Under this Sky: Logan's Musical Celebration

A creative practice as research, UNDER THIS SKY is the latest investigation in a 12-year study into the “QMF Model”, an application of principles of community and cultural practice that generates large-scale, music spectacle events that derive their narrative and expression from the communities in which they are performed. UNDER THIS SKY is a large-scale musical specially commissioned for the city of Logan (Queensland) as the signature work of the 2015 Queensland Musical Festival. The investigation centres around the capacity of the “QMF Model” to engage with performers and musicians of Logan and then, through community consultation, create a narrative based on idiosyncratic stories and themes that would culminate in a performance event in August 2015. Previous creative projects, Boomtown (Gladstone), Behind the Cane (Bowen) and The Road We’re On (Charleville), were conducted in relatively small communities, Gladstone being the largest. In UNDER THIS SKY, the model is being tested in a large metropolitan city (Logan – 300,000). The core principles of CACD (community arts and cultural development) are being interrogated and adapted to fit this large-scale, whole of community environment. The purpose is to refine and further validate the “QMF Model” as a viable and effective process for community/artistic partnerships. Since February 2014, professional artists and managers have facilitated and shaped the work, up-skilling performers over a periods of 12 months, developing new relationships and creating opportunities for participation at all levels of experience. The research methodology involved creative practice through a continuous cycle of action, reflection, adaptation and application.

Musicalising theatre, theatricalising music: Writing and performing intermediality in composed theatre

This investigation combined musicality and theatricality in the creation of four shows: Bear with Me, The Empty City, Gentlemen Songsters and Warmwaters. Led by creative practice, the research identified four polyvalences that characterise Composed Theatre, a transformational artistic domain which offers distinct challenges for performance makers. These include tensions and resolutions between compositional and theatrical thinking; music and words; setlist and script; and finally persona and character. The research finds that these interplays not only lend Composed Theatre its distinct qualities, but offer a potential set of balances to strike for writers, performers, composers and musicians who mix music and theatre in intermedial performance.

La música orquestal peruana de 1945 a 2005 : Identidades en la diversidad

Peruvian orchestral music 1945–2005. Identities in diversity Peruvian music for orchestra has not been studied as a whole before, and is hardly known by Peruvian musicians and public. The aim of the thesis is to give a panoramic view of Peruvian orchestral music after 1945, study the particular historical context in which these works were created and how they reflect the search for a musical identity of its own, be it individual, local, national or Latin American. Identity is a construction that changes permanently, and individuals can share many identities at the same time. This is a central issue in multicultural societies as the Peruvian, and music is an important mean for constructing cultural identity. The hypothesis of this research is that orchestral work is a medium for Peruvian composers to express their relationship with traditional and popular musics of the country in different ways, from quotation of melodies to a more abstract appropiation of concepts or suggestive title references. Representative works by selected composers, of different techniques, styles or special reception are chosen and analyzed. Research methodology includes analysis of works with various methods according to their stylistic and technical features, in order to find the particular ways in which composers have approached or expressed diverse identities. The investigation shows that Peruvian orchestral music includes works in the main stylistic trends and using the main compositional techniques of the modernist and postmodern periods. It also shows that the construction and expression of particular identities through the study and use of other Peruvian musical traditions is a constant interest shared by composers of different age and esthetic. In a multicultural society as the Peruvian, characterized by its diversity, different forms of transcultural composition are an important mean of dealing with identity issues in music. This thesis also includes for the first time a list of all orchestral works composed in the country or by Peruvian composers in the period, their composers and genres. KEYWORDS: Peruvian music, contemporary music for orchestra, identity

Aavan meren täällä puolen : Arkkityyppiset piirteet ja amerikkalaisvaikutteet suosituimmissa suomalaisissa molli-iskelmissä

