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Questions tagged [lyrics]

Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses.

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Why does "Fall Again" by Michael Jackson/Robin Thicke/Walter Afanasieff sound kind of sad?

It's a romantic ballad, with lyrics like "I need you around for every day to start", but, to me at least, there is a sad undertone to it. Is it just because he sings a lot of the song in a ...
Anthropos Kaiskylos's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
52 views

Lilypond - Lyrics In Context With Multiple Verses

In the manual, at https://lilypond.org/doc/v2.23/Documentation/notation/techniques-specific-to-lyrics#working-with-lyrics-and-variables, it describes For different or more complex orderings, the best ...
lmat - Reinstate Monica's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
72 views

Would writing my main vocal part (lyrics) to a drone help me stay in key, and without limiting pitch variation?

By drone typically I mean one note, though from my understanding a drone could be one note, two notes, a chord or even 6 notes usually played on string instruments such as the tanpura or guitar. I’m ...
Lestat's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
277 views

How can I write a repetition with voltas in lyrics in plain text?

I have music with repetitions with voltas and lyrics. Consider this minimal example: I want to extract the lyrics into plain text and preserve repetitions and voltas. How can I write that? If there ...
matj1's user avatar
  • 171
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2 answers
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I need write a lead sheet with repeats, different lyrics for each repeat, the chorus and chords

I have this snipped code that resembles the work that I need to make: \version "2.22.0" musicA = \relative c' { \repeat volta 2 { a1 b2 c2 d4 e f g } \alternative { {...
Luis Salazar's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
131 views

Is it possible to write a song “pitch first” or “key first”?

I believe there are 3 possible main elements to a song (not minding dynamics, articulation etc): The Type of Sounds + their order & The Amount of Sounds (Vowels, Consonants & Syllables & ...
Emotion's user avatar
  • 347
5 votes
1 answer
338 views

How can I condense calls to create lyrics into a single variable call?

I am working on a template for SATB Vocal hymn. To show the lyrics underneath the Soprano line, I use the following. \new Lyrics \lyricsto "Soprano" { \set stanza = "1.&...
ikel's user avatar
  • 215
4 votes
2 answers
190 views

Annotate 'repeat final lyric of final chorus'

I have some sheet music where I want to correctly annotate that the final lyric of the final chorus should be repeated. It is 2 and 1 quarter measures long. Our choir calls this a 'tag'. From what I'...
B.O.B.'s user avatar
  • 205
-2 votes
4 answers
202 views

If you write a song by doing the lyrics first isn’t that technically starting with time (rhythm) rather than with pitch? Is the term for it phrasing?

If you write a song by doing the lyrics first isn’t that technically starting with time (rhythm) rather than with pitch, and would the term for that be musical phrasing? E.g, if you write out a 4 ...
Lecifer's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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Trying to parse lyrics from a midi file

I'm having a hard time trying to do something presumably very simple, and it's driving me mad. I'd like to use javascript to extract from a midi file: lyrics + related time stamps. Of course, I'd like ...
Denis's user avatar
  • 33
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Accent alignment in Japanese music with English lyrics

When listening to Japanese (pop) songs containing English lyrics, I can't help but notice an interesting phenomenon. Usually for English songs, we tend to align the linguistic stress with the melodic/...
Trebor's user avatar
  • 163
6 votes
4 answers
701 views

LilyPond lyrics affecting horizontal spacing in score

While attempting to typeset a piece of baroque vocal music, I've come upon this issue where lyrics cause uneven spacing of the notes in other voices in the score. For example, the 2nd violin on the ...
AlexJ's user avatar
  • 853
3 votes
2 answers
92 views

LilyPond Lyrics Alignment - align to syllable vowel (as found in gregorian sheets)

Is there a way to align lyrics in LilyPond in such a way that the syllable vowel (or last vowel of a diphtong) aligns to the note (or the first note of a melisma), like we find in gregorian chant ...
Laércio de Sousa's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to spell "W" in lyrics

I would like to use the letter W in a set of lyrics in a choral work. I want the performers to pronounce all three syllables of the letter, as if they were spelling. Wikipedia suggests spelling it &...
nuggethead's user avatar
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1 answer
436 views

How should I teach myself how to sing?

I really really love to sing! I started a year ago. I want to pick up singing and sing well and sound nice. I play two instruments, so I have good ears. I’m young (15). How should I go about teaching ...
WafflesStacks's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
291 views

Applying a given markup to two consecutive syllables in lyrics

Given the following LilyPond MWE: melody = \relative c' { a( b) c } lyra = \lyricmode { Foo bar baz } lyrb = \lyricmode { Foo -- bar baz } lyrc = \lyricmode { Foo __ bar baz } \score { &...
Laércio de Sousa's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
193 views

I like to sing lyrics as I come up with them. What is this called?

