Questions tagged [lyrics]
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses.
57
questions
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2answers
93 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 ...
12
votes
1answer
561 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 = {
...
2
votes
1answer
323 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 ?
...
0
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4answers
125 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 ...
4
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3answers
180 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 ...
3
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1answer
61 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
89 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 ...
0
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4answers
172 views
Does a chord progression happen before the lyrics? [closed]
This is just an example from Alphaville - Forever Young:
C G
Forever Young
&...
3
votes
1answer
79 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 ...
3
votes
3answers
100 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, ...
0
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1answer
42 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.
...
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2answers
1k views
How to understand the meter and pulse of lyrics in songwriting?
I've been learning many different concepts as a beginning songwriter and have been working on applying them in my work. However, I can't seem to full understand how to control lyric meter and lyric ...
0
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2answers
60 views
What is it called when there is a lyrical transition to the chorus/hook?
There are many songs that do this, the latest one I've identified is:
A$AP Mob - Yamborghini High (Official Music Video) ft. Juicy J (youtube,genius)
Specifically this line here:
She make no ...
1
vote
3answers
169 views
Is there a standard way of singing over ii-V-I in jazz?
I am new to music theory especially jazz and blues. I have since learned about writing lyrics or singing over a traditional 12 bar blues progression using AAB form, thus repeating the first line (A) ...
1
vote
0answers
264 views
Difference between Indian and English lyricism besides language?
Suppose we sing or rap about dark themes (depression, alcohol, drugs, violence, sex) similar to modern American music from 1970-present day in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, or Malayalam over Indian classical-...
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0answers
92 views
Efforts and examples of modernizing Indian lyrics and music?
English lyrics can express anything using “common language” (words you hear in everyday conversation) whether it’s love, politics, poverty, violence, or the end of times. English lyrics are direct, ...
4
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3answers
4k views
What is it called when a group of vocalists or chorus sing Ooh's oh's, ah's, etc?
I heard my chorus director refer to it as something sounding like dest cant or something, but since I'm hard-of-hearing, I couldn't hear all the letters.
If someone can give me the correct name for ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
Scansion. Vocabulary
So I'm trying to get into poetry and using scansion to understand I guess the rhythm. MY question is what do you call it when you have a line with different stresses and unstressed syllables?
For ...
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3answers
3k views
When did the anonymous “you” become popular in western pop music?
This question might sound a bit facetious but I have been wondering for a long time. Many western pop songs are addressed to an anonymous "you". Presumably the song writer wants to write a song that ...
2
votes
2answers
261 views
Are there fewer rhymes in contemporary popular music? If so, why? [closed]
Vsauce mentions a study by Joan Serra showed contemporary pop music is less complex in its musical motives than it was, which he explains by a wider diversity in form and genres.
While complexity of ...
9
votes
3answers
2k views
I can't produce songs [closed]
I'm a guitarist, playing with 3-4 bands 4-5 days a week. I also study Sound Engineering and doing recording, arranging and mixing. My literature is not bad, and I have a good music education. ...
4
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1answer
303 views
How should I write out the word “Choir” to be sung in two syllables?
The word "choir" is pronounced /ˈkwī(ə)r/, but if I divide the syllables they are cho and ir.
So I imagine that if it's to be sung on two notes my choices are:
..
I think [based on this post}(https:...
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vote
1answer
64 views
Lilypond: How to use repeat bars in markup lyrics
I am using \markup after the score for several verses of lyrics, so roughly
\score { ... }
\markup {
\column {
\line { ... }
...
}
}
How can I typeset repeat marks for a piece of ...
0
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3answers
768 views
How to write lyrics over multiple notes
When one wants to write a piece in which a 1 syllable word is split between multiple notes, how is this shown? Or a multiple syllable word over the same number of notes? A visual representation/...
2
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1answer
661 views
If I just change the lyrics and flow (very slightly) of a song is it called a cover or a remix?
Is it referred as to something else? Like my version of a song or tribute.
2
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2answers
3k views
Turning lyrics into melody
Ive currently been having great difficulty turning my lyrics and poems into a melody. i've considered aligning the accented syllables as well as the meter with accented beats but am still having ...
2
votes
0answers
69 views
Is there a term for when lyrics are integrated with words from a sampled beat?
Is there a term for when the lyrics of a song are integrated with words from a sampled beat? I see this particularly in hip-hop. For example, the hook from Game's "Dreams" has lyrics:
Lettin' the ink ...
4
votes
2answers
98 views
Techniques to facilitate the process of marking which words are stressed/accented by beat
I'd like to provide context first:
I'm currently pursuing a thesis project that uses a stylistic approach to rap music. I want to be able to prove that dividing rap bars by the (usually) four beats ...
3
votes
2answers
117 views
Can lyrics be added interleaved with notation in lilypond
When writing vocal music in lilypond, I find it easier to find my place when there are lyrics in near proximity to the notes, so I've been using linebreaks and comments to achieve this so far:
\...
