2024-03-29T05:09:12Zhttps://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/oai/requestoai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/267782023-01-20T03:00:34Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2023-01-19T10:49:58Z
urn:hdl:10023/26778
The use of videoconferencing and low-latency technologies for instrumental music teaching
Redman, Benjamin Paul
Duffy, Celia
Ferguson, Paul
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Online learning
Videoconferencing
LoLa
Low-latency
Vocal and instrumental music teaching
Music education
Conservatoire
Videoconferencing platforms have been used for a number of years in the UK and other countries to facilitate instrumental music lessons between remote parties. However, videoconferencing is typically not optimised for music performance which results in poor audio quality and musicians not being able to play together. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, this led to some resistance to using the technology.
Low-latency technologies such as LoLa and JackTrip offer high-quality audio and facilitate synchronous musical interaction so that remote parties can play music together in real time. However, limited research has been conducted on how effective these technologies are when used for instrumental music teaching. This study aimed to address this gap through the following research questions:
• What changes in the quality of the interactions and the learning and teaching experience between face-to-face, standard videoconferencing, and low-latency environments?
• Are some elements of music instruction more or less effective in these different environments?
• What are the barriers to using these technologies in educational settings, and how can these be overcome?
I deployed a mixed methods concurrent nested design. My research was primarily qualitative and conducted through a series of small-scale trials, interviews, and autoethnographic studies, together with analysis of data from a larger set of LoLa trials in three European conservatoires, and a small-scale quantitative study. Participants included music teachers and students in Higher Education and school settings across a range of instrument types and musical genres.
Several themes emerged from a synthesis of the findings across the 17 studies, including: teachers’ attitudes became more favourable to the various technologies after trialling them; the visual element of technologies was important for musical cues and diagnosing technical and postural problems in students; each learning environment had its own advantages and disadvantages, but participants preferred the face-to-face environment.
My research makes an original contribution to literature by reporting findings showing that: playing together can form a significant element of face-to-face lessons, LoLa and JackTrip low-latency technologies improved musical interactions compared to standard videoconferencing platforms, LoLa can be used in conjunction with an institutional firewall, JackTrip can be used with multiple players on domestic internet connections.
I conclude that low-latency technologies have an important role in the future of music education by offering increased interaction between teachers and students from different institutions, and by offering new teaching and learning possibilities, including collaborative learning, and teaching through playing.
2023-01-19T10:49:58Z
2023-01-19T10:49:58Z
2022-06-13
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/26778
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/246
en
xviii, 293 p.
The University of St Andrews
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/165282018-11-23T09:30:45Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2018-11-22T16:53:16Z
urn:hdl:10023/16528
Documenting developing performance : rethinking Nikolai Medtner at the piano
Choi, Hanna
Broad, Stephen
Nikolai Medtner
Practice-based research
Reflective practitioner
Embodied musical knowledge
Music as performance
This research illustrates the performer-researcher’s artistic process of reaching an understanding of music through performance, and explores how an effort to understand music at the instrument and in the context of music-making could influence our critical evaluation of the music.
Engaged in the process of learning music, I seek to document my artistic practices as a reflective practitioner: to open up the performer-researcher's workspace, communicate the performativity of the music, and reveal my embodied doing-thinking as a performer. By involving in the performer-researcher's physical and intellectual trajectory, the focus of musicological research could be shifted from the study of music as writing to a practice-based study that communicates and values music as performance.
This shift provides a chance to rethink musical works at the piano and place the music in a context in which music can be understood, communicated, and valued through performance. This has the potential to shed light on the performative value of music, and may challenge the existing critique of musical works by emphasising the centrality of musical performance in the realm of music research, perhaps revealing what has been neglected by the text and outcome-focused approaches to music. I believe this could lead us to assess musical works in a different value system by considering the music in and as performance.
2018-11-22T16:53:16Z
2018-11-22T16:53:16Z
2017-12-07
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/16528
en
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
xi, 203 p.
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/294222024-03-05T10:30:43Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2024-03-05T10:07:37Z
urn:hdl:10023/29422
The composer is present : a creative exploration of the role of the composer within the work
Mackay, Shona
MacDonald, Alistair
McPherson, Gordon
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Composer
Music
Contemporary music
Composition
Performance art
Interdisciplinary
Practice-as-research
Artistic presence
Self as subject
Composer as non-musical performer
Interdisciplinary composition
Audiovisual performance
Mixed-media composition
This thesis comprises eight new works written between 2011 and 2018 which incorporate music, video and performance. These works are the result of a practice-as-research creative exploration which problematizes the traditional role of the composer by making the composer present within the work and its performance in a number of non-musical ways.
The commentary begins with a discussion of the personal background which led to this period of practice-based research, including the influences of John Berger’s 'Ways of Seeing', Jennifer Walshe’s 'The New Discipline', and the works of performance artists Carolee Schneemann, Adrian Howells and Marina Abramović. Each composition is then discussed in greater detail to highlight my creative process and reflective practice.
