Lyric setting is the process in songwriting of placing textual content (lyrics) in the context of musical rhythm, in which the lyrical meter and musical rhythm are in proper alignment as to preserve the natural shape of the language and promote prosody.
Prosody is defined as "an appropriate relationship between elements." According to Pat Pattison, author of Writing Better Lyrics, prosody is created when all musical and lyrical elements work together to support the central message of a song. To achieve prosody, the rhythmic placement of a lyric in music must support its natural rhythm, meaning, and emotion. Pattison, Pat (2009). Writing Better Lyrics. Writer's Digest Books. p. 179. .
Proper lyric setting involves the identification of stressed and unstressed syllables. These syllables are distinguished by their suprasegmentals, or their qualities of intonation, duration, and dynamics. The numerous parts of speech hold different levels of meaning and are assigned different levels of importance. Stress is not only determined by natural rhythmic meter, but also by a word's level of meaning.
Stressed and unstressed syllables form into rhythmic patterns, similar to musical beats. All musical time signatures are made up of strong and weak beats. The stressed and unstressed syllabic patterns of lyrical content are aligned with strong and weak beats of music in order to ensure lyrics are easily recognized, correctly understood, and fulfill their ultimate meaning and emotion. The purpose of proper lyric setting in a song is to establish lyrical content in its most authentic form to promote relatability.
Suprasegmentals
All languages are made up of segments called vowels and consonants. Vowels may stand on their own or join with consonants to create syllables. Words are made up of one or more syllables. Superimposed on syllables are other speech features such as stress or tone called suprasegmentals, also known as prosodic features. These sounds are present over syllables, words, and phrases. Suprasegmentals can be considered the "musical" aspects of speech. The common prosodic features are intonation, duration, and dynamics.(Manisha Kulshreshtha at al., Speaker Profiling. Forensic Speaker Recognition: Law Enforcement and Counter-Terrorism, ed. by Amy Neustein and Hemant A. Patil. Springer, 2012) Collins, B.; Mees, I. (2013) [First published 2003]. Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students (3rd ed.). Routledge. p. 129. . It is of importance to identify these suprasegmentals in language, as it is the combination of these variables that defines the stressed and unstressed syllables of words. The factors of intonation, duration, and dynamics contribute greatly to the process of identifying and executing proper lyric setting.
Intonation
In the English language, intonation, or pitch, is a suprasegmental that incorporates three variables: The division of speech into units The highlighting of particular words and syllables The choice of pitch movement
Intonation acoustically corresponds to fundamental frequency.Hirst, D.; Di Cristo, A. (1998). Intonation systems. Cambridge. pp. 4–7. It is one feature that defines the division of speech into units through the various pitches that syllables are naturally assigned. In this way, pitch plays an important role in differentiating stressed and unstressed syllables through lower and higher pitches, and in creating rhythm in language. Intonation is additionally used in speech for special effect, highlighting words to create emphasis or to support a specific emotion. However, this choice is made subconsciously. The application of pitch in the English language is not an artificial process, and native speakers utilize pitch fluctuations in words, sentences, and exclamations inherently. Recognizing lower and higher pitches in language during the process of lyric setting increases the probability of preserving the natural shape of the language. Halliday, M.A.K. (1967). Intonation and grammar in British English,. The Hague: Mouton.
Duration
In speech, duration, or length of sounds, is a suprasegmental measured in time units such as milliseconds or seconds. In music, however, duration is measured in note value regarding beats and their subdivisions. Hirst, D.; Di Cristo, A. (1998). Intonation systems. Cambridge. pp. 4–7. Syllables in the English language are naturally expressed with various durations. In partnership with pitch, the duration of a syllable can indicate the prominence of a syllable, or whether it is stressed or unstressed. The length of sounds contributes greatly to the rhythm of language, and the composition of poetry and lyrics. Recognition of the duration of syllables during lyric setting increases the probability of properly setting words, and, in addition, promoting prosody through length of musical time.
Dynamics
Dynamics in speech are distinctions between levels of volume, varying between soft and loud. Acoustically, dynamics correspond to intensity, also known as sound pressure level, which is measured in decibels.Hirst, D.; Di Cristo, A. (1998). Intonation systems. Cambridge. pp. 4–7. Syllables in the English language are expressed through different dynamics depending on their natural prominence, or stress. Dynamics are also used outside of normal speech patterns to emphasize certain words or to express particular emotions. Recognizing dynamics in speech during the process of lyric setting can increase the probability of preserving the natural emotion that is responsible for the dynamics and promote prosody in music.
Stress
The English language consists of sentences, which are made up of phrases, which are made up of words, which are made up of syllables. There are two types of syllables: stressed and unstressed, also referred to as strong and weak. A stress is the accentuation or emphasis in a word.
