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PEDAGOGICAL WORKS POR PIANO BY SAMUEL ADLER
by
MEI-YUKTANG, B.A., M.M.
A DISSERTATION
IN
FINE ARTS (MUSIC)
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in
Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Approved
August, 2003
Copyright 2003, Mei-Yuk Tang
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to those individuals who so kindly
assisted me in the preparation of this study. My special thanks are extended to Dr. Lora
Deahl w^ ho patiently guided me through the preparation of this dissertation. Her
encouragement, enthusiasm, and knowledge made fmishing this dissertation possible.
She also provided excellent assistance in proofreading the entire document. The advice
of Dr. Jason Sifford and Dr. Matthew Santa regarding the pedagogica! aspects and
compositional techniques of Adler's works was invaluable. I also wish to extend my
gratitude to Dr. Wayne Hobbs, Dr. Daniel Nathan, and Dr. John Stinespring for serving
on my committee and for their guidance and support. My particular thanks are offered to
Dr. Samuel Adler who graciously answered my questions and to Mrs. Suzanne Tapp who
assisted me with my English on Chapter III. Grateful acknowledgement is also given to
the Graduate School of Texas Tech University for granting me a Summer
Dissertation/Thesis Research Award. Finally, I want to thank my family members in
Hong Kong for their unfailing encouragement, patience, support, and understanding!
11
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iv
LIST OF TABLES vi
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. BIOGRAPHY 15
III. COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUES 29
JV. PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS 71
V. A COMPARISON OF PEDAGOGICAL WORKS FOR 99 PIANO BY BARTK, KABALEVSKY, AND ADLER
VL CONCLUSION 118
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 122
APPENDIX
A. ANALYSIS TABLES FOR GiL4i)C/5/ 127
B. ANALYSIS TABLES FOR GRADUSII 161
C ANALYSIS TABLES FOR Gif^Z)f/5/// 207
D. ANALYSIS TABLES FOR THE SENSEOF TOUCH 247
E. AGRADEDLIST0FADLER'SGi?^i)[/5AND 264 THE SENSE OF TOUCH
111
ABSTRACT
Many new musical styles evolved during the twentieth century. The disjunct
melodies, harsh dissonances, and irregular time-signatures, phrasings, rhythms, and
notations featured in much music of the twentieth century were foreign to those
accustomed to the tonai harmonies of the major-minor system. Consequently, new
techniques and guidelines to performing and teaching this repertoire were in great
demand.
Samuel Adler is a prolific composer whose works include operas, symphonies,
concertos, chamber music, vocal music, and piano music. Adler wrote the Gradus and
The Sense of Touch to pr vide young students with a solid theoretical and technical
introduction to the performance of contemporary music.
The purpose of this study is three-fold: to analyze the pedagogica! piano pieces of
Samuel Adler in terms of their musical and pedagogical content; to compare these
compositions with the works of important twentieth-century piano pedagogues, Bartk
and Kabalevsky; and to propose Adler's works as worthy additions to the pedagogical
canon.
The study of Adler's Gmdus set (1971 and 1981) and The Sense of Touch (1983)
shows that these sixty-eight pieces are short in length but neh in musical content. The
flowing melodies, driving rhythms, coloristic sound effects, and clarity of texture of
Adler's piano pieces are appealing to students. They are recommended by music
scholars, piano teachers, and pedagogues. A comparison of Adler's coUections with Bla
IV
Bartk's Mikrokosmos (1926, 32-39) and Dmitri Kabalevsky's Pieces far Children, Op.
27 (1937-38) and Twenty-Four Little Pieces, Op. 39 (1943) shows that each has its own
function. Nevertheless, Adler introduces a greater number of innovative twentieth-
century techniques than either Kabalevsky or Bartk.
Adler's Gradus and The Sense of Touch are valuable teaching materials. They
contain a diversity of contemporary styles and systems. At the same time, these works
exemplify Adler's expressive and eclectic compositional style. They are instructive
piano works of high quality that deserve a wider circulation among piano teachers and
students.
LIST OF TABLES
A.l. Gmdus I, No. 1 128
A.2. GmdusI,No.2 130
A.3. GmdusI,No.3 132
A.4. Gmdus I, No. 4 133
A.5. GmdusI,No.5 135
A.6. GmdusI,No.6 137
A.7. GmdusI,No.l 139
A.8. GmdusI,No.8 141
A.9. Gmdus I, No. 9 142
AIO. GmdusI,No. 10 144
A.11. Gmdus I, No. n 145
A. 12. Gmdus I, No. 12 146
A.13. GmdusI,No. 13 147
A. 14. Gra(/Ms/,No. 14 148
A.15. GmdusI,No. 15 150
A. 16. Gmdus I, No. 16 151
A17. GmdusI,No. 17 153
A. 18. GrarfM5/,No. 18 155
A.19. GmdusI,No. 19 157
A.20. GmdusI,No. 20 159
VI
B.l. Gmdus II, No. \ 162
B.2. Gradus II, No. 2 164
B.3. Gradus II, No. 3 166
B.4. Gradus II, No. 4 168
B.5. Gradus II, No. 5 170
B.6. GradusII,No. 6 171
B.7. Gradus II, No. 7 173
B.8. GradusII,No. 8 175
B.9. Gradus II, No. 8A 177
B. 10. Gradus II, No. 8B 178
B.ll . Gradus II, No. 9 180
B.12. GraJw^//, No. 10 182
B.13. GradusII,No. 11 184
B.14. GradusII,No. 12 186
B.15. GradusII,No. 13 188
B.16. GradusII,No. 14 190
B.l7. Gradus II, No. 15 193
B.l8. GradusII,No. 16 196
B.l9. Gradus II, No. 17 198
B.20. GradusII,No. 18 201
B.21. Gradus II, No. 19 204
B.22. Gradus II, No. 20 205
VII
C I . Gradus III, No. \ 208
C2. Gradus III, No. 2 210
C.3. Gradus III, No. 3 212
C.4. Gradus III, No. 4 214
C.5. Gradus III, No. 5 217
C.6. Gradus III, No. 6 219
C.7. Gradus III, No. 7 220
C.8. GradusIII,No. 8 222
C.9. Gradus III, No. 9 224
CIO. GraJM5///,No. 10 226
C U . GraafMi ///, No. 11 228
C.\2. GradusIII,No. 12 230
C.3. Gradus III, No. 13 232
C.14. GraflfM5///,No. 14 235
C15. Gradus III, No. 15 237
C16. GraJM5///,No. 16 239
C.n. Gradus III, No. n 241
C18. GraJM5 ///, No. 18 243
C19. Gradus III, No. 19 244
C20. GradusIILNo. 20 246
vili
D.l. The Sense of Touch, No. l 248
D.2. The Sense of Touch, No. U 250
D.3. The Sense of Touch, No. Ili 252
D.4. The Sense of Touch, No. lY 254
D.5. The Sense ofTouch,No.V 256
D.6. The Sense of Touch, No. Wl 258
D.7. The Sense ofTouch,No. VII 260
D.8. The Sense of Touch, No. Ylll 262
E. 1. Reference Chart for Grading 266
E.2. Graded List of Gradus I 267
E.3. Graded List of GraJu^// 267
E.4. Graded List ofGraJw^/// 267
E.5. GradeListof The Sense of Touch 268
ix
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Twentieth-century music stili challenges us today even though we are several
years into the twenty-first century. Most method and instruction books were developed
to deal with Western musical language dating fi-om the last quarter of the seventeenth
century to the late nineteenth century. During this period, certain principles of tonality
govemed Western music. During the twentieth century, this standard system was
undermined by new musical developments. In Contemporary Music and the Pianist,
Alice Canaday states that ".. .traditional defnitions of the elements of music, viz.
'melody,' 'harmony,' 'rhythm,' and even the defmition of what is musical sound, are no
longer adequate. We need to broaden and re-define such musical concepts so that our
teaching, performing and listening can more accurately reflect the true state of music
today."' There is a need to redefine and to expand our musical concepts to adjust to
contemporary "musics."
Within the context of contemporary Western art music, a diversity of styles and
systems have emerged since the late nineteenth century. The music of our time is often
more difficult to understand than that of the previous centuries, even for professional
musicians. Since most of us are accustomed to the tonai sounds of the major-minor
system, our ears tend to reject the unfamiliar dissonant sounds of contemporary harmonic
' Alice Canaday, Contemporary Music and the Pianist: A Guidebook of Resources and Materials (Port Washington, NY: Alfred Music, 1974; reprint, Tumbridge, VT: Trillenium Music, 1997), 5.
language. At the same time, the concept of musical sound has also changed. For
example, in contemporary piano literature, new sonorities are created by tapping or
knocking the piano's wooden or metal parts or by strumming or plucking the strings
inside the piano. Piano pieces explore the full range of the keyboard, and composers
exploit its percussive nature. Now sounds are created by the emphasis on single tones
(for example, points of sound in a pointillistic style), textures (changing texture abruptly),
sound masses (such as clusters), timbres (producing new sounds by using new techniques
with conventional Instruments), and different rhythmic constructs (applying rhythmic
displacement, metric modulation, etc.).^
Contemporary musical elements such as disjunct melodies, harsh dissonances,
irregular time-signatures and phrasings, unpredictable rhythms, and non-traditional
notations are difficult to comprehend and appreciate. Unfamiliarity with musical
elements that are not used in the common practice language of Western music is at the
root of these difficulties. In performing contemporary works for piano, EUen Thompson
points out that "the fingers must adjust to new shapes and combinations of notes, such as
clusters, quarta!, moda! or synthetic scale pattems, while the mind and eye must leam to
grasp widely-spaced groups of notes, intricate rhytlmis, changing meters, a maze of
accidentals, etc."^ Ways of leaming new techniques, gestures, symbols, and styles are
^ Ibid., 6-8.
