Illustration of accent
accent
- Definition:
Accent is defined differently by different authors. The following is a
sampling of definitions.
- Cooper and
Meyer (1960) define accent as "a stimuli
(in a series of stimuli) which is marked for consciousness in some way."
They regard accent as a relational concept and as axiomatic in that it is
understandable experientially but undefined causally.
- Lerdahl
and Jackendoff (1983) define three kinds
of accent, a) metrical, which denotes a beat (a time point) that
is relatively strong in its metrical context, b) phenomenal,
a surface emphasis or stress given to a moment in the musical
flow, and c) structural, denoting an accent caused by
melodic/harmonic points of gravity in a phrase or section,
especially a cadence.
- Kramer (1988)
also recognizes three types of accent. His metric,
stress, and rhythmic accents are equivalent to Lerdahl and
Jackendoff's metrical, phenomenal, and structural
accents, respectively.
- Berry
(1976) defines accent as a combination of various musical qualities --
strong as opposed to weak, high as opposed to low, etc. Accent is a
metrical stress created by any of these qualities singly or in
combination. Also
important is Berry's use of "accent-delineated grouping" to define
meter. For Berry, accent is the only real determinant of meter.
- Benjamin (1984)
discusses three types of accent in his article A Theory of Musical
Meter. These accents are an
accent
of climax, an accent
of image shift, and an accent
of discontinuity.
- Schachter
(1987) defines
metric
accent.
- Yeston (1976)
does not speak of "accent" per se. His theory involves viewing the surface
rhythm of a piece as an uninterpreted rhythmic structure,
over which levels of meaning are laid; he does, however, list five types of
"event-defining" criteria to provide for such interpretations: attack-points,
timbre, dynamics, density (i.e., number of voices entering), and pattern
recurrence.
- Lester
(1986) defines accent as a point of emphasis or initiation, which is
considered strong in relation to its surroundings. A metric accent needs
no surface event to mark it off once the meter has been established. Many
factors can give rise to accent, such as longer durations (of any musical
parameter) and any new event such as a change in pitch, harmony, or
texture. Lester does not believe that the total accent of a musical
event is simply the sum of all of its accent-producing parameters: doing
so would ignore that 1) not all accent-producing factors are of equal
importance, 2) accents occur in a metrical context, and 3) our perception
of accents in a given passage is affected by our familiarity with that
passage.
- Komar
(1971) views accents as being created at the point at which a new
pitch configuration is generated. Stong metrical accents are then
correlated with more background pitch configurations. The pitch
configuration may subsequently be shifted to some new attack point so
that the accent and pitch configuration will not necessarily coincide in
the musical surface.
- Imbrie
(1973), acknowledging Roger Sessions,
sees accent as a time point at which contrast or change serves to
establish, confirm, challenge, or overthrow the meter.
- Music perception and cognition researchers tend to define
various kinds of accent narrowly for experimental purposes. For
examples, see Dawe,
Platt, and Racine (1994); Drake,
Dowling, and Palmer (1991); and Drake and
Palmer (1993).