What are the musical features that turn a song into a hit? The aim of this research is to explore the musical features of hit tunes by studying the 224 most popular Finnish evergreens from the 1930s to the 1990s. It is remarkable, that 80-90% of Finnish oldies are in a minor key, though parallel major keys have also been widely employed within single pieces through, for example, modulations. Furthermore, melodies are usually diatonic, staying mostly in the same key. Consequently, chromatically altered tones in the melody and short modulations in the bridge sections become more prominent. I have concentrated in particular on the melodic lines in order to find the most typical melodic formulas from the data. These analyzed melodic formulas play an important role, because they serve as leading phrases and punchlines in songs. Analysis has revealed three major melodic formulas, which most often appear in the melodic lines of hit tunes. All of these formulas share common thematic ground, because they originate from the triadic tonic chord. Because the tonic chord is the most conventional opening chord in the verse parts, it is logical that these formulas occur most often in verses. The strong dominance of these formulas is very much a result of the rhythmic flexibility they possess; for instance, they can be found in every musical style from waltz to foxtrot. Alongside the major formulas lies a miscellaneous group of other tonic-related melodic formulas. One group of melodic formulas consists of melodic quotations. These quotations appear in a different musical context, for instance in a harmonically altered form, and are therefore often difficult to recognize as such. Yet despite the contextual manipulation, the distinctive character of the cited melody usually remains the same. Composers have also made use of certain popular chord-progressions in order to create new but familiar-sounding melodies. The most important individual progression in this case is what is known as a "circle of fifths" and its shortened, prolonged and altered versions. Because that progression is harmonically strong, it is also a contrastive tool used especially in chorus parts and middle sections (AABA). I have also paid attention to ragtime and jazz influences, which can be found in harmony parts and certain melody notes, which extend, suspend or alter the accompaning chords. Other influences from jazz and ragtime in the Finnish evergreen are evident in the use of typical Tin Pan Alley popular song forms. The most important is the AABA form, which dominates over the data along with the verse/chorus-type popular song form. To briefly illustrate the main results, the basic concept of the hit tune can be traced back to Tin Pan Alley songs, whereas the major stylistic aspects, such as minor keys and musical styles, bear influences from Russian, Western European, and Finnish traditions.

Musiikkianalyysimetodien synteesi nykyjazzin tutkimuksessa : Esimerkkinä Pat Methenyn ’The Red One’

Tarkastelen pro gradu -työssäni perinteisten, lähinnä duuri-mollitonaalisen musiikin analysoimiseen kehitettyjen metodien synteesin soveltuvuutta nykyjazzin tutkimisessa. Musiikkianalyysin kohteena on amerikkalaisen jazzkitaristin Pat Methenyn (s. 1954) säveltämä kappale 'The Red One' levyltä I Can See Your House From Here (1994). Nykyjazz rakentuu paljolti länsimaisen taidemusiikin tonaalisille ja modaalisille käytänteille, joten sitä on perusteltua tutkia länsimaisen taidemusiikin analysointiin kehitetyin metodein. Jazzin runsas lisäsävelisyys ja improvisointi aiheuttavat kuitenkin perinteisille analyysimetodeille ongelmia – olenkin analyyttisissä ongelmatapauksissa kiinnittänyt huomion metodien tarkasteluun ja kehittämiseen jazzin musiikillisia käytänteitä vastaaviksi. 'The Red Onesta' on saatavana ainakin kaksi erilaista painettua nuottia (Liite 3), mutta analyysin olen tehnyt kappaleen esitykseen perustuvan transkription pohjalta (Liite 1), joka poikkeaa ajoittain huomattavastikin painetuista nuoteista. Työni pohjalta väitänkin, että jazzkappaleita on mielekkäintä analysoida transkriptioon tai tarkkaan analyyttiseen kuunteluun tukeutuen: jazz on luonteeltaan improvisatorista ja esittäjälähtöistä; painetuista nuoteista on tavallisesti poistettu useita yksityiskohtia. Läpi tutkimuksen painotan musiikin historian ja analyysimetodien tuntemista: Luvussa kaksi esittelen jazzin historiaa aina varhaisesta bluesista nykyiseen elävään musiikkitraditioon. Luvussa kolme käyn läpi työni kannalta merkittävimmät analyysimetodit. Varsinaisessa käsittelyluvussa yhdistän perinteisen sointuanalyysimetodin sointu-asteikkoteoriaan ja esittelen uuden analyyttisen merkintätavan. Uusi merkintätapa koostuu kolmesta hierarkkisesta osiosta, joiden merkitystä voidaan muuttaa aina kulloinkin analysoitavan kappaleen ehdoilla siten, että osioiden välinen suhde korostaa mielekkäästi tutkittavan kappaleen tekstuuria; usean osion käyttäminen mahdollistaa musiikillisen kontekstin huomioimisen oli analyysin painopiste sitten harmoniassa, melodiassa tai esimerkiksi tietyssä instrumentissa.