^ Ellen R. Thompson, Teaching and Understanding Contemporary Piano Music (San Diego, CA: KjosWest, 1976), 17.
required to perform and interpret new music. There is a great demand for guidelines to
understand the various styles and systems of contemporary musical literature.
Frequent, early exposure to contemporary music can remedy the present state of
ignorance about contemporary music. In IVhat to Listenfor in Music, Aaron Copland
argued that the reason why ".. .so many music lovers feel disoriented when they listen to
contemporary music [is that they] seem to accept with equanimity the notion that the
work of the present-day composer is not for them. Why? Because they 'Oust] don't
understand it.'"'* He suggested that "the key to the understanding of new music is
repeated hearings."^ One of the major reasons why the music of previous centuries is
well-received is that it is performed frequently. If contemporary compositions were
performed more often, they would become more accessible and familiar to ali. No one
denies the importance and greatness of our musical heritage. Nevertheless, we should
also be prepared to appreciate and treasure the music of our time.
It is easier to prepare young ears to comprehend contemporary musical literature
before they are conditioned exclusively to traditional harmony. Nonetheless, young
music students are often introduced to contemporary hterature very late in their musical
training if at ali. One reason could be that teachers are struggling to understand
contemporary musical elements themselves. These teachers need assistance in selecting
appropriate contemporary musical literature and training in how to use and teach it.
' Aaron Copland, What to Listenfor in Music (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1957), 242.
' Ibid., 251.
Pedagogues such as Samuel Adler compose piano works to remedy this situation.
He aims to prepare piano students who are inexperienced in contemporary literature to
deal with the more common compositional techniques, styles, and systems of the
twentieth century. Adler's piano coWectons-Gradus I, II, III, and The Sense of Touch-
are intended to expose ".. .the ear as well as the fingers of the student to the demands of
the present and the immediate past."^ Each of these pieces ".. .utlizes a technique of
composition which has become common practice in the last half-century."^
Justification
The purpose of this study is three-fold: to analyze the pedagogical piano pieces of
Samuel Adler in terms of their compositional techniques and pedagogical aspects; to
compare these compositions with the works of important twentieth-century piano
pedagogues, Bartk and Kabalevsky; and to propose Adler's works as worthy additions
to the pedagogical canon.
Bradford Gowen, concert pianist and professor of piano at the University of
Maryland, describes Adler's piano music as of "exceptional quality, well worth the o
attention of pianists seeking inventive and engaging additions to their repertoire." He
notes that "the clarity of texture, flow of melody, rhythmic vigor, satisfying construction,
and, perhaps most characteristically, the hearty emotional communication of ali of bis * Samuel Adler, Gradus I (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), Preface.
^ Ibid.
* Bradford Gowen, "Samuel Adler's Piano Music," The American Music Teacher 25, no. 3 (January 1976): 6.
best music, give to these piano works a distinction and an audience appeal not commonly
found in today's music."^ One may find the same qualities in Adler's pedagogical works,
which include the sixty pieces of the three-volume set, Gradus, and a later coUection of
eight pieces called The Sense of Touch. According to Gowen, these works are attractive,
brief, clear in intent, instrucfive, and are worthy of a wide circulation.
The pieces in Adler's Gradus and The Sense of Touch contain a diversity of
contemporary styles and systems. At the same time, these works summarize the eclectic
compositional style of Adler. Adler, in fact, has called himself the "happy eclectc."'
Contemporary musical elements include the use of lyrical, disjunct, angular, and static
melodies; motorie rhythms; dissonant harmonic practices; and homophonic or polyphonic
textures. These sixty-eight pieces are short in length but rich in musical content. The
author hopes that this study will establisb these pieces as important additions to the
teaching repertoire so that more people will benefit fi-om these works.
In spite of the fact that some of the current commercially available piano method
books include materials introducing contemporary music concepts, not ali of them are
popular among piano studios. For example, the Hai Lonard series, published in 1996-
1999, introduces a few cluster chords, whole-tone pattems, and some modality. The
Music for Piano series, pubUshed in 1961 and revised in 1979 and 1994-1996, introduces
pentatonic, modal, and twelve-tone music. The reasons for this lack of popularity are
' Ibid., 8.
'" Nelson W. Hill, "The Sacred Choral Works of Samuel Adler: A Study and Interpretive Analysis of Selected Compositions" (D.M.A. diss., University of Cincinnati 1999), 15.
varied. First, not ali piano teachers like to use method books. Second, it is possible that
these series may not have been advertised to enough piano teachers. Third, teachers may
not feel it necessary to introduce contemporary musical elements to elementary students.
As a result, most piano students have not been exposed to these more up-to-date piano
method books.
The pedagogical piano pieces of early twentieth-century composers Bartk and
Kabalevsky are stili commonly used to help fili the gap between music of the past and the
present, especially the Mikrokosmos of Bartk. During the latter half of the twentieth
century, composers such as David Diamond," Ross Lee Finney,'^ and Barbara Pentland'^
have written individuai contemporary short piano pieces or collections of piano pieces.
Adler's works are among those that aim to introduce piano students to contemporary
music.
Adler's piano collections Gradus and The Sense of Touch exhibit a greater variety
of contemporary styles and systems than the other available contemporary piano
collections. For example, aleatorie music, twelve-tone music, and pieces that explore the
inside of the piano are included. Anita and Louis Gordon suggest that ''Gradus is an
extremely useful source, both for teaching the techniques necessary to play twenteth-
' ' David Diamond's piano collection Then and Now, published in 1966 by Southern Music, contains eleven pieces and most are atonal.
'^ Ross Lee Finney's 32 Piano Games, published in 1969 by Henmar Press, contains contemporary piano pieces firom easy to moderately difficult.
'^ Barbara Pentland's three books of Music ofNow, published in 1970 by the Waterloo Music, introduce some contemporary musical elements.
century music, and as a brief and simple theoretical introduction to modem music."'''
Lynn Freeman Olson, composer and piano pedagogue, comments that The Sense of
Touch deals with both the technical skills and the compositional devices of contemporary
music and emphasizes physical skills and tactile awareness.'^
The first two volumes of Gradus were published in 1971 and the third volume
appeared in 1981. Each volume of the Gradus contains twenty pieces.'^ The third
volume was composed in response to requests by teachers for works that would bridge
the gap between the first and second volumes. The difficulty ranges from the late-
elementary level to the late-intermediate and early-advanced levels. Each piece uses at
least one twentieth-century compositional technique. For example. No. 5 of Gradus I and
No. 3 of Gradus II feature parallel movement in fourths and fifths. There are twelve-tone
pieces in Nos. 8a-l 1 oi Gradus //and Nos. 16-17 of Gradus III. Nos. 4, 7, and 14 of
Gradus I and four pieces in Gradus //make use of church modes. No. 8 of Gradus III is
written on octatonic collections. In the notes, Adler briefly discusses the compositional
devices used and occasionally provides suggestions for studying these pieces. The Sense
of Touch (1983) was commissioned by the piano journal Clavier. It contains eight short
pieces also introducing the young pianist to techniques used in twentieth-century music.
'" Anita and Louis Gordon, "Contemporary Music for Pianists," The Piano Quarterly 80 (Winter 1972-73): 28.
'^ Lynn Freeman Olson, ''Commissioned by Clavier," Clavier 23 (March 1984): 19-21.
'* If Nos. 8 and 8a are included, there are 22 pieces in Gradus IL Nevertheless, these two pieces are not counted because No. 8 is the matrix table of the twelve-tone row and No. 8a is a preliminary exercise that notates the pitches of the tone row.
For example. No. 1 of The Sense of Touch explores the full range of the keyboard on a
single pitch class. No. 2 features pandiatonicism and contrapuntai technique. No. 8
includes ostinati, clusters, and bi-tonality.
The titles, Gradus and The Sense of Touch, refer to important pedagogical works
of the eighteenth century. Muzio Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum (1817) is a collection
of one hundred pieces that represents a summary of the composer's "keyboard
creativity." The many exercises included in this collection may have been intended as
preparatory material for the compositions included in the set (for example, preludes and 1 -7
canons). Franfois Couperin's influential treatise L'Art de toucher le clavecin (The Art
of Playing [Touching] the Harpsichord, 1717) and C P. E. Bach's Versuch iiber die
wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen (Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard
Instruments, part 1 [1743] and part 2 [1762]) discuss the styles and performance practices 1 S
of eighteenth-century France and Germany. Likewise, Adler's Gradus and The Sense
of Touch offer preparatory pieces and instructive information conceming performance
practice, but of the twentieth century. Adler's titles suggest a connection with the
pedagogical purposes of the present and the past.
