Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MM

College

College of Creative Arts

Department

Not Listed

Committee Chair

Matthew Heap

Committee Member

Andrew Kohn

Committee Member

Katelyn Best

Abstract

The research priorities that I have established as a theorist, percussionist, and an instructor of both, have led me to a master's thesis project combining music theory practices within the study and performance of percussion repertoire. As the graduate assistant of the percussion department at West Virginia University, I have been teaching applied orchestral percussion lessons and leading percussion ensembles. In my experience, a number of first-year percussionists in the studio at WVU have had a limited background with reading definite pitches on the staff, and struggle with sight-reading and pitch identification, therefore making their Written I and Aural I courses that semester all the more challenging. Therefore, I have developed a method book that guides percussionists through early percussion techniques while simultaneously introducing fundamental theory concepts. The method book intertwines the basic topics of a first-year collegiate theory curriculum and traditional Western mallet instruments. These theory topics were specifically chosen to form a strong base of theoretical knowledge at a comfortable pace. Students are encouraged to use the book as they take introductory theory classes and percussion lessons in the same semester, even if the students have limited mallet or note-reading experience. While grounded in the experiences of my graduate assistantship in percussion at West Virginia University, the book is designed to be used at any institution.

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