WHAT IS MELODIC ACCENT - CONVERGING EVIDENCE FROM MUSICAL PRACTICE

The theoretical and experimental literatures pertaining to pitch-relat ed accent are reviewed. From these literatures, eight competing notion s of melodic accent are identified. All eight conceptions of melodic a ccent were investigated through correlational studies of three contras ting samples of music. Statistical correlations were calculated for ea ch accent type with respect to the corresponding metric position or wi th respect to the syllabic/melismatic status of associated sung text. The results for all three studies are most consistent with a perceptua l model of melodic accent developed by Joseph Thomassen (1982). The re maining conceptions of melodic accent receive little or no empirical s upport. In addition, this study reveals an endemic use of text-melody displacement in a sample of Gregorian chant-suggesting that the chant melodies were constructed so as to avoid strong rhythmic stresses.