music of poetry and poetry of song / ethnomusicology fall 2007

"Music of poetry and poetry of song: Expressivity and grammar in vocal performance." Ethnomusicology 51/3 (Fall 2007): 439–76.This article examines a recording by Bob Dylan to explore the interconnections between phonological and musical structures in sung performance. A review of literature from musicology, linguistics, and anthropology argues for a holistic view of language and music in the singing voice, establishing that the sound quality of phonetic segments, syllable structure, and phonological meter all have important roles in musical structure. Close analysis of Dylan’s 1963 “Down the Highway” determines that phonologically ill-formed utterances, including metrical inversions and linguistically unsonorous vowels in prominent positions, are put to musical and poetic effect in the performance context. These findings are tested against an ethnographic example in which a group of schoolchildren encounter the recording for the first time and react strongly to the notable characteristics found in the analysis. The conclusion argues for treating linguistic grammar as an important element of vocal performance in an ethnomusicological approach to analysis.