Aaron Keebaugh

Document Type

Honors Project

First Advisor

John Barr

Degree Award Date

Spring 2000

Keywords

Civil War melodies, brass ensemble, arrangements

Disciplines

Composition | Music | Music Performance

Abstract

In this academic project I plan to write original arrangements of historical folk and battle songs from the Civil War for small ensembles. The music that I chose to base these arrangements on comes from a variety of recordings of which I write the music out by ear. Some examples of these tunes are "Just Before the Battle Mother", "The Campbells Are Coming", "Nick Malone", and even excerpts from "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "Dixie." The form of these arrangements will not resemble block style hymns but rather making use of such forms as canon, passacaglia, ternary, binary, and rondo forms. Harmonically, I will use vertical chord structures (tonic, dominant, subdominant etc .. ) in all inversions but will also create the harmony from the melodies themselves. This will be done by setting the melody in inversion, retrograde, retrograde-inversion, and by augmentation and diminution. Careful considerations in instrumentation will also be taken. The ensembles that I will write these arrangements for are ensembles here at Bridgewater College. The Flute Trio, Saxophone Ensemble, Brass Ensemble and String Ensemble will provide the performance of these arrangements either in private or in public.

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