Svengi ja groove rytmimusiikissa : Rytmiikkaan ja hienorytmiikkaan keskittyvä vertaileva musiikkianalyysi

Käsitteillä svengi ja groove viitataan useimmiten kappaleen tietyn tulkinnan eli esityksen pääasiallisesti rytmisten ominaisuuksien laatuun. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kehittää musiikin rytmiikkaan ja hienorytmiikkaan keskittyviä musiikkikognitiivisia analyysimetodeja, joita soveltamalla nämä ominaisuudet voitaisiin tavoittaa. Käsitteiden monitulkintaisuus, joka tuodaan esiin tutkimuksen alussa aiheuttaa tälle monenlaisia haasteita. -- Tutkimuksen rytmiikkaan keskittyviä analyysimetodeja sovellettaessa musiikkia tarkastellaan tietystä esityksestä tehdyn nuottiesityksen, transkription välityksellä. Hienorytmisiä analyysimetodeja käytettäessä musiikkia tarkastellaan esitysten instrumenttiosuuksien sävelten alukehetkien tarkkojen sijaintien kautta. Alukehetket poimitaan erilaisin automaattisin ja manuaalisin tietokoneavusteisin menetelmin äänitteiltä. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan musiikissa esiintyviä ilmiöitä myös laajemmalla, musiikin havaitsemiseen ja tuottamiseen yleisesti liittyvällä musiikkikognition tasolla. Tärkeänä näkökulmana musiikin rytmiikan esitetään jakautuvan kognitiivisesti karkeampaan tekstuaaliseen rytmiikkaan ja tätä hienoisesti varioivaan ei-tekstuaaliseen hienorytmiikkaan. Analyysiosuudessa kehitettyjä metodeja sovelletaan seuraavien kappaleiden soolo-osuuksiin: Miles Davis – 'Freddie Freeloader' (1959), James Brown – 'Doing it to Death' (1973) ja Led Zeppelin – 'Stairway to Heaven' (1971). Kappaleet edustavat tutkimuksessa jazz-, funk- ja rock-tyylilajeja. Analyysi tarkastelee ja vertailee kappaleiden metristä stabiiliutta, instrumenttiosuuksien suhdetta pulssin iskuihin, rytmiikan kolmimuunteisuutta, soolojen metrisiä painopisteitä, soolojen rytmistä tiheyttä sekä tempojen muutoksia. -- Kehitetyt menetelmät osoittautuvat kaikki käyttökelpoisiksi. Kappaleille yhteiseksi piirteeksi paljastuu instrumenttiosuuksien säännönmukainen sijoittuminen pulssin iskuihin nähden kappaleiden sisällä. Kappaleiden välillä eri instrumentit sijoittuvat kuitenkin pulssin ympärille eroavin tavoin, jonka oletetaan johtuvan ennen kaikkea tyylilajien eroista. Tempot pysyvät kappaleissa varsin muuttumattomina. Jatkotutkimuksen kannalta mielenkiintoisia näkymiä ovat muun muassa metodien laajempi soveltaminen, automaattisten menetelmien kehittäminen

Sakari Kukko - elämä, ura ja tuotanto : Pala suomalaisen populaarimusiikin historiaa vuodesta 1953 nykypäiviin

