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ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Through the Cracks

McFarland, Jacob
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1711998502777338

Abstract Details

2024, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music Composition.
Through the Cracks is a ten-minute work for Hypercube Ensemble (tenor saxophone, electric guitar, piano, and percussion) with fixed media electronics. The singlemovement piece is inspired by the decrepit landscape of abandoned factories in my hometown of Hamilton, Ohio. Through the Cracks is written in four loose sections. The introduction depicts the abandoned factory landscape, opening with a sparse texture using percussive sounds. Layered rhythmic accelerandi and ritardandi obscure any sense of pulse, portraying the landscape’s disintegration. The second section gradually becomes more texturally and rhythmically dense, with pitch content emerging. Eventually, a minor-mode melody is presented by the saxophone. The third section becomes more rhythmically regular, featuring an ostinato pattern in the electronics, representing the steady rumble of machinery in the factories’ past. The final section returns to the desolation of the present day, with airy and pitched sounds overlapping within a sparse, arhythmic texture. Rhythmic accelerandi and ritardandi form significant aspects of the piece and are often used to create fluctuating textures and connecting gestures. During pulse driven sections streams of sixteenth notes move between the ensemble and electronics to create a consistent grid. Nonstandard subdivisions of beats and syncopation help blur meters and downbeats. The ensemble employs a variety of extended techniques to help portray the abandoned factories. The tenor saxophonist uses several multiphonics along with slap tongue and bisbigliandi. The pianist applies light preparation on D6, E6, F6 G6, and A6, using a small iv amount of tack tape applied to the strings to create a muted sound with very little pitch. The percussionist bows several notes on the vibraphone and uses wire brushes on the drums. In some sections, the guitarist mutes the strings with their strumming hand to remove pitched content, creating a highly percussive sound. Through the Cracks also uses several technical elements. The electric guitarist uses volume, distortion, delay, and ring modulation pedals, along with an amplifier. Additionally, the piece includes a fixed media component that is triggered using Cycling 74’s Max software. A member of the ensemble uses a foot to move through the fixed media soundfiles.
Elainie Lillios, DMA (Committee Chair)
Christopher Dietz, Ph.D (Committee Member)
12 p.
Music
electronic; music; hypercube; Kear; abandoned; factory; Hamilton; Ohio; electric guitar; piano; saxophone; percussion

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • McFarland, J. (2024). Through the Cracks [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1711998502777338

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • McFarland, Jacob. Through the Cracks. 2024. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1711998502777338.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • McFarland, Jacob. "Through the Cracks." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1711998502777338

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1711998502777338
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© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.