In the Preface of the first two volumes of Gradus, Adler clearly states the
intention of these pieces: ".. .it is evident that a good number of today's performing
musicians are not well prepared to deal with even a few of the simplest compositional
techniques. The present two volumes attempi to remedy this condition by exposing the '^ Stewart Gordon, A History of Keyboard Literature (New York: Schirmer Books, 1996): 202.
'^ Ibid., 71 and 85.
ear as well as the fingers of the student to the demands of the present and the immediate
past." Although the situation may have improved since the publication of the work,
Gradus and The Sense of Touch continue to be useful and important vehicles for
introducing twentieth-century music to piano students.
There are six chapters in this dissertation. Chapter 1 provides introductory
material stating the justification, review of related research, methodology and materials,
and delimitations of this study. Chapter II focuses on the personal history, teaching
philosophy, and philosophy of music of Samuel Adler. Chapter III discusses the
compositional techniques exhibited in Adler's pieces. Chapter IV examines the
pedagogical aspects of Adler's compositions and provides suggestions on how Adler's
works could be integrated into more traditional courses of study. Chapter V compares
pedagogical works by three twentieth-century composers: Samuel Adler's Gradus and
The Sense of Touch, Bla Bartk's Mikrokosmos, and Dmitry Kabalevsky's Pieces for
Children, Op. 27 and Op. 39. Chapter VI concludes the study. Appendices at the back of
the dissertation contain information about each of the sixty-eight pieces studied and a
graded list of ali the pieces.
Although thorough studies have been made of Bartk's Mikrokosmos and
Kabalevsky's Pieces for Children, there is virtually no research on Adler's Gradus and
The Sense of Touch. The author believes that a thorough analysis of these sixty-eight
pieces would reveal the distinctiveness of Samuel Adler's piano music and enable both
Samuel Adler, Gradus I (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), Preface.
teachers and students to have a better understanding of bis pedagogical and compositional
techniques and of contemporary music. It is hoped that this study will achieve what
Adler states in the Preface of Gradus: "The aim of these books is not to bring about the
acceptance or rejection of any system, but rather to widen musical acquaintance and to
stimulate the wish to consider more deeply a style, a notational system, or a musical
philosophy."^^
Review of Related Research
In order to uncover existing essential research related to the Gradus and The
Sense of Touch by Samuel Adler, Pieces for Children by Kabalevsky, and Mikrokosmos
by Bartk, many research methodologies were applied. The research process included:
(a) researching different documents, articles, books on twentieth-century/contemporary
music; (b) searching through the Dissertation Abstracts Online and Dissertation
Abstracts published by University Microfilms, Incorporated, a listing of intemationally
published subject-related dissertations and theses;^' and (e) exploring different computer-
assisted research databases such as Worldcat, RILN, RILM, ERIC, and EducationAbs.
Results from searching in Dissertation Abstracts Online revealed that there were
seven dissertations related to Samuel Adler's solo vocal works, chamber music, organ
music, and operas. There is no specific research on Adler's Gradus and The Sense of
Touch. The only existing publications on the subject of this dissertation are three journal
^Ibid.
'^ Dissertation Abstracts Online and Dissertation Abstracts, published by University Microfilms, Incorporated, also provide abstracts for documents written after 1982.
10
articles, the Preface and Notes in the piano score of Gradus, and the brief notes in the
score of The Sense of Touch. The two journal articles about Gradus only provide an
overview for the first two volumes of the set and do not cover the third volume of the
Gradus, which was written ten years after the first two volumes. The journal article
about The Sense of Touch only gives a brief remark on the collection and provides a short
discussion of the piece No. 8.
Research on other books on twentieth-century/contemporary music shows that a
few other sources contain some information on Gradus I and / / Alice Canaday's
Contemporary Music and the Pianist: A Guidebook of Resources and Materials suggests
Gradus I and / / as contemporary pedagogical works. Ellen R. Thompson's Teaching and
Understanding Contemporary Piano Music identifies briefly several contemporary
musical elements found in selected pieces in Gradus I and //. Although Carole
Thibodeaux's "Performance Analysis: A System for Increasing in Piano Students an
Awareness of Stylistic Interpretation as Applied to Selected Twentieth Century Piano
Music" analyzes two pieces from GradusNo. 16, Gradus I and No. 17, Gradus IIno
other reference is given to any of Adler's other works.
Nevertheless, there are numerous documents available on the piano music,
pedagogical contributions, and compositional techniques of Bartk and Kabalevsky, and
^^ Alice Canaday's Contemporary Music and the Pianist: A Guidebook of Resources and Materials (Tumbridge, VT: Trillenium Music, 1997); Ellen R. Thompson's Teaching and Understanding Contemporary Piano Music (San Diego, CA: Kjos West, 1976); Carole, Thibodeaux, "Performance Analysis: A System for Increasing in Piano Students an Awareness of Stylistic Interpretation as Applied to Selected Twentieth Century Piano Music" (Ph. D. diss., University of Oklahoma, 1976), 175-179 and 264-269.
11
the musical elements, compositional techniques, and pedagogical ideas of the twentieth
century. Many of these are listed in the selective bibliography as functional resources.
This dissertation has provided an opportunity to study Adler's Gradus and The
Sense of Touch. The author of this study believes that the thorough study of these piano
works will serve as a guide for piano teachers and students to appreciate Adler's piano
music and as a useful source for leaming about contemporary music.
Methodology and Materials
A thorough analysis of Adler's sixty-eight pieces was conducted to identify the
twentieth-century music concepts and compositional techniques that were used. Located
in the appendices are discussions of each of the studied pieces, which bring to light three
important aspects: compositional techniques, pedagogical elements, and practice
suggestions. The pedagogical elements concentrate on a discussion of technical skills,
rather than restating the contemporary compositional techniques covered in the previous
category in the table. The practice suggestions provide ideas on how to prepare students
with warm-up exercises related to the technical skills required in the pieces, how to
practice or study specific rhythmic pattems or figurations, and how to introduce new
elements such as modal scales and different intervals. Such discussions will help readers
to better understand Adler's pieces and to prepare them to study the pieces. A graded list
of ali sixty-eight pieces is presented in the Appendix E to serve as a general reference
guide for studying the pieces.
12
Adler's pieces were compared to pieces in Bla Bartk's Mikrokosmos and
Dmitry Kabalevsky's Pieces for Children, Op. 27 and Op. 39. The result reveals the
similarities and differences among the selected works of these three composers. This
study also provides suggestions for incorporating the pedagogical pieces of Adler into
traditional courses of piano music and proposes Adler's pieces as worthy additions to the
standard pedagogical canon.
Delimitations
For the purpose of this study, the term "contemporary music" refers to serious
Westem art music that has been composed from the late nineteenth century to the present.
Since Adler's Gradus I, II, III, and The Sense of Touch were composed during the early
1970s and 1980s, the contemporary compositional techniques covered are limited to
those that emerged from the late nineteenth century up to the early 1980s. The discussion
in Chapter III, "Compositional Techniques," focuses on some of the major characteristics
exhibited in contemporary music which are illustrated in Adler's piano pieces. Chapter
rV, "Pedagogical Aspects," concentrates on exploring the teaching elements of Adler's
pieces. In Chapter V, a comparison is conducted of Adler's Gradus and The Sense of
Touch, Kabalevsky's Op. 27 and Op. 39, and the first four books of Bartk's
Mikrokosmos. The last two books of Mikrokosmos are excluded from the comparison
because they are on a more advanced level than the other selected works discussed in this
chapter. The category called "Pedagogical Elements" in the analysis tables of the
13
appendices specifically discusses technical skills such as muscular relaxation and wrist
flexibility in each of the sixty-eight pieces.
Conclusion
Samuel Adler is a prolific composer, experienced teacher, and conductor. He
plays a significant role in the contemporary musical scene, particularly in the United
States. The author hopes that this study will establisb Adler's pieces as worthy additions
to the current pedagogical canon. At the same time, this study will serve as a leaming
guide to Adler's Gradus and The Sense of Touch and may inspire piano students to take a
more serious interest in contemporary music. Like Adler, the author also hopes that
"...the awakened student and teacher, having begun bere, will continue to explore the
complex and diverse music which has been created in our century."
" Samuel Adler, Gradus (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), Preface.
14
CHAPTER II
BIOGRAPHY'
Early Years
Samuel Hans Adler was bom in Mannheim, Germany, on March 4, 1928. He was
brought up in a musical family. His first musical influence was bis father, Hugo Chaim
Adler. Hugo Adler was a cantor and the most important composer of the American
Reformed Jewish synagogues in the twentieth century. Hugo Adler studied briefly with
his Mannheim neighbor, Ernst Toch, but was largely self-taught.^ Hugo Adler was also a
biblical scholar and he composed numerous large cantatas. Samuel Adler's mother was a
mezzo-soprano and a pianist. She was able to accompany herself at the piano and sang
songs by Brabms, Reger, Pfitzner, and Mahler.
