When Persian Traditional Music meets Western Violin Tradition

Ghavi Helm, Kami

When Persian Traditional Music meets Western Violin Tradition

dc.contributor.advisor	Loewen, Peter
dc.creator	Ghavi Helm, Kami
dc.date.accessioned	2023-08-09T19:39:47Z
dc.date.available	2023-08-09T19:39:47Z
dc.date.created	2023-05
dc.date.issued	2023-04-21
dc.date.submitted	May 2023
dc.date.updated	2023-08-09T19:39:47Z
dc.description.abstract	While many cultures around the globe have a musical heritage that is both rich and unique, educational systems in the Western World rarely provide students with the tools needed to understand them, let alone perform them. In an attempt to remedy this problem, I shed light on the oral tradition of Persian Music and its Dastgâh modal system. The tuning, intervals, and performance practice found in this repertoire are unlike anything found in Western Art Music, which makes Persian traditional music seem foreign and inaccessible. With this study, my goal is to make Persian traditional music more accessible to Western violinists, by creating compositions that blend elements from Persian and Western music. This study begins with an ethnomusicological examination of the origins and evolution of the modern Dastgâh, including its forms of monophony, improvised melodic formulas and tetrachords, Pythagorean tuning, and microtonal features. Then follows a detailed study of performance practices among Persian masters on traditional instruments, noting their doubling and ornamentations, and more meditative style when compared to Western Art Music. To discover the methods of ornamentation and improvisation in the Dastgâh system, the thesis includes my analysis of two interpretations of the same mode. There follows a composition of my own making based on the Dastgâh-e Chahârgâh, informed by the elements I discovered in my study, alongside preparatory exercises designed to help the performer play the piece convincingly.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.citation	Ghavi Helm, Kami. "When Persian Traditional Music meets Western Violin Tradition." (2023) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/115203">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/115203</a>.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1911/115203
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.rights	Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.
dc.subject	Persian
dc.subject	traditional
dc.subject	music
dc.subject	violin
dc.subject	Iran
dc.subject	Dastgah
dc.title	When Persian Traditional Music meets Western Violin Tradition
dc.type	Thesis
dc.type.material	Text
thesis.degree.department	Music
thesis.degree.discipline	Music
thesis.degree.grantor	Rice University
thesis.degree.level	Doctoral
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Musical Arts