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On the interaction of alliteration with rhythm and metre in popular music

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2011

Keith Salley
Keith Salley
Affiliation:
Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA, USA E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

A number of scholars have written on characteristics of vocal melody in popular music, but little attention has been paid at the level of phonetic detail. This study argues that the phonetic structure of a melody can contribute in important ways to a song's reception and success, given the ways that listeners react and respond to vocalised melody. This article discusses different ways in which stressed syllables in familiar pop songs alliterate, and it investigates the way these patterns interact rhythmically with metre.

Type
Articles
Information
Popular Music , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , October 2011 , pp. 409 - 432
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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