In order to foreground my journey through the research process, the works will be discussed in chronological order and are exhibited as a combination of musical scores, videos (including additional performance materials where applicable), and recordings which document their performance.
2024-03-05T10:07:37Z
2024-03-05T10:07:37Z
2019-06-24
Thesis
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/29422
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/802
en
84
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/48092019-04-01T12:10:47Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2014-05-16T09:24:59Z
urn:hdl:10023/4809
Scottish competition bagpipe performance : sound, mode and aesthetics
McKerrell, Simon Alasdair
Duesenberry, Peggy
This study is an ethnomusicological analysis of Scottish competition bagpiping, examining three fundamental aspects of performance: sound aesthetics, performance aesthetics and the modal complex of the core repertoire. Through a mixture of discussions, modal analysis and reflections upon performance, it deconstructs the music of the 2/4 competition pipe march and the aesthetics surrounding competition performance. Focussing on a small number of the world’s leading Highland bagpipers, this research demonstrates how overall sound combined with the individual choices about repertoire and how to play it, results in the maintenance of individual identity. In chapter three, analysis of the ‘modal complex’, comprising pitch sets, hierarchies, phrasing-structure, the double-tonic, structural tones, melodic motifs and rhythm-contour motifs reveal the characteristics of various modes in the 2/4 competition pipe march. As an insider of this music-culture, I offer a definition of mode based upon motivic content rather than pitch set. The modal complex is framed by an understanding of how pipers themselves think about their competitive tradition. Understanding the concepts presented in this thesis provides an original and holistic picture of how Scottish bagpipe competition performance sounds the way it does.
2014-05-16T09:24:59Z
2014-05-16T09:24:59Z
2005
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/4809
en
vii, 555 p.
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/205242021-01-28T17:00:02Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2020-08-28T14:06:59Z
urn:hdl:10023/20524
A portfolio of new compositions, exploring aspects of Sichuan traditions
Li, Huan
Searle, Oliver
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Sichuan
Traditional folk culture
Contemporary music
My research reflects Sichuan traditional and folk culture through the composition of eight original works: Shi for String Orchestra; Qin Song for flute, piano, violin and cello; Armour Dance for a large ensemble; Ink and Colour for clarinet, cello and piano; Yi suite for a large ensemble; Lost and Renewed for string quintet; Silhouette for prepared piano; Impression of Sichuan Drama for soprano and two percussionists.
These works are presented through musical scores, one recording (Yi) and a written commentary. The commentary accompanying this portfolio of new compositions begins by drawing and translating tone colour from a fundamental element: yin qiang - a concept of single tone - in Sichuan classical and traditional music, influenced by Chou Wen-Chung and Isang Yun and their concepts, towards the creation of timbral structures (with my own work). Through exploring Sichuan traditions, including the music of Tan Dun and Chen Yi, I utilise the characteristics of Sichuan folk customs, reimagined through contemporary compositional practice, including contemporary performing techniques and styles, in order to explore the balance of sonority when combining Chinese traditional instruments with Western forces. Inspired by the different approaches and musical ideas of Unsuk Chin, Ge Gan-Ru, and John Cage, my compositions were gradually created by a broader thinking, not only focusing on sound balance, but also exploring tone colours through the extension of sound layers.
This commentary reveals the process of my influences, creative approaches and aesthetics on a variety of themes within Sichuan traditions of music and folk customs. Finally, it concludes with some ideas and experiences for further research including working with performers, artists and places.
2020-08-28T14:06:59Z
2020-08-28T14:06:59Z
2020-12
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/20524
https://doi.org/10.17630/10023-20524
en
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
76 p., [238] p. of scores
The University of St Andrews
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/64512019-04-01T12:10:48Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2015-04-08T15:35:17Z
urn:hdl:10023/6451
From piano to stage : a genealogy of musical ideas in the piano works of Sergei Prokofiev (1900 – c.1920)
Guillaumier, Christina
McAllister, Rita
This thesis is a study of Prokofiev's musical ideas as they emerge in his early writing for piano. It is concerned with elucidating the connections between Prokofiev's pianistic technique and his compositional technique. In doing so, the study explores the genealogy of composer's musical gestures and thematic ideas. Both his playing and his compositional styles have been labelled as distinctive: the thesis attempts to deconstruct that distinctiveness by pinpointing the origins of the composer's playing and compositional styles, tracing their gradual evolution into a mature idiom. The first chapter is concerned with Prokofiev's juvenilia (1898 to c. 1906). Drawing upon a large amount of previously unpublished archival resources, this chapter uncovers the original gestures and thematic ideas which characterize Prokofiev's early style. The next chapter focuses on Prokofiev's period at the St Petersburg Conservatory, tracing his development into a virtuoso pianist, examining the nature of that virtuosity and
chronicling the creation of Prokofiev's performing persona. The gestures and idea-
types identified in the first chapter are then examined within the context of
Prokofiev's works for solo piano, his early works with orchestra and his first two
major operas. Conclusions are then drawn about the nature of Prokofiev's
distinctiveness, his compositional legacy and about his current position as a major
twentieth-century composer.