Intonation, duration, and dynamics are all suprasegmentals that contribute to determining the prominence, or stress, of a syllable in relationship to other syllables. Pitch is considered the strongest variable that determines syllable prominence, with duration and dynamics following in that order. Cruttenden, A. (1997). Intonation (2nd ed.). Cambridge. p. 13.
Before defining a stressed syllable, it is important to define an unstressed syllable. Every human voice has its natural resting pitch, which varies from person to person. In musical terms, this pitch would be recognized as the voice’s tonic, tonal center, or resolution tone. This is the pitch that all unstressed syllables rest on.
A stressed syllable is one that is emphasized, or has prominence. In contrast to an unstressed syllable, a stressed syllable has a higher pitch. In musical terms, this pitch is commonly a perfect fourth, perfect fifth, or even minor third, above the voice’s tonic. A stressed syllable tends to have a longer duration and louder volume. This contrasts with unstressed syllables to indicate superior meaning.
Organized patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables create rhythms and meter in poetry and lyric writing. They are often marked with different symbols when being analyzed. Stressed syllables are indicated with a forward slash (/) and unstressed syllables are indicated with a lowercase "u."
Parts of speech
Stressed vs. unstressed syllables are not only identifiable in regards to the natural shape of the language, but also in regards to function. Different parts of speech carry different levels of meaning, and, therefore, are stressed differently.
Words that serve the meaning function, also called the semantic or cognitive function, are: nouns verbs adjectives adverbs
These words are always stressed, because they hold meaning. Words that serve the grammatical function, also called syntactic function, are: articles - the, a, an conjunctions - and, but, yet, if, or prepositions - in, on, at, to, into, before, after personal pronouns - I, you, she, it, they, us, them
Grammatical functions do not hold meaning. Therefore, these words are unstressed. The grammatical function’s purpose is to support words that serve the meaning function.
There are exceptions, however, to these guidelines. This is particularly true when dealing with a contrast. The following sentences give examples of these contrasts and when it is appropriate to stress grammatical functions: I said I loved you, not him. Run to him, not past him. The pancakes were mine, not yours.
It is correct to stress these grammatical functions because this preserves the rhythm of natural speech.
Multisyllabic words
Words that have one syllable will be stressed determined by whether their function is cognitive or grammatical. Words that have more than one syllable are called multisyllabic words. Two-syllable words typically have one stressed and one unstressed syllable. However, many words in the English language have three or more syllables. In these cases, words often have more than one stress. A primary stress in a word is the strongest syllable with the highest pitch, longest duration, and loudest volume. A secondary stress is the weaker of the two, with its prosodic features falling between an unstressed and stressed syllable. Its pitch is higher than the tonic, but lower than the primary stress. The volume and duration of the secondary stress is similar to the primary stress, but not as prominent. Words with three or more syllables usually have an arrangement of primary, secondary, and unstressed syllables. Ioana Chițoran (2002) The phonology of Romanian, p 88
Musical rhythm
Music and language are alike in that they both utilize rhythm to organize and convey ideas. Time signatures in music contain patterns of strong and weak beats. In every time signature, the first beat, or the downbeat, is the strongest. , , and time are the most common time signatures in popular styles. In time, four beats are present in one measure. The first beat is the strongest, with the third beat the second-strongest. The second beat is weak, with the fourth beat the weakest. In time, three beats are present in one measure. The first beat is the strongest, and the second and third beats are weak. In time, six beats are present in one measure. The first beat is the strongest, the fourth beat is second-strongest, and beats two, three, five, and six are weak.
These levels of strength are applied to the entire duration of the beat. Within the subdivisions of a beat, the same patterns of strength are present, but in a lower degree. A quarter note can be divided into two eighth notes The first eighth note is strong, the second is weak. A quarter note can be divided into four sixteenth notes. The first sixteenth note is the strongest, followed by the third, with the second sixteenth weak and the fourth the weakest. The same concept applies to eighth-note triplets. The first eighth note is the strongest, while the second and third eighth notes are weak. Recognizing strong and weak rhythmic patterns is essential during the process of proper lyric setting.
The suprasegmentals earlier discussed regarding speech can also be applied to strong and weak beats of a measure. The strength of a beat is identifiable through its prominence, or force. The strong beats always have the most prominence, and can match the strength of a stressed syllable’s suprasegmentals. These features can be enhanced by percussion instruments through the dynamics (volume), tone, timbre, or duration.
Proper lyric setting
Lyric setting is the process of properly aligning lyrical content in the context of musical rhythm. Proper lyric setting preserves the natural shape of the language and promotes prosody. This involves a melody to which the lyrics are paired, so that it is sung as one unit. A melody is defined as a "succession of tones mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged as to achieve musical shape, being perceived as a unity by the mind."