Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Aarden, Bret

Keywords

Music Composition, Music, Contemporary, Analysis, Information Theory, Psychology of Music

Area of Concentration

Music Composition

Abstract

This project is an attempt to understand how, as a composer, I can convey meaning in my music to an audience. I begin by examining the problem of how music can create extra-musical meaning while referring to nothing outside of itself. The mechanism for the creation of meaning in music possesses a certain paradox, since music as an auditory stimulus does not innately contain any emotional affect. I examine several conflicting theories regarding how this subjective affect emerges, finding two likely mechanisms for musical meaning: expectation and temporality. I develop the latter in the second chapter as a tool for analyzing compositions of greatly differing styles. This research served as a reflective basis for the first movement of my composition, Perspectives Diptych, and as a more directly shaping force for the second movement. Using temporal analysis, I examine my own compositional choices and make choices based on the kind of affect I can expect to create, as certain musical characteristics can be associated with an aspect of temporality.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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