Quantitative Phonological Analysis of Melody and Lyrics in Japanese Folk Songs: Uncovering Regional Characteristics

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18336
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 90020:Library and information science, humanistic and social informatics-related
• Research Institution: Doshisha University
• Principal Investigator: Kawase Akihiro 同志社大学, 文化情報学部, 准教授 (80739186)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 日本民謡 / 音韻 / 方言 / 地域研究 / 音楽情報処理

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to elucidate the correlation between the melodies of Japanese folk songs and the phonetics of Japanese. Initially, data from melodies and lyrics of songs included in the "Nihon　Minyo Taikan" were prepared, and an application was developed to analyze the relationship between phonetics and melody. Through this, it became evident that it is more appropriate to conduct analysis from the viewpoint considering regional dialect morphemes, rather than from the perspective of a one-to-one correspondence between individual pitch and lyrics based on morphological information. This uncovered the need for a new approach to meet the original research objectives, marking a significant step forward in deepening the understanding of the correlation between Japanese music and language. The findings of this study have been disseminated through ten conference presentations and one journal article, sharing insights with specialists across various regions.

Free Research Field

デジタル・ヒューマニティーズ

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究により，日本民謡の旋律と音韻の関連性を解明する新たなアプローチが明らかになった．これは，音楽と言語の間に潜在的に存在する結びつきを理解するための重要な一歩であり，特に，旋律とアクセントの一対一の関連性よりも地域方言の形態素を考慮することの重要性を浮き彫りにした．この発見は，日本の音楽文化，民謡の理解を一層深める重要な手がかりを提供する．さらに，本研究は音楽教育の場での音韻理解の向上や，地域文化の保存・伝承における新たな視点の提供にも寄与する可能性がある．これらの成果は，学術的な価値だけでなく，社会全体の文化財産の理解と保全にも寄与する可能性を持っており，その意義は大きいと言える．