The electric guitar is underutilized in large ensemble art music. Some composers have sought to alleviate this deficiency by expanding the literature through the electric guitar concerto. Few electric guitar concerti are written for improvised jazz guitar, therefore presenting a need for this research. In this thesis, I explore the development of the jazz guitar concerto and nine compositional strategies that benefit composers writing a multi-genre jazz guitar concerto. I analyze selected jazz guitar concerti through lenses, including phrase-level compositional devices, textural and timbral schema, and musical hybridity, to identify these strategies. These concerti include: D.J. Sparr’s Katrina, Jake Hertzog’s The Ozark Concerto, and Terje Rypdal’s The Vanguardian. Metamorphosis, an original jazz guitar concerto, is the culmination of this research. This piece contributes to the literature, demonstrates the fluidity of the electric guitar in a mixed-genre piece, and encourages composers to write large ensemble art music for contemporary jazz guitarists.
","abstract_html":"<p>The electric guitar is underutilized in large ensemble art music. Some composers have sought to alleviate this deficiency by expanding the literature through the electric guitar concerto. Few electric guitar concerti are written for improvised jazz guitar, therefore presenting a need for this research. In this thesis, I explore the development of the jazz guitar concerto and nine compositional strategies that benefit composers writing a multi-genre jazz guitar concerto. I analyze selected jazz guitar concerti through lenses, including phrase-level compositional devices, textural and timbral schema, and musical hybridity, to identify these strategies. These concerti include: D.J. Sparr’s <em>Katrina</em>, Jake Hertzog’s <em>The Ozark Concerto</em>, and Terje Rypdal’s <em>The Vanguardian</em>. <em>Metamorphosis</em>, an original jazz guitar concerto, is the culmination of this research. This piece contributes to the literature, demonstrates the fluidity of the electric guitar in a mixed-genre piece, and encourages composers to write large ensemble art music for contemporary jazz guitarists.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Whitt, Ronnie J"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Benjamin Morris","Professor Larry Greer","Dr. Jamie Weaver"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-12-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z","subjects":["jazz guitar concerto","electric guitar","musical hybridity","compositional strategies","improvisation","genre blending","Composition","Music","Music Pedagogy","Music Theory"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/619","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Benjamin Morris","Professor Larry Greer","Dr. Jamie Weaver"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Whitt, Ronnie J"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["jazz guitar concerto","electric guitar","musical hybridity","compositional strategies","improvisation","genre blending","Composition","Music","Music Pedagogy","Music Theory"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/619"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The electric guitar is underutilized in large ensemble art music. Some composers have sought to alleviate this deficiency by expanding the literature through the electric guitar concerto. Few electric guitar concerti are written for improvised jazz guitar, therefore presenting a need for this research. In this thesis, I explore the development of the jazz guitar concerto and nine compositional strategies that benefit composers writing a multi-genre jazz guitar concerto. I analyze selected jazz guitar concerti through lenses, including phrase-level compositional devices, textural and timbral schema, and musical hybridity, to identify these strategies. These concerti include: D.J. Sparr’s Katrina, Jake Hertzog’s The Ozark Concerto, and Terje Rypdal’s The Vanguardian. Metamorphosis, an original jazz guitar concerto, is the culmination of this research. This piece contributes to the literature, demonstrates the fluidity of the electric guitar in a mixed-genre piece, and encourages composers to write large ensemble art music for contemporary jazz guitarists.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/619"],"dc:subject":["jazz guitar concerto","electric guitar","musical hybridity","compositional strategies","improvisation","genre blending","Composition","Music","Music Pedagogy","Music Theory"],"dc:title":["Metamorphosis: An Original Jazz Guitar Concerto Exploring Improvisation and Polystylistic Strategies in the Modern Concerto"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Music"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z"}