Unless stated otherwise, all events are on Wednesdays at 4:00 pm in SM267 (inside the Cook Music Library in the Simon Music Center), unless otherwise noted. Participation by Zoom is an option for those unable to attend in person. To request Zoom meeting credentials, email mustheor@indiana.edu.
Spring 2024
Colloquia from earlier in the semester are at the bottom of this page.
April 24
Professional Development, “Process and Clarity in Academic Publishing”
Click for abstract
The last colloquium of this academic year will feature a professional development workshop to guide summer writing projects. Prof. Kyle Adams will present the process of publishing an academic article, and Prof. Jay Hook will discuss presenting technical material clearly in an article vs. a conference presentation.
— Earlier colloquia, current semester —
January 17
Professional Development, “Conference Proposal Workshop”
Click for abstract
Professors Frank Samarotto and Roman Ivanovitch, both former chairs of the Society for Music Theory Program Committee, will lead a workshop on writing effective conference proposals.
February 21 — Five Friends Masterclass Series
Fred Maus (University of Virginia), “‘Teach Yourself to Fly’: Pauline Oliveros and Musical Analysis”
Click for abstract
Some of Pauline Oliveros’s best-know work, the Sonic Meditations and Deep Listening Pieces (1970s onward), may seem resistant to analysis. Attributes that often matter to analysts, such as pitch, rhythm, register, or texture, may be very different in every performance. The score is typically verbal and very brief.
But analysis is possible, though different from analysis of notated WAM. This presentation considers score analysis, performance issues, and experience in relation to the first Sonic Meditation, “Teach Yourself to Fly.” Oliveros herself provides theoretical concepts that guide the inquiry.
February 22 — Five Friends Masterclass Series
5:00 PM | FORD-CRAWFORD HALL
Fred Maus (University of Virginia), “Thinking Again about Masculinity and Music Theory”
Part of the Five Friends Masterclass Series
Click for abstract
In 1993, I published an essay, “Masculine Discourse in Music Theory,” arguing that mainstream music theory was shaped, and limited, by some male theorists’ desire to appear conventionally masculine. This presentation returns to the 1993 essay, supporting and reformulating some of its positions, revising others. The presentation reconsiders some problematic binaries in the earlier paper and emphasizes the value of creative writing and experiential practices in music study.
February 23–24 (Friday–Saturday)
Thirtieth Symposium of Research in Music
Sponsored by the Graduate Theory Association and the Graduate Musicology Association
More information may be found at the following link: https://blogs.iu.edu/jsommusictheory/2024/02/15/gta-symposium-30/
February 28
Presented from Ukraine via Zoom. Attendance in SM 267 is welcome.
Iryna Tukova (IU-Ukraine Nonresident Scholar), “Ukrainian Music on a Stage: Personalities and Creativity”
Click for abstract
Ukrainian composers, despite their works being performed in Europe and the USA over the last few decades and having promoters of Ukrainian culture in various countries (such as Virko Baley, Pavel Gintov, Leah Batstone in the USA), are not widely recognized on the global art music stage. In this context, I am introducing composers who currently live and work in Ukraine. One of the compositions that will be highlighted is “Friend Li Po..” for guzheng/bandura and electronics, composed by Alla Zagaykevych (b. 1966). This composition serves as an example to demonstrate contemporary methods of utilizing folk instruments. Originally written for the Ukrainian-Chinese Project, the first version featured performers on guzheng and electronics. However, after the conclusion of the project, the guzheng part was adapted for the bandura. Currently, the most popular version of the composition involves the bandura and electronics, and it has been featured in numerous concerts and projects. There are few contemporary art music compositions that explore non-traditional uses of the bandura, and “Friend Li Po..” stands out as a work that introduces an extended system of bandura techniques. This composition innovatively combines the ensemble of the bandura with electronics and presents new methods of playing this traditional instrument.
March 6
Lizhou Wang, “Contour-Clustering and Key-Finding Models: Principles, Criticism, and Their Application to J. S. Bach’s Preludes in Cello Suites Nos. 2-3” (Public Lecture)
Respondent: Prof. Eric Isaacson
Click for abstract
In the field of computational music analysis, melodic analysis and key-finding are two important and well-established areas. They have been developing in the last three decades, but not without weakness and doubts. In this presentation, I will introduce some basic ideas in the two areas respectively. In each part, I will demonstrate how I combine the basic strategy with additional computational techniques and music theories, leading to two revised models. In the second half of the presentation, I will apply the two models to J. S. Bach’s preludes in Cello Suites Nos. 2 and 3. I will interpret the music with the help of both computational models and traditional analytical observations. The goal is to reveal the functions, capabilities, and weakness of the two models on one hand; and demonstrate how computational models may support and enrich the analysis done by a human analyst, on the other hand. I will conclude the presentation with some critical comments.
