Verse Engineering: A Compositional Analysis of World Music Cultures

This project is a creative examination of the folk music traditions of Ireland, Bulgaria, and Morocco from the perspective of a musician and composer. It consists of three original compositions inspired by these cultures with a focus on their rhythmic identity. Irish music consists of jigs and reels with a '3 feel' and '4 feel' respectively. Bulgarian music is characterized by uneven pulse with short and long beats defining accent patterns. Moroccan music uses polyrhythmic grooves in many folk and popular genres. Each piece is built upon these rhythmic elements and incorporates them into the author's own compositional style. By combining formal analysis with creative participation, this project presents and advocates for composition as a novel form of engagement in the discipline of ethnomusicology. (Irish file is at the download button. Bulgarian and Moroccan files are below.)