{"id":{"repo_id":"edithcowan","oai_identifier":"oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-3410"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/edithcowan/oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-3410","repository":{"repo_id":"edithcowan","name":"Edith Cowan University","base_url":"https://ro.ecu.edu.au/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Applications of Béla Bartók's techniques of pitch organisation to jazz improvisation","abstract":"The music of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945) reconciles hauntingly lyrical beauty with harsh, atonal dissonance, appealing to music fans, musicians, and theorists alike for over a century and suggesting a rich resource of inspiration for improvising musicians. The composer Pierre Boulez commented that “Whether it is in a brutal violence animating a sound material in fusion, or in a tranquil gentleness glowing in a halo of grating sounds and colours… Bartók is incomparable and remains unique”. Informed by Bartók theorists Elliott Antokoletz, János Kárpáti, Erno Lendvai, and by Bartók’s own writings, this research identifies four melodic techniques: ‘mistuning’, ‘chromatic compression and diatonic extension’, ‘polymodal chromaticism’, and ‘inversional symmetry’. These four techniques inform a reflexive practice-led research project developing a collection of practice methods aimed at internalising and executing the techniques in improvised performance. The resulting practice methods were implemented and documented over a one-year period, exploring and evaluating concepts of automaticity and motor program theory. The research culminates in a collection of recordings along with this exegetical text reflecting on the process and results of the research. This project aims to expand my improvising practice, fuel the creation of new, interesting music, and to generate insights into ways other musicians and jazz students may approach the work and analysis of composers such as Bartók as a source of inspiration.","abstract_html":"The music of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945) reconciles hauntingly lyrical beauty with harsh, atonal dissonance, appealing to music fans, musicians, and theorists alike for over a century and suggesting a rich resource of inspiration for improvising musicians. The composer Pierre Boulez commented that “Whether it is in a brutal violence animating a sound material in fusion, or in a tranquil gentleness glowing in a halo of grating sounds and colours… Bartók is incomparable and remains unique”. Informed by Bartók theorists Elliott Antokoletz, János Kárpáti, Erno Lendvai, and by Bartók’s own writings, this research identifies four melodic techniques: ‘mistuning’, ‘chromatic compression and diatonic extension’, ‘polymodal chromaticism’, and ‘inversional symmetry’. These four techniques inform a reflexive practice-led research project developing a collection of practice methods aimed at internalising and executing the techniques in improvised performance. The resulting practice methods were implemented and documented over a one-year period, exploring and evaluating concepts of automaticity and motor program theory. The research culminates in a collection of recordings along with this exegetical text reflecting on the process and results of the research. This project aims to expand my improvising practice, fuel the creation of new, interesting music, and to generate insights into ways other musicians and jazz students may approach the work and analysis of composers such as Bartók as a source of inspiration.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dasika, Niran Jay"],"institution":"Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:21:17Z","subjects":["Jazz improvisation","Pitch Organisation","Techniques","Bela Bartok"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2408","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dasika, Niran Jay"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2021-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Jazz improvisation","Pitch Organisation","Techniques","Bela Bartok"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2408","https://ro.ecu.edu.au/context/theses/article/3410/viewcontent/DASIKA_Niran_Exegesis_Redacted.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The music of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945) reconciles hauntingly lyrical beauty with harsh, atonal dissonance, appealing to music fans, musicians, and theorists alike for over a century and suggesting a rich resource of inspiration for improvising musicians. The composer Pierre Boulez commented that “Whether it is in a brutal violence animating a sound material in fusion, or in a tranquil gentleness glowing in a halo of grating sounds and colours… Bartók is incomparable and remains unique”. Informed by Bartók theorists Elliott Antokoletz, János Kárpáti, Erno Lendvai, and by Bartók’s own writings, this research identifies four melodic techniques: ‘mistuning’, ‘chromatic compression and diatonic extension’, ‘polymodal chromaticism’, and ‘inversional symmetry’. These four techniques inform a reflexive practice-led research project developing a collection of practice methods aimed at internalising and executing the techniques in improvised performance. The resulting practice methods were implemented and documented over a one-year period, exploring and evaluating concepts of automaticity and motor program theory. The research culminates in a collection of recordings along with this exegetical text reflecting on the process and results of the research. This project aims to expand my improvising practice, fuel the creation of new, interesting music, and to generate insights into ways other musicians and jazz students may approach the work and analysis of composers such as Bartók as a source of inspiration."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Theses: Doctorates and Masters"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Applications of Béla Bartók's techniques of pitch organisation to jazz improvisation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Dasika, Niran Jay"],"dc:date":["2021-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["The music of Hungarian composer Béla Bartók (1881-1945) reconciles hauntingly lyrical beauty with harsh, atonal dissonance, appealing to music fans, musicians, and theorists alike for over a century and suggesting a rich resource of inspiration for improvising musicians. The composer Pierre Boulez commented that “Whether it is in a brutal violence animating a sound material in fusion, or in a tranquil gentleness glowing in a halo of grating sounds and colours… Bartók is incomparable and remains unique”. Informed by Bartók theorists Elliott Antokoletz, János Kárpáti, Erno Lendvai, and by Bartók’s own writings, this research identifies four melodic techniques: ‘mistuning’, ‘chromatic compression and diatonic extension’, ‘polymodal chromaticism’, and ‘inversional symmetry’. These four techniques inform a reflexive practice-led research project developing a collection of practice methods aimed at internalising and executing the techniques in improvised performance. The resulting practice methods were implemented and documented over a one-year period, exploring and evaluating concepts of automaticity and motor program theory. The research culminates in a collection of recordings along with this exegetical text reflecting on the process and results of the research. This project aims to expand my improvising practice, fuel the creation of new, interesting music, and to generate insights into ways other musicians and jazz students may approach the work and analysis of composers such as Bartók as a source of inspiration."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2408","https://ro.ecu.edu.au/context/theses/article/3410/viewcontent/DASIKA_Niran_Exegesis_Redacted.pdf"],"dc:publisher":["Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia"],"dc:source":["Theses: Doctorates and Masters"],"dc:subject":["Jazz improvisation","Pitch Organisation","Techniques","Bela Bartok"],"dc:title":["Applications of Béla Bartók's techniques of pitch organisation to jazz improvisation"],"dc:type":["thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:21:17Z"}