March 20
Samantha Waddell, “From Old-Time to “Hard Times”: Phrase Rhythm and Prosody in the Music of Tyler Childers” (PhD Public Lecture)
Respondent: Prof. Noriko Manabe
Click for abstract
This paper argues that the music of Americana artist Tyler Childers continues a tradition of “crookedness” from old-time country and bluegrass music in novel ways, affectively playing with the interaction of phrase rhythm and prosody to convey emotion and authenticity. This work builds on and synthesizes prior research by Neal (2002, 2009), Rockwell (2011), and Mitchell (2021) on crookedness (the dropping/adding of beats, or even measures), phrase rhythm (Rothstein 1989, Attas 2011), and prosody (BaileyShea 2021), demonstrating how Childers’ use of poetic techniques in a crooked context can impart meaning to listeners. Here, showing how the meter, harmony, phrase rhythm, and prosody choose to work together or against each other ultimately conveys meaning to listeners. Childers’ affective and artful combination of crookedness and prosody produces music that elicits visceral emotions from listeners, telling stories of struggle and vulnerability through hard times and heartbreak.
March 27 — Five Friends Masterclass Series
Psyche Loui (Northeastern University), “Imaginings from an unfamiliar world: The Science of a New Musical System”
Click for abstract
The ability to create and to appreciate new music depends on prediction and imagination, a generative act that is deeply rooted in culture and familiarity, while also depending on the ability predict events in the near future. I will present recent work that combines music theory and music technology with cross-cultural behavioral testing, neuropsychological assessments, and neuroimaging studies in my lab on how and why humans across societies learn to love music, uncovering the role of different types of prediction on the dopaminergic reward system in the brain. These results are the first to highlight the process by which we learn from our predictions and our cultural backgrounds, and that learning itself becomes rewarding.
March 28 — Five Friends Masterclass Series
Psyche Loui (Northeastern University), “Why Music Moves Us: New Directions in Music for Brain Health”
5:00 PM | FORD-CRAWFORD HALL
Click for abstract
Music is an integral part of every human society, and musical experiences have been associated with human health and well-being since antiquity. Recent use-inspired research on Music-Based Interventions (MBIs) include receptive (music listening) and active (music making) programs designed to make measurable changes to human health and well-being. Designing these interventions consistently and with measurable benefits require addressing the question of dosage, which refers to the duration and intensity (dosage) of the intervention. I argue that cognitive neuroscience can inform the question of dosage in MBIs by quantifying the effects of receptive and active music interventions on predictive coding in the central nervous system. As a ubiquitous feature of biological systems, predictive coding is posited to underlie perception, action, and reward. I will present recent work that encompasses behavioral testing, neuropsychological assessments, and neuroimaging (EEG and fMRI) studies in my lab on how and why humans across societies learn to love music, uncovering the role of different types of prediction on the activity and connectivity of the reward system. Given that music taps into a relatively domain-general reward system which in turn motivates a variety of cognitive behaviors, I will also consider how this knowledge can be translated into MBIs for those with neurological and/or psychiatric disorders, presenting preliminary results on Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.
April 3
Joey Grunkemeyer, “Brahms the Self-Conscious: Contextualizing His Musical Topics” (PhD Public Lecture)
Respondent: Prof. Kyle Adams
Click for abstract
“Many theorists have alluded to Brahms’s musical topics, making passing references to 18th and 19th century conventions, yet no one has critically examined how topics operate in his music. In this paper, I argue that Brahms’s music benefits from topical analysis, but his usage of topic is self-conscious and subversive. I provide a broad literature review of 19th century topic theory, followed by Brahms-specific approaches. Building on this review, I propose a methodology based on 18th and 19th century approaches, as well as the idea of self-consciousness. I then demonstrate this methodology through two case studies, Brahms’s Tragic Overture and the E Minor Intermezzo, opus 119, no. 2, arguing that sensitive topical analyses provide new and valuable ways of hearing these pieces. Brahms’s tactics include self-conscious deployment of musical topics, deliberate subversions of existing tropes, and ideas of reminiscence and nostalgia.”
To view past colloquium talks and sessions, please visit our Colloquium Archive.