Samuel Adler's musical experiences began at an early age. He was a boy soprano
in the synagogue choir. At the age of five, he began to leam the recorder, using the
solfeggio system taught to ali Mannheim children. With the help of his grandfather, who
was a violinisi, Adler leamed to read music. At the age of six, Adler heard his first opera.
At age seven, Adler began daily violin lessons with Albert Levy, the former
' The biographical information is drawn from two major resources: Nelson W. Hill, "The Sacred Choral Works of Samuel Adler: A Study and Interpretive Analysis of Selected Compositions" (D.M.A. thesis. University of Cincinnati, 1999); and Joan Dawson Lucas, "The Operas of Samuel Adler: An Analytcal Study" (Ph.D. diss., Louisiana State University, 1978).
^ Ernst Toch was later a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and professor at UCLA. See Nelson W. Hill, "The Sacred Choral Works of Samuel Adler: A Study and Interpretive Analysis of Selected Compositions" (D.M.A. thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1999), 1.
15
concertmaster of the locai Pfalz Orchestra. At the same time, he began taking piano
lessons from his father but did not really practice. Adler regrets this rebellion against his
father. When Adler was ten, his family moved to America and settled in Worcester,
Massachusetts, where his father became cantor and musical director of Tempie Emanu-
El.
Adler began to compose music some time after he arrived in America. His first
attempts were songs. Adler recalled that he persuaded his sister, Marianne, to "interpret"
the songs. Soon after realizing his son's interest in composition, his father sent Adler to
Boston every week to study theory, harmony, counterpoint, and form with Herbert
Fromm. At age 12, Adler started his first composition lessons with Fromm; they
established a lifelong friendship. Adler stated that Fromm had a great impact on his early
compositions, especially on his religious music.^ During the same period, Adler also
took violin lessons with Maurice Diamond, a former member of the New York
Philharmonic who was living in Worcester. Adler recalled that he would play violin
sonatas and other pieces for two hours daily accompanied by his father on the piano. By
^ Nelson W. Hill, "The Sacred Choral Works of Samuel Adler: A Study and Interpretive Analysis of Selected Compositions" (D.M.A. thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1999), 2.
" Joan Dawson Lucas, "The Operas of Samuel Adler: An Analytical Study" (Ph.D. diss., Louisiana State University, 1978), 12.
^ Hill, 2.
Lucas, 13.
16
the time Adler went to college, they had read through ali the violin literature he could
afford to borrow from libraries or to buy with the money he eamed as a soda jerk.^
Adler had excellent opportunities to enrich his musical training during his high
school years in Worcester. He took part in school ensembles as a French hom player in
the band, violinist in the orchestra, and singer in the choms. Adler also served as the
assistant conductor for the high school orchestra. During his high school years and his
first two years at Boston University, Adler and seven friends met every Saturday evening
at Adler's home to play chamber music. The group consisted of four violinists, one
violisi, two cellists, and a pianist. Each group member made arrangemenls of orchestrai
pieces for the group. Under the slrong encouragement of his high school teacher, Albert
W. Wassell, Adler also composed, arranged, and orchestrated works for the different
ensemble groups at school. In addition to his high school courses, Adler also took three
years of theory and two years of music history. By the time Adler was eighteen, he was
quite an accomplished musician.
College Life
After high school, Adler received a full scholarship to major in composition at
Boston University. He studied musicology with Kart Geiringer and Paul Pisk and violin
with Wolf Wolfinsohn. Hugo Norden was his composition teacher. Adler thought at that
' Ibid.
17
time that Norden was "not the greatest influence."^ Norden was a contrapuntalist who
wanted his students to "leam the craf of composition, i.e., counterpoint in the strici and
old sense." Adler wishes that he had taken full advantage of Norden as his teacher.
During this period, with the encouragement and help of Robert King, founder of the
publication Music for Brass and theory professor at Boston University, Adler wrote
pieces for brass instiiments and published several of them. Adler now considers these
early works unsatisfactory and regrets that they are stili being performed.'
Besides composition, Adler showed interest in organizing and conducting during
his Boston years. Because Adler and some other music students were not satisfied with
how the orchestra, choms, and chamber ensemble at school were led, he organized the
Inter-Collegiate Symphony Orchestra. Adler conducted the orchestra, which performed
in the Boston area every six weeks. A choms and a chamber group were also formed.
Although Adler states that these were "very exciting" opportunities, the school
disapproved of these outside performing groups." Consequently, Adler was suspended
from school on three occasions. Eventually, the issue was settled and Adler graduated
from Boston University with his Bachelor of Music degree in 1948.
In the fall of 1948, Adler entered Harvard University and he received his Master
of Arts degree in 1950. During his Harvard years, he took composition lessons with
'Ibid., 15.
'Ibid.
"Hill, 4.
" Lucas, 16.
18
Walter Piston, Randall Thompson, and Paul Hindemith and studied musicology with
Archibald T. Davison and Arthur Tillman Marritt. Of the three composition teachers,
Adler was influenced most by Paul Hindemith. As a visiting professor from Yale
University, Hindemith presented his Norton lectures in residence at Harvard for one year.
Adler described Hindemith as "a tremendous teachervery exacting. He made his
students write in [Hindemith's] own style."'^ Adler had two lessons a week from
Hindemith for a year. He states that it was hard at the beginning to understand the
master, but after he had dose contact with Hindemith, it "took many years to shake the
actual Hindemith sound."'^ Adler has been thankful for Hindemith's teaching technique
and style.
Adler characterizes his relationship with Walter Piston, the other composition
teacher at Harvard, as a "cool one, but a very good one. Piston was not the kind of man
you could know very well."''' The friendship between the two became much closer after
Adler graduated. Adler claims that Piston was a very tmstworthy and good friend.
Although Adler studied with Randall Thompson for one year, he was not greatly
influenced by Thompson. Adler thought that "Thompson did not particularly like my
music. There was never very much of a relationship, although I respected the man and
stili do."'^
'^ Ibid., 18.
'^Ibid.
'^Ibid.
' 'ibid., 19.
19
In the summers of 1949 and 1950, Alder participated in the Tanglewood Music
Festival. He studied conducting with Serge Koussevitzky and composition with Aaron
Copland. Adler claimed that Copland "was the greatest teacher and had the greatest
influence on me."'^ Adler also stated that Copland helped him get out of the heavy
1 7
influence of Hindemith. Adler has high regards for Copland. I leamed more from Copland in those two summers than from other teachers with whom l spent more time. Copland had a marvelous way of putting his finger on just what the problem was in every passage. If I can teach a little bit like that, I feel I would be a success as a teacher. Copland was a great teacher and a beautiful person.
Careers
After graduating from Harvard in 1950, Adler joined the US Army and was sent
to Germany. He organized the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra and conducted more
than 75 concerts in Germany and Austria. The Department of Psychological Warfare of
the United States recognized that these concerts were effective in developing cultural
relationships among the United States, Germany, and Austria. Adler was awarded the
Army Medal of Honor for his musical services. He was subsequently selected to conduci
concerts and operas and to lecture extensively throughout Europe and the United States.
In 1953, Adler took a position as the Music Director at Tempie Emanu-El in
Dallas, Texas. He remained in this position until 1966. From 1954 to 1958 he worked as
" Hill, 6.
"ibid., 10.
'^ Lucas, 19.
20
the music director of the Dallas Lyric Theater. In 1957, he was hired as professor of
composition at North Texas State University. He remained there until 1966. In 1966,
Adler became professor of composition at the Eastman School of Music and was named
chairman of the Composition Department in 1974. In 1984, he was made a Mentor of the
University of Rochester. In 1994, Adler retired from the Eastman School of Music and
became Professor Emeritus there. Since then he has taught at Ithaca College, the
University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green State University, the University of Missouri
(Kansas City), and the University of Utah. He has been a guest composer, clinician, and
conductor at over 300 universities and colleges worldwide. Adler has also taught at
major music festivals such as Tanglewood, Aspen, Brevard, and Bowdoin, as well as
others in Austria, France, Germany, Israel, Korea, Poland, Spain, and South America. He
is currently on the faculty of The Juilliard School of Music in New York City.'^
Honors, Commissions, and Others
Adler has received numerous commissions and prestigious awards and honors
including grants from the Rockefeller (1965) and Ford (1966-71) foundations, a
Koussevitzky Foundation commission (1983), the 1983 ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award
for his book, The Study of Orchestration, a Guggenheim Fellowship (1984-5), the MTNA
Award for Composer of the Year (1988-1989), the designated Phi Beta Kappa Scholar
Award (1988-1989), the Eastman School's Eisenhard Award for Distinguished Teaching
" Sigma Alpha Iota Philanthropies, Inc., Composers Bureau: Samuel Adler, December 2002, (20 February 2002).
