Events

The jury for the PhD Thesis of  Fausto Lessa Fernandes Pizzol

• Prof. Dr. Gilvano Dalagna, Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Aveiro (Advisor)
• Prof. Dr. Ricardo Nuno Futre Pinheiro, Coordinating Professor with Aggregation at the Polytechnic Institute of Lisbon
• Prof. Dr. Francisco José Dias Santos Barbosa Monteiro, Coordinating Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto
• Prof. Dr. Felipe Batistella Alvares, Professor at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul
• Prof. Dr. Sara Carvalho, Associate Professor at the University of Aveiro
• Prof. Dr. José Luis Guimarães Oliveira, Full Professor at the University of Aveiro

There is a consensus in establishing 1951 as the year in which the electric bass was invented. To the detriment of past efforts, factually, that year saw the registration of the patent for the first commercially successful model (Bacon, 2001). The motivation and objectives regarding its creation are reasonably documented. They establish a clear relationship with the double bass, more specifically, an interest in replacing it, mainly for ergonomic reasons and sound projection (Brewer, 2003). However, more than the obvious ergonomic difference, the electric bass also has peculiar timbre characteristics, which enhance its use beyond that initially conceived designation. Since the popularization of its use, a constant process of expansion of possibilities for its performance has been observed, both through the creation of its execution techniques and through the development of existing ones (Dowdall, 2017; Pizzol, 2018).

Immersed in this context, the present artistic investigation aims to expand the possibilities of performance and musical creation for the electric bass by structuring a proposal for its harmonic use. In opposition to the conventional perception that its execution is essentially melodic, with an associated rhythmic function, it is argued that the instrument presents a viability for the harmonic execution whose potential, even if it has been explored gradually, has its development constrained due to the lack of investigation, method, and documentation.

Based on an alternative tonal system to the consolidated practice, called Lydian chromatic concept of tonal - LCCTO (Russell, 2001) and guided by experiments grounded in the concept of affordances (Gibson, 1979) and in the theory of perceptual learning and development (Gibson & Pick, 2000) the research work involves (i) the conception of a method to detect and develop the harmonic potentialities of the electric bass, (ii) the structuring of a harmonic idiom for the instrument, (iii) the creation of a portfolio of compositions based in that idiom. It is intended that the results obtained contribute to consolidating a new paradigm for the practice of the electric bass, as well as for the academic discussion about it, and that, consequently, bring pedagogical implications related to the didactics and the contents of the instrument's teaching programs.