2015-04-08T15:35:17Z
2015-04-08T15:35:17Z
2010
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6451
en
2021-03-11
Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Print and electronic copies of the accompanying score, (Appendix D), restricted until 11th March 2021
278
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/89742019-04-01T12:10:48Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2016-06-14T09:28:09Z
urn:hdl:10023/8974
"More like a poem than a play" : towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years
Fletcher-Watson, Ben
Birch, Anna
McNaughton, Marie-Jeanne
Economic and Social Research Council, Capacity Building Cluster, "Capitalising on Creativity", grant #RES 187-24-0014
Leverhulme Trust
Imaginate
Theatre
Drama
Performance
Early Years
Theatre for Early Years
Dramaturgy
Grounded theory
Scotland
Theatre for the very young
Practice as research
This thesis aims to further our understanding of the emergent phenomenon of Theatre for Early Years (TEY) in Scotland. It interrogates a series of artistic practices – traditional, postdramatic, participatory – with the aim of proposing a possible dramaturgy of arts for the very young.
Practice typically precedes theory in new fields of performance. TEY currently lacks a coherent theoretical framework or dramaturgy, instead drawing on interdisciplinary strands of psychology, pedagogy and existing dramaturgical practices from older forms of theatre for children. This study explores artists’ embodied knowledge as a repository of skill, while also recognising external factors that impact on creative production, from belief systems to training, the search for funding and the struggle for recognition.
Using Grounded Theory as a method to analyse interviews with 26 leading Scottish practitioners, this project undertakes a qualitative investigation of current practice in the devising and production of performing arts for very young audiences. The thesis also considers debates around legitimation and human rights for the very young, as well as cognitive models of infant development from psychology.
The process points towards a Grounded Theory which proposes that Scottish Early Years artists undergo an attitudinal shift towards a belief that children should access high-quality cultural experiences on the same basis as adults. Secondly, it suggests that these artists believe they possess a unique skill-set worthy of recognition. The theory points towards an associated dramaturgy centring on equality, and the generalisability of both is then assessed via an innovatory Practice-as-Research case study converting a TEY production into a digital app.
While the project is geographically limited to Scotland, its findings may have international applicability. This study could contribute to a wider praxis of arts for the very young beyond theatre, giving practitioners across the cultural sphere the opportunity to engage with the proposed dramaturgy.
2016-06-14T09:28:09Z
2016-06-14T09:28:09Z
2016-06-23
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/8974
en
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
viii, 343 p.
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/211242020-12-10T03:02:20Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2020-12-09T08:15:34Z
urn:hdl:10023/21124
Transcription, performance and recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's works for lute on a ten-string guitar
Pyrounaki, Sofia
Broad, Stephen
'Transcription, Performance and Recording of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Works for Lute on a ten-string
Guitar' is research that participates in the wide discourse on transcribing and performing Bach’s lute
works on the guitar. Building upon an examination of the primary sources and previous guitar
transcriptions, but also presenting new information and points of differentiation, the research sheds
new light on an area of interest that is rightly shared by performers and scholars.
The submission comprises of five elements: in the written discussion, I consider selected issues from
my research, describing the course that led to specific choices, but also the concerns and lines of
enquiry that influenced or derived from my practical musical experience. In the commentary upon
the examination of the primary sources, I justify my editorial choices in detail, commenting further
upon details that can be inferred from this examination, elements that support the interpretive
process of editorial decision-making, but also the features of an editorial process that pertains to
musical works. The transcriptions condense the knowledge derived from my editorial engagement
and my performance practice, but present it in such a way that aims at, and awaits, the individual
performer’s further unfolding of the music. The recordings capture a possible way of completing this
process, but also contribute to the argument that the use of a ten-string instrument offers new
perspectives on these crucial works. Finally, facsimiles of certain primary and secondary sources are
presented to further facilitate the critical reading of my choices and my concerns – to support the
continued discourse in this area.
This submission is, therefore, a record of my engagement with the works in question, but also an
invitation for continued dialogue.
2020-12-09T08:15:34Z
2020-12-09T08:15:34Z
2018-12-07
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/21124
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/13
en
3 v., 1 score
The University of St Andrews
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/48482014-08-08T14:36:22Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2014-06-03T12:15:18Z
urn:hdl:10023/4848
Inter-actor interaction : contributions to rehearsal and performance practice that attempt to minimize pre-agreed-upon performance structure and divided consciousness
Silberschatz, Marc
This dissertation presents and analyses original contributions to rehearsal and performance practice. Flow criticism - the use of flow theory to examine performance practice - is proposed as a tool for evaluating existing identification-oriented processes. Flow criticism demonstrates that several dimensions of flow are impeded by any process that simultaneously requires actor-character merger and the execution of pre-agreed-upon performance structures. In this circumstance, goals exist on one level of consciousness (the character) while feedback exists on another (the actor). The schism between these two dimensions of flow results in divided consciousness, which affects other flow dimensions: action and awareness cannot fully merge; actors cannot exercise control over the outcome of the fictional performance. A hypothesis is then advanced: this schism may be resolved by minimizing pre-agreed-upon performance structures. Following a version of the action research enquiry cycle modified by reflective practice and my conception of directorial practice, two projects were undertaken, resulting in the development of Inter-Actor Interaction, a rehearsal and performance approach that supports the structure-minimization hypothesis. The modified cycle - reflection-in-action, analysis-through-practice, reflection-on-action - is supported by a variety of research methods including rehearsal with actors, interviews, surveys, video strip analysis and reflective journaling. Presentation and analysis of Inter-Actor Interaction suggests that minimizing pre-agreed-upon performance structures may be achieved by introducing tensions: re-orienting the acting process from the communication of specifically chosen meanings to playing a psychophysical, interactive game whose outward manifestation is mediated by lenses derived from other levels of performance (such as character, world of the play and scripted text). Further evaluation shows that Inter-Actor Interaction successfully reduces the use of pre-agreed-upon performance structures, minimizes divided consciousness and supports flow experiences in actors.
