All master’s theses completed through the Graduate College of Western Michigan University since 2012 have been entered into ScholarWorks. Some may be embargoed or restricted by the authors and may be only available from on-campus computers. Print copies from earlier years are available through interlibrary loan. We have a few digital copies of earlier years. If you have any questions, please contact wmu-scholarworks@wmich.edu.
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
The Sounds Between Lordran and Yharnam: Exploring Motivic Recontextualization in Non-Linear Narratives, Tré Bryant
Existential Crisis (or the Art of Buying a Guitar), Maxwell Miller
The Correlates of Neurobiology and Lived Experiences of Music-Induced Bonding, Empathy, and Shared Flow, Ashley Marie Sherwood
All Is Flux for Solo Vibraphone and Fixed Media, Ethan Stearley
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
Final Songs: Music and the Voice in NieR Replicant ver. 1.22474487139..., Haden Douglass Plouffe
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
FUNGAL CHAPEL, Gabrielle Joy Cerberville
Aesthetic Implications Of Using The Computer Medium In Music, Rodrigo Valente Pascale
"Who Gives This Woman": Ted Hearne's Musical Exploration of Sexual Violence, Leonard Bill Walker Jr.
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
Engaging with the Score: Wadada Leo Smith, Graphic Notation, and the Performer’s Perspective, Kennedy Taylor Dixon
The Effect of Synchronous and Asynchronous Music on Heart Rate Variability and Mental State among Runners, Jeni Gustafson
The Best Is Yet To Come: Approaches to Rhythmic Development, Robert W. Lindsay II
Integrating the Latin American Villancico in Baroque Music History Studies, Linssey Ma
Outcomes of Music Improvisation Experiences: A Scoping Review, Julia McCarren
The Role of Music in the Trauma Narrative and “Storytelling”: Perspectives of Clinicians, Taylorlyn N. Mehnert
Compositions for 0 or 1 Performers, Rodrigo Valente Pascale
Common Ground, Cody Christopher-Park Ray
Wwisdom in Action, Drew R. Tomasik
The Library of Babel, Jared Tubbs
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
Anacalypsis, Kristopher David Bendrick
Metal Mayhem to Music Theory: The Use of Heavy Metal Music in Collegiate Music Theory Instruction, Weston Michael-Andrew Bernath
Singing in Synchrony: A Feasibility Study of Interpersonal Familiarity and Movement Synchrony in Group Singing, Sheridan Rockwell Brown
Singing with Strangers: A Feasibility Study Examining the Effect of Interpersonal Familiarity on Social Bonding during Group Singing, Molly Grettenberger
Prescribed Freedom, Proscribed Freedom: Compositional and Improvisational Balances in Jazz, Andrew W. Saliba
binary, Jared Tubbs
Effects of Music and Meditative Movement on Affect and Flow: A Feasibility Study, Lai Yiu Yeung
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
Potential Implications for Music Therapy on Nursing Assessment of Patients with Dementia in Hospice, Kamilla Akmuradova
The Use of Music Therapy towards Social Development in Children with Disabilities: A Rapid Review, Yuanyuan Bai
Electrodermal Activity during Dissonant Music in Musicians and Non-Musicians, Joshua Chapin
Music Improvisation as Treatment for Adolescents with Anxiety: An Integrative Review, Laura Lee Julian
The Boundaries of Modern Jazz Composition: Interaction between Tango and Jazz Music, Evgeniya Kozhevnikova
Mal_Functions for String Quartet and Live Electronics, Elliott Andrew Lupp
Curtis Otto Bismarck Curtis-Smith, Hollis Claire Wittman
Theses/Dissertations from 2018
The Effect of Patterned Sensory Enhancement on Balance and Ambulation in Persons Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, Brittany Barko
A Collection of Three Pieces for Solo Instrument and Electronics, Carolyn Borcherding
Effect of Social Feedback on Emotions and Preferences in Music, Megan Dillon
The Sunlight Cycle, Michael Flynn
A Survey of Perceptions and Professional Boundaries Between Music Therapy and Speech-Language Pathology, Jennifer Rose Fromius
Professional Preparedness: A Satisfaction Survey for Music Therapists in the United States, Xueyan Hua
An Examination of Age Labels in Music Related Dissertations and Theses: 2009-2016, Phillicia Jackson
A Study of the Effect of Socio-Cultural Demographics, Health Status, and Use of Music on Music Preferences, Kaitlin McKinley
The Academic Lineage of Music Therapy: Examining Fecundity Through Music Therapy Dissertations and Theses, Tomoko Page
Stifling the Subversive Swing: An Austrian Perspective on the Nazi Jazz Ban, Colin J. Rensch
The Use of Sonification to Enhance Complex Motor Movements: Patterned Sensory Enhancement and the Discus Throw, Masina F. Rose
The Academic Lineage of Music Therapy: Examining Fecundity Through University and College Professorships, Bernadette F. Skodack
The Determinants of Affect, Emotional Arousal, and Autobiographical Memories on Music-Evoked Nostalgia, Alycia Sterenberg
Theses/Dissertations from 2017
Testing the Arousal Hypothesis: The Effect of Music on Arousal as Measured by Electrodermal Activity during Verbal Processing, Meghan E. Feeman