As I write lyrics, I just start singing & turn them into full verses/choruses. What is this called? melody? What is my next step into turning them into pop songs? Do i turn each syllable into ...
Mr. Lo's user avatar
  • 13
2 votes
1 answer
139 views

Lilypond: Lyrics variants for repeated music

I am currently dealing with a piece of vocal music that has sections which repeat musically but have different lyrics variants for the first and second time of the repeated segments. Consider the ...
iTeaMaster's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
91 views

Lilypond: How to avoid overshooting melisma in last stanzas [incl. MWE and output]

I am trying to create some sheet music with lyrics. Some features of the music are: There are repeat sections in the music with alternative endings. The music starts on the chorus. There are more ...
Eirik B's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
50 views

Song question that I been trying to figure out [closed]

I have been wondering what the name of this song is for a while, does anyone have any idea what it is called? https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ly3yr
user89844's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
100 views

Changing words to Cohen's "Hallelujah" [closed]

I have heard at least four different sets of lyrics to Cohen's Hallelujah. But in spite of having very different overall themes, none of them changed the lines "the fourth, the fifth / the minor ...
WGroleau's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
1k views

How do we know where line breaks occur in lyrics?

When looking up written lyrics of songs, multiple sources tend to put line breaks in the same place. My question is how do the people transcribing the songs know where to put the line breaks? ...
Chloe's user avatar
  • 151
-2 votes
1 answer
81 views

The nature of rhyme in _Surrender_? [closed]

Consider the priceless Surrender, written by Rick Neilsen, 1977. Mother told me, yes she told me In a sense, the me/me rhymes. I'd meet girls like you She also told me stay away You'll never know what ...
Fattie's user avatar
  • 145
5 votes
1 answer
334 views

LilyPond: words connected with hyphen

I started working on a songbook with English songs and came across lyrics where the words are connected with hyphens. What would be the best way to show these in LilyPond? In the example below there ...
Sangit's user avatar
  • 209
5 votes
1 answer
171 views

Lilypond verse lyrics with repeat and anacrusis

I'm wondering if someone can point me to a snippet or other example as I'm yet to find a solution ... I have a piece, a simple tune with 2 verses n Lilypond where the piano parts, melody and words are ...
SimonH's user avatar
  • 51
1 vote
0 answers
87 views

Does this bar make sense? [closed]

My boyfriends a rapper, he showed me something he’d written and we’re disagreeing over one of the bars. He’s adamant that it makes sense but I’m telling him it doesn’t. “They used to laugh and look at ...
Ashleigh's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
163 views

If I put accented syllables(these syllables have higher pitch and higher volume) on each beat of music does it count as syncopation?

If I put accented syllables(these syllables have higher pitch and higher volume) on each beat of music does it count as syncopation since I’m also accentuating beats 2 and 4?All of this is in 4/4 time....
Luiyo's user avatar
  • 147
3 votes
4 answers
165 views

How to develop a musical idea/lyrics without forcing it?

I have many musical ideas, some instrumental and some are parts of songs with lyrics and melody but in most times I can't get myself to develop the musical ideas or to write more lyrics without ...
Ray's user avatar
  • 163
4 votes
4 answers
605 views

A rest with a lyric syllable under it? Is this a typo?

I am confused by this passage where a rest has a lyric syllable under it: I do not understand what the singer would do here. Is this likely a typo? The source is a specific edition of Thomas Tallis's ...
giskard22's user avatar
  • 143
4 votes
4 answers
701 views

How to create synthetic speech with a musical synth?

I want to create 100% synthetic voice speech with no human voice to make my instrument say and sing lyrics. I looked at the formants of different vowels like "A" or "E" or "O&...
MatR's user avatar
  • 141
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

How appropriate or inappropriate is the word "papoose" in a Native America song? [closed]

I'm researching Native American songs to teach elementary students (approx. 8-9 years old) in a US public elementary school. I found many songs that have the original lyrics presented phonetically, so ...
nuggethead's user avatar
  • 5,672
3 votes
1 answer
259 views

Lilypond avoid \melisma code

To align lyrics to music properly, instead of using \melisma and \melismaEnd, I found this method: \version "2.20.0" ... \addlyrics { Che -- _ _ _ ta -- na __ _ _ _ } Is this ok? or is better to ...
Mahanidhi's user avatar
  • 514
4 votes
1 answer
131 views

how to force lyrics under manually beamed notes

If I do not specify any manual beams and let the algorithm do it, lyrics are put at each note: \relative { g'4 e8 g8 g4 e8 g } \addlyrics { a b c d e f } But if I do it manually and forbid the ...
Kjara's user avatar
  • 758
3 votes
7 answers
467 views

How do I get started again when I've lost heart? [closed]

I used to compose at the piano when I was younger. When I got married and had children, it was diminished. Then, when I lost house, wife, child 1, 2, then 3 (the last), it was really hard. After ...
MicroservicesOnDDD's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
341 views

Add text at the end of the score in LilyPond

Is it possible to add a text at the end of the score like in this example?
Mahanidhi's user avatar
  • 514
4 votes
4 answers
487 views

How do lyrics differ from prose?

