Browsing by Subject "Metrical dissonance"
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Item Charting rhythmic energy in Nuyorican salsa music(2015-05) Teague, Anna Monroe; Turci-Escobar, John; Moore, RobinThere are many statements from members of the salsa community (including scholars, musicians, and dancers) that mention the presence, gaining, or waning of metaphorical rhythmic energy. Since many salsa sources employ ethnomusicological, biographical, or performance approaches, however, any text briefly mentioning musical energy would not require validation for energetic claims. Adopting a music-theoretical approach, this report focuses on how the rhythm section contributes to energy perceptions. Syncopation--or metrical dissonance--underlies metaphorical energy in salsa. This syncopation appears in individual rhythmic patterns and layered polyrhythms called rhythmic profiles, which correspond to energy-level associations with particular instruments and formal sections. Additionally, rhythmic changes on the larger formal scale as well as on a smaller motivic scale can account for the perception of changes in energy levels. This report presents a method for analyzing metrical dissonance in Nuyorican salsa, after reviewing the relevant theoretical tools by Harald Krebs and Yonatan Malin and surveying the core features of this subgenre. The last step of my method merges its earlier steps into a comprehensive energetic trajectory, a charted visualization of the temporal flow of rhythmic energy. I then apply the analytical method to a complete recording, Ray Barretto's version of "El hijo de Obatalá." This analysis demonstrates how the energetic trajectory mirrors distinct musical events and how rhythmic parameters directly contribute to the perception of energy flowing across an entire recording. This music-analytical approach, I hope to show, provides an answer to how salsa’s rhythm motivates energetic perceptions and associations of musical energy. While rhythm is never the only parameter contributing to perceived energy, it seems to be the primary contributor in salsa music. This report could also inspire further related research on salsa music, including topics such as style analysis and applications to dance.Item Hypermeter as an expressive determinant in the Four Scherzos of Chopin(2016-05) Straub, Joshua Gene; Hatten, Robert S.; Allen, Gregory, 1949-; hilley, martha; gilmson, sophia; tusa, michael; robert mollenauerThe Four Scherzos of Frederic Chopin, influenced by the scherzos of Beethoven, have emerged as some of the most frequently performed works in the modern piano canon. Full of vigor, striking contrasts, raw passion, melodic beauty, and virtuosity, these works have all the constituents of effective pieces for the concert stage. Although important analyses of these pieces by notable theorists elucidate several key features of the works, rhythm, meter, and hypermeter as expressive determinants have not yet received sufficient treatment. After a brief historical context, and a look at the scherzo genre prior to Chopin, I will show how these rhythmic aspects add another interpretive dimension to the work. Thus, this paper explores how Chopin’s manipulation of rhythm, meter, and hypermeter interact with other salient features, including topic theory, to achieve a multiplicity of expressive ends. The hypermetrical and rhythmic language in the Four Scherzos is rich, and diverse. The tension created from the interaction of the regular hypermeter, along with the dissonance suggested by other musical features, significantly contributes to the expressive nature of these works. Hemiolas, syncopations, grouping elisions, expansions, displacements, grouping dissonances, hypermetrical counterpoint, hypermetrical transitions, and numerous other subtle manipulations ruffle the surface, and even completely obscure the regular hypermeter. An understanding of hypermeter leads to an understanding of many compositional features of a work. As a composer, an understanding Chopin’s use of hypermeter could lead to many expressive possibilities in the compositional process. And, since hypermeter is inherently interpretive, its exploration also leads to a wealth of interpretive possibilities in performance. An awareness of all the features necessary to understand hypermetrical interpretation, leads to more informed, expressive, and even spontaneous performances.