The Effect of Auditory Stimuli on Test Performance: Testing the Arousal Hypothesis, Ian Thomas Kells
Gradus ad Parnassum: A Reader's Edition and Commentary, Sara Miller Schulte
The Bended Tree, Graeme Shields
Williams Syndrome and Music: A Systematic Integrative Review, Donovon Thakur
Theses/Dissertations from 2016
Oppression, Evaluation, and Direction: Understanding Character Agency through the Music of Wozzeck, Eric Allen Hester
Three Poems by Marcel Price, Kevin Kerr
A Case for Implementing Visual Aesthetics in Music Pedagogy, Mark Niskanen
The Perceptions of Music Therapy Interns and Internship Supervisors: American Music Therapy Association Professional Competencies, Jordan Rebecca Novak
Current Perceptions of Music Therapists on the Benefits and Liabilities of State Licensure, Dianne Sawyer
Theses/Dissertations from 2015
Physiological Response to Dissonance in Musicians and Nonmusicians, Angela Beth Biehl
Emotional Responses to Musical Dissonance in Musicians and Nonmusicians, Rebecca Joan Bumgarner
Music Therapists Behind Locked Doors: The Role of Trauma Exposure and Current Music Therapy Practices in Correctional and Forensic Psychiatry, Deanna K. Bush
Northsong, Neal Endicott
The Neurochemistry of Group Singing: Bonding and Oxytocin, Jason Keeler
Perceptions of Guitar Use and Training in Music Therapy: A Survey of Clinicians, Joshua Robert Keller
A Multimedia Resource of Orchestral Excerpts for Tuba, Regen Le Roy
The Experience of Social Flow in Vocal Jazz Improvisation, Brittany Neuser
Clinical Efficacy of Music Therapy in Addiction Counseling: A Systematic Review, Marissa Renee Rinehart
String Quartet, brut, Bernie Walasavage
Theses/Dissertations from 2014
The Status of, Teacher Attitudes Towards, and the lmpact of Music Therapy lnclusive Music Education in Michigan, Ann E. Armbruster
Gesture-Sensing Technology for the Bow: A Relevant and Accessible Digital Interface for String Instruments, Zachary Boyt
A Suryey of Music Therapists' Use of Music to Facilitate Reading Development in Children, Cynthia Cross
Tunes, Textures, and Trends: The Transformation of Johann Walther’s Geistliches Gesangbüchlein (1524, 1525, 1537, 1544, 1551), Emily Marie Solomon
The Efficacy of Music as a Non-Analgesic Method of Reducing Pain Perception during Cold Pressor Trials, Amanda Lynn Ziemba
Theses/Dissertations from 2013
Across the Red Steppe: Exploring Mongolian Music in China and Exporting it from Within, Thalea C. Davis
A Content Analysis of Music Therapy Theses and Dissertations from 2000 to 2012 from AMTA Approved Graduate Programs, Liisa G. Flores
A New Kind of National: Modified String Quartet Practices in Post-Soviet Eurasia, Adam Taylor Lenz
Comparison of the Strength of Harmony, Melodic Line, Rhythmic Variation, and Expressive Elements in Influencing Emotional Judgment in Music, Marilyn M. Moore
Theses/Dissertations from 2012
Composition of Jazz Pieces with Samba and Marimba Influences, Maria Cecelia Davila Almeida
Flutes, Festivities, and Fragmented Tradition: A Study of the Meaning of Music in Otavalo, Brenna C. Halpin
Current Music Therapy Practice with Adolescents with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders in the United States: A Survey of the Profession, Melinda K. Murray
Music Therapy in the NICU: Interventions and Techniques in Current Practice and a Survey of Experience and Designation Implications, Suzanna A. Peczeniuk-Hoffman
Tiny Sounds, Valeria Ch. Jonard Perez
Theses/Dissertations from 2011
Kevin Volans' She Who Sleeps Witha Small Blanket: An Examination of the Intentions, Reactions, Musical Influences, and Idiomatic Implications, Peter D. Breithaupt
Incomplete (Six), Joshua Burel
The Effect of Music on the Working Memory of Children Diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Rebecca J. Findley
The Reentry Experiences of International Music Therapy Professionals from the Asia Pacific Rim Area, Hiu Ying Angel Leung
Perception of Emotional Expression in Musical Performance by Individuals with Williams Syndrome, Gretchen Ross
The Maturation of Pulse: The Rhythmic Evolution from Swing to Bebop, Sam Weber
Theses/Dissertations from 2010
The Effect Of Visual Aids And Music On The Duration, Number Of Responses, And The Relationship Of Recalled Memories In Patients With Dementia, Christopher C. Combie
Rend the Heavens: A Concerto in One Movement for Electric Guitar and Orchestra, Gordon van Gent
Personality Characteristics and Professional Well-Being of Music Therapists Practicing In The Great Lakes Region of the American Music Therapy Association, Christine M. Irwin
Layers, Sung Chul Kim Chul Kim
A Survey of Music Therapists Regarding the Prevalence, Demographics, Goals, Music Interventions, and Treatment Modalities Utilized by Music Therapists in the Treatment of Pregnant Women, Brittin Lee Schumaker
Theses/Dissertations from 2009
Suite: Summer Day, Stephen Eugene Kozminski
The Use of Music in Early Childhood Centers in British Columbia: A Survey of the Perceptions and Practices of Early Childhood Educators, Michelle Lawrence
The Effect of Singing Paired with Pictures Versus Speaking Paired with Pictures on Vocabulary Acquisition of Korean ESL Students, Chul Hee Sheen