Preferred Name
Shelby Shelton
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Date of Graduation
5-15-2025
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)
Department
School of Music
First Advisor
Casey Cangelosi
Second Advisor
Will Dabback
Abstract
What is this?
The primary goal of this book is to enable students to be more comfortable projecting emotionally to an audience through their body movement and touch while also providing lesson plans and support for the front ensemble instructor. We want this collection to be useful for a student alone in a practice room as well as in a large ensemble setting. There are 10+ activities with examples that encourage the student to dive deeper into the emotion of their piece. Each etude has curated exercises that develop necessary techniques used in the tune. Program/performance notes aid the student and instructor in their search for the emotional content. This book should guide students into an emotional connection with music and develop stronger technique.
What's so special about it?
Move it! stands out among other keyboard method books because of the option to customize the etudes for any ensemble regardless of playing ability. The typical problem of giving a student a part that is too challenging or worse….too easy… is eliminated.
This collection consists of 6 etudes of varying lengths/styles for front ensemble. Each part in each etude has three different levels of difficulty to choose from, depending on the performer’s ability. Difficulty levels can be mixed within an ensemble, i.e. A marimba player can be playing the level 2 marimba part even if the xylo player is playing the level 3 part. Level one can be played by late beginner players while level three is geared more towards advanced college age students.
Additionally, while many keyboard books mention body movement in regards to technique, they rarely discuss in depth how to convey emotion to an audience effectively. The written activities help students personalize their content and apply it to their own environment.
Digital content includes:
1.Play along tracks for all exercises
2.Recordings of each etude
3.Scores and all other instrument parts that are not printed in the book
Only marimba and vibraphone parts are included within the book.
4.Videos demonstrating movement, expression, and technique
Abstract
As the virtual world grows and percussion performances are spread around the globe, it has become increasingly more important for musicians to be entertainers and great emotional communicators. The marching activity is expanding and testing the limits of what musicians can do, often encouraging performers to become “a character” in their show. Unfortunately, students are expected to perform upon command but are not always given all the necessary tools and training to be able to emotionally convey their music. They are also sometimes prescribed a modified band choreography that is too uniform to be believable in the context of a true emotional performance. This book aims to clarify effective communication vs ineffective communication strategies to enhance the musician’s connection to a performance.
The ability to emotionally connect with the music makes students more invested in their work, sometimes even encouraging them to continue pursuing music long after they’ve left the classroom. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of thinking about music in this way is the process of developing an inquisitive mind. Through these activities and etudes the musicians are encouraged to ask what the music makes them feel, why does it invoke that feeling? How can changing the phrasing affect the piece or the audience’s reaction? Making the student comfortable with asking these questions promotes the inquisitive mindset that can help them problem solve for the remainder of their life.
Who is it marketed towards?
Generally 7th grade-College Senior
This is also a book for instructors, especially if percussion is not their primary instrument. The written activities and exercises keep students engaged and encourage creativity, collaboration, communication, and consistency. This is not an all inclusive guide for technique, Stevens’ Method of Movement is recommended if there are additional questions.
Included in
Music Education Commons, Music Pedagogy Commons, Music Performance Commons, Music Practice Commons
