How to Set Words to Music

Author:
JohnMello
Updated date:
Oct 27, 2021

JohnMello is a writer, composer, musician, and author of books for children and adults.

Break words up into syllables
ecerroni5 via Morguefile

Understanding Rhythm

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

Nothing like the sun...
CarolinaJG via Morguefile

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 is 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

Scroll to Continue

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:

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: It 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: Use 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.

Questions & Answers

Question: How can I be sure that the lyrics of my song will fit the music I want to play?

Answer: 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.

Question: Are there more tips to look out for while setting words to rhythm?

Answer: 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.

Comments

JohnMello (author) from England on March 11, 2018:

Message for Ifegbayi Olubukola

Thank you for your email. If you would like to place your lyrics in a comment I will be happy to look at them and suggest what you might be able to do. I can only offer suggestions, however, but I can help you extract the rhythm from your words. Let me know if that sounds good to you.

nelson olagunju on October 31, 2016:

nice

JohnMello (author) from England on April 05, 2013:

Enjoy...

rainne06 on April 05, 2013:

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!

JohnMello (author) from England on April 05, 2013:

WOW rainne06. That's high praise indeed. Thank you so much!

rainne06 on April 05, 2013:

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!

JohnMello (author) from England on March 31, 2013:

Thanks DzyMsLizzy! Part of the fun is turning the words into your OWN rhythms, and there are always lots of possibilities.

Thanks GusTheRedneck and RealHousewife for your kind remarks.

Kelly Umphenour from St. Louis, MO on March 30, 2013:

Wow! Wow! Excellent hub and congrats on HOTD!

Gustave Kilthau from USA on March 30, 2013:

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 :-)))

Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on March 30, 2013:

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.

JohnMello (author) from England on March 30, 2013:

Thanks smw1962. Nice to know it's appreciated.

Thanks DreamerMeg. You can do it both ways, but this is just one approach :)

DreamerMeg from Northern Ireland on March 30, 2013:

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!

smw1962 on March 30, 2013:

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.

JohnMello (author) from England on March 30, 2013:

Thanks francisassissi and wayne barrett for taking the time to read my hub. Hope you find it useful!

Wayne Barrett from Clearwater Florida on March 30, 2013:

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.

JohnMello (author) from England on March 30, 2013:

Thanks Toytasting! Hope it helps...

Toy Tasting from Mumbai on March 30, 2013:

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!

JohnMello (author) from England on March 29, 2013:

Thanks Glimmer Twin Fan. Good luck!

Claudia Mitchell on March 25, 2013:

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.

JohnMello (author) from England on March 15, 2013:

Thanks VivaLaVina. Glad you enjoyed it!

VivaLaVina on March 15, 2013:

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!

JohnMello (author) from England on March 15, 2013:

Thanks chef-de-jour!

Andrew Spacey from Sheffield, UK on March 15, 2013:

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.

Votes.