Date of Award
Spring 5-10-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Music
Department
School of Music
First Advisor
Samantha Inman
Second Advisor
Jaymee Haefner
Third Advisor
Stephen Lias
Fourth Advisor
Kathryn Fenton
Abstract
Pedals are an invisible guide in chromatic harp repertoire. While the evolution of tonality and rise in chromaticism incentivized the invention of the double-action pedal harp, the unique restraints and extensions of this technological system influence harmony and pitch collections in chromatic harp music. This thesis explores the pedal harp and the influence the affordance and idiomacy of the pedal layout exerts onto chromatic harp repertoire. It draws on embodiment and schema theory to describe patterns of pedal motion in harp music, thus presenting and demonstrating an original theory of pedal schemas. Pedal schemas are patterns of motion defined by the pedaling movements on the left and right sides of the pedal layout and on the horizontal and vertical planes. The musical examples analyzed through the lens of pedal idiomacy and schemas in this thesis include transcriptions, staples of the canon, and modern experimental music. Following the legacy of pedal idiomacy from its origins to its expansions, the repertoire presents a survey of pedals in harp music from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. This thesis examines the use of harp pedals as crucial tools, not only for playing harmonies and pitch-class collections, but also in generating and inspiring them. For harpist-composers with tangible knowledge of the harp, pedals point the way forward.
Repository Citation
Jennings, McKenna, "Pedal Points: Harmony and the Double-Action Pedal System in Modern Harp Music" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 538.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/538
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
