Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Dancigers, Mark

Area of Concentration

Music

Abstract

The electronic drum set, a arrangement of MIDI pads normally used to play percussion, can be transformed from a rhythmic instrument into a melodic one through the use of instrument patches which contain a pitched sample on each hit in addition to the percussion sounds. The instrument created by this technique, which I call the melodic drum kit, produces music that sounds like a melody and a drum beat being played in unison. I have composed an original piece for melodic drums, entitled Studies in Rhythm for Melodic Drum Set, that explores some of the possibilities created by this interconnection of rhythm and melody. In analyzing this piece, I attempt to develop a compositional framework that approaches rhythm systematically by borrowing techniques from functional harmony.

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