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This essay, which begins with a commentary on Wittgenstein's scattered remarks on musical understanding, poses the question of whether there is a distinctive, non-verbal form of thinking that music, or alternatively, the composing or performing of music, might be said to exemplify. A positive answer is returned, and three candidates for such distinctively ‘musical’ thinking are sketched. These are illustrated with a number of musical examples, most notably, Beethoven's ‘Tempest’ Sonata and Stan Getz's rendition of ‘The Girl from Ipanema’.

This chapter brings up the various distinctive techniques in Strayhorn’s composing and arranging. These include through-composed forms with developmental sections and integrated introductions, transitory sections and codas. His clever use of temporary modulations points up his control over harmony and counterpoint. The chapter shows how Strayhorn further availed himself of a variety of elements — harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic figures and passages that not only guarantee the internal cohesion of a given piece, but also strongly unify his works as a whole, clearly setting it apart it from Ellington’s oeuvre. The characteristics that allow the listener to distinguish Strayhorn’s work from Ellington’s are detailed: specific usage of dissonance, chords, voice leading, instrumentation, rhythmic figures, textures, and backgrounds.

Although Anton Rubinstein's performances were generally praised, there were occasional comments that he had technical flaws and memory lapses, partly attributable to his greater commitment to composing than performing. His tempestuousness as a performer caused him to lose physical control, but it was his passion that helped his performances transcend their technical inadequacies. Although at first critics thought Rubinstein's performances were faithful to the composer's intent, as the season wore on they were more likely to take exception to his highly individualistic and mannered performances. His own works for piano were conservative and often neoclassical. Rubinstein's concerts reflect the sacralization of music, which was no longer just entertainment but art that needed to be carefully studied and listened to respectfully. Performers demanded reverence in the concert hall and fulfilled the function of priests who interpreted to the laity the ineffable mysteries of the great works of art.

This chapter examines the musical creativities of three modern composers who explore the many ways of musical composition for opera houses, concert halls, music theatres, and popular music venues. It briefly discusses composition as an object, and takes a look at identifiable composed musics. It then describes the practices of three modern post-classical composers and illustrates their creativities by discussing the nature of their compositional work, their work in performance, and through performances of their compositions. The chapter also shows how musical creativity becomes a part of the composer's habitus.

This chapter considers the role of nonfinite clauses in the distribution of Classical NEG Raising (NR). It first considers the literature bias toward finite hosts in standard Classical NR cases, along with proposals in nonsyntactic approaches that the Classical NR phenomenon is purely a function of the interaction of the meanings of the Classical NR predicates (CNRPs) with independent semantic or pragmatic principles. Since it is obscure how the semantic properties of CNRPs could be systematically different in their finite and nonfinite instances, on semantic/pragmatic treatments one expects that the same relations should systematically hold when the negation (NEG) sits in a nonfinite host. The chapter outlines the basics of the distinction between finite and nonfinite hosts and presents examples indicating the lack of a Classical NR reading for a NEG raised into a nonfinite clause and the impossibility of a strict negative polarity item (NPI) in the relevant complement clause. It also discusses the Classical NR Nonfiniteness Condition and composed quantifier cases.

In his essay ‘Does consciousness exist?’ William James identifies a commonly held (mis)conception: that consciousness is ‘one element, moment, factor — call it what you like — of an experience of essentially dualistic inner constitution, from which, if you abstract the content, the consciousness will remain revealed to its own eye’. This chapter shows how James's thinking, in association with an alternative foundational approach to computing, provides the basis for a treatment of the theme of music and consciousness that can embrace many varieties of musical experience and interpretation without compromising integrity. The chapter draws on professional background in computer science to highlight parallels between composing or performing music and Empirical Modelling (EM) — a specific way of using computing technology to build artefacts that has been developed under his direction over the past twenty years. The musical illustrations and references discussed are drawn from the German classical and romantic traditions, which are most salient in his own experience as a pianist and accompanist, with a particular interest in chamber music and songs. But while this reflects his area of relative musical competence, it should not necessarily be taken as indicating that the ideas developed apply only to the narrow musical culture of Western score-based tonal music on which the chapter focuses.

Eisler’s writings on Hollywood film music are interpreted from three different vantages: initially from afar as a committed Marxist in Europe; later as an émigré in New York at the New School for Social Research supported by the Rockefeller Foundation on a study about film music; and finally as a film composer working in Hollywood. The discussion traces this intellectual progression, which eventually culminates in Composing for the Films, a politically controversial and infamous book written in collaboration with Theodor Adorno. The discussion interprets the book and its political ideology and treats the thorny question of authorship, the various editions, and the book’s publication history, as well as Adorno’s problematic role in the creation of the work.

Chapter 5 offers a close political reading of Eisler’s first Hollywood score, for Fritz Lang’s propaganda film Hangmen Also Die!, excerpts of which were discussed in Composing for the Films. The score, nominated for an Academy Award, was made by émigrés, including playwright Bertolt Brecht, Eisler’s close friend and artistic and political collaborator. The score is interpreted within the framework of “doubleness,” an outlook that plagues the dichotomous state in which exiles live. It reveals how the politically leftist Eisler was able not only to adapt but also to resist Hollywood’s expectations and political norms by inserting covert and ironic politically invested musical messages.

