SONGWRITING 1Week 4 - Prosody

LEARNING OUTCOMES

➤ By the end of today’s session, students will be able to:

➤ Understand the theory of prosody

➤ Identify whether a lyric is stable or unstable

➤ Understand the effects of number and length of lines

What makes a song good?

➤ If it sounds good, it is good.

➤ But perhaps one other rule of good songwriting is the rule of prosody.

➤ What is prosody?

PROSODY

➤ Prosody is when everything in a song (or any piece of art for that matter), fits together

➤ All elements work together to support the central message of the song

➤ Aristotle’s notion of unity from Poetics “an appropriate relationship between all elements”

➤ What are some examples of how prosody may occur in a song?

➤ Between words and music - minor key could support the idea of sadness in the lyric

➤ Between syllables and notes - stressed syllables falling on stressed beats in the bar

➤ Between rhythm and meaning - I.e Bruno Mars “stop! (pause) wait a minute (pause), take my cup put some liquor in it.”

REGINA SPEKTOR - FIDELITY

See Lyric document

STABLE VS UNSTABLE

➤ Every song, song section and lyric line that you write will have some main emotion or other

➤ Look at it as either stable or unstable

➤ Ask yourself: “is the emotion in this section (or song or line) stable or unstable?”

STABLE OR UNSTABLE?

➤ I’m outta luck

➤ I’m in love!

➤ I’m in love! But it’s unrequited.

➤ People lie to themselves

➤ He/she cheated on me

➤ I cheated on him/her

5 ELEMENTS OF STRUCTURE

1. Number of lines

2. Length of lines

3. Rhythm of lines

4. Rhyme scheme

5. Rhyme type

All of these elements work together to create meaning and prosody in a song.

We will examine number of lines and length of lines today.

NUMBER OF LINES

➤ Every section you’ll ever write will have some number of lines or other

➤ An odd number of lines tends to feel odd - off balance, unresolved, incomplete - unstable

➤ An even number of lines tends to feel even - solid, resolved, balanced - stable

I love you

I love you

I love you

I love you

I love you

I love you

I love you

Mary had a little lamb

It’s fleece was white as snow

And everywhere that Mary went

The lamb was sure to go

Mary had a little lamb

It’s fleece was white as snow

And where Mary went it followed

YOUR BODY IS A WONDERLAND - JOHN MAYER

See Lyric document

Your body is a wonderland

Your body is a wonderland

Your body is a wonderland

Your body is a wonderland

Your body is a wonderland

Your body is a wonderland

Your body is a wonderland

PROSODY AND IRONY

➤ You’re the answer to all my prayers. I’ll be with you forever. I’m your rock. You can count on me.

➤ Say it with an even number of lines

➤ Stable

➤ Say it with an odd number of lines

➤ Unstable - we don’t trust this person anymore - irony

LENGTH OF LINES

➤ Line lengths indicate whether a lyric should stop or go

➤ Two lines of equal length tell you to stop - because they’re balanced

➤ Length of line is not determined by the number of syllables, but by the number of stressed syllables

➤ Lines of unequal length tell you to keep moving because they are unbalanced

Mary had a little lamb

Fleece as white as winter land

Mary had a little lamb

Fleece of snow

ANIKA MOA - DREAMS IN MY HEAD

See Lyric document

Cos I have all these dreams in my headOf you and I together, waking in each other's armsIf only I could tell you how I feelThen I wouldn't have to sit and think about losing youBut it's just a dreamI have in my head

4

7

5

632

TRAIN IN THE DISTANCE - PAUL SIMON

Two disappointed believers

Two people playing the game

Negotiations and love songs are often mistaken for one and the same

What is the point of this story

What information pertains

The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains

8

9

Remember, all of these elements are working together to support the main emotion/theme of the song

Prosody

ACTIVITY 1: SONG STUDIES

➤ Pick a song you enjoy listening to

➤ Find as many elements that create prosody as you can.

➤ First identify what the main emotion/message of the song is - is it stable or unstable?

➤ Identify how number of lines and/or length of lines are used to create stability or instability.

➤ Any other elements you noticed that create prosody?

ACTIVITY 2: CREATING PROSODY

➤ Pick one of the following lines

➤ Decide if your line is stable or unstable

➤ Answer the questions the song asks (who is talking, to whom, and why)

➤ Write a verse and chorus telling the story of the line

➤ Focus on prosody - particularly number of lines and length of lines, to create either stability or instability.

➤ I’m outta luck

➤ I’m in love!

➤ People lie to themselves

➤ I don’t wanna live without you