“When I hear music I hear words, just as I assume the composer hears music when he listens to lyrics” —Hal David
Your success as a hit songwriter depends on your ability to communicate stories, feelings and messages that reach out and touch listeners and evoke an emotional response within them (whether it’s an urge to get up and dance, or to get all romantic).
The key to achieving this lies in the compatibility of your words and music.
Your melody is the powerful medium through which your lyrical content is delivered to the listener. The melody helps to interpret the emotional intensity of the lyrics, and also helps people to remember the words.
It is therefore vital to make sure the melody and lyrics complement each other perfectly in order to convey the essence and meaning of your song. You have to make sure your words and melody belong together.
The technique known as prosody—the way in which words and syllables line up with the notes in the melody line—is a valuable device for making it easier to communicate exactly what you’re trying to say in your song. For example, aligning downbeats or accented notes with stressed syllables or key words can play a powerful role in conveying meaning.
Music has a unique ability to express and elicit a wide range of emotions to match the accompanying lyrics. Major chords can convey happiness or joy, while minor chords create a feeling of melancholy or sadness. You can use a mix of minor chords, major chords and the tension created by unresolved chords to match what you’re saying in each line of your lyrics.
It all comes down to experimenting with chords, intervals, rhythms and phrasing patterns to find the most effective way of marrying your melody and lyrics. When you find a combination that really moves you, it’s likely to move other people too.
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