Doctor of Musical Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, Music

Polyphonic music, especially the contrapuntal keyboard music of J.S. Bach and other Baroque composers, constitutes an important portion of classical piano literature. Baroque contrapuntal music corresponds to a period in tonal music where linear and vertical aspects of music were in almost perfect equilibrium. In studying Baroque contrapuntal music, students can experience how principles of voice leading affect harmony, dissonance, and musical texture of all tonal music. However, in the United States today, the general trend in piano education is to avoid teaching contrapuntal music until students reach an early advanced level. Even then, the learning of this style is often superficial, and students and teachers face difficulties in understanding and teaching its complexities in limited weekly lesson times. As for students who do not advance to such a level, their educational track often does not allow the opportunity to experience contrapuntal music at all. The effect, unfortunately, is a gap in students' learning of contrapuntal music and a disservice to the quality of music appreciation at large. Considering the generally inadequate understanding of contrapuntal music and Baroque style today, it seems that the current model of learning and teaching is not productive and that a new framework is needed. Constructivism has been an enduring movement in education in American education since the 1960s. The discussion and application of constructivist principles have permeated classroom music teaching since around the turn of the century, but very little has been discussed in private instrumental teaching. Constructivism allows students to learn through active participation by building upon previous knowledge and discovering principles through experiential learning. The framework of constructivism leads music teachers to consider how students might be guided to “discover” foundational principles by manipulating musical materials. Jeanne Bamberger has been applying (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kenneth Williams (Advisor); David Clampitt (Committee Member); Vera Stanojevic (Committee Member); Steven Glaser (Advisor) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Music; Music Education

MFA, Kent State University, 0, College of the Arts / School of Art

Loss is a major component of my lived experience and informs much of the work in my thesis exhibition, Oh, Horse Hockey! Herein, I explore my personal and familial relationship to grief. I utilize a working narrative of symbolic, metaphoric, and literal interpretations of grief. Through the use of recurring visual symbols of addiction, childhood, and celebration, I call attention to avoidance. Most glaring, however, is the inclusion of party ephemera. Its significance enlivens a contrapuntal read of this body of work, wherein the seemingly oppositional concepts of loss and celebration are made interdependent.

Committee: J. Leigh Garcia (Advisor) Subjects: Aesthetics; Behavioral Psychology; Cultural Anthropology; Developmental Psychology; Families and Family Life; Folklore; Foreign Language; Human Remains; Individual and Family Studies; Judaic Studies; Mental Health; Religious History; Slavic Studies; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, English (Arts and Sciences)

This document has been removed, as have many others, pending administrative updates to the University's publication system.

Committee: Amritjit Singh (Committee Chair); Joseph McLaughlin (Committee Member); Ghirmai Negash (Committee Member); Loren Lybarger (Committee Member) Subjects: Literature