![]() ![]() The first verse will have an established pattern of syllable count and stress pattern in each line that you will want to match with your second verse. This will be especially helpful when you’ve written a verse and then attempt to write a second one on one of your songs. It will force you to pick words with the correct accented or stressed syllables. Hopefully, this gives you an idea of what this exercise is all about. You will see that I’ve matched the syllable count as well as stressing the exact syllables that are stressed in “Yesterday”. Sing along to the lyric I’ve written below using the melody of “Yesterday”. For copywrite reasons I can’t write the words down to the famous song but I can give the title. And while you’re at it, try and make each verse relate to the choruses theme.īelow is an example of what I’d like you to work on. And not only that, you need to match each stressed syllable as well. ![]() The important thing is to match the syllable count in each line exactly as it is in the famous song. It doesn’t matter what the topic is you choose to write about. It will involve re-writing the lyrics to a famous song. I’m going to give you a lyric writing exercise at the end of this article. All of these factors and nuances in language need to be taken into consideration when writing song lyrics. Notice when the syllables are stressed the voice rises slightly in tone. That is just another aspect of our language that we have taken for granted. Sounds odd, doesn’t it? We don’t normally equate reading a sentence with melody. The stressed syllables are musical as well. Emphasizing certain phrasings and pauses can have a dramatic effect on how the lyrics and melody are delivered and received. These breaks or pauses need to be accounted for in our lyric writing, too. The commas following those words cause that natural break in the flow. You most likely paused right after saying, “words” and “music”. Go back to that sentence above and look for the natural breaks, or pauses you took while reading it. Not only do stressed syllables affect the rhythm of our language, but timing is also a key factor. Maybe it’s because not enough consideration was given to the placement of accented syllables. They might look alright on paper but when sung to a melody they might come out clumsily. Some words just wouldn’t fit as well as others. The point of this exercise is to help you become more aware of the natural rhythm of our language as you craft your song lyrics. You may not have had the exact combination of accented syllables as I did but I bet it was pretty close. SONGwriting is the a BILity to com BINE WORDS, MUSic, and RHYthm into a co HESive WORK of AUDio ART. Here are where they landed when I read it out loud. Now read it out loud again and pay attention to where the accented syllables land. “Songwriting is the ability to combine words, music, and rhythm into a cohesive work of audio art”. For example, read the following phrase out loud, In order for us songwriters to be successful in crafting great songs, we need to start examining the “language” of our language. We don’t pay close attention to it because it’s just a natural part of our daily communication. The Natural Rhythm of LanguageĮach language has its own particular rhythm or meter to it when spoken. That collection of syllables is repeated throughout sections of the song resulting in familiarity. What is Lyric Meter? Lyric meter is the resulting rhythm of a lyric line based on the placement of stressed and unstressed syllables within that line. I’ve noticed some questions arising on songwriter’s forums about lyric meter and what exactly it is.
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