Analyzing the Stress Pattern of Bangla Songs through Metrical Phonology

Abstract

Indicating the relationship between language and music as musical linguistics, the current study investigates three main stream Bangla songs regarding the devotional aspect of music to explore how one domain interacts with another. A theoretical framework based on metrical phonology as well as Generative Theory of Tonal Music (GTTM) has been used to reveal how a lyric achieves musical virtue through transforming its built-in stress pattern or speech stress of language. In particular, the data analyzing parameters have been taken from linguistic and musical aspects. The parameters of those aspects have been designed considering metrical phonology as fundamental theoretical background. In case of linguistic aspect, the lyrics of the selected songs have been tested through the prosodic hierarchical structure, feet structure inventory and parameters of metrical constituents. In addition, acoustic phonetic evidences of stress transformation have been shown from the linguistic aspect. Whereas, grouping structure, metrical structure, time-span reduction and prolongational structure of GTTM have been selected as parameters from the musical aspect. However, both domains have been considered as autonomous hierarchical systems.

Taking qualitative method the entire study has been proceeded by finding answers of some questions since this is a non-numeric, exploratory investigation. Basically, the prime query of this research is to find out the causes behind transforming the stress pattern of Bangla songs through melodic insertion. Three Bangla songs of Tagore, Nazrul and Lalon have been selected as popular devotional songs for the experiment in this study. In case of analyzing lyrics of these songs without melody linguistic investigation solely has been shown primarily. Though Bangla is a stress-accent quasi-sensitive language and trochaic feet prevail in the majority of the syllabic structures of Bangla words, this study observes remarkable violations of those norms. Besides trochaic structure iambic and mixed structure have also been found in linguistic analysis of lyrics. On the other hand, musical analysis of the entire songs (e.g. lyrics with melodies) reveals different types of feet structure as well as metrical structure unlike the same of lyrical investigation. This structural deviation has been addressed as transformation of stress pattern in our study. From metrical grids to prolongational tree structures, all our experiments of GTTM firmly show that putting melodies causes transformation of the regular stress pattern of speech.