Music Lyrics

Music lyrics are the words in songs. They can be written before or after the accompanying music is composed. Sometimes lyrics are the inspiration for a particular song, such as when artists adapt poems to music. Music lyrics range from abstract to explicit and are often used to express a message or tell a story.

History of Music Lyrics

The word lyric derives from an ancient Greek word for a song sung with a lyre. The meaning eventually evolved to mean the words of a popular song. In the early 1900's it shifted once more, turning into today's definition of the words of any song.

How To Write Music Lyrics

The marriage of lyric to music is a delicate one that can bring words to life. Writing lyrics is a lot like writing a poem. There are no set rules for lyric writing, you have the freedom to express yourself in any way you please. Lyrics do not have to rhyme, they don't have to make sense, and they don't even have to go along with the music.

If you have a piece of music you want to compose to, sit down and listen to it several times. Get a good feeling for the rhythm of the notes. See if you can understand what the composer was feeling when he or she created the music. Then, start writing. Don't worry if nothing makes sense or it doesn't come out quite right at first. Just get some music lyrics on paper, you can work out the details later. Tinker with the word order, word choice and overall rhythm of the lyrics. Afterwards, put it aside for a few hours and come back to it with a fresh mind. After a few short editing sessions you'll have a refined set of lyrics worthy of any song!

If you're composing lyrics without the music you can enjoy much more freedom with your words. Be aware of the meter of your composition as you write. Read it over several times, preferably outloud, to get a feeling of the words as a song. You can often feel if the accompanying music should be fast or slow, heavy or light-hearted, etc.

Resources

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