Plus 79 more times in four minutes and 36 seconds.
Ridiculous R 'n' B hits notwithstanding, there is a point to making sure your lyrics rhythmically fit the song.
That's why I spend the first part
of Expert Home Vocals talking about the importance of phrasing when it comes to writing the right lyrics and putting together the right melody.
Here's an excerpt:
"Whether you’re pre-producing a song with an artist or working on
a song of your own, pay particular attention to the phrasing of your melody and how it interacts with the rhythm of the arrangement. Sometimes your lyrics have too many syllables and your phrasing will feel clunky. If you’re trying to fit too many words into a meter and it doesn’t flow correctly, it might be time to revisit your lyrics and see if you can’t tighten up the phrasing. By tightening up the phrasing of the vocal, it’ll fit better with the entire arrangement and feel good to sing in
sync with the rhythm.
Pro Tip: If you’re starting without lyrics and just trying to find a melody, don’t worry too much about being a poet. Just find random words that fit into the phrasing and then rewrite them later. “Yesterday” by The Beatles was originally called “Scrambled Eggs” because it has the same syllables and phrasing as “Yesterday.” It seems like Paul McCartney didn’t want the exact lyrics
to stifle his creativity while he was coming up with the melody so he just picked something random that worked while he was creating the rest of the song. Thanks to beta reader Justin Leary for this great tip!
I recommend doing this line by line throughout the song, tightening up words, changing out phrases, and substituting sounds every time something feels off rhythmically. Vocal rhythm is so important in today’s
modern music that it has to be absolutely perfect for the vocals to groove with the rhythm. It’ll make your song flow more naturally and it’ll make your melody catchier. And if there’s one thing people like, it’s a catchy tune."
The accompanying video to this part of the course shows you a demo version of a song, with lyrics and phrasing that sounded clunky and difficult to listen to.
Then,
throughout the production process, I cleaned up the lyrics and fixed the phrasing so that the melody would flow better with the instruments.
It made for a better vocal take and it had nothing to do with the equipment or the studio. It was about making sure the song was as strong as possible before we ever started recording.
Hit the image below to join Expert Home
Vocals.