21
(1989), an award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1990),
the Charies Ives Award, the Lillian Fairchild Award, the Composer of the Year Award by
the American Guild of Organists (1991), a Special Citation by the American Foundation
of Music Clubs (2001), a number of teaching awards, and several honorary doctorates (a
Doctor of Music degree from Southem Methodist University, a Doctor of Fine Arts
degree from Wake Foresi University, a Doctor of Music degree from St. Mary's College,
fridiana, and a Doctor of Music degree from Saint Louis Conservatory).^"
Adler has also been honored intemationally. During his second trip to Chile, in
1993, he was elected to the Chilean Academy of Fine Arts "for his outstanding
contibution to the world of music as a composer."^' In 1999, he was elected to the
Akademie der Kuenste in Germany for distinguished service to music.^^
Many orchestras, chamber ensembles, colleges, music schools, magazines, and
other organizations, including intemational groups, have commissioned Adler to
compose works for them. Some recent commissions include: the New York Chamber
Symphony Orchestra {Show an Affirming Flame for Orchestra), the American String
Quartet {Piano Quintet, 2000),^" the Beaufort Ensemble {Scherzo Schmerzo, 2000),^^ the
^"Ibid.
'^ Ibid.
^^Ibid.
^^ This work was commissioned by the New York Chamber Symphony Orchestra in memory of the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001. It was premiered by the New York Chamber Symphony and conducted by Gerard Schwarz at the Alice Tully Hall of New York City on November 3, 2001.
22
Dallas Symphony Orchestra {Lux Perpetua for Organ and Orchestra, 1998),^ ^ the
Friends of Today's Music for the Music Teachers Association of Califomia {Concerto
No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, 1997),^ ^ and the keyboard magazine Clavier {The Sense
of Touch, 1981).^^
In addition to composing, Adler has conducted many major symphony orchestras
in numerous concerts in the United States and other countries. In 1970, he conducted the
Vierma Symphony Orchestra in a recording for the Decca Recording Company, with
Eugene List as the soloist. They performed a work by Louis Moreau Gottschalk that was
orchesfrated and arranged by Adler. In 1972, Adler conducted the Berlin Symphony with
List as the soloist on a performance for Tumabout Records. They performed the
Gottschalk work and Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F and Rhapsody in Blue.
Composer and Educator
Adler is a prolific composer, teacher, lecturer, and conductor. His catalog
contains 400 published works in ali media: 5 operas, 6 symphonies, 8 concerti, 8 string
quartets, 4 oratorios, and numerous other musical compositions such as orchesfral music,
^* It was written for the American String Quartet and was premiered at the Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2002.
^' It was commissioned by the Beaufort Ensemble and was premiered in Berlin, Germany in August of 2001.
*^ This work was commissioned and first performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with Wayne Poster as the organist and Andrew Litton as the conductor on February 12, 1999.
" This second piano concerto was commissioned by Friends of Today's Music for the Music Teachers Association of Califomia for their lOOth anniversary in 1997.
*^ The Sense of Touch was commissioned by Clavier in 1981.
23
chamber music, vocal music, and piano music. The publishers of his compositions
include: Theodore Presser Company, Oxford University Press, G. Schirmer, Cari
Fischer, E.C. Schirmer, Peters Edition, Ludwig Music, Southem Music Publishers, and
Transcontinental Music Publishers. These works have been performed in the United
States and abroad. Adler's music has been recorded on Albany, CRI, Crystal, Gasparo,
RCA, and Vanguard.
Adler is not only a great composer, but he also takes educating future musicians
as his mission. He has published three books and numerous articles in major joumals,
magazines, and reference books, both in this country and abroad.^^ Although Adler has
a busy schedule, he remains active in teaching and composing. To him, teaching
enhances his creative life. "Teaching isn't draining; it tums me on. It doesn't inhibit
creativity; it inspires me."
Teaching Philosophy
Because Adler takes educating future musicians seriously, he has high standards
for college music education. He feels that universities play a significant role in preparing
future composers and musicians. He makes an analogy comparing the universities of
today with the churches and the aristocracy of the past. Adler believes that "the
university is the 'officiai guardian' of the composer, as the church and the aristocracy
^' Adler's three books: Choral Conducting, Sight-Singing, and The Study of Orchestration.
^ Hill, 8-9.
24
were in previous ages."^' Since universities and colleges are important places for training
the future music teachers, future composers, and professional musicians, Adler has
concems about the current college music curricula. He comments that too many music
schools in the United States have curricula in the first two years which "are often like
kindergarten rather than college courses."^^
Adler emphasizes that universities should raise the requirements of music theory
and music history for ali music students to provide better preparation for music
professionals. He thinks that to achieve this goal, the entrance requirements should also
be raised. Adler points out that the basic facts~for example, biographies and outputs of
composers, and facts about the timesshould be leamed by college music students
themselves, not taught by professors in classes. He also thinks that every new music
student should have acquired a basic knowledge of harmony (at least through the
dominant seventh chord and inversions), a certain level of proficiency in keyboard
harmony, and sight-singing skills when they start the program.^^ Before this goal can be
reached, Adler thinks that the early education of future musicians in the basics of music
theory and history should be in greater deplb.^ "*
'^ Lucas, 28.
^^ Samuel Adler, "Problems of Teaching Composition in Our Colleges Today," American Music Teacher 13:2 (1963), 19.
" Ibid.
^'Ibid.
25
Adler also argues that most current music curricula are irrelevant to the needs of
students. He suggests that a more creative and student-oriented approach to education
which allows more participation in analysis, performance, evaluating, and teaching
should replace the more common "spoon-feeding" type of education.^^ Adler beHeves
that students in composition should be competent in the techniques of the past before they
decide whether or not to use them. "Students should leam that ali forms of music must
be considered valid until [students] are able to reject them by knowledgeable
consideration rather than because of an abysmal ignorance of the 'main stream' of
music."^^ Adler suggests that composition students should prepare themselves by
establishing a foundation in the classics, by being open-minded to new repertoire
appearing in recent decades, and by having a well-rounded knowledge of traditional
harmonies and melodie skills.
Adler has considered the advancement of contemporary music seriously. He
especially puts emphasis on the pedagogical level. For example, Adler's solo piano
collections Gradus I, II, III, and The Sense of Touch aim to expose ".. .the ear as well as
the fingers of the student to the demands of the present and the immediate past." Each
of these pieces ".. .utilizes a technique of composition which has become common
" Samuel Adler, "The CMP Institutes and Curriculum Changes," Music Educators Journal 55 (September 1968): 36-84.
*^ Adler, "Problems of Teaching Compositions," 19.
"Ibid.
'* Samuel Adler, Gradus I (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), Preface.
26
practice in the last half-century."'''' One other aim of these Adler's pieces is "...to widen
musical acquaintance and to stimulate the wish to consider more deeply a style, a
notational system, or a musical philosophy."''" Adler also has been active in exposing
more people to contemporary music by participating in workshops and projects and by
writing and pubHshing articles and books. He enjoys spending time teaching, lecturing,
and conducting his music in order to introduce new music to different audiences.
Philosophy of Music
Although there is a variety of styles in Adler's compositions, his main goal is not
to emphasize compositional technique. Communication is the primary intent of Adler's
music. "If I am successful at ali in my music, I would like it to be a sucessfiil
fransmission of feelings from me to a performer to an audience."'" Adler argues that the
aesthetic value and the communicative quality of music should be the main focus. "It is
the convincing quality of the music resulting from any technique that validates the use
thereof. Too much emphasis is placed upon the technical aspect of contemporary music
and not enough on its communicative and aesthetic impact."" To Adler, the musical
content and the aesthetic value are more important than the other aspects of music. Even
39 Ibid.
^''Ibid.
"' James McCray, "An Interview with Samuel Adler," ChoralJournal 18, no. 9 (1978): 16.
"^ Charles B. Fowler, "American Composer Sketches: Samuel Adler," Music Educators Journal 53 (March 1967): 41.
27
for a performer, the technical aspect of a composition should be secondary to the
importance of the musical enjoyment of the work. Adler suggests that "technical
considerations should always be secondary to the musical content and the joy these
exercises are designed to give to performer and listener."''^
Conclusion
This chapter provides us with information on Adler's background, philosophies,
and pedagogical ideas. His early education in music and the musical experiences of his
youth laid a solid foundation for Adler's musical development. His parents and teachers
also had a great impact on Adler's musical life. Adler's musical experiences reveal that
early and Constant exposure to music was of paramount importance in his musical
development. HopefuUy this information will help us to understand Adler's Gradus and
The Sense of Touch and will awaken in us a curiosity about the complex and diverse
music of our time.
"^ Samuel Adler, Gradus I, Preface.