2014-06-03T12:15:18Z
2014-06-04T11:56:24Z
2014-06-03T12:15:18Z
2014-06-04T11:56:24Z
2014
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/4848
en
307
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
The University of St Andrews
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/295322024-03-23T03:02:21Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2024-03-19T11:56:55Z
urn:hdl:10023/29532
A portfolio of original compositions exploring relationships between humans and the natural environment
Robertson, Lisa
Doolittle, Emily
Sweeney, William
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Psappha
Sound Scotland
National Youth Choir
Nature
Composition
Natural sounds
Environment
Music
Gaelic
Gaelic song
Gàidhlig
Birdsong
Climate change
Landscape
Scottish Highlands
Scottish traditional music
Environmental guilt
Land ownership
Dùthchas
Cultural significance of land
Humans / Nature
This submission comprises a portfolio of 18 original compositions exploring relationships between humans and the natural environment. This musical examination, coming from a personal perspective, is mainly rooted in the natural environment with which I have the deepest relationship: the West Highlands of Scotland.
A commentary outlines my musical language, where human sounds, including traditional music influences, interact with representations of natural sounds. It discusses how these interactions in the pieces illustrate and explore different human/ natural environment relationships. It details influences from my personal background and influential composers, including Hans Abrahamsen, Bent Sørensen and Igor Stravinsky, then explores each of the portfolio’s pieces in turn whilst examining each of eight sub-topics.
Bheanna for flute, clarinet, viola, violoncello and piano and Sanderling for string ensemble, consider the first sub-topic, appreciation of my local landscapes. the light through forest leaves for solo violoncello, Seabird Cities for chamber orchestra, Birds of Migration for SSA vocal ensemble and of a liminal nature for chamber orchestra explore emotions/ spirituality prompted by nature. leum fèidh for symphony orchestra and Can we not hear the birds that sing? for solo violin, examine humans damaging the environment. Deglaciation for violin and violoncello, The Arctic Rose for two pianos, flightless birds. for flute, oboe, clarinet and trombone and to tell it like it is. for SSAATTBB choir refer to climate change. Machair for string quartet, the inimitable brightness of the air for flute, viola and violoncello explore environmental threats to my local landscapes. Lichen for string quartet and Heartwood for solo clarinet examine environmental guilt. Right to Roam for clarinet, violoncello and piano looks at land ownership and The Wet Desert: a Collection of Highland Perspectives for flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin and violoncello considers the cultural significance of land, concluding the exploration of human/ natural environment relationships.
2024-03-19T11:56:55Z
2024-03-19T11:56:55Z
2022-06-13
Thesis
https://hdl.handle.net/10023/29532
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/828
en
Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Parts - Score: to tell it like it is; and Recordings: Seabird Cities, leum fèidh, flightless birds, Heartwood and Right to Roam - restricted permanently
457
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/216402023-12-14T12:01:49Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2021-03-17T10:28:52Z
urn:hdl:10023/21640
A woman who writes music : a creative feminist autobiography
Hollingworth, Lucy Antonia
McPherson, Gordon
Wiley, Christopher
Searle, Oliver
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Research Scholarship Fund
Music composition
Autobiography
Women composers
Feminism
In the male-dominated profession of composition, women may find themselves having to surmount extra hurdles because the industry and society itself circumscribes their role. These challenges stand between women and their creative goals, and it may require great courage and long periods of time in the wilderness of non-acceptance before success at any level becomes possible. I stopped composing for almost twenty years. When I returned I discovered that I was not alone in having abandoned my chosen path. I found many women composers historically whose careers had not progressed with the same levels of exposure as their male counterparts, and many who had also stopped composing either temporarily or permanently.
