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Selle Thesis Final.pdf (490.89 KB)

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Fracture

Selle, Andrew
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4682-0317
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1427153464

Abstract Details

2015, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music Composition.
Fracture investigates the differences and considerations that must be addressed when writing for wind ensembles across various proficiency levels. This thesis focuses specifically on the compositional differences between high school and collegiate ensembles. The project consists of two musical works (approximately six minutes each) that are versions of the same piece written for each proficiency level. The musical work, entitled Fracture, was first written for a high school level ensemble and was subsequently revised in terms of instrumentation, orchestration, and technical difficulty, to create a second version of the work that is more suitable to an advanced wind ensemble. Throughout the process I consulted representative works by and interviews with other composers in order to understand how they have effectively composed for ensembles of both proficiency levels. Both compositions’ forms are through composed but include a recapitulative statement of initial material. The opening builds to a semi-improvised aleatoric section featuring the works’ primary motivic elements, eventually giving way to an active rhythmic section. This rhythmic section provides forward momentum into the final section of the piece, where the initial elements are again presented, this time as closing material. The works’ musical elements derive from initial rhythmic and intervallic germs whose orchestration, timbre, metric placement, registral placement, and rhythmic content and complexity vary as the pieces evolve. Traditional tertian harmonic structure is ubiquitous in the wind band genre. Because of this relationship, I sought to extend Fracture’s harmonic palate, employing harmonic and melodic content derived from extended tertian theory. As with the piece’s other musical elements, the advanced work contains more extended sonorities than the lower level work. Likewise, the piece’s rhythmic content varies between the two proficiency levels, with the advanced work’s rhythmic content expanding on that from the lower-level version. Both works are beat-oriented and open with the same percussive rhythmic germ. The advanced ensemble’s work exhibits greater rhythmic complexity, featuring more syncopation and tuplet figures. Through this investigation, I conclude that the salient differences between the proficiency levels of wind ensemble music include density of orchestration, rhythmic complexity, and students’ abilities to play independently, which influences harmony and counterpoint.
Elainie Lillios (Advisor)
Bruce Moss (Committee Member)
29 p.
Music; Music Education
band; wind ensemble; composition; proficiency; grade level;

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Selle, A. (2015). Fracture [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1427153464

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Selle, Andrew. Fracture. 2015. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1427153464.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Selle, Andrew. "Fracture." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1427153464

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1427153464
360
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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.