Pro gradu -tutkielmassani paneudun yhden suomalaisen populaarimusiikin toimijan elämään, uraan, tuotantoon sekä hänen käsityksiinsä musiikista ja musiikintekemisestä. Tutkimukseni on suomalaisen populaarimusiikin historian perustutkimusta Sakari Kukon henkilöhistorian kautta. Tutkimuskysymyksiäni ovat: 1. Kuinka Sakari Kukosta tuli muusikko ja musiikintekijä? 2. Minkälainen on ja on ollut hänen tapansa toimia? Vastaan edellisiin kysymyksiin, mutta sijoitan vastaukset myös ajallisesti suomalaiseen musiikki- ja yhteiskuntakontekstiin. Ongelmanasettelu tähtää siihen, että selvitän sekä Kukon omat sisäiset motiivit ja päämäärät muusikkona ja musiikintekijänä että hänen ympäristönsä tarjoamat virikkeet ja vaikutteet. Ongelman ratkaisemiseksi kartoitan hänen elämänvaiheensa lapsuudesta tähän päivään, ympäristöt, joissa hän on kulloinkin toiminut sekä ne yhteiskunnalliset tilanteet, joihin hänen ja hänen ympäristönsä toiminta on sijoittunut. Tutkimus sijoittuu vuosien 1953 ja 2003 väliselle ajalle. Kuvailen Kukon tuotantoa levy levyltä edeten kronologisesti vuosikymmenittäin. Lisäksi kokoan tuotannon yhteen ja etsin hänen säveltämästään, sovittamastaan ja esittämästään musiikista muutamia erityisen vahvoja elementtejä. Tuloksena esittelen kahdeksan kategoriaa, joista jokainen on yhdistettävissä hänen elämänvaiheisiinsa ja asetettavissa vuorovaikutukseen lähiympäristön kanssa. Tutkielmassani käytän apuna mikrohistoriallista tutkimusotetta, joka sopii mainiosti työni toteuttamiseen. Tutkimusaineisto on hyvin laaja ja monipuolinen, ja olen poiminut tietoja muun muassa lehtiartikkeleista, arkistoista, levyjen kansista, festivaaliesitteistä ja kirjallisuudesta; kaikista ei löydy edes mainintaa päivästä, vuodesta tai kirjoittajasta. Tärkein aineistoni on kuitenkin muistinvarainen tieto eli Kukon haastattelumateriaali. Mikrohistorialliseen tutkimusotteeseen nojaten olen päässyt Kukon henkilöhistorian kautta käsiksi hieman yleisemmänkin tason asioihin ja ilmiöihin. Olen selvittänyt muun muassa Kajaani Big Bandin vaiheita 1950-luvulta 1970-luvulle sekä suomalaisen pop/jazz -koulutuksen kehitystä erilaisista musiikkileireistä Sibelius-Akatemian oppiaineeksi samalla, kun olen selvittänyt Kukon kehitystä muusikoksi. Lisäksi olen esitellyt esimerkiksi studiomuusikkoutta 1970-luvun Suomessa sekä senegalilaisen musiikkielämän piirteitä 1970- ja 1980-lukujen taitteessa. Mikrohistorioitsija Carlo Ginzburgin johtolanka-ajatusta mukaillen olen koonnut pienistä tiedon palasista, johtolangoista kokonaiskertomuksen. Avainsanat: Sakari Kukko, Piirpauke, suomalainen populaarimusiikki, jazz, mikrohistoria, henkilöhistoria

Sensory auditory processing and intuitive sound detection : an investigation of musical experts and nonexperts

The auditory system can detect occasional changes (deviants) in acoustic regularities without the need for subjects to focus their attention on the sound material. Deviant detection is reflected in the elicitation of the mismatch negativity component (MMN) of the event-related potentials. In the studies presented in this thesis, the MMN is used to investigate the auditory abilities for detecting similarities and regularities in sound streams. To investigate the limits of these processes, professional musicians have been tested in some of the studies. The results show that auditory grouping is already more advanced in musicians than in nonmusicians and that the auditory system of musicians can, unlike that of nonmusicians, detect a numerical regularity of always four tones in a series. These results suggest that sensory auditory processing in musicians is not only a fine tuning of universal abilities, but is also qualitatively more advanced than in nonmusicians. In addition, the relationship between the auditory change-detection function and perception is examined. It is shown that, contrary to the generally accepted view, MMN elicitation does not necessarily correlate with perception. The outcome of the auditory change-detection function can be implicit and the implicit knowledge of the sound structure can, after training, be utilized for behaviorally correct intuitive sound detection. These results illustrate the automatic character of the sensory change detection function.

