Research Symposium

BIO

Kirstan Davie is a sophomore on a Pre-Law track pursuing a dual degree in B.S. Marketing and B.A. Interdisciplinary Humanities, with focuses in English, History, and Classics. Outside of her UROP research, she is heavily involved in several campus organizations, including Kappa Kappa Gamma, Her Campus at FSU, The Kudzu Review, and Women in Pre-Law Society. Kirstan hopes to go to law school after completing her undergraduate studies. Her ultimate goal is to go into family law.

Living Song Project

Abstract

The Living Song Project is a developing online database comprising thousands of songs by currently living composers, including details about the arrangements, such as voice types and note ranges. To build upon this resource means to expand on a vast universe of material created for musicians, making song information accessible for anyone who is searching. This project involves partnering with research mentors to utilize library resources nationwide, including those at Florida State University’s Warren D. Allen Music Library and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. We work chronologically through a master spreadsheet of songs to search for composers and collections of their music, input newly located data into the LSP website, and analyze songs for range, notes, vocal types, and other relevant information. The ultimate result showcases an increased selection of centralized musical resources in the LSP database. Since the beginning of the UROP period, the database has been expanded by 90 songs, and because research is still ongoing, this number is climbing. This suggests that many of these scores were not as easily accessible before being added to the LSP and might not be considered part of the traditional canon. Future implications may result in composers’ music being performed across concerts, recitals, and other events because the LSP will provide much smoother access for navigating such material.

Keywords: music, piano, database, songs, voice