28
CHAPTER ni
COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUES
Certainly not ali the myriad styles and systems can be included and in order to keep the music reasonably uniform, many inherent complexities have been simplified. But it is my hope that the awakened student and teacher, having begun bere, will continue to explore the complex and diverse music which has been created in our century. S. A. '
Adler is a prolific composer. He uses a wide variety of compositional techniques
and modifies them according to his personal style and taste. "To heck with certain
techniques, I used them all."'^ Adler considers compositional techniques as a way to
achieve a specific goal. That is, "techniques should be used to express the emotional and
personal...too much is made out of techniqueit's just a tool. Let's hsten to the music;
let's bear it right from your own conviction."^ In his Gradus and The Sense of Touch,
Adler incorporates his own style with different contemporary compositional techniques.
The sixty-eight pieces of the Gradus and The Sense of Touch represent most of
the contemporary compositional techniques that emerged during the first three quarters of
the twentieth century. Not only are these works useful as an introduction to
contemporary music, but they also summarize Adler's eclectic compositional style.
Adler's melodies may be lyrical, angular and disjunct, or static. The texture of his pieces
may be homophonic or contrapuntai or may contain passages that shift rapidly between
' Samuel Adler, Gradus I (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), Preface.
^ Nelson W. Hill, "The Sacred Choral Works of Samuel Adler: A Study and Interpretive Analysis of Selected Compositions" (D.M.A. thesis. University of Cincinnati, 1999), 2.
^Ibid.
29
open and closed voicing. His harmonic language is diverse: modal, pentatonic,
pandiatonic, whole tone, and octatonic. He also uses twelve-tone technique. Overall,
there is a tendency toward deviation from functional harmony and toward less restriction
in dissonance. Aleatorie techniques are also found in his works. Motorie rhythm and
rhythmic vitahty are cmcial in Adler's compositions. Adler's eclectic approach to
composition makes variety an inherent feature of his style. This eclecticism makes Adler
an ideal composer for a contemporary pedagogical survey.
The categories examined in this chapter are largely based on the discussions
featured in Stefan Kostka's Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music and
Ellen Thompson's Teaching and Understanding Contemporary Piano Music. The
discussion concenfrates on the foUowing categories: melody, harmony, tonality, rhythm,
form, texture, new notational procedures, and new timbres. The contemporary
compositional techniques highlighted in each category include: aleatorie procedures,
bitonality, canon, changing meters, irregular rhythm, mirror writing, modes,
octatonicism, pandiatonicism, parallelism, clusters, twelve-tone techniques, expanded
notational systems, and the use of innovative piano sonorities. A discussion of ali the
details and devices in contemporary music is beyond the scope of this study. The
following discussion will therefore focus on some of the major characteristics exhibited
in contemporary music that are illustrated in Adler's piano pieces. The appendices
' Stefan Kostka, Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989).
' Ellen R. Thompson, Teaching and Understanding Contemporary Piano Music (San Diego, CA: KjosWest, 1976).
30
provide a more detailed discussion on compositional techniques used in each of the sixty-
eight pieces.
Melody
Although contemporary composers make use of new approaches in composing
melodies, as well as in other categories, many of these occur within the context of
traditional practices. Nevertheless, contemporary melodies exemplify themselves by
their characteristic sounds and distinguish themselves from their predecessors.
In general, melodie organization in contemporary music does not seem as
apparent at the surface level as that of previous eras. The qualities of predictability,
symmefry, and regularity are also found to a lesser degree than in conventional
melodies. In addition, the rhythmic stracture of many contemporary melodies departs
distinctively from that of the earlier periods. Unconventional rhythm and more rhythmic
variety commonly occur in many twentieth-century melodies. Other features of
contemporary melodies include more expression marks, more chromaticism, and fewer
harmonic implications than traditional melodies.
In contrast to classic-romantic melodies, the style of contemporary melodies is not
vocal in character. They can encompass a wider range, contain more leaps, and possess
more angular or disjunct contours. Limited range melodies are also commonly found.
Ellen Thompson describes the pitch characteristics of contemporary melody as including
'' Kostka, 78-
31
".. .extended range, limited range (tuming around within a very small compass of notes),
exploitation of extremely high and low registers, angular and disjointed lines caused by
numerous wide and dissonant leaps (sevenths, ninths, tritones), and successive skips in
the same direction often outlining non-tertial chords (consecutive leaps of fourths and
fifths)."^
Nevertheless, some contemporary composers recali the "simplicity and gently
undulating" qualities of medieval plainchants, reproducing these traits in plainsong-like
melodies. In addition, contemporary melodies sometimes use scales or systems which
are outside the major-minor system such as modal scales, pentatonic scales, whole-tone
scales, octatonic scales, chromatic scales, and twelve-tone rows.
Extended Range
The range of contemporary melodies may encompass two or more octaves and
extend from the bass clef to the treble clef. For example, in No. 3 of Gradus II, the
melody rises from the bass clef to the treble to cover a range of more than three octaves.
In No. 11 of the same volume, the melody almost extends to a three-octave range. Also,
in No. 6 of The Sense of Touch, the arpeggiated melody covers a range of more than two
octaves.
' Thompson, 43.
* Ibid., 42.
32
Limited Range
Most of the pieces of Gradus I use a five-finger or shifting five-finger position.
The melodie activity in each band is limited in most cases to a fifth. In No. 10, twelve
chromatic notes are introduced within a span of a seventh with both hands in the treble
clef.
Extreme and Full Registers of the Keyboard
Although No. 1 of The Sense of Touch makes use of only one pitch class, C, the
two hands shift among the low, middle, and high registers of the keyboard. The last
piece in Gradus I, No. 20, applies shifting-five-finger positions in different registers of
the keyboard. In No. 8B of Gradus II, the notes are distributed ali over the keyboard.
The two hands sometimes go in the same direction to the same register; at other times,
they move in contrary motion to reach the extremes of the keyboard. In No. 11 of
Gradus III, there are measures in which the two hands reach the extremes of the keyboard
and are six octaves apart.
Angular and Disjointed Lines In No. 11 of Gradus II, the right band begins with an angular and disjointed
melody including intervals of a titone, minor second, and augmented fifth. fri No. 8 of
Gradus III, while the left-hand ostinato contains a skip of tritone, the right-hand melody
includes a downward minor seventh.
33
Successive Skips
In conventional melodie writing, skips are often preceded by stepwise motion and
a change of direction usually foUows a large skip. In contemporary melodies, however,
successive skips are common. For example, in No. 6 of Gradus III, notes move in
consecutive fifths in the same direction to suggest quintal chords. The first piece of The
Sense of Touch is derived from the pitch class C. Wide skips of two octaves and even
four octaves (in m. 17) altemate between hands.
Modal Scales
Several pieces in Gradus I use church modes. No. 4 (mm. 5-8) and No. 14 in
Gradus / employ the Phrygian mode;^ No. 4 (mm. 1-4 and mm. 9-12) features the
AeoUan mode. The Locrian mode is introduced in No. 7. The second piece of Gradus II
infroduces four church modes: the Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Aeohan.
Pentatonic Scale
No. 10 of Gradus I uses the AeoUan mode on D and pentatonic scale on C-sharp
simultaneously. The first four measures speli out the first five notes of the C-sharp
pentatonic scale in the left band. In No. 20 of Gradus III, mm. 6-12, the left-hand line
emphasizes the E-flat minor pentatonic scale.
' E-Phrygian and F-Phrygian, respectively.
34
Whole-Tone Scale
In Gradus I, No. 3 is based on a whole-tone scale on D. The dissonant major
ninths throughout the piece and the abmpt ending, with the final note on the eighth-note
F-sharp, reveal the twentieth-century flavor of this piece.
Octatonic Scale
No. 8 of Gradus III is based on the octatonic collection C#-Eb(D#)-E-F#-G-A-
Bb-C that is used in the ostinato pattems, the melodie line, and the coda. The collection
shifts in m. 14 to a new ostinato based on D-Eb-F-F#-G#-A-B-C. In No. 20 of Gradus
III, mm. 1-5 of the A section contain a left-hand octatonic collection E-F-G-G#-A#-B-
C#-D against a five-note ostinato figure.
Twelve-Tone and Serial Writing
Adler demonstrates how the twelve-tone serial technique can be used to create
different styles in Nos. 8-11 of Gradus II, and Nos. 16-17 of Gradus IH. The twelve-tone
row is used melodically and harmonically in No. 16 of Gradus III. The other twelve-tone
pieces range in style from jagged and pointillistic to contrapuntai, dissonant, or
consonant.
Harmony
From the seventeenth century to the decline of the tonai system in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the system of triadic major-minor tonality had
35
been the primary organizing force in Westem music, hi the early tonai era, the primary
triads of the tonic, subdominant, and dominant were emphasized in the harmonic and
melodie aspects, and the secondary triads were favored for color and variety. Chromatic
chords functioned primarily as decoration and embellishment.'" During the nineteenth
century, chromatic harmony became increasingly significant, leading to a predominance
of nondiatonic tones over diatonic tones. The common use of ali twelve tones of the
chromatic scale disguised the diatonic foundation of the music and made tonality more
and more ambiguous to Hsteners."