Cortical processing of musical pitch as reflected by behavioural and electrophysiological evidence

In a musical context, the pitch of sounds is encoded according to domain-general principles not confined to music or even to audition overall but common to other perceptual and cognitive processes (such as multiple pattern encoding and feature integration), and to domain-specific and culture-specific properties related to a particular musical system only (such as the pitch steps of the Western tonal system). The studies included in this thesis shed light on the processing stages during which pitch encoding occurs on the basis of both domain-general and music-specific properties, and elucidate the putative brain mechanisms underlying pitch-related music perception. Study I showed, in subjects without formal musical education, that the pitch and timbre of multiple sounds are integrated as unified object representations in sensory memory before attentional intervention. Similarly, multiple pattern pitches are simultaneously maintained in non-musicians' sensory memory (Study II). These findings demonstrate the degree of sophistication of pitch processing at the sensory memory stage, requiring neither attention nor any special expertise of the subjects. Furthermore, music- and culture-specific properties, such as the pitch steps of the equal-tempered musical scale, are automatically discriminated in sensory memory even by subjects without formal musical education (Studies III and IV). The cognitive processing of pitch according to culture-specific musical-scale schemata hence occurs as early as at the sensory-memory stage of pitch analysis. Exposure and cortical plasticity seem to be involved in musical pitch encoding. For instance, after only one hour of laboratory training, the neural representations of pitch in the auditory cortex are altered (Study V). However, faulty brain mechanisms for attentive processing of fine-grained pitch steps lead to inborn deficits in music perception and recognition such as those encountered in congenital amusia (Study VI). These findings suggest that predispositions for exact pitch-step discrimination together with long-term exposure to music govern the acquisition of the automatized schematic knowledge of the music of a particular culture that even non-musicians possess.

Luova mieli : lähikuvassa muusikoiden luomisprosessit

This work studied the creative process of musicians. The subject was chosen partly due to the attention given to creativity in social discussion. The approach was material-based, because during the work it became clear that the theoretical models describing the creative process in general did not provide adequate tools for the examination of musical creation. In this study, the creative process was defined as a process, which generated a work found by the musician novel to him or her. There were two principal research questions: 1) How does the creative process of musicians progress? 2) What makes a process creative? The main emphasis was on the first question, because the study aimed at modeling the creative process of musicians. The material for this study was collected by interviewing five professional musicians, each qualified by an expert of music to be creative. The interviews were thematically linked with each musician’s recently implemented creative process. The work generated in the process was used as a stimulant in the interview. The main themes of the interview dealt with the musician’s concrete action, cognitive functioning and affective experience during the process. Secondary themes included his or her goals as well as the factors that enhanced or inhibited the process. A material-based analysis was made of the interviews. The conceptualization and modelling of the creative process was founded on a phenomenological-hermeneutic interpretation. In addition to the primary interviews, also supplementary interviews were made in order to ensure that the description of the musician was understood correctly. Further supplementary interviews were made when the material was analyzed and results were deduced. This aimed at increasing the reliability of interpretations and conclusions. The study resulted in a four-level model representing the progress of a creative process. The levels were defined by means of the conception of state. The levels used in defining the process were 1) the state determining the potential of the process, 2) the state delimiting the process, 3) the state orienting the process, and 4) the state determined by the process. The progress of the process was described as changes taking place in the state. It was discovered that the factors having an effect on the creativity of the process were the dynamism of the process, the musician’s work in relation to his or her inner standard and the impulses that caused variation in the musician’s thinking. The interview method used in this study proved to be a very suitable tool in an examination of a creative process. Thus it may well be applicable in other research contexts associated with creative processes. The outcome of this study, the model of the progress of a creative process, should also provide a feasible basis for the examination of different kinds of creative processes. It enables a comprehensive examination of a creative process, simultaneously justifying the dynamic nature of the process.

