Copyright by Zackery Joseph Wilson 2015
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Copyright by Zackery Joseph Wilson 2015 The Dissertation Committee for Zackery Joseph Wilson Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Chamber Chip An Album of Six Pieces for Instrument(s) and Fixed Media Committee: Russell Pinkston, Supervisor Bruce Pennycook Yevgeniy Sharlat Donald Grantham David Justin Holmes Chamber Chip An Album of Six Pieces for Instrument(s) and Fixed Media by Zackery Joseph Wilson, B.Music; M.Music Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts The University of Texas at Austin December 2015 Dedication To Lindsay, forever and ever. Chamber Chip An Album of Six Pieces for Instrument(s) and Fixed Media Zackery Joseph Wilson, DMA The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Russell Pinkston Chamber Chip is a thirty-five-minute musical album consisting of six pieces written for electronic fixed media and various instruments and instrumentations, including: solo piano, solo tuba, flute and cello duo, brass quintet, and saxophone quartet and piano. The album is essentially a compilation of commissioned works collectively governed by a common theme: the intersection and juxtaposition of chiptune, classical, and jazz musical elements. The first chapter of this dissertation examines the genesis of the album and its compositions, the definition of chiptune music and its underlying influence, and the challenges inherent in the medium. The second chapter is a piece-by- piece analysis of the album, complete with explanations of major motives, harmonic language, and formal structure. The Chamber Chip physical and digital CD album will be commercially released on the chiptune, electronic, and video game inspired music net label Ubiktune in its 2016 catalog year. v Table of Contents List of Figures....................................................................................................... vii! Chapter 1. Genesis of Chamber Chip......................................................................1! 1.1. Introduction..............................................................................................1 1.2. The "Chip" in Chamber Chip ..................................................................6 1.3. Challenges..............................................................................................10 Chapter 2. Piece-By-Piece Analysis......................................................................15! 2.1. Introduction............................................................................................15! 2.2. Insert Coin Here ....................................................................................16 2.3. GAME OVERture...................................................................................22 2.4. tu-BIT.....................................................................................................28 2.5. joySTICK IT...........................................................................................33 2.6. Byte Me ..................................................................................................39 2.7. Staff Roll ................................................................................................46 2.8. Conclusion .............................................................................................52 Chamber Chip - Complete Score...........................................................................54 Insert Coin Here ...........................................................................................55 GAME OVERture..........................................................................................71 tu-BIT............................................................................................................98 joySTICK IT................................................................................................116 Byte Me .......................................................................................................134 Staff Roll .....................................................................................................147! Bibliography ........................................................................................................154 vi List of Figures Figure 1.1.!Insert Coin Here, mm. 10-11 ................................................................4! Figure 1.2.!Waveforms, diagram (Rosenbaum) ......................................................7! Figure 1.3.!3x Osc Subtractive Synthesizer, triangle wave.....................................8 Figure 1.4.!Byte Me, mm. 1-3..................................................................................9! Figure 1.5.!Csus13 chord.......................................................................................11! Figure 1.6. Byte Me, mm. 111-112 ........................................................................12! Figure 1.7.!GAME OVERture, mm. 143-150 ........................................................13! Figure 2.1.!Chamber Chip, quasi-ternary form .....................................................15! Figure 2.2.!Chamber Chip, modal parallel harmony.............................................16! Figure 2.3.!Insert Coin Here, basic form...............................................................17 Figure 2.4.!Insert Coin Here, primary theme. Piano, mm. 26-27..........................18! Figure 2.5.!Insert Coin Here, primary theme, fragmentation, horizontally. Piano, mm. 12-13 ................................................................................18! Figure 2.6.!Insert Coin Here, primary theme, fragmentation, vertically. Piano, m. 16.........................................................................................19! Figure 2.7.!Insert Coin Here, primary theme, augmentation. Piano, mm. 118-120 .......................................................................................19! Figure 2.8.!Insert Coin Here, "echo effect." Piano and Fixed Media, m. 12 ........20! Figure 2.9.!Insert Coin Here, "crescendo effect." Piano and Fixed Media, mm. 123-125 .......................................................................................21! Figure 2.10.!Insert Coin Here, medium doubling. Piano and Fixed Media, mm. 92-93 ...........................................................................................22! Figure 2.11.! GAME OVERture, basic form...........................................................23! vii Figure 2.12.! GAME OVERture, primary theme. Fixed Media, mm. 49-52 ..........24! Figure 2.13.! GAME OVERture, primary theme. Horn, Trombone, and Tuba, mm. 203-205 .......................................................................................25! Figure 2.14.! GAME OVERture, "swell gesture." Brass Quintet, mm. 6-8............25! Figure 2.15.! GAME OVERture, mediant relationship, mm. 22-26 .......................26! Figure 2.16.! GAME OVERture, mediant relationship, mm. 137-140 ...................27! Figure 2.17.! tu-BIT, basic form.............................................................................29! Figure 2.18.! tu-BIT, primary theme. Tuba, mm. 51-52.........................................29! Figure 2.19.! tu-BIT, primary motif. Tuba, m. 47 ..................................................30! Figure 2.20.! tu-BIT, augmentation. Tuba, m. 33...................................................30! Figure 2.21.! tu-BIT, fragmentation. Tuba, mm. 58-60..........................................31! Figure 2.22.! tu-BIT, medium doubling, mm. 28-30..............................................31! Figure 2.23.! tu-BIT, mm. 125-126 ........................................................................32! Figure 2.24.! tu-BIT, alternation, mm. 85-86 .........................................................33! Figure 2.25.!!joySTICK IT, basic form...................................................................35! Figure 2.26.! joySTICK IT (in C), primary theme. Saxophone Quartet, mm. 18-23 ...........................................................................................35! Figure 2.27.! joySTICK IT, primary theme, fragmentation. Piano, mm. 46-47 .....36! Figure 2.28.! joySTICK IT, primary theme, augmentation. Piano, mm. 110-112 ..36! Figure 2.29.! joySTICK IT (in C), "staccato motif." Soprano and Alto Saxophones, mm. 25-26 ...........................................................................................37! Figure 2.30.! joySTICK IT, secundal harmony, m13 chord....................................38! Figure 2.31.! joySTICK IT. Piano, m. 25................................................................38! Figure 2.32.! joySTICK IT (in C), "trill motif." Tenor and Baritone Saxophones, mm. 14-15 ...........................................................................................38! viii Figure 2.33.!joySTICK IT (in C), "trill motif," augmentation. Saxophone Quartet, mm. 39-40 ...........................................................................................39! Figure 2.34.! Byte Me, basic form ..........................................................................40! Figure 2.35.! Byte Me, "Latin motif," rhythm ........................................................41! Figure 2.36.! Byte Me, "Latin motif," simple meter...............................................42! Figure 2.37.! Byte Me, tertian harmony, m11 chord ..............................................42! Figure 2.38.! Byte Me, "Latin motif," melody........................................................43!