How to Set Words to Music
Setting words to music can be a complicated process - until you realize that the underlying common element between the two is rhythm. By breaking down your chosen words into rhythmic constituents, it becomes easier to turn those words into a musical idea.
Rhythm in music refers to the way the beats are arranged, the stresses that give us strong and weak accents. Rhythm is what makes the difference between a march and a waltz, between a polka and a ballad. And just as a piece of music has strong and weak accents, so does a phrase or sentence.
Start With the Words Themselves
To set words to music, start by breaking the words up into their constituent syllables. Any phrase or sentence you come across will have its own metre, such as the iambic pentameter so prevalent in Shakespeare. But even blank verse and prose will work, because the words themselves contain everything you need, whether or not they've been written for the purpose.
The real secret behind setting words to music is discovering where the strong and weak accents lie within the words. For example, take a look at this excerpt:
- My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
If we break it down into syllables, we get the following:
- My mis - tress' eyes are no - thing like the sun
Taking the process one step further, the next task is to highlight the strong and weak accents as below. Strong accents are represented in bold:
- My mis - tress' eyes are no - thing like the sun
This example uses a line from Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, written in iambic pentameter where the strong-weak accents are regular. To prove this is not always necessary, here's an excerpt taken from a random page of the dictionary - i.e. part of a definition:
- An object bent so that it can catch or hold something
This is part of the definition for the word "hook." Let's see what it looks like when broken down into syllables only:
- An ob - ject bent so that it can catch or hold some - thing
And now, let's identify the strongest accents:
- An ob - ject bent so that it can catch or hold some - thing
You can see immediately how it differs from the Shakespeare example. The accents are no longer regular; but far from being a bad thing, this variety could be the impetus that helps you produce a great new melody
Turn Accents Into a Rhythm
Whichever words you use, the process is the same. Once you've identified the strong and weak accents, the next step is to turn the syllables of the words into a suitable rhythm.
If we take the example from Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, the rhythm might look something like this:
This might be the easier rhythm of the two to construct as it follows a regular pattern of strong and weak accents. The second example is far less regular and can be approached in a number of different ways. Here's one example of how it might be done:
Breaks down the creative process from beginning to end, from coping with writer's block, to song construction, chords, and even self-promotion.
Turn Rhythms Into a Tune
The final stage of the process involves turning your rhythm into a melody. As with the words you choose, this will be a personal decision. The best way to go about it is to experiment and try out lots of different options. Remember there is no right or wrong solution: when you come across something that works, something that sounds right to you, keep working on it until it's as good as you can get it.
Here are some quick tips on how to get a melody going quickly:
- Base it on a scale pattern - that could be a major, minor, pentatonic, blues or whole tone scale, going up or going down
- Try jumping around - ignore the scale idea and try the opposite, moving from one note to another with plenty of gaps, i,e, not smoothly as in a scale
- Combine 1 and 2, using scale passages and leaps together
- Repeat certain notes - every syllable doesn't need a different note. Try using repetition to see if that produces a memorable result.
Add the Finishing Touches
When you get something you're happy with, why not take it one step further? Try to harmonize your tune at the piano or keyboard. This can help keep you focused and make sure your melody doesn't start wandering all over the place.
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Questions & Answers
How can I be sure that the lyrics of my song will fit the music I want to play?
The only way to be sure is to break the words down into syllables. That way you can assign a syllable to a note and be sure that you haven't left any syllables out or used too many notes.
Helpful 5Are there more tips to look out for while setting words to rhythm?
The main thing is to be able to work out the strong beats and weak beats. Once you've done that you'll have a good idea of the kind of rhythm you can create. The secret is to use the rhythm that's already built into the words.
Helpful 1
Comments
nice
Sure. I wish to learn more about music from you. Keep up the helpful tips and... oh my! You have a lot of hubs about music! I'm really gonna check them all out!
I love this hub! It immediately caught my attention and piqued my interest, and I don't regret that I checked this out. This inspired me to work on my song/s and turn it into a piano music or however it must be said. Thanks a lot!
Wow! Wow! Excellent hub and congrats on HOTD!
Howdy John (JohnMello) -
I can tell you right off the top of the list that the FIRST two things I do not do well at all are music and art. Something I do much better is to read good articles like this one. Thanks.
Gus :-)))
Congratulations on HOTD!
Very well explained and clear. You are right about infinite variations being possible; as I was reading your second example, it occurred to me that the, "that it can" phrase could also work as a triplet.
Voted up, interesting and useful.
Very interesting. I never thought before about how the words and music came together. I had assumed they started with the music, then added words to fit!
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I love how you approach music in such a logical, well thought out way. Many people don't realize there can be great beauty in logic.
Thanks for the help. Me and my wife are trying to work on a song and we were just talking about doing this last night.
Congratulations, John Mello for HOTD! Truly well deserved. This is such an interesting Hub. My daughter has just started learning Music, this should help her understand music better. Thank you!
Fascinating hub. I only know that I enjoy listening to music, but what you have written here makes so much sense. Now, for the rest of the day, I'm going to be saying things and then setting them to music.
Wow.. this hub just brings me back to those days when I was able to read the notes (when I was a kid, studying music). Now, I just forgot all of them! Hmm, but of course, I'm still able to sing, only that I couldn't recognize which note is to what keys. Also, this brings back the memories when I was singing in a choir in high school. Oh, so beautiful!
I enjoyed this hub. I don't know a middle C from a high G but I love poetry and the rhythms within sentences and individual words. I think you've approached this subject in a clear and open way which is very useful for the beginner and those who know a little about music.
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