2
votes
2answers
461 views
Lilypond – how can I write lyrics to rests in multiple stanzas?
could someone help me with my problem, please?
I have got this Lilypond 2.18.2 code:
\version "2.18.2"
\language "deutsch"
global = {
\time 4/4
\set Timing.beamExceptions = #'()
\set Timing....
3
votes
3answers
602 views
Engraving rules for lyrics (Word “didn't”)
What is the correct way to notate the word "didn't" if the "di" part correspond to one note and the "dn't" part correspond to another? Being a non-native English speaker I feel like I should write "di-...
2
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1answer
245 views
How can I make Lilypond start lyrics on the very first note?
With Lilypond, I'm trying to notate a song with lyrics - this song has lyrics sung from the very first note of the piece. But Lilypond always shifts the words over one note each (see image). I can't ...
2
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1answer
521 views
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3answers
1k views
Beams in classical vocal music
I had a look at different operas and songs with piano accompaniment. I noticed that one often does not connect beams that one usually would in instrumental music (such as four sixteenth notes in 4/4), ...
3
votes
2answers
344 views
Writer's block: how do you know when lyrics are “ready”?
After a writer's block of at least ten years, this guitarist is "ready" to move on with writing and recording the songs that lurk inside me.
My initial approach is diving back into my folders of ...
6
votes
1answer
141 views
Is there a name for when a line is too long for the metre?
In some songs, a line in one verse will be a syllable longer than the matching line in other verses, and this will be resolved by adding an extra note to the start or end of that line of melody (in ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Should a lyrics extension line (underscore) be used on tied notes?
I get that extension lines (undercores) are used where one syllable at the end of a word extends over multiple notes. But is this also true when the notes are tied together?
In other words: Is one of ...
4
votes
1answer
146 views
What are some common ways for songwriters and lyricists to find each other online?
Let's say I'm pretty comfortable at composing but bad at writing lyrics (or vice versa). What are the best ways for me to connect with a proficient lyricist online? Are there any "songwriter expertise ...
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vote
1answer
158 views
How do you notate vocables?
Is it the same way as notating regular lyrics? Some of the vocables I would like to use are "ah" and "ooh".
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5answers
356 views
A seriously difficult question about mistakes and intepretation of music
I just came up with a question that I've never seen asked or talked about. It maybe obvious to everyone else in the world but I realized I simply can't answer it except with the non-answer.
This is ...
1
vote
6answers
269 views
Presenting lyrics for two singers
Myself and another singer will be performing a song together. Some parts I sing, some parts she sings, and some we sing together. But when it's time to perform we get confused as to who sings what. ...
2
votes
3answers
228 views
Little 'aside' in a vocal
What is the proper term for an 'aside' in music (mostly in vocals, but sometimes the score)? Many times these 'asides' MAY not be actually noted in the lyrics.
Two examples:
In Taylor Swifts 'Shake ...
4
votes
4answers
3k views
Rhythm notation for lyrics?
Are there any good notations for rhythm in song lyrics? Usually when I'm writing lyrics with pen and paper, I underline emphasis, which works for rap, but probably misses a lot of nuance for sung ...
3
votes
1answer
187 views
Question about terminology for a music sheet
I have developed an application for musicians that produces this output and I am not sure if we are using the correct terminology.
We currently use Chords and lyrics sheet but I think this is not the ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What notation systems exist for indicating rhymes, alliteration and cadence in rap lyrics?
The only example I've seen so far is The Rapper's Flow Encyclopedia, which uses standard musical notation with phrasing to indicate cadence, and lyric capitalization to indicate (but not group) rhymes....
7
votes
4answers
836 views
Lyric writing - books or essays?
Musical friends, I'm a competent writer of all forms of prose, dialouge, screenplays, and so on. But I have a secret desire ... I've always wanted to be able to write songs, that is to say song ...
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1answer
5k views
Singing the words to one song along with the music for another - what is this called?
Years ago I was setting out chairs during a pre-show rehearsal and since it was before everyone was due (rehearsal was scheduled to start in about five to ten minutes), folks were just playing around ...
3
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3answers
41k views
Replacing words in the vocals of a recorded song
I am a middle school teacher and we are trying to play the song Roar by Katy Perry at our pretest pep rally. I was wondering if there is any way I can edit the song lyrics to say lion instead of tiger,...
2
votes
2answers
533 views
How does one remember epic song lyrics?
I would just like to know how one would go about memorizing long song lyrics. 10 minute + epics for example.
More specifically something like this: (Crystallised)
http://www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/...
1
vote
1answer
385 views
What's the term for speaking fast in a verse
Question: Is there any term for the singing style of saying a lot of words very fast in a verse, as if you tried to squeeze what are clearly too many words in that verse?
Is it just called rapping?
...
