Singing Lyrics to Life: Melody and Lyrical Meaning in Recent Indie Music

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dc.contributor.advisorRodgers, Stephen
dc.contributor.authorFulton, Hannah
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-07T22:03:38Z
dc.date.available2024-08-07T22:03:38Z
dc.date.issued2024-08-07
dc.description.abstractIn popular song genres (and across song genres), melody plays a vital role in delivery of sung lyrics; it contributes an essential aspect of lyrics’ affect and meaning. Scholars in the field of popular music have historically preferred to focus on other aspects of lyrics’ relationship to its musical setting, such as rhythm, phonetics, and syntax, paying less attention to lyrics’ relationship to one of its primary components: melody. In this thesis, I explore the relationship between melodic contour and lyrics’ speech intonation (with regards to pitch), syntax, and affect to show how melody inflects lyrical meaning and expression. Drawing on interdisciplinary scholarship from music theorists Allan Moore, Kofi Agawu, linguist Maggie Tallerman, cognitive psychologist Aniruddh Patel, and others, I analyze the contours of melody and the intonational contours of speech. My analyses of recent indie music consider the relationship between these contours from single-word to entire song interactions, providing a deeper understanding of the expressive capabilities of language and music.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/29788
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.
dc.subjectindie musicen_US
dc.subjectlyricsen_US
dc.subjectmelodyen_US
dc.subjectmusic theoryen_US
dc.subjectpopular songen_US
dc.subjectspeech intonationen_US
dc.titleSinging Lyrics to Life: Melody and Lyrical Meaning in Recent Indie Music
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineSchool of Music and Dance
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.levelmasters
thesis.degree.nameM.A.

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