This dissertation and portfolio takes the form of a creative feminist autobiography and is presented as a website in order to facilitate the process of storytelling through a multimedia format. By composing The Poetess, a music theatre work for actors and an instrumental ensemble; Out of the Snowstorm, an Owl for string quartet; Mycorrhizal Ecology for two pianos; What The Living Do for solo piano; I Lay Down By The Riverside And Dreamed for large instrumental ensemble; and Let Me Speak for solo clarinet with poetry, I represent my own and other women’s lives creatively, covering themes including abuse, bereavement, transformation, and love. These works form a living enquiry into women’s experiences. Through an imagined dialogue between myself and composers Ethel Smyth, Ruth Crawford, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, Enid Luff and Laurie Anderson, using their own words taken from their various autobiographies, letters, journals and interviews, I investigate shared issues in women composers’ lives and their struggles for creative self-expression. These stories show how it is ultimately possible to find one’s voice as a woman in music, and how I, in particular, returned from the wilderness, and became a composer again.
2021-03-17T10:28:52Z
2023-12-14T12:01:49Z
2021-03-17T10:28:52Z
2023-12-14T12:01:49Z
2020-07-27
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/21640
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/45
en
1 website
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/279462023-07-13T02:02:19Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2023-07-12T14:13:27Z
urn:hdl:10023/27946
Competitive Scottish bagpipe repertoire from 1947–2015 : convention, change, and innovation
Bova, Andrew Nicholas
Dickson, Joshua
MacDonald, Alistair
Bagpipes
Competition
Traditional music
Pipe bands
Repertoire
Innovation
This thesis examines the development of competitive Scottish bagpipe repertoire from 1947 through 2015, focusing on the concepts of convention, change, and innovation within the highest levels of light music competition. Research encompasses both solo and band competition, focusing on The Northern Meeting, The Argyllshire Gathering, The Glenfiddich Solo Piping Championships, The Uist and Barra Annual Invitational Piping Competition, and The World Pipe Band Championships. The inauguration of the modern iteration of The World Pipe Band Championships in 1947 serves as the starting point for this study. As a member of the communities in question, emic observation and reflexive exercises throughout the course of study have shaped my role as researcher and informed my own performance practice. Chapter three explores concepts fundamental to this thesis: tradition, convention, change, and innovation. Chapter four offers an introduction to repertoire data collection and the synthesis of quantitative data with interview evidence from key figures in the pipiing community. Chapters five, six, and seven explore the solo march, strathspey, and reel competition; the pipe band march, strathspey and reel competition; and the pipe band medley, respectively, focusing on the development of repertoire and community reflections on these competitions and the decision-making processes of competing pipers. Building on this analysis, chaper eight explores the concept of repertoire canons in competitive piping, both identifying areas where canons do and do not exist and listing the repertoire that comprises said canons. Chapter nine offers commentary on the organological development of the bagpipe within the specified time period, identified as having had a key impact on competitive practices through analysis of interview data. Finally, these findings are synthesised, identifying areas in which convention, change, and innovation have occurrred in competitive piping and the complex relationships that have influenced and driven the artform from 1947-2015.
2023-07-12T14:13:27Z
2023-07-12T14:13:27Z
2020-12-02
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/27946
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/545
en
295
The University of St Andrews
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/70722022-11-02T15:39:00Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2015-07-29T08:10:24Z
urn:hdl:10023/7072
Portfolio of original compositions
Gormley, John
MacDonald, Alistair
Music
Composition
Music theory
This folio and accompanying commentary draw together my compositional work over the period of the PhD and plot the development and exploration of a number techniques which are to be found in varying degrees in each of the works but with different emphases. These techniques include the use of: parallel structures and metres to provide a sense of independence of compositional ideas; parallel tonal centres within overarching schema to control and draw thematic material together; the use of rhetorical musical gestures that seek to break free of their context; fragmentation and the accumulation of material in terms of quantity and density in order to facilitate a sense of change; the limitation of pitch material in order to create a sense of stasis; and the use of slow sustained melodies that lack a clear pulse in order to create a sense of musical events that are not bound by time.
2015-07-29T08:10:24Z
2015-07-29T08:10:24Z
2015-06-25
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/7072
en
1 v. (iii, 56 leaves), 6 scores
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/262922022-11-03T03:04:01Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2022-11-02T15:44:57Z
urn:hdl:10023/26292
Choral blend: sound or sensation? : an interpretative phenomenological analysis of proto-professional singers’ perceptions of ensemble singing
Slimings, James Lee
MacDonald, Alistair
Himonides, Evangelos
Morgan, Jill
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Choral singing
Choral blend
Interpretative phenomenological analysis
Flow
Emergence
‘Choral blend’ is ill defined in the literature surrounding ensemble singing. The phenomenon is
variously described as a noun, the aesthetic product of a choir singing; and as a verb, the technique of
singing associated with ensembles. With such wildly varying definitions, the use of this term in
rehearsals has become a topic of contention between singing teachers and ensemble directors. This
thesis takes a singer-centric approach to investigate the phenomenon of ensemble singing, with a
particular focus on ‘choral blend’.
Twelve proto-professional training singers with experience of expert ensemble singing were recorded
both individually and collectively during a rehearsal led by the researcher. These two auditory
perspectives were given as an interview stimulus for participants. Interview data was then analysed
using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The use of close microphone techniques in ensemble
settings, and their use as auditory interview stimuli, are novel methodological techniques in IPA.