Lyrics don't require meter as does poetry so what separates lyrics from prose? Reputation? Rhyme? Does meter even matter? Example: lines 2 and 4 vary quite a bit in length
user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
70 views

align end of melisma extender line with last melisma note

This is a follow-up question to this answer. I have a melisma defined like so \relative { c'4. e8 g4 c a c8 a g2 } \addlyrics { Al -- le Vö -- gel sind schon __ _ da, } which gives me this output:...
Kjara's user avatar
  • 758
5 votes
2 answers
220 views

melisma extender line minimum length

I have this kind of music containing a melisma: \relative { c'4. e8 g4 c a c8 a g2 } \addlyrics { Al -- le Vö -- gel sind schon __ _ da, } I get this: The melisma extender line (after schon) is ...
Kjara's user avatar
  • 758
3 votes
3 answers
230 views

melisma extender line up to punctuation mark

I use Lilypond 2.20.0. I have music and lyrics with a melisma defined like this: music = { \relative { \numericTimeSignature \time 4/4 c'4 e g a } \addlyrics { foo __ _ _! ...
Kjara's user avatar
  • 758
1 vote
3 answers
602 views

Can non-voice instruments produce the sounds of vocal lyrics?

How can an instrument like the guitar or the piano be made to sound as though it's speaking real words, without any use of a human voice?
user80581's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
152 views

Why is (vocal) melody usually written in quarter notes? [closed]

While writing melody, I was trying to stretch short verses into 16 bars by using too many whole and half notes, and now I think it was equal to having tempo at half speed. Most melody is written with ...
Pabble Goobs's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
748 views

Lilypond is not aligning lyrics correctly

I was writing sheet music consisting of melody, chords and lyrics. To my surprise, the lyrics weren't aligned correctly under the notes. The file looked like correct Lilypond source code: global = { ...
Glorfindel's user avatar
  • 3,648
3 votes
1 answer
600 views

Display chord chart (just symbols) like lyrics for music files (mp3 etc)?

Summary: Is there a way to display chord symbols in music players (software apps) ? Like .srt files for movie subtitles or .lrc for music lyrics, isn't there a format or alternative for chords ? ...
deryb's user avatar
  • 139
0 votes
4 answers
222 views

How can you make sure you remember the melody for any lyrics you write?

How can you make sure you remember the melody for any lyrics you write? I am not even sure if it's possible, because I don't know any notation system for lyrics that allows you to write down the ...
user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
533 views

Come to think of it, who did put the bop in the bop shoo bop shoo bop?

There have been "la la la"s and nonsense lyrics in music since ... well, since a long time back. Why, who could forget that sixteenth-century classic "Nos Galan"? And Nigunim have ...
Aaron's user avatar
  • 92.5k
3 votes
1 answer
210 views

Lilypond: how to align lyrics vertically if the melody is split into variables?

In Lilypond, I'd like to split a melody into variables in order to easily see which syllables belong to which notes. Unfortunately, I am doing it in a way that seems to mess up the vertical alignment ...
Thomas's user avatar
  • 33
2 votes
1 answer
410 views

What's the term for the duplication of a note, when a singer has to repeat a verse but it's a syllable longer?

This is something I mostly associate with nursery rhymes and songs that use a specific melody repeated over and over. An example, from a version of London Bridge Is Falling Down: Build it up with ...
Kinkin's user avatar
  • 21
3 votes
1 answer
251 views

(Dis)aligning lyrics to a melody with LilyPond

I am trying to write a score for piano and voice. The piano actually has staves associated with it, but because the melody is already common and known by the intended audience, there is no staff for ...
MacroController's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
222 views

How would you arrange the lyrics to this sheet music for Amazing Grace?

I'm practicing a simplified version of Amazing Grace from Charles Segal's book Instant Piano Keyboard. I've included a picture of the sheet music below. I would like to sing along as I play this song, ...
ktm5124's user avatar
  • 650
0 votes
1 answer
78 views

What would this song section be called?

I'm new to genius transcribing and I'm unsure of the song sections. In the image below I don't know what these parts with the red dots are called. Above first red dot is verse 1 and nothing else. ...
Unprocessed's user avatar