ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES MUSIC NON-LITERATE VIRTUOSI: THE “ALAYLI” METAL BAND PERFORMER Ph.D. THESIS Hale Fulya SOĞANCI Dr. Erol Üçer Center for Advanced Studies in Music Music Program NOVEMBER 2019 ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES MUSIC NON-LITERATE VIRTUOSI: THE “ALAYLI” METAL BAND PERFORMER Ph.D. THESIS Hale Fulya SOĞANCI (409092004) Dr. Erol Üçer Center for Advanced Studies in Music Music Program Advisor: Prof. Dr. Can KARADOĞAN Co-Advisor: Dr. Paul Alister WHITEHEAD NOVEMBER 2019 İSTANBUL TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ NOTA OKUYAMAYAN VİRTÜYÖZLER: “ALAYLI” METAL GRUBU İCRACISI Doktora Tezi Hale Fulya SOĞANCI (409092004) Dr. Erol Üçer Müzik İleri Araştırmaları Merkezi Müzik Programı Tez Danışmanı: Prof. Dr. Can KARADOĞAN Eş Danışman: Dr. Paul Alister WHITEHEAD KASIM 2019 iv Hale Fulya Soğancı, a Ph.D. student of ITU Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences student 409092004, successfully defended the thesis/dissertation entitled “ MUSIC NON-LITERATE VIRTUOSI: THE “ALAYLI” METAL BAND PERFORMER ”, which she prepared after fulfilling the requirements specified in the associated legislations, before the jury whose signatures are below. Thesis Advisor : Prof. Dr. Can KARADOĞAN .............................. Istanbul Technical University Co-advisor : Dr. Paul Alister WHITEHEAD .............................. Istanbul Technical University Jury Members : Prof. Dr. Alper Maral ............................. Ankara Fine Arts University Assist. Prof. Dr. Eray ALTINBÜKEN .............................. Istanbul Technical University Assist. Prof. Dr. Pierre HECKER .............................. Marburg University Defense : Assoc. Prof. Dr. Barış Aykut Çerezcioğlu .............................. Izmir Dokuz Eylül University Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ilke Boran .............................. Istanbul Mimar Sinan University Date of Submission : 12.11.2019 Date of Defense : 29.11.2019 v vi To my beloved husband Alp, and my patient daughters Anka and Lidya vii viii FOREWORD When I embarked this journey of a lifetime some people call a Ph.D., I was not mature enough to grasp the responsibility that has to accompany the procedure. The task of knowing virtually everything about a chosen field and contributing to the vast sea of scholarship is indeed noble, but also tremendously difficult. There were many moments of despair, hasty study periods of dogged determination, long years of being burdened with a monumental workload, struggling to salvage time besides everyday cares, work and career, childraising and social life. In short, I have lived with the heart chilling intimidation a person feels looking at a huge mountain and planning how to scale it, or the sword of Damocles forever swinging over my head, for years. Now that my 4-year-old daughter is quoting phrases such as “I have so much work to do” back to me, I finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. It is hard to grasp this sense of intense euphoria: I did it, I have really accomplished something in this life, useful for others as much as for my own existence. Although, in the end, the title is granted to one person, there were loving people who walked along with me during this remarkable journey. It was a fateful decision for Alp SOĞANCI to hold my hand for life while I was only beginning my doctoral studies and he remained my best friend and confidante throughout the years it took me to complete this dissertation. He deserves the doctoral degree of patience and perseverance as my constant companion, the best of husbands and fathers. My mother Filiz helped me out in the tightest corners of my life and has stoically battled time and circumstances to enable me to concentrate on writing. My wonderful adopted parents Tülay and Enver have taken over many of my everyday burdens, so that I could work despite my difficult routine. My two little ones remained healthy and slept as much as they could, I apologize that I had to favor my eldest child, this dissertation, over them: I know when they are older and would read these lines, they will understand. Last but not least, I wish to be able to find praise words enough to express my gratitude to Bülent BIYIKOĞLU: his faith in me was unparalleled and he kept me going in a way only the best of friends could. It is customary that the Ph.D. candidate thanks her “Doctorvader” in this foreword. I will begin by pointing out that the circumstances have been drastically less than ordinary and I have managed to work with my advisor Prof. Can KARADOĞAN for less than a year. In such a short term, I am thoroughly convinced that he has my best interests in mind. He has been responsive, chiding but supportive: for the first time in the entire process of completing my project and composing this dissertation, I did not feel solitary and exposed. I will forever remember the meeting we had in the MIAM studio antechamber after my first attempt at defending this work: it is ironic that I got to comprehend what I was doing in the very closure of the process leading to the doctorate. There are no words enough to thank for this: it is a lesson learned, for life. He did not give me a fish, he taught me how to fish, and I am very grateful. The same out of ordinary circumstances did not permit me to complete this dissertation with one of the two scholars who contributed most to my identity as an academician. ix I wish I could have Assoc. Prof. Dr. Robert REIGLE close by, as he was close during the years I spent on this project. The latter of the two, Dr. Paul Alister WHITEHEAD, is like a father to me and has taught me so much about life as well as research, that I cannot think of either without him. Since the day I met Prof. Dr. Hasan Gürkan TEKMAN on Uludağ University Campus in 2013, he has been realistic and critical, and his expertise and high standards contributed so much to this work. I am sorry that he chose to step down, and would like to thank him from the bottom of my heart. Nonetheless, I was more than lucky to have Assist. Prof. Dr. Eray ALTINBÜKEN and Assist. Prof. Dr. Pierre HECKER Hocas as jury members, joined later by Prof. Dr. Alper MARAL to lend support and fair commentary: this project would not have come around without their contribution. I would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Songül KARAHASANOĞLU heartily, without her timely intervention, I could not complete this project. Aykut and Ilke Hocas found the time to attend and provide valuable insight for the defense procedure of this work, I happily extend my thanks to them. Last but not the least, my supervisors at the Foundations Development Department of Sabancı University: Prof. Dr. Zehra SAYERS, Arzu KIRAN and Dr. Zeynep Nevin YELÇE who were undaunted by the circumstances and have kept their faith and support strong. Without them, this project would have remained incomplete forever. Other names to specially mention who worked along with me lovingly for this project are Nursen ÇELİKEL, Fatma MEMİŞOĞLU, Listana members past and present, my dear sister Şelale and brother Onur who came to my gigs and given me courage and support, and sister Funda who even fulfilled her promise to take me to a Thailand holiday as a reward. Finally, I need to expand these thanks to where they are certainly due, all the metal community, musicians and audience of Istanbul and beyond, that have granted time and resources generously, so that I could commit them to history. November 2019 Hale Fulya SOĞANCI Instructor, Sabancı University x TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FOREWORD ............................................................................................................. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... xi ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... xv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... xvii SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. xix ÖZET .............................................................................................................. xixi 1. INTRODUCTION – PROJECT DESCRIPTION .............................................. 1 1.1 Background and Motivations ............................................................................. 3 1.2 Purpose of Study ................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 7 1.4 Musicological Foundations: The Scholarship of Metal ................................... 13 1.5 Literature Review ............................................................................................. 16 1.6 Themes, Key Concepts, Definitions ................................................................. 21 1.6.1 Debating Art Music and Popular Music ................................................... 21 1.6.2 Global vs. Glocal ....................................................................................... 23 1.6.3 Connotations Of Virtuosity ....................................................................... 27 1.6.4 The Band Entity:Intra-Musical Communication and Creative Processes . 29 1.7 Chapters