Key findings reveal the significance of familiarity in the building up of auditory images, and
expectancies as a way to describe the individual modifications needed in an ensemble. These two
concepts are drawn together through the Embodied Music Cognition paradigm, and blend as a
dynamic and ever-changing concept is advocated.
Community of Practice frameworks are proposed as a useful tool for describing the ensemble
experience of participants. These communities of practice are created afresh with each group in every
session they meet. Some elements of the joint repertoire that spans across experiences are discussed.
With these communities of practice being created by singers, the role of the conductor and the agency
of choral sound is also interrogated.
The sensation of an individual singing well in a choral group is attributed to their being in a flow state.
A discussion of how participants achieve flow in peak ensemble experience, and the prerequisites for
this state, form a major finding of this thesis. The conflation of blend technique with flow state is
interrogated.
While individual flow state is equated with blend the verb, the aesthetic object of the choir is equated
to blend the noun. This sensation of group flow can lead to an emergent choral instrument being cocreated
by singers during performance. This new choral instrument, greater than the sum of the parts
of the individual singers goes some way to explaining the physical sensation of being ‘within the choir’.
The word blend is used in many different contexts, and participants had an embodied knowledge of
that concept. This thesis argues that use of the word blend can be unhelpful in attempting to form a
particular aesthetic, and that acknowledging the agency of singers over the creation of the choral
sound is more likely to result in a peak ensemble experience for all stakeholders.
2022-11-02T15:44:57Z
2022-11-02T15:44:57Z
2022-11-30
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/26292
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/217
en
x, 255 p.
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/288862024-01-04T03:06:23Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2023-12-18T10:58:59Z
urn:hdl:10023/28886
You can't do that! A journey into vocal composition through an exploration of musical genres and the subversion of norms
Klose, Katrin
MacRae, Stuart
Cole, Jonathan
Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Research Scholarship Fund
Land Salzburg. Jahresstipendium für Musik
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Marchmont House artistic residency
Bayerisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst
Springboard Programme
Germany. Neustart Kultur
Composition
Voice
Vocal
Opera
Piano concerto
Instrumentation
Topic theory
Contemporary music
Music theatre
Singing
The composition of vocal parts and their relation to instrumentation poses several challenges to the composer. Linked to the issue is the question of how to deal with language. In this submission, I explore diverse vocal techniques ranging from traditional singing in manifold tonal or atonal contexts to the use of the human voice in modes such as speaking, screaming, shouting, whispering or whistling. This research develops ways to extend these techniques and to find an individual approach to singing in stage works.
I tread this path in a portfolio of ten works exploring the use of the voice in various instrumentations. Eight of these compositions are structured around an assortment of historically popular line-ups such as Kunstlied, Orchesterlied, Ensemblelied, a capella choir work or chamber opera. Later, I expanded the compilation and incorporated works with a less traditional setup such as a piano concerto, amalgamating genres by including singers in the ensemble, and a piece for solo voice and electronics. The influence of the orchestration on the use of the voice is also considered within the new works.
In each of the ten pieces, I approach the voice from a different angle and focus on a specific compositional parameter. This parametric approach allows me to change perspective and to adapt the applied vocal techniques according to the instrumentation and the characteristics of the underlying text. I aim to combine semantic immediacy and comprehensibility with the drawing of clear characters and atmospheres.
2023-12-18T10:58:59Z
2023-12-18T10:58:59Z
2024-06-13
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28886
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/681
en
101
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/166762018-12-12T12:53:56Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2018-12-12T12:52:08Z
urn:hdl:10023/16676
Title redacted
Ermolaeva, Katya
McAllister, Rita
2018-12-12T12:52:08Z
2018-12-12T12:52:08Z
2018-06-28
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/16676
en
2023-05-31
Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Print and electronic copy restricted until 31st May 2023
4 v.
The University of St Andrews
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/98962019-04-01T12:10:56Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2016-11-29T09:10:17Z
urn:hdl:10023/9896
Composition as the creation of a performance, music as a vehicle for non-musical thought : six new works.
Butler, Thomas
McPherson, Gordon
Music
Composition
Metapraxis
Practice-as-research
Practice-based-research
PaR
Ventriloquism
Multi-media composition
Electronic version excludes material for which permission has not been granted by the rights holder
This thesis comprises six new musical works composed between 2008 and 2015: ‘Struction (how I attempted to get the thoughts in my head into your head using only five instruments, five instrumentalists, metronome sound and MIDI’) for amplified ensemble and pre-recorded soundtrack (2011); ‘My Life in Ventriloquism’ for solo clarinet and pre-recorded soundtrack (2012); ‘Nightmusic’ for solo violin (2012); ‘Replaceable Parts for the Irreplaceable You’ for ensemble, pre-recorded soundtrack and video (2013); ‘Espial’, a video work featuring string quartet (2014); and ‘Elbow Room’ for amplified ensemble, pre-recorded soundtrack and video (2014). The works are presented in this thesis as musical scores (and other performance materials), accompanied by audio-visual documentation of performances. As a whole, these compositions reflect a period of practice-as-research into the role of metapraxis in musical performance and how it can be used to help convey non-musical thought through instrumental music. A commentary on this portfolio of new compositions begins by discussing two influential works — Mauricio Kagel's ‘Match’ (1964) and ‘Failing: A Difficult Piece for Solo String Bass’ (1975) by Tom Johnson — before examining each new work in detail in order to explicate the research and creative processes that led to their composition, to exteriorize a personal working practice and to document the reflection-on-practice which has furthered this research. The commentary details how I was able to write music on a variety of topics, including authority, technology and place, and concludes with some ideas for further research.