By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, composers expanded the use
of tertian sonorities to an even greater extent. Chords with ninths, elevenths, and
thirteenths became popular and were even constmcted on scale degrees other than the
dominant. Instead of providing any harmonic function, the primary function of these
chords was to provide color. Composers in this period showed a declining interest in
fraditional tonai harmony. "Evaded cadences and irregular resolution of dissonant chords
produced long, unbroken passages which meandered from key to key or dissolved ali
sense of key. Functional harmony gave way to non-functional, where harmonic color and
emotive whim govemed the choice of chords."'^ Ellen Thompson describes the changes
occurring in the harmonic language of this period by noting that "successions of
Thompson, 79.
" Koskta, 1-15.
"Ibid., 194.
36
unrelated chords, parallelism, consonant use of previously considered dissonances, and
chords with both major and minor thirds became normative."'^
In the twentieth century, composers are free to determine their own mles and they
share no common harmonic language. Traditional procedures or practices such as
principles of voice-leading and harmonic progression are stili available, but some
important conventions of tonai harmony have become options rather than mles.
Consequently, ali kinds of parallel motion and the free treatment of dissonance (without
resolution) are acceptable. On the other band, while much contemporary music is
basically tertian, non-tertian stmctures such as chords built from seconds, fourths, fifths,
and combinations of different intervals are also used. At the same time, stacked-third
chords beyond the seventh, chords with added notes (usually seconds or sixths, less
commonly fourths), and chords with split chord members (commonly split thirds but also
including split roots, fifths, and sevenths) provide new tertian sonorities.''' In addition,
harmonic procedures such as polychords/bichords and serial chords also emerge in
contemporary music.'^
According to Kostka, contemporary composers show less interest in the vertical
dimension in music. Although traditional harmonic progression continues to exist in
some contemporary music such as different kinds of popular music and a small
'^ Thompson, 80.
'"Kostka, 47-115.
'^ Thompson, 79-96.
37
percentage of "classical" music, ".. .a good deal of twentieth-century music is not
harmonic in conception."'^ While composers have become more interested in linear
counterpoint, the simultaneous sounding of chords seems to be a result of the "relatively
uncontroUed relationships between independent lines."''
Tertian Chords
Adler often uses traditional major and minor triads, but they are not organized in
standard harmonic progressions. No. 9 of Gra
the traditional harmonic sense. Instead, many of them are selected purely for their
coloristic effects.
Non-Tertian Chords
In No. 16 of Gradus I, combinations of major and minor seconds are used to form
clusters. No. 8 of The Sense of Touch features tone clusters altemating between hands
and hands together. Also, the clusters are used as accompaniment against a melody that
altemates between the hands. Clusters are also used in No. 3 and No. 6 of Gradus II and
No. 4 of Gradus III. The arpeggios of No. 6 of Gradus III suggest quintal chords.
The tone row of No. 17 in Gradus III also outlines a quintal sonority (A-E-B) at
the beginning of its order. In No. 5 of The Sense of Touch, the opening and the ending
contain quintal sonorities made of augmented as well as perfect fifths. In mm. 16-17, two
layers of quintal chords are presented in the two hands.
Melodie Doubling/Parallelism
The ancient practice of melodie doubling in fourths or fifths can be traced back to
tenth-century organum. Beginning in the sixteenth century, however, it became a
violaton of contrapuntai convention to use parallel movement in fifths and octaves.
According to Kostka, parallel fifths and octaves, more than any other consonant intervals,
have an implication of a breakdown of counterpoint and provide relatively independent
39
musical lines.'^ This is one reason why the use of these parallel intervals was avoided.
In addition, parallel fourths were regarded as inherently unstable intervals which required
resolution to thirds. Contemporary composers often ignore such mles, freely using
parallel melodie doubling in seconds, fifths, and octaves in their compositions.^'^
In No. 5 of Gradus I, Adler uses parallel movement entirely in fourths and fifths.
The pitches are derived from two five-note scales: C major in the right band and F
(featuring B-natural and B-flat) in the left band. Similar procedures are found in Gradus
IL In No. 3, mm. 16-19, the right-hand pattern is in parallel fourths and No. 7 features
parallelism in sevenths and fifths. No. 5 is a free canon featuring parallel motion in fifths
in the middle section.
Polychords
Polychords are formed when two or more chords are combined, but spatially
separated, into a more complex sonority. According to Kostka, to perceive such a
sonority, ".. .the individuai sonorities that make up the polychord must be separated by
some means such as register or timbre."^' It is possible that more than one harmonic
analysis can be applied to a sonority, particulariy with mixed-interval chords. Different
arrangements of the same chord notes can resemble different chords-secundal, tertian, or
" Kostka, 90.
^"Thompson, 92.
'^ Kostka, 68.
40
quartal. In most cases, the best analytical approach can be achieved by paying dose
attention to the context and the voicing of the music.'^ ^
In No. 6 of The Sense of Touch, polychords are featured in the middle section. In
Gradus I, No. 15, the two hands feature sustained tones successively outlining two
different chords from two different keys sounding simultaneously.^^ Polychordal texture
appears also in No. 13 of Gradus III. This elude explores sound color by featuring
parallel first-inversion triads from different keys sounding simultaneously.
Serial Chords
Ellen Thompson defines serial chords as chords ".. .derived from the sectioning of
a twelve-tone row into various size groups of tones."^'' Besides the prime row, other
permutations of the row such as the inversion, retrograde, and retrograde inversion may
be sectioned for building chords. In No. 16 of Gradus III, examples of serial chords are
foimd.
Neotonalitv and Atonahty
Regarding tonality, Kostka claims that "serious" Westem music mostly has been
either neotonal or atonai after the first decades of the twentieth cenhary." fristead of
^^ Ibid., 70.
^^ Adler, Notes.
^"Thompson, 100.
^^ Kostka, 115.
41
employing the dominant-seventh-tonic progression, neotonal music establishes tonality
through devices such as pedal point and ostinato, accent (metric, agogic, or dynamic),
and formai placement. Polytonality, atonality, and pandiatonicism are also important
developments in twentieth-century harmonic praetice.^^
Neotonalitv
Kostka categorizes neotonality into two types: tertian neo-tonality and non-tertian
neotonality. While tertian neotonality primarily uses tertian chords, nontertian
neotonality often avoids the use of them, except maybe during cadences. A combination
of these two types is also possible.'^'
Tertian Neotonality. In No. 9 of Gradus I, the right-hand outlines the C-major
triad. In the last two measures, the left-hand F to G to the unison C suggests IV-V-I
cadence, clearly establishing C as the tonai center.
In No. 19 of Gradus III, the right band line contains parallel successions of root-
position major and minor triads. In the middle section, the left band ostinato establishes
E as the tonai center while the right band continues with parallel major and minor triads.
Nontertian Neotonalitv. Pedal point is a more common twentieth-century
technique used to establisb a tonai center. In No. 1 of Gradus I, although there is no
conventional harmonic progression to establisb C as the tonai center, the pedal tone and
^^ Ibid., 108-115.
"ibid., 109-110.
42
the formai placement of C (C appears as the beginning and ending note of the melody)
clearly identify it as the tonic. No. 7 of the same book features a tonic pedal on the notes
B and F-sharp as well as dominant pedal on the notes F-sharp and C-sharp. hi No. 1 of
Gradus II, the two-note pedal point~the octave C contracting to a single note G~
establishes C as the tonai center. Also, the octave C-to-G pedal point emphasizes the
dominant and tonic degrees of C major.
Polytonality
Kostka defines polytonality as ".. .the simultaneous use of two or more aurally
distinguishable tonai centers...." When only two tonai centers occur, bitonality is the
generally accepted term used. In No. 10 of Gradus I, Adler combines two
"incompatible" scales together. While the right band uses the D-Aeolian scale, the left
band uses the C-sharp pentatonic scale. In No. 12 of the same book, the C-major right
band line is set in parallel motion against the A-flat-minor left-hand line. No. 1 of
Gradus III also uses bi-tonality. The opening ten measures feature a G-sharp minor
right-hand melody against a G pedal point. In No. 19 of the same book, the A section
contains a pentatonic scale in the left band against broken-chord parallel major triads in
different keys in the right band.
*^ Ibid., 110.
^' Adler, Notes.
43
Pandiatonicism
The term pandiatonicism^'^ refers to a musical style in the eariy twentieth century
that originated as a reaction against chromaticism. hi this style, the tones of a particular
diatonic scale are used. However, traditional harmonic progressions and dissonance
treatments are avoided. It is generally neotonal and may be tertian or nontertian.^' In
No. 2 of Gradus I, notes from the C-major scale are used in a mirror format. The
reiteration of C, the application of the full C-major scale (though divided between the two
hands), and formai placement establisb C as the tonai center.
Gradus II, No. 4 represents a pandiatonic piece. As Adler explains in the notes,
"It is quite diatonic even though most of the chromatic notes are utilized. Notice that it
does not establisb a traditional 'key' but polarizes toward a note which we cali the 'tonai
center.'" The nght band brings in the opening theme on the note A which serves as the
dominant to the tonic D. The left band imitates the theme for a measure down a fifth and
ends on the dominant of D-flat. Then it continues with the tonic D-flat in the next phrase.
