The so-do upbeat-downbeats

[tomato]

In sociolinguistics class, I wrote a term paper on stylized spoken intonation in the American English language.
In case you're interested, here it is:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int4.jjpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int5.jjpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int6.jjpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int7.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int9.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int12.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int13.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int14.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int15.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int16.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int17.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int18.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int19.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int20.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int21.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int22.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int23.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/int24.jpg



There is one item which my sources overlooked, however:
It seems that when an English-speaking person begins an utterance with an unaccented one-syllable word followed by an accented word, the sentence begins with an ascending perfect fourth.
This is reflected in songs in the English language. Examples include The Farmer in the Dell, Jenny Jones, and Amazing Grace.
I have never studied German, but I bet that the same generalization holds true for spoken German intonation also. Witness:

O Christmas Tree
O Sacred Head Now Wounded
Bach, a minor violin concerto, first and last movements
Brahms, first symphony, theme from last movement
Brahms, concerto for violin and cello, last movement, second theme
Humperdinck, jack-in-the-pulpit song
Wagner, overture to Tannhauser
Mahler, first symphony, scherzo

Perhaps the generalization holds true for other European languages also:

La Raspa
Vivaldi, a minor violin concerto, first movement
Rossini, overture to La Gazza Ladra

I doubt if the generalization holds true all over the world, though.
I have been an avid student of Korean music, and I can't think of a single Korean song which begins with a so-do upbeat-downbeat. Such a beginning is grudgingly allowed, however, in a Korean translation of The Farmer in the Dell.

In a Korean song based on La Raspa, however, the so-do upbeat-downbeat isn't even grudgingly allowed. Rather, the upbeat is chopped off and the song begins on do.

I welcome comments both from speakers of English and speakers of other languages.

 

[rojo]

Very interesting, tomato. Thanks for sharing.

I find it hard to imagine La Raspa being played without the upbeat, seeing as how the two note opening motive is repeated three times in a row (and then more times after that.) One could say the two note opening 'is' the melody.

So sometimes upbeats are allowed, other times not? One would think that for La Raspa, it would be allowed because of what I said above. Funny.

Does this mean the upbeat is not played anywhere in the song? Or only at the beginning?

 

[Fretless]

I didn't read the article (yet) but just reading the after-comments, the so-do upbeat-downbeat is simply a strong affirmation of tonic, isn't it? V-I.

Edit: I tried reading it, but after the first few pics the pages aren't found any more. I wasn't sure what you were getting at--those pentatonic notes in spoken language?
Anyway, when I sing to my children, the descending minor third is certainly a calming interval.

 

[tomato]

Hello, Fretless!

Are you saying that all 24 pages didn't come up on your screen, or that you didn't understand it?

According to the findings of my term paper, we Americans half speak, half sing on do, mi, so, and la.
The most common setting for do is at the end of a declarative sentence, and it is usually not sung as musically as the other three tones.

As you point out, there are many so-mi's in our language. ("Yoo-hoo?" "Foul ball?" "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.")

That is not true in Korean. In Korean, the most fundamental interval seems to be the perfect fourth. For the first three years I was here, I made the mistake of greeting people by saying "Annyeong" on so-mi. After all, that is how we say "Hello."

Then I noticed that the children were mimicking me, and that Koreans greeted each other by saying "Annyeong" on mi-la.

Hello, Rojo!

In reply to your question, the first upbeat, but not the second or third, is cut off, both in the first phrase and the second.

Here is the song:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/pentatonika/yeop.png

The title means "Sideways, Sideways."
The word in the upper right means "foreign."

Here is a line-by-line translation of the song:

Sideways, sideways, sideways, bend your knees,
Sideways, sideways, sideways, bend your knees.
Go backwards, go backwards,
Hurry up, go backwards and take a bow.

Sideways, sideways, sideways, a butterfly flies,
Sideways, sideways, sideways, a butterfly flies.
Go backwards, go backwards,
Hurry up, go backwards, and look back.

Sideways, sideways, sideways, go around in a circle holding fast,
Sideways, sideways, sideways, go around in a circle holding fast,
Go backwards, go backwards,
Hurry up, go backwards, and give a hug.

I assume that this is a singing game, but I've never seen it done.

Are you Spanish-American?
If you are, then it is YOUR turn to steal one of THEIR songs!

 

[Fretless]

There were just a few links that weren't showing up. The rest of the paper did show. Thanks!

I had many Korean students when I was in college--I noticed that the little bit of their language that I got to hear seemed much more musical (actual notes and rising and falling) than English.

 

[rojo]

Fun stuff, tomato. Thanks for the song. I teach it now and then, but the 'usual' way.

I know rojo means red in Spanish, but I'm Anglo-Canadian, born in Montreal so I speak French fluently besides English. You can see why I'm rojo if you look at my name on my website.