This chapter discusses George P. Knauff's music business. When versatile musician and entrepreneur Knauff heard a fiddler playing the Virginia Reels melodies for dancing at social events held at the home of his wife's parents, he sensed a similar chance to enhance his income. It is not clear exactly when he launched into composing and arranging music for profit because a few of his publications lack dates and plate numbers; this includes the first printing of the first two volumes of the Virginia Reels. This suggests an alternative scenario: that his activity as a composer and arranger started after his home and business burned and piggybacked on his next focus for earning a living, which was teaching. Whether initially part of his brick-and-mortar business or coupled with his subsequent stint teaching, Knauff's choosing to compose, arrange, and publish music was nothing startling as it was a natural ingredient of any music career at that time.

Grounded in the research and promising practices literature, Chapter 3 discusses concepts and skills, pedagogies, and technology related to musical creativity. Creativity is usually an assumed part of being musical. While there are creative aspects to a variety of musical activities—for instance, developing an interpretation of a musical composition involves creative thinking—the focus in this chapter is on the development of original musical ideas through two primary musical processes, improvisation and composition. The chapter provides an overview of creativity, discusses the process of learning to improvise and compose, describes pedagogical strategies to use with students, and suggests technological tools that can support creative musical experiences. Contemporary approaches to musical creativity such as remixing and mashups are also addressed.

Singing in one form or another is an essential feature of musical development and behaviour. In each age phase (infancy, early childhood, older childhood, adolescence), the human voice has a distinctive underlying anatomy and physiology that is capable of producing a diversity of ‘singing’ behaviours. At any age, development can be supported or hindered by a number of factors, such as the appropriateness of a given singing task set by an adult in relation to current singing capabilities, the expectations of peers and/or the value placed on singing within the immediate culture. Opportunities to engage in vocal play and exploration, to share in singing games with peers and ‘experts’, as well as to improvise and compose their own songs are essential features of musical cultures that foster singing development.

In what ways do composers generate ideas for creating music? Melodies are a succession of tones that move in purposeful ways by step and by leap. In this activity we will investigate how contour helps show how melodies move. In this lesson designed for young children in Grades 3 to 5, students will use Minecraft with the CompositionCraft Modification to create their own topography which will include a variety of elevations that shape their Minecraft worlds. Understanding topographic contours in the environment serves as a helpful analogy to discuss and understand musical contours. Using the CompositionCraft Modification in Minecraft, students can build contours that can also be heard as notes in the musical staff.

This chapter defines improvisation as the art of making up something as the musician goes along with the music — an instant composition — and ‘the most widely practised of all musical activities and the least acknowledged and understood’. The chapter relates how musical improvisation can be interrelated and how it can appear to be similar to human beings' daily communication and discourse. Composition, on the other hand, is a more complex and sophisticated area which requires deeper psychological study to understand the composers' motivations, intentions, and emotions. Studying composition as a sophisticated musical activity provides insights on cultural creations and myths. The chapter discusses introspection as a major part of this musical skill and activity, and relates psychological studies and concepts involved in such.

This chapter discusses the recollection of both personal reminiscences and intertextual memories. It reveals that the moment of the “necessity” has been one of Beckett's major preoccupations throughout his career. Edgar Allan Poe advised the dismissmal of the necessity that prompted the act of composing, but in Beckett's case, it was the author himself who never stopped looking for the sources of this necessity.

Grounded in the research and best practice literature, chapter 3 discusses concepts and skills, pedagogies, and technology related to musical creativity. Creativity is usually an assumed part of being musical. While there are creative aspects to a variety of musical activities – for instance developing an interpretation of a musical composition involves creative thinking – the focus in this chapter is on the development of original musical ideas through two primary musical processes, improvisation and composition. The chapter provides an overview of creativity, discusses the process of learning to improvise and compose, describes pedagogical strategies to use with students, and suggests technological tools that can support creative musical experiences. Contemporary approaches to musical creativity such as remixing and mashups are also addressed.

This chapter includes activities using the projector, a standard tool found in most classrooms that has more possibilities beyond first glance. The projector can bring students together to sing holiday classics, to connect with users from across the globe to share music and cultures, or even to create unique backgrounds for performances. Each activity has objectives and assessments, and takes the reader step-by-step through experience so he or she can discover ways to turn a classic tool into a new digital resource.

Take interactivity to a new level with interactive boards and TVs. These devices go beyond what the standard projector can do and add a new level of engagement through interactive activities. This chapter guides the reader through creating visual scores for classical pieces to composing accompaniment tracks for lyrics or raps and encouraging students to work together as a class to create and collaborate while relating to real-world experiences and possible future careers. Interactive boards and TVs can take the music classrooms a step further into the digital generation.