Muusikon mentaaliharjoittelu : Konsertoivan ja opettavan pianistin mentaaliharjoittelu

This research explores the foci, methods and processes of mental training by pianists who are active as performers and teachers. The research is based on the concept of mental training as a solely mental mode of practising. Musician s mental training takes place without an instrument or the physical act of playing. The research seeks answers to questions: 1) What are the foci of a pianist s mental training? 2) How does a pianist carry out the mental training? 3) What does mental training in music entail as a process? The research approach is qualitative, and the materials were gathered from thematic interviews. The aim of practising is always an improved result both in the act of playing and the performance. Mental training by a pianist is collaboration between technical, auditory, visual, kinaesthetic and affective factors. Also interpretation, memory and overcoming stage fright are needed. Technical, cognitive and performance skills are involved. According to the results of this research, mental training is a goal-oriented activity which can have an impact on all of these factors. Without a musical inner ear and its functionality, true musicianship cannot exist. One particular result of this research is the conceptualisation of opening up the inner ear. Auditory exercises and internally playing mental images are essential elements of the mental practice of a musician. Visual images, such as a picture of music notation or a performance event, are the point of focus for musicians who find visual images to be the easiest to realise. When developing technical skills by using mental training, it is important to focus on the technically most difficult sections. It is also necessary to focus on the holistic experiencing of the performance situation. By building on positive energies and strengths, the so-called psyching up may be the most important element in mental training. Based on the results of this research, a synthesis is outlined of the music event as an activity process, built on representations and schemes. Mental training aims at the most ideal possible act of playing and the creation of a musical event; these are achieved by focussing on various mental images produced by the different senses, together with concrete practising. Mental training in sports and in music share common factors. Both modes of practising, mental as well as physical, involve three important elements: planning, realisation and evaluation of the practice. In music, however, the goal is an artistic end result which does not often apply to an athletic event. Keywords: Mental training in music, auditory imagining, visualisation, kinaesthetic-mental experience, mastery of the psyche

Musiikkioppilaitokset harrastajaksi kasvamisen näyttämönä

The Finnish instrumental education system is said to be one of the bests in the world. Finnish musicians have become famous and they have gained success all over the world. To produce professional musicians has been the main goal of the whole Finnish instrumental education system for a long time. This has meant that playing an instrument as a hobby has been neglected. The focus of this qualitative study is the culture of instrumental education from the view of amateuring. One of the goals is to describe the Finnish context where music lovers grow up and where they construct their identities. The other aim is to give answers to the question “How can we develop the culture of instrumental education to serve also the needs of amateurs?” The data of this study is narrative. It consists of the stories of five amateurs, who were in their thirties. In the analysis I’ve used two different types of analysis: the analysis of narratives and the content analysis. In the analysis of narratives the stories were seen as narrative identities. Because the main focus of this study is the culture of instrumental education, I used the qualitative content analysis to find out some themes or phenomena which should be improved from the view of amateuring. This study has shown that there are many ways to become a music lover. An essential factor in the construction of an identity of a music lover seems to be a society which values the amateuring. In this study music schools weren’t that kind of societies. The present study reveals that to construct the identities of music lovers should be one of the most important aims of the music education. This means for example that, in practice, instrumental studies could be more activating, there should be more music making in groups, and the evaluation should concentrate on the whole learning process.

[Wedding in Rust am Neusiedlersee]

Unidentified bride wearing traditional veil being led to the synagogue by family and musicians before her wedding.

[Tagebuch] 1941-

Typescript with handwritten corrections of a memoir, written in the form of a diary

Study of the Prophet Ezekiel.

Signed and titled lower center, with a dedication to the LeoBaeck Institute, dated 1961.