2016-11-29T09:10:17Z
2016-11-29T09:10:17Z
2016-12-01
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/9896
en
490
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/110172019-04-01T12:10:56Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2017-06-19T10:25:21Z
urn:hdl:10023/11017
The hidden dancers : a Goffmanian analysis of participatory dance activity and practice in Glasgow, Scotland
Whiteside, Bethany
Broad, Stephen
Kelly, John
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Sociology of dance
Ethnographic research methods
Erving Goffman
Participatory dance
Sociology of dance is an evolving discipline that takes as a central focus the social makeup of dance – the societal structures and individual agency that are inherent within dance activity and practice. Relevant ethnographic literature that adopts particular sociological concepts and models is generally narrow in focus, with attention centred on the frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault and the conformation of vocational and professional ballet and contemporary dancer minds and bodies, to particular practice-specific behaviours and beliefs.
Through drawing on Erving Goffman’s (1959/1990) model of dramaturgy, this interdisciplinary thesis uncovers and interrogates the two-way relationship between sociological micro relations (social interactions), and various types of dance activity and practice. Six case studies undertaken encompass a wide range of dance and social settings; the professional ballet class, inclusive creative dance class, line dancing class, salsa club, Highland dancing class, and dance in primary education.
Data was collected through undertaking participant observation (primary method) and qualitative interviews (secondary method): each specific combination was influenced by the reflexive approach followed, the nature and setting of each case study and as researcher, my own dance ability. The transcripts and field notes were analysed and situated within Goffman’s (1959/1990) framework to interrogate the social and dance ‘performances’ given. The research aims to firstly, uncover and present the nature of the ‘realities’ (Goffman, 1959/1990) within each setting and secondly, to interrogate and demonstrate the applicability of the dramaturgical model to dance scholarship. The findings reflect the sociological binary of individual agency and societal structures as realities were shaped by the ‘place’ of each dance activity and practice in the field of dance, and challenged, maintained or supported existing dominant perceptions.
2017-06-19T10:25:21Z
2017-06-19T10:25:21Z
2017-06-22
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11017
en
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
332 p.
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/234382021-07-22T13:55:14Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2021-06-29T10:25:45Z
urn:hdl:10023/23438
Pre-tertiary transitions in the performing arts : a qualitative study of the tensions and hierarchies in widening access to a conservatoire's cultural systems
Smillie, Graeme John
Broad, Stephen
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Scottish Funding Council
This study investigates the lived experiences of students on ‘Transitions
20/40’, a pre-tertiary widening access initiative at the Royal Conservatoire of
Scotland. Transitions 20/40 funded participants from statistically identified
deprived areas in Scotland to attend ‘Junior’ conservatoire and short course
programmes. This thesis aims to improve understanding of the implicit and
explicit ways conservatoire cultures may exclude individuals from these
under-represented backgrounds. The research explores the social and
cultural conditions of conservatoire participation and asks if facilitating student
participation in existing pre-tertiary structures is enough to meaningfully widen
participation to the institution. The research also investigates how the
Conservatoire can diversify its cultures, practices and priorities to include
more diverse students, and if examples of good practice are already seen
across different artistic disciplines.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted over a four-year period with a
sample of 47 student participants across the disciplines of music, drama,
dance, production and screen. The tools of Pierre Bourdieu informed the data
collection and are used to conceptualise learner trajectories from peripheral
positions as they move towards full participation in the Conservatoire.
Analysis shows that participants who continued into undergraduate study
found legitimised institutional practices that reflect their prior learning, valued
their existing social and cultural capital and allowed them to focus on their
creative practice. Those who had learned their creative practice outside of
specific conservatoire adherent cultural systems experienced a dissonance,
and laboured to gain social and cultural legitimisation there, often undertaking
a degree of expectation and identity reformulation as part of Transitions
20/40.
This discussion challenges the institution to connect with more diverse
communities of practice, build further on the bespoke learning opportunities extended to students in Transitions 20/40, and further embed the widening
participation agenda as a core institutional priority, to better reflect the broader
society in which the Conservatoire is situated.
2021-06-29T10:25:45Z
2021-06-29T10:25:45Z
2021-06-28
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/23438
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/79
en
428 p.
