Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - Theses
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ItemHurdy-gurdy: new articulations( 2016)The purpose of this thesis is to expand existing literature concerning the hurdy-gurdy as a contemporary musical instrument. Notably, it addresses the lack of hurdy-gurdy literature in the context of contemporary composition and performance. Research into this subject has been triggered by the author’s experience as a hurdy-gurdy performer and composer and the importance of investigating and documenting the hurdy-gurdy as an instrument capable of performing well outside the idioms of traditional music. This thesis consists of a collection of new works for hurdy-gurdy and investigation of existing literature including reference to the author’s personal experience as a hurdy-gurdy composer and performer. It will catalogue and systematically document a selection of hurdy-gurdy techniques and extended performance techniques, and demonstrate these within the practical context of new music compositions created by the author. This creative work and technique investigation and documentation is a valuable resource for those seeking deeper practical and academic understanding of the hurdy-gurdy within the context of contemporary music making.
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ItemThe genetic basis of singing ability: a twin study( 2016)Music is a human universal, an integral part of all known human culture. While most people possess the capacity for music perception and production, individual differences in various forms of music abilities are evident in the general population. The diversity in abilities has sparked intense debates regarding the relative importance of nature and nurture in shaping music ability. While in recent years, researchers have begun to explore the genetic basis of music perception abilities, the interrogation of the genetic basis of music production abilities has been relatively scarce. Singing is an ideal paradigm for investigating the genetic basis of music ability; it is a universal, multifaceted music ability that is spontaneously emergent and shaped by formal and informal music learning environments. The present study therefore employed a twin study design to investigate the genetic basis of singing ability and estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors influencing singing ability using a comprehensive set of singing tasks and measures. The study also aimed to identify environmental factors associated with singing ability and examine whether these factors have a genetic component, and whether shared genetic influences might explain the association between singing ability and these factors. The twin study was conducted online using a purpose-built online program Let’s Hear Twins Sing, which enabled twins to participate regardless of their geographical location. The 30 minutes online twin study comprised three singing tasks (vocal pitch-matching, singing a familiar song, and melody imitation), two music perception tasks and a questionnaire on music and singing background. The study took approximately 30 minutes to complete and the study data were captured online in real-time and saved on a server for subsequent analyses. The final sample consisted of 70 monozygotic (55 female; 15 male) and 38 dizygotic (24 female; 7 male; 7 male-female) twin pairs (mean age = 32.4 years), the majority were recruited through the Australian Twin Registry. Univariate genetic modelling revealed that both the objectively-assessed singing ability across all tasks and self-rated singing ability had similarly significant and substantial genetic components (A = 69-72%). Additive genetic influences also contributed significantly to the variation observed in various singing task measures, with moderate to large heritabilities (A = 44-71%), negligible to moderate common environmental (C = 0-37%) and moderate unique environmental (E = 19-40%) influences. Significant moderate to large genetic components were also estimated for environmental variables associated with singing ability: instrumental expertise (A = 68%), years of music training (A = 46%), and public singing engagement (A = 66%). Bivariate genetic analyses revealed that the associations between singing ability and both instrumental expertise and years of music training were mediated significantly by shared additive genetic influences. The novel findings therefore provided preliminary evidence for the role of genes in influencing singing ability and formal music training, as well as a partially shared genetic basis for singing ability and music training. The promising results establish a valuable background that encourages further behavioural and molecular genetic interrogations into the genetic bases of various types of music abilities.
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ItemTape paintings: an exercise in stripes, symmetry and the rules of the game( 2016)This project researched the one hundred year history of geometric abstract painting and its origins in utopian ideas and non-representational object-hood.Employing predetermined rules and working methods, commercial and industrial materials, cloth tape was used to create ‘paintings’ that employed stripes and symmetries. The results of this investigation demonstrate these alternative materials and methods can reconfigure and innovate the geometric abstract tradition and contemporary abstract painting.
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ItemMusical recovery: the role of group singing in regaining healthy relationships with music to promote mental health recovery( 2016)This thesis describes an emergent project which investigates the role of group singing in inpatient and community mental health settings. Music therapy has previously been identified as a way to foster processes of mental health recovery (Hense, McFerran & McGorry, 2014; McCaffrey, Edwards, & Fannon, 2011; Solli, Rolvsjord, & Borg, 2013). However, little is known about the specific factors apparent in group singing which promote recovery. This project aimed to address this gap by exploring the role of group singing in promoting recovery through a small mixed methods study and a larger grounded theory study. Adults aged between 18 and 72 years who were in mental health recovery participated in this research and were recruited from a number of different inpatient and community contexts around Melbourne. Key principles of recovery-oriented philosophy (Slade, 2009) and resource-oriented music therapy (Rolvsjord, 2010) were adopted. An initial mixed methods study was conducted which aimed to both explore experiences of group singing and measure outcomes of belonging before, during and after a 10 week community group singing program (Bibb, Baker, Tamplin & McFerran, under review). The qualitative analysis revealed that being with others, being heard, having a sense of purpose, achieving something and group size and setting contributed to participants experiences of the group. However, little could be concluded from the quantitative data, since for individual reasons, each of the four participants reported difficulty completing the measures. This led to a change in focus of the study to include an additional interview question asking participants to specifically reflect on their experience of completing the self-report outcome measures (Bibb & McFerran, under review). In addition, a need to critically examine the measures used in mental health research and the assumptions surrounding their ‘reliability’ was identified. A method of Critical Interpretive Synthesis was used to interrogate the most commonly used self-report outcome measures in mental health research in the last ten years (Bibb, Baker & McFerran, 2016). The results of the critical synthesis indicated that many of the measures most commonly used in mental health research do not align with the contemporary recovery-oriented philosophy of mental health care. The second study of this thesis adopted a grounded theory approach to explore the conditional and contextual factors involved in group singing. Collaborative interviews allowed for the participant and the interviewer to be active in making meaning of the participant’s experience (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995). The findings of this study, after 29 interviews, impelled the development of a new term, ‘musical recovery’ which depicts a process of regaining healthy relationships with music to promote mental health recovery. A number of factors are identified as promoting and interfering with musical recovery within a group singing context. The musical recovery framework illustrates how music therapy practice can be a process of recovery in itself.
