Prosodic Hierarchy and Melodic Hierarchy in Gabriela

Abstract

In this article we investigate the relation between the linguistic (prosodic) component and the musical grammar in lyrics. Specifically, by analyzing Gabriela, by Tom Jobim, we discuss the relation between the Prosodic Hierarchy (Nespor & Vogel 1986) and the Melodic Hierarchy (Carmo Jr 2007). We show that when there is a mismatch between these two hierarchies, the phonological processes of elision, degemination, dipthongation and stress retraction in Brazilian Portuguese may not comply with the prosodic domain for their application, while still satisfying the restrictions related to the melodic domains.