The last four measures feature A as the tonic final. While the left band includes a long
pedal tone on A, the right band also settles on A. The last six measures demonstrate well
the pandiatonic style.
^^ Nicolas Slonimsky used this term in his book Music Since 1900 (New York: Norton, 1937; 6* ed., New York: Scribner, 2001).
^'Kostka, 114.
^^ Samuel Alder, Gradus II (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), Notes.
44
No. 2 of The Sense of Touch is a neotonal piece that applies pandiatonic
technique. The two contrapuntai lines use the notes from the G major scale. Each phrase
emphasizes the subdominant C, the dominant D, and/or the tonic G at the beginning,
within the piece, and at the ending. Nevertheless, they do not follow the mles of
fraditional harmonic progression and dissonance treatment. The last four measures
reiterate the dominant D and the tonic G. The ending concludes with a second inversion
G-major-seventh chord.
Atonality
Although the term "atonality" has been controversial, it commonly refers to the
avoidance of a tonai center. There are two types of atonai music: non-serial
atonality/free atonality and serial atonality. Deliberate avoidance of tonality is the vital
characteristic of non-serial tonai music. It stays away from using the melodie and
harmonic pattems that are applied in the establishment of tonality in tonai music. In
addition, use of ali notes of the chromatic scale, unresolved dissonances, a predominance
of mixed-interval chords, ambiguous organization, and ambiguous metric organization
are some of the other characteristics found in non-serial atonai music.
Serial atonality confrasts with the non-serial in the area of pitch organization.
Amold Schoenberg developed twelve-tone serial technique in the 1920s. While the
classical serialism of Schoenberg is based upon a tone row of twelve notes, some
"Kostka, 183-205.
45
composers use varying numbers of tones. Samuel Adler introduces Schoenberg's
classical twelve-tone system in his Gradus pieces and he explains the system as follows:
Basically it was an attempi to bring order into non-tonal music. Twelve-tone music is a system of composition in which the twelve chiomatic tones are considered equally important and are related one to another rather than to any one centrai note. Serial technique is the organization or serialization of the twelve chromatic notes (or more recently, any number of notes) in a specific order (row) and working with them in such an ordered fashion.''''
There are four basic forms of a serial tone row. The prime row is the originai order of
notes while the inversion is the mirror permutation of the prime row. The retrograde
represents the reverse order of the prime row and the retrograde inversion reverses the
order of the inversion. The tone row ".. .can be used starting on any one of the twelve
chromatic notes and in these four permutations of the row. No note may be repeated until
ali the other notes bave been used."^^ Composers including Schoenberg and Adler have
freely used octave transpositions and immediate repeats of the same note or a series of
notes as many times as desired.^^ While most serial works use tone rows of twelve pitch
classes, compositions with tone rows other than twelve also occur. In addition, besides
the strici application of the twelve-tone mles, rotation of sets or parts of the set and
reordering of rows are other options that have been explored in serial compositions.
'" Adler, Gradus II, Notes.
^'Ibid.
^Mbid.
" Kostka, 286-290.
46
According to Kostka, serialism as a movement declined in the 1960s. Composers
became more interested in other elements and techniques such as timbre and texture,
improvisation, minimalism, and even tonality. Although some composers stili use serial
techniques, non-serial atonality/free atonahty is more commonly used. Nevertheless,
after its dechne as a compositional technique, serialism significantly influenced later
styles.^^
Non-Serial Atonality/Free Atonality. In No. 5 of Gradus III, the consecutive
thirds use ali twelve tones but in a non-serial way. There is no tonai center suggested but
a famihar C-major sonority ends the piece. Iti No. 11 of the same book is another
example of non-serial atonai technique. It features many chromatic notes and no tonai
center is established. In the same book, although No. 15 employs inner and outer pedal
tones, no tonai center is suggested.
In No. 8 of The Sense of Touch, the first five measures present an aggregate.
While the different clusters altemating between the hands in the first measure contain
eleven pitch classes, the missing B-flat is introduced in m. 5 and completes the aggregate.
The last three measures reiterate the F-sharp-seventh chords in the left band against the
five-note clusters in the right band.
Serial Atonality. Both Gradus II and Gradus LLL contain pieces that exhibit
twelve-tone writing technique. In Nos. 8-11 of Gradus II, the prime row consists of: F-
D-Ab-Eb-A-F#-Bb-B-E-C#-G-C. No. 8 provides the twelve-tone matrix. In No. 8a, the
*^ Ibid., 289-290.
47
prime row and 112 are used as the melodie notes in a jagged and pointillistic style. No.
8b also features the pointillistic style, where notes from PI and RIIO skip ali over the
keyboard. ft is important particulariy in the pointillistic style to observe rests and
articulations in order to highlight the random character of the piece.
In No. 9, the various permutations of the tone row supply pitch material for the
melody and accompaniment texture. The first six notes of R7 form a repetitious pedal
accompaniment in the opening measures. No. 10 is an example of how serial technique
lends itself well to disjunct melody. No. 11 uses the different permutations in a
confrapuntal style. Some parts of the melody occupy a range of almost three octaves.
In Gradus III, No. 16 uses a row with many chromatic half steps: A-Bb-B-F#-E-
D#-C-Ab-G-D-C#-E. The tone row is used vertically and horizontally. No. 17ofthe
same book is built on a tone row that sounds more consonant than the one in No. 16. The
tone row (A-E-B-Ab-C-Eb-G-F#-F-D-Bb-C#) contains a quintal sonority within its
opening three notes. The row also outlines the A-flat-major triad and the B-flat-major
triad. Arpeggiated pattems and notes altemating between hands are the major pattems
featured.
Rhythm
Relatively speaking, the surface rhythm in most tonai pieces is easier to
understand and more straightforward than that of many contemporary compositions.
Kostka claims that the focus of many contemporary compositions ".. .is on rhythm at
48
least as much as on pitch, and the surface rhythms are frequently varied and complex." ^^
Although syncopation, cross-rhythms, hemiola, and occasionally irregular meters are
found in Westem music before the twentieth century, these rhythmic practices along with
other devices such as changing meters and shifted accents are further developed in
contemporary music, contributing to a higher degree of rhythmic complexity.
On the other band, some contemporary composers show interest in ancient
rhythmic practices and write music that seems to lack a perceivable metric organization.
Kostka uses the term "ametric" to describe this style.'"^ He explains that music notated
without a time signature is not necessarily ametric. On the contrary, some music written
with a time signature may sound ametric to the listeners because of its improvisatory and
free style.'*'
One of the main difficulties of rhythmic analysis is the necessity to distinguish
between the written rhythm and the perceived rhythm. At the same time, it is particularly
common in contemporary music to find that heard rhythm contradicts with written
rhythm. This kind of contradiction results from listeners' perceptions.''^ Kostka explains
that "the listener perceives the beat type (simple or compound) by listening to the way the
beat divides (into twos or threes); the meter type is conveyed by the characteristic pattem
of accents. These accents can be of any type, but dynamic and agogic accents are most
' ' ibid., 120.
""Ibid., 130.
"ibid, 130-131.
"^ Ibid., 122-123.
49
commonly used to express the meter. "''^ Nevertheless, composers may write music so
that it is hard to perceive the notated beat type or meter type or both. In order to get a
better understanding of contemporary rhythm or rhythm in general, Kostka suggests
considering the perceived rhythm as the tme rhythm.''''
Motorie rhythm and rhythmic vitality play an important role in Adler's
compositions. Adler admits that he loves the "pul of the line."^^ The following
discussion focuses on some of the techniques of contemporary rhythm demonstrated in
Adler's pieces. The specific techniques include syncopation, changing meters, non-
fraditional time signature/asymmetrical meter, polyrhythm/cross rhythm, polymeter,
ametric rhythm, and ostinato and pedal point.
Syncopation
Syncopation is defined as ".. .when a rhythmic event such as an accent occurs at
an unexpected moment or when a rhythmic event fails to occur when expected." In
most cases, rests and tied-notes contribute to the syncopated rhythm. In No. 1 of Gradus
II, after the two-note pedal tone firmly establishes a 4 meter in the left band, syncopation
is introduced in m. 8. Instead of a strong first beat, the composer inserts a quarter-note
rest. Similar syncopated effects occur because of the tied-notes on the first beat of the
"'ibid., 121.
*' Ibid., 122-123.
"^ Hill, 16.
'^ Kostka, 122.
50
next two measures. In addition, the fortissimo in m. 8 shifts the regular metric accent to
the normally weaker second beat. In the first measure of No. 10 of Gradus II, the eighth-
note rest leads to a syncopated accent on the second half of the third beat. A similar
situation occurs on the second beat of m. 10. In No. 16 of Gradus III, rests, tied-notes,
and dynamic markings create a syncopated effect throughout. In No. 1 of The Sense of
Touch, the many eighth-note rests increase the rhythmic complexity in this single-pitch-
class piece.
Changing Meter
Changing meter is a technique used very frequently in Westem contemporary
music. Composers provide rhythmic variety and