Musicological Research in Trossingen
Since 2003 the Trossingen University of Music has had the right to award doctorates in both musicology and music pedagogy. Since 2015 the University has also had the right to award Habilitation degrees.
Current Doctorates
Christoph Scheerer
The rato of c and ¢ from the 15th to the beginning of the 17th century. An investigation of knowledge and use of both meter signatures in theory and practice
In his dissertation project, Christoph Scheerer considers the meaning of the so-called "diminution strokes" from its emergence to the development of the modern metric system, in which it is still known today as "alla breve." The work also investigates both the musical sources in which the diminution strokes is used, and the statements made in contemporary music theory treatises. The tension that exists between source types and within source types themselves, is the reason why modern performance practice of music from this time period is repeatedly faced with the problems of correctly interpreting the diminution stroke. The aim of the dissertation is to illuminate and possibly resolve these tensions and to propose solutions for a performance of this music that corresponds to the sources.
The work is supervised by Prof. Dr. Nicole Schwindt.
Julia Wernicke
Change of Perspective: developmental perspective for students in the inclusive project "Theater with Music" – a qualitative study
The dissertation project of Julia Wernicke considers the topic of music and inclusion. It is tied to the inclusive project "Theater with Music" of the subject Music & Movement (Musik und Bewegung/Rhythmik) at the Trossingen University of Music under the direction of Prof. Dr. Dierk Zaiser.
With the previously seldom employed change of perspective, this doctoral candidate would like to shed more light on the value of such projects: The desired empirical research project intends to investigate the developmental potential of the students in terms of personality, methodological, social and artistic skills through participation in the inclusive project "Theater with Music."
Based on theoretical foundations, the research project culminates in a qualitative study in which different data are triangulated. The empirical part is accompanied by Prof. Dr. Christine Zenk. The work is supervised by Prof. Dr. Alexander J. Cvetko.
Julia Wernicke, BA Sign Languages from the University of Hamburg and Diploma in Music Education Rhythmics from the Hamburger Konservatorium. Many years of experience in work with inclusive groups, Teacher of Rhythmics/Music and Movement at the Special School for Hearing and Communication Johann-Joseph-Gronewald Cologne and rhythmist in the elementary level at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne.
Elisa Ringendahl
"I am not a scholar, I am musical" - Investigation on music and art journalism Oscar Bies
The dissertation project is concerned with the cultural journalistic writings of the Berliner music and art journalist Oscar Bies (1864-1938).
The sparse beginnings of a music, literary or musicological Bies reception, which there is in the 20th century, brand the author as an "impressionist". This verdict is primarily based on the so-called "subjectivism" that Bies allegedly allows himself to be guided by in his texts on art and music. Bies's attempt to elevate his own personality to the authority of an aesthetic judgment, is a sign of his time and embodies the "aesthetic culture," an aesthetic of empathy rampant in all areas of intellectual life at the beginning of the 20th century.
The historiographically questionable declaration as an “impressionist” stands in the way of a profitable examination of Bies's ideas on music. Anyone who accuses the author of a one-sided culture of taste undermines his claim to want to make statements about music that capture the essence of art per se. In his texts, Bies focuses on the relationship between the work of art and the viewer, without allowing himself to be restricted by the historical constraints of style or genre.
The dissertation project approaches Bies's ideas about music from two sides. On the one hand, Bies's involvement with applied arts is given greater attention. Using the example of applied art, Bies shows how art is experienced by its viewer. On the other hand, the project examines Bies's own reflections on how to appropriately write about music. For Bies, the question of “writing about music” is not an attempt to justify his own activities, but part of his thinking about music itself.
The work is supervised by Prof. Dr. Thomas Kabisch.
Sophia Waldvogel
Artistic and social experience and action when improvising in music and in movement in the context of adult education
In her qualitative-explorative study, Sophia Waldvogel investigates the connections of artistic and social experience and action of adults improvising. For this purpose, group improvisations in music and in movement will be videographically recorded in different contexts of adult education and video-stimulated recall interviews will be conducted with the instructors and participants. Evaluations of the data results with the help of the reflexive Grounded Theory after Franz Breuer. This research methodology allows both the subjective experience and the interactions of the players to be considered, to do justice to the simultaneity, sequentiality and complexity of improvisational processes and to reflect on the role of the researchers in the research process.
The work is supervised by Prof. Dr. Philipp Ahner.