Specific and General Indications for the Amount of Energy in Effort Phrasing

Specific and General Indications for the Amount of Energy in Effort Phrasing
Submitted by Charlotte Wile - November 14, 2000

The emphasis signs discussed in Peggy Hackney's and my Oct. 6 postings specify an amount of energy: marked, as in 1a below, or slight (to moderate), as in 1b. As far as I know, there is no established way to show the amount of energy is unspecified, i.e., open to interpretation.

Conversely, the signs for Even, Increase, and Decrease Phrase-types always leave the amount of energy open to interpretation. For instance, the consistent energy in 1c could be slight, moderate, or marked. Similarly, 1d could indicate phrasing in which there is slight energy that builds to moderate energy, slight energy that builds to marked energy, or moderate energy that builds to marked energy.

Thus, the emphasis signs only make a specific statement, and the signs for phrase-types only make a general statement. I would like to find a way to indicate both emphases and phrase-types either specifically or generally.

Perhaps color could be used; e.g., green for slight energy, blue for moderate energy, red for marked energy, and black for unspecified energy, as in the following examples:

2a) Even Phrasing that has unspecified energy.
2b) Even Phrasing that has slight energy.
2c) Even Phrasing that has moderate energy.
2d) Increase Phrasing that has unspecified energy and ends with a marked emphasis.
2e) Decrease Phrasing that begins with an unspecified emphasis and has unspecified energy that decreases to slight energy.
2f) Increase-Even Phrasing that has slight energy that builds to marked energy, followed by marked energy that is maintained.
2g) Increase-Increase-Decrease Phrasing that has slight energy that builds to moderate energy, followed by slight energy that builds to marked energy, followed by marked energy that decreases to slight energy.