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Item'A universal art, an art for all'?: The reception of Richard Wagner in the Parisian Press, 1933–1944( 2016)From the time that Wagner began to feature as a subject of interest in the French press, writers, critics, and journalists used their discussions of the composer, his music and his writings to articulate ideas about France and Germany. Debate about Wagner became a means to examine national identity, musical and cultural identity, and the Franco-German relationship. This thesis examines the reception of Richard Wagner through the lens of the Parisian press between 1933 and 1944. It follows a body of literature that investigates the reception of Wagner in the French press, particularly in relation to how it reflects upon French identity and the Franco-German relationship. It considers the ways in which the French continued to use Wagner to discuss nation, identity and culture during the period of the Third Reich, and the extent to which Wagner reception from the 1930s and the Occupation interacted with earlier French reception of Wagner. The thesis also considers the question of continuity and rupture, both between the period 1933–44 and previous periods, and between 1933–39 and the Occupation. It examines the extent to which the dramatic change in the French political landscape—which took place when France was invaded by German troops in the summer of 1940—affected the press reception of Wagner, and what this can tell us about how the French nation thought about itself and its relationship with Germany. The thesis includes an Introduction, followed by five chapters and a short Conclusion. The chapters are organised both chronologically and thematically, covering two main time periods during the Third Reich: 1933–39, and 1940–44. The thesis draws predominantly on sources from the Parisian press, including daily newspapers and weekly or monthly periodicals, supplemented by a limited number of other sources, including musicological and music literature, and concert programme archives. Although the study does not rely heavily on any particular theoretical model, it is situated within the domain of reception theory. This study argues, through an examination of themes emerging from the Parisian press, that Parisians used Wagner to confront Nazism, grapple with the idea of rapprochement, situate France within a potential New Europe, understand past Franco-German conflict, manage life under the Occupation, and come to terms with the policy of Collaboration.
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ItemAn ethnography of two folk clubs in Melbourne( 2016)This dissertation analyses two folk clubs in Melbourne: The Victorian Folk Music Club and the Newport Fiddle Folk Club (hereafter the VFMC and NFFC), with an ethnographic approach. The aim of this study is to shed light on the association between folk music and oral tradition challenged by the use of books at the VFMC, the strategies of inclusion and social interaction and the absence of young people which in turn raises the question of the sustainability of these communities. Australian folk clubs have evolved into a unique type of community far different from the British model. This study concludes by proposing two models of Australian folk clubs the VFMC ‘old’ model and the NFFC ‘different’ model.
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ItemCrossover musicians in the twenty first century( 2016)This thesis looks at the promotion and awareness of working as a crossover musician in today's musical environment, as well as its benefits and disadvantages. Three professional crossover musicians were questioned to further explore the topic in relation to individuals, musical environments and instrument used. In summary, there is both distinct advantages and disadvantages to being a crossover musician presented in this thesis.
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ItemAnalysing depictions of carnival in Robert Schumann's papillons, Op. 2( 2016)This dissertation analyses how Robert Schumann’s piano collection, Papillons Op. 2, is influenced by aspects of the Carnival festival, including the masquerade ball. Through the use of descriptive analysis in combination with the utilisation of primary and secondary material, this research examines the various musical elements which conjure themes and ideas of Carnival, as well as programmatic associations with Jean Paul's novel, Flegeljahre. This paper addresses the previous absence of a full, detailed analysis of Papillons in the literature, provides a framework for the analysis of Schumann's other Carnival-related music, and finally, serves to aid performers and audiences in understanding the intentions of Schumann upon composing the work.
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ItemAn investigation into the use of experimental music as a therapeutic tool for adults( 2016)This thesis investigates if and how experimental music is being utilised as a therapeutic tool, in both clinical and non-clinical contexts. It also explores some of the motivations and perceived benefits of facilitators currently working in the field.
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ItemThe avant-garde music of Les XX and La Libre Esthétique: social and aesthetic trends and their relation to Richard Wagner and the Gesamtkunstwerk( 2016)An examination of the music performed as part of two late nineteenth-century art exhibitions in Brussels, entitled Les XX and La Libre Esthetique. This thesis discusses the relationship of the music performed at these exhibitions to the wider interest in Wagnerism among their organisers, comparisons between the music performed and the visual art presented, and the relationship of the exhibitions' multi-media approach to Wagner's ideas on the Gesamtkunstwerk.