stable harmonic device that represents “order,” interrupted by a “transgressive” melodic fragment that is defeated in the end.”

June 19, 2019

Analysis of 12-tone/dodecaphonic/serialist compositional techniques:
“I tried to analyze this piece by first separating each musical element, and then finding relationships between them. So, essentially, horizontal and vertical analysis of pitch, harmony and rhythm to find larger implications of form, theme, and motive. First, I determined the prime form set-classes created by chords on every beat of the piece to find vertical relationships in harmony. Then, I color-coded each pitch-class to try to see relationships in frequency of specific pitches, and to possibly find tone-rows and ordered sets of pitches. From there, I was looking at each phrase texturally and gesturally; what was each musical sentence, and how was it related to the next? I also noticed how themes were defined and transformed—through rhythm and presentation of certain intervals.”

July 10, 2019

Analysis of Schubert’s Symphony No. 4 in C minor through the lens of Sonata Theory (Hepokoski and Darcy) and Metrical Theory (Edward Klorman). The Sonata Theory organizes the Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation into smaller categories: the primary/secondary thematic areas, medial caesura, essential expositional cadence, and coda. Metrical Theory involves topics of phrase rhythm, hypermeter, elision, and reinterpretation.
(this analysis does not delve into these topics, but assumes the reader’s understanding)

May 16, 2019

Final Paper:
“A majority of Olivier Messiaen’s compositional organization and technique lies in his personal gathering, synthesizing, and combination of disparate musical practices through a Western-classical musical framework. His obsession with Eastern music, birdsong, and religious depiction of the divine, created his modernist voice that uniquely transcends a single genre or style. As a Japanese-American with a keen interest in French classical music, I was captivated by the influence of Japanese culture, aesthetics, and music on Messiaen’s compositional language, and what implications it may have for both European and Asian audiences of today. Sept Haïkaï, his multi-movement work for piano and orchestra completed in 1962, poses unique questions in its complex and interweaving tapestry of musical and extramusical references. How did Olivier Messiaen integrate his experiences with Japanese culture, music (gagaku), aesthetics, and natural observations into his compositional language? What inspirations led Messiaen to writing Sept Haïkaï, and how are these ideas depicted in his music? How, specifically, did Messiaen synthesize ideas from Eastern and Western musical traditions in his work?”

March 27, 2019

Form Analysis, Thematic Designations, and Commentary:
Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata (also known as the Dante Sonata) is a piano sonata in one movement, completed by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1849. It was first published in 1856 as part of the second volume of his Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage). This work of program music was inspired by the reading of Dante Alighieri’s most famous epic poem, the Divine Comedy. The piece is divided into two main subjects. The first, a chromatic theme in D minor, typifies the wailing of souls in Hell. D minor is a common key for music relating to death, as evidenced by Liszt’s Totentanz and the statue scene of Wolfgang Mozart’s Don Giovanni. The first theme also heavily uses the Tritone (augmented 4th or diminished 5th); this interval was known as the Devil’s interval (or “Devil in music”) and further reinforces the hellish imagery. The second theme is a beatific chorale in F-sharp major, derived from the first, which represents the joy of those in Heaven. The key is also symbolic here, being the signature for other uplifting works of Liszt’s, including Benediction of God in Solitude and Les Jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este. The piece ends with a rapid chromatic octave section that when played at speed seems to split into three distinct themes, reflecting the three heads of Satan in Dante’s Inferno.

Spring 2019

Compilation of “Form Chart” assignments. By using a score and recording (sometimes no score), these charts were created to delineate the form of each piece. 17 pieces are compiled into this PDF: Augusta Reed Thomas, Beethoven, Brahms, Carter, Chopin, Clara Schumann, Copland, Dallapiccola, Debussy, Haydn, Ives, Messiaen, Mazzoli, Scarlatti, and Schubert are analyzed. Each piece is analyzed differently depending on its genre, time period, and driving formulaic organization.

April 17, 2020

Curriculum Project:
“To begin learning about African American music, we must first delve into its roots; Africa. Traditional West African music brought over to America eventually led to work songs, field hollers, and other types of song that accompany work done by slaves in the American South. Work songs usually had practical usage: to coordinate labor, to ease boredom of tedious work, and to signal the day’s movement. However, these songs became a cultural outlet for African Americans to express themselves during dark times, deeply influenced by the roots of the music from their homeland. These early roots of African American music eventually became influenced with European forms to create the folk spiritual. These spirituals, conveying hardship, sorrow, companionship, hope, and secret code messages to escape to freedom, express the strong spirit, will, and artistic strength of African Americans during and after Reconstruction. As the spiritual evolved into more complex and syncretized art forms, composers transformed original melodies into multi-part arrangements and European stylized form of spiritual art songs. Spirituals gained significance as a unifying and definitional artistic cornerstone of African American culture in the 19th century and beyond.”

