Melisma. I just discovered the word thanks to Wikipedia: Melisma and I like it. I like to hear it too, but in the right places. In a song, it’s great to vocalise melismatically around a significant word, or a stressed syllable (in English) within a significant word. But when it’s used on a secondary word such as ‘with’ or ‘from’ it sounds horrible, because it draws disproportionate and distracting attention to the stuffing rather than the meat of a lyric. Stevie Wonder can get away with it because he’s just such a lovely guy; Mariah Carey less easily, because whatever the lyric, all I ever hear is ‘look at me, me, ME!’
Melisma is almost onomatopoeic. There are no harsh plosives here, one gentle sibilant but none of the more severe fricatives. Only one back vowel, a terminal schwa that offers the gentlest of landings, even an initial schwa too, if you are feeling as laid back as heard melisma often seems to suggest. The word flows smoothly from one syllable to the next just as the singer’s voice extends a syllable seamlessly from one pitch to another.
And then there are the sonic and semantic connotations. Melissa – I know two of those – a sweet little kid with curly hair; and a gentle soul from Virginia. Honey, smoothly flowing, sweet on the palate. Mollis, mollify, a softness, a softening up. Elision, a blending of consecutive words so as to make speech smoother. And yet also miasma – a foul-smelling vapour hovering mysteriously over the peaty marsh, bestowing sickness on those of feeble mind or body who dare to come near. And finally the similarly stressed Greek words with the characteristic ‘-sm’ that are evoked: chiasmus, strabismus, …
So remember that, whoever and wherever you are, [sings in a Whitnerian manner] I – I – will always love you – ou – ooooou – ….
0 Responses to “Melismatic Mind Map”