Sound and space are intimately and intricately interconnected, but it remains unclear in what ways sound and music call forth in listeners—cognitively and emotionally— sensations of space. This thesis approaches sonic evocations of space from two perspectives that, despite their commonalities, are often considered separately. The first is lived space, the types of expanses we experience it in daily life, the second is outer or extraplanetary space. Existing scholarship on the relationships between sound and space, including that of Edward S. Casey and Steven Feld (1982), Steve Larson (2012), Georgina Born (2013), and Gascia Ouzonian (2020), reach beyond the physical conceptions of sound and into the metaphorical and the cultural, creating a rich discourse about place, orientation, and perception. Informed by the seminal theories of Victor Zuckerkandl (1973), George Lakoff (1980), and Mark Johnson (1980, 2007), among others, this thesis explores embodied musical metaphor using an empirical cognition study in which twenty-six voluntary participants were asked to respond to successions of pitches drawn from popular science fiction film scores and to note any kind of motion and spatiality they felt. The results of this experiment demonstrate that melodic figures are tied to ideas of physical motion and that sizes of intervallic relationships matter. In all, this thesis shows that listeners’ sense of space is greatly informed by specific cues from their sonic environment, and that sound can be used to challenge or manipulate spatial perception, especially in multimedia applications.

This document serves as a comprehensive project centering on a new performing edition of Pierre Danican Philidor’s (1681-1731) Trio Suite No. 2 in E Minor of 1722, one of a collection of six trio suites presented to the French court, following a series of earlier, more well-known suites (1716-1718). The project itself contains a performance edition with a fully realized harpsichord part, a recording featuring entirely modern instruments in modern pitch with a special attention to period affect and style, and finally a written document contextualizing the Philidor family, the French court establishment, and helpful performance practice guidelines for musicians. The purpose of this project is: to both bring to light and make accessible the music of this member of the Philidor clan, to encourage a greater understanding of this family and their musical place in the French establishment, and to build a bridge between the specialization of Historically Informed Performance (HIP) and the modern instrumentalist, particularly conservatory students and professionals unfamiliar or uncomfortable with this material. Ideally, the result will be more frequent programming of French court chamber repertoire such as this work in non-specialist settings and venues. Such programming goals should not detract from HIP and the period instrument field, but rather help this music to expand in interest across a wider classical music audience, and thus by extension also expand interest in the historical performance movement.

Two different techniques utilizing vocalization in clarinet performance were examined through a research study in which one subject (the author) played several tasks utilizing each technique with different played pitches, vocalized pitches, and dynamic levels for each task. The first technique was singing while playing, which is also sometimes referred to as growling. This technique is produced by engaging the vocal folds during regular clarinet performance to create a second vocalized pitch that resonates in the oral cavity and exits through the mouthpiece as part of the same air stream as that used by the vibrating reed. The second technique studied was a much more recently pioneered technique that the author has labelled humming while playing due to its similarity to traditional humming in vocal pedagogy. This technique is produced by filling the oral cavity with air, sealing it off from the rest of the vocal tract using the tongue and soft palate, and humming through the nasal cavity. The cheeks are simultaneously used to squeeze air into the mouthpiece to maintain the clarinet pitch, much like in the technique of circular breathing.

For the study, audio, nasalance, and intraoral pressure data were collected and analyzed. Audio was analyzed using spectrograms and root mean square measurements of sound pressure for intensity (IRMS). Analysis of the nasalance data confirmed the description of the physiological mechanisms used to generate the humming while playing technique, with nasalance values for this technique far exceeding those for both singing while playing and regular playing. Intraoral pressure data showed significant spikes in pressure during the transitions from the regular air stream to air stored in the oral cavity when humming while playing. Audio analysis showed that the dynamic range of each technique is similar to that of regular playing, and that each technique produces very different and distinct aural effects.

This information was then used to help create a method to assist performers in learning how to produce both singing and humming while playing and a resource to help educate composers about the possibilities and limitations of each technique.

This thesis proposes an augmentation of the Complete Method for Trombone by Jean Baptiste Arban. Although it is widely considered one of the leading trombone method books in the world, a thorough consideration of the demands of most performed solo literature today reveals serious shortcomings in the Arban Method for preparing trombonists to encounter such demands as meter and rhythm, keys and tonalities, range and endurance, clefs and F-attachment usage. This thesis thus proposes additions for a new version of the Arban Method that better aligns with the playing demands of the most performed solo literature today, as compiled by the International Trombone Association Journal since 1972.