November 21, 2019

The 7 Elements of Music Final Exam:
https://forms.gle/nGAnezkvDuH6kkwA6
“This summative assessment will measure the ability for students to construct a written argument based on standard music terminology. Students will use their knowledge from previous unit lessons on the elements of music (pitch, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, texture, timbre, structure) and critical thinking skills to form a logical and descriptive personal response to any work of music. For the final summative assessment, the instructor will play a list of preselected works of music from a vast range of genre and style, each under 4 minutes. Students will be given a pencil-and-paper exam with multiple choice selections and space to write for each selection. Students will have multiple-choice bubbles for each element of music, filling in which terms apply to a given work. An essay portion follows, where students will construct a fluid argument, using specific elements of the music to describe and critique what they just heard.”

November 21, 2019

Sample Grant Proposal:
“To truly fund a full, workable music library and filing system, with 25 pieces of varying levels, at $50-$100 each, the necessary funds would be $2206.32. This money would provide ample resource to build a long-lasting and effective repertoire of music to serve students and parents for years to come. Assuming that concerts will include 3 to 4 pieces as outlined by the VBODA state standards, and three large concerts are presented per year, approximately 9 to 12 pieces would be the minimum needed for each year of instruction. This would be sufficient for purchasing enough high-quality music for the first and second year of concerts. These purchases would be subsequently used for all future concerts. Building a substantial music library will not only provide current music students much greater creative and pedagogical diversity, but will certainly increase enrollment and opportunity of music students at the Edlin School.”

April 9, 2020

Final Proposal:
“One of the greatest divides in my life as a musician, both as a student and teacher, was my lack of education on music technology. Being raised on a purely classical upbringing in the public-school system, I received no training on arguably the most important aspect of musicianship in the 21st century—that of music technology and studio production. Throughout my music education, I wondered, “How do successful artists produce and release an album?” I eventually pieced together the puzzle, especially after taking courses at GMU and doing countless hours of my own personal research. I feel that it is an understatement to say that this knowledge of music technology and studio mixing revolutionizes all aspects of musicianship as a performer, composer, and teacher. The purpose of this proposal is not at all to admonish traditional music, or to say that music technology is the antithesis of classical music, or that it should replace bands, choirs, and orchestras across the state. Rather, this proposal aims to convince the school board that studying music technology in conjunction with traditional music programs can best serve the needs of our students in the “digital” 21st century. My long-term plan is in 4 parts: firstly, my philosophy and justification for the inclusion of music technology, secondly, the actual content of the curriculum, thirdly, a plan to integrate this curriculum into preexisting traditional music programs, and finally, advocacy efforts and implementation.”

April 9, 2020

Composition Assignment:
Written as an exercise in pastiche, this étude uses stacked major and minor seventh harmonies. These shapes can either be described as two chords performed simultaneously (creating a polychord), or one large “13” chord, as commonly described in jazz. For this assignment, William Schuman’s solo piano work Three-Score Set inspired the idea to compose a piece using stacked seventh chords for solo piano. This etude also loosely borrows from French impressionistic piano figurations.

February 15, 2021

Lesson Plan – Twelve-Bar Blues:
“By the end of the unit, all students enrolled in Middle School Jazz Band will score above a 2.0 on the standardized Jazz Improvisation Performance Assessment.  Criteria for grading include technical facility, rhythm/time feel, melodic/rhythmic development, and style/expression.  Students will be assessed by improvising two 12-bar blues solos on their primary instrument for the final unit test.”

October 26, 2016

Music education programs often face budget and resource cuts due to legislation pushing a higher focus on science, mathematics, and technology in the public school system. Past and recent studies consistently prove a direct correlation between music lessons throughout childhood and a higher intelligence and success throughout life. Research on the nature of music instruction and its direct effects on intelligence test scores, information processing, mental development, and social development further the ongoing discussion of the usefulness of music programs in the lives of young adults.

April 2, 2016

The effect of Mozart as a composer-pianist in his reception with the public, the aristocracy, and ongoing musical influence, highlights the classical era and development of the piano’s popularity. Keyboard music and instruments before and during the eighteenth century gave a voice for this influential and far-reaching musical genius, and from a traditionally accompanimental role, the keyboard quickly became a solo instrument that expressed changing philosophies and aesthetics of the Enlightenment in late-eighteenth-century European culture. The evolution of keyboard instruments in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries allowed composers such as C.P.E. Bach and later, Mozart, to significantly develop the overall musical language and style of the Classical period.

November 22, 2016

Jazz music permeated many European styles of music after its popularization in America, especially affecting France during the early 20th century. Maurice Ravel and other avant-garde classical composers found deep newfound inspiration in these modern styles, not just in musical content, but in philosophy as well. Jazz affected Ravel’s compositional output both before and after his travels to America, forming a unique musical perspective on syncopated and blues styles passed through various cultures across the Atlantic. His works towards the end of his life reveal an increasingly cosmopolitan style of writing, and assimilate multiple perspectives into a unifying, modern, and increasingly popular body of art music.