Project Director

Hassevoort, Darrin

Department Examiner

Ford, Kevin

Department

Dept. of Philosophy and Religion

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

The aspects of vocal music performance that are often the most engaging, expressive, and creative cannot be conveyed with the established vocabulary of staff notation. Consequently, discussion of artistic choices is limited to oral or written-word formats that are neither internationally interpretable or widely shared. This research proposes a remedy by creating notation symbols for the larynx, tongue, and formants so the movements of a singer's instrument can be described in staff notation. These symbols, along with the International Phonetic Alphabet, were applied to four performances to highlight specific artistic choices. Additionally, this paper discusses the history of vocal sheet music and the role it plays in modern contemporary music genres. Upon application, it was determined that the custom symbols are helpful but clunky in discussing artistic choices, and much more information was able to be conveyed through vowel notation than tongue or larynx notation. Future research should focus on creating notation symbols for other parts of the vocal instrument, and testing the coherence of these custom symbols by sharing examples of them with vocalists.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my thesis director, Mr. Darrin Hassevoort, for sharing your knowledge of the other side of music. Thank you to Dr. Kevin Ford for your patience and critical eye. Thank you to the musicians who have shaped my perspective on all things sound.

Degree

B. A.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Date

5-2026

Subject

Musical notation; Sheet music; Singing--Instruction and study

Keyword

Sheet music; Barbershop quartet; Singing; International Phonetic Alphabet; Anatomy

Discipline

Music

Document Type

Theses

Extent

iv, 48 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

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