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/274872023-05-04T02:08:58Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2023-05-03T08:29:47Z
urn:hdl:10023/27487
A critical investigation of self-determination theory in the context of a music conservatoire : basic needs satisfaction, autonomy support, and motivation of BMus and MMus Performance students
Strehle, Ralph
Broad, Stephen
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Self-determination theory
Personal construct theory
Motivation
Acceptance and commitment therapy
Pedagogy
Higher Music Education
Teaching
Basic need satisfaction
Autonomy
Self-regulation
Emotion regulation
Introjected motivation
Repertory grid interviews
Autonomy support
This thesis applies and critically examines Self-Determination Theory’s concepts of basic need satisfaction, autonomy support and motivational types in the context of a major UK music conservatoire.
The study is a mixed methods study with an explanatory, concurrent and independent design. The quantitative analysis involved a survey questionnaire, the qualitative analysis involved repertory grid interviews and follow-up interviews. Results of the quantitative analysis show overall medium basic need satisfaction, high autonomy support and high self-determined forms of motivation. There are no significant differences between departments, undergraduate and postgraduate students and between male and female students. Whilst the case study findings support the results with regard to basic needs satisfaction, in six of the nine case studies, aspects of performance environments emerged which are not autonomy supportive and led students to experience introjected avoidance motivation in the form of fear of failure and not living up to the perceived expectations of important others. This is particularly the case in performance classes, assessment situations and auditions. The discrepancy between findings on the domain and situation levels question SDT’s top-down model of motivation.
The qualitative case studies suggest that this institution’s concept of a proto-professional environment might in some instances contribute to the creation of ego-involving climates. Finally, SDT’s teleological outlook with its emphasis on self-actualization, reflected in the conservatoire’s drive for excellence, might itself be a source of stress. In the case studies this is evident in participants’ experience of pressure with regard to achieving integrated motivation.
SDT’s newer strand of Integrative Emotion Regulation (IER) and a pedagogical framework based on Acceptance and Commitment Coaching (ACC) are introduced as noteworthy recent developments which might go some way in alleviating the pressures experienced at music conservatoires by students and staff alike.
2023-05-03T08:29:47Z
2023-05-03T08:29:47Z
2023-06-12
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/27487
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/418
en
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
291
The University of St Andrews
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/281292023-09-26T10:40:38Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2023-08-09T11:49:04Z
urn:hdl:10023/28129
Portfolio of original compositions
Cooper, Timothy
MacDonald, Alistair
Salazar, Diana
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Research Scholarship Fund
Fenton Arts Trust
Hope Scott Trust
Composition
Collaboration
Studio practice
Electroacoustic music
Performer engagement
Interactivity
Early music performance
John Dowland
Site responsive work
This submission comprises six works made between 2015 and 2022 including:
Four concert works for instruments, voice, and electroacoustic resources that explore different relationships between the live musicians and the electroacoustic parts projected by loudspeakers. The process in making these works examines levels of engagement experienced by the performers, which was foregrounded through a collaborative composition process;
One interactive, kinetic sound installation exploring the engagement between the participants and the installation;
One site-responsive work, made in collaboration with Laura Bissell (writer), exploring engagement with place;
This critical commentary that outlines the creative process undertaken in the works, focussing on engagement, collaboration and my compositional practice which is rooted in the electroacoustic studio.
2023-08-09T11:49:04Z
2023-09-19T11:45:58Z
2023-08-09T11:49:04Z
2023-09-19T11:45:58Z
2023-06-12
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28129
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/574
en
134
The University of St Andrews
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/163532019-04-01T12:11:05Zcom_10023_4725com_10023_4724col_10023_4726
2018-10-30T10:55:30Z
urn:hdl:10023/16353
The trombone in Portugal before 1850
De Oliveira Alves, Rui Pedro
McGrattan, Alexander
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal)
European Social Fund
Portugal. Ministério da Educação e Ciência
Leverhulme Trust
This thesis examines the use of the trombone in Portugal between the first references
to its use in the early sixteenth century and the mid nineteenth century. It is primarily
based on archival research and supplemented by literary and iconographical
references. This material is presented in calendar form in Volume II as Appendix 1.
Volume I consists of a series of chapters that analyse and contextualise material from
the Calendar.
For the earlier period the thesis focuses on the use of the trombone in royal service,
and in doing so provides a detailed survey of the Portuguese royal shawm band. The
use of the trombone outwith royal service it is also examined. Issues relating to
terminology and instrument making in Portugal are discussed. By examining sixteenth
century iconographical sources with links to Portugal, this study addresses questions
concerning aspects of trombone technique that have not previously been considered
and have implication elsewhere in Europe. It considers the decline of the trombone
during the second half of the seventeenth century and its resurgence in the later years
of the eighteenth century. It identifies the earliest orchestral repertoire containing
trombones that emerges in Portugal during the last decade of the eighteenth century,
as well as the first trombone players of the beginning of the nineteenth century in
military bands and orchestras in Lisbon. Finally, the thesis considers the class of brass
instruments of the Royal Conservatoire of Lisbon and its professors, and examines the
earliest surviving trombone methods in Portugal, which introduce aspects of
performance practice that are not mentioned in other contemporary sources.
2018-10-30T10:55:30Z
2018-10-30T10:55:30Z
2014-06-26
Thesis
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/16353
en
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
2 v. (xxi, 152, 210 p.)
The University of St Andrews