Lyric writing and composition:

A FRESH APPROACH TO WRITING LYRICS AND

SETTING WORDS TO MUSIC
Tips and reminders for creative lyric and vocal writing in the classroom

An introduction
The activities explored below offer three different approaches to stimulate words and music. Each
activity provides an opportunity to create your own lyrics as a basis for music composition. The first task
concentrates upon writing words and music for an ensemble, the second on creating and setting words
for a solo voice or song (aria) and the last develops different notions of a chorus. A creative writing
toolkit is also introduced to provide new ways in which to explore lyrical writing and should be used to
guide your work further, offering a point-to-point reference for developing lyric writing: a methodology for
critical assessment in a classroom situation (see appendix 2).

Warm up: words as sound effects

Aims:
a) To introduce the word as both a physical and meaningful object
b) To examine, through play, how word choices can influence the sense and the momentum of lyrical
writing
Wordplay games include: words you like, words you dont like, words with the same beginnings
(alliteration) and the same endings (rhyming). Take four rhyming words and complete a four-line stanza
ending each line with one of the words.

Activity one: writing for an ensemble

a) Generating lyrics
The challenge: to express up to four different sentiments, at the same time and with equal weight, in a
dramatic context.
Points to consider
point-of-view (perspective)
drama (action)
opposing points of view (conflict)
interaction (exchange)
narrative (story-telling)
WRITTEN TASK I
Using the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty, choose 3 - 4 different characters or character groupings.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the Kings horses and all the Kings men
Couldnt put Humpty together again.

Write a complete sung moment using all four vocal groups. Limit the number of lines available for the
task. Experiment with one or two lines being sung by all the characters.
b) Generating music
An ensemble musical number generally occurs in an opera, as a direct response to a dramatic situation.
Practically it constitutes three or more people coming together, often to solve a problem. An ensemble
can typically begin with two characters in a dramatic dilemma. They are then systematically joined by a
number of other characters, each offering a new slant to the dilemma and/or offering fresh news to alter
the path of events.
Writing music for an ensemble therefore presents several challenges:

How to create a vocal texture whereby each characters voice may be heard?
How to give each characters sentiment equal emphasis?
How to create harmonic and rhythmic unity?

MUSICAL TASK I
Having devised a set of lyrics, these can be developed into composition whilst addressing the three
challenges above.
Tips and reminders for composing vocal ensembles in class:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Focus on a small amount of text.

Break your text into a list of short exclamations or statements.
Read the text through as a class.
Choose two contrasting rhythms.
Read the text again, though speak rhythmically. You may speak in only one of the selected rhythms.
You will find that some text will fit the rhythm other lines will be inappropriate.
6. Read the text through a second time, exploring the second rhythm you have chosen.
7. Create a spoken vocal piece in groups. It should last no longer than one minute. Somebody should
provide a constant pulse. Each person in the group may only speak for five seconds at a time. It
must be the same each time you perform it.
8. Transfer the vocal piece to a mixture of instruments and sung vocals. Do not change the material.
Use the pulse to provide a harmonic bass for the piece.

Activity two: aria vocal writing

a) Generating lyrics
Responding to a compositional brief of the emphasis being on word setting, the aim of this exercise is to
work from the individual word outwards. This might come from early warm up exercises, be chosen from
a fridge magnet selection or exchanged person to person: ask for three words to be written on piece of
paper (eg one or two adjectives, a location or noun) then hand the paper to the next person.
WRITTEN TASK II
a) write a tiny fragment using your three words as key words.
b) read them out, talk about focal words in new context.
c) Now think about story, character and location.
Ask yourself questions:
Does your text already suggest any or all of the above? If, for example, there is a particular setting, like a
wood, imagine that there is someone in the picture. You are going to write a 6-line aria for that character.

Points to consider

Who is singing?
Where are they singing?
Why are they singing?
What are they singing about?

Discuss the Aria as a form

(see appendix 1)
Write a six line aria
Choose one line to repeat.
b) Generating music
It is a challenge to move away from the pop-culture of song writing with a class and to avoid the 1/4/5
chord sequences. The following checklist should provide a strong guide for exploring more interesting
ways to set words to music.
Complete the above task to generate text for an aria by choosing three words a couple of adjectives
and a noun. For example: colourful, wistful and dagger.
MUSICAL TASK II
1. Explore the setting of individual words: consider the pitch, shape, rhythmic gesture.
2. Set each word to music. Develop these words into a six-line aria. As described in the task above,
consider all the characters, their location and why they are singing, and repeat one of the lines. e.g:
I fought amongst a crowd of men
A dagger in my belt
A wistful thought of home
I squashed the memory flat
A colourful row of red uniforms before me
A dagger in my belt.
3. Sing the aria you have written on a single pitch. You should depart from that note only to sing the
words you set to a phrase (these are highlighted above in bold).
4. Consider an accompaniment melody/bass:
Ambient sound to convey a message re: physical location/background event?
Commentary on state of mind of character singing aria?
Static accompaniment or providing motion and pace? Motion punctuation blocks (as in Tosca)?
5. Rhythmic interest ostinato which could be percussive or chordal.
6. Effects to further illustrate words. Use vocal or instrumental effects in the accompaniment?

Activity three: chorus writing

From the lyric writers point-of-view, chorus writing takes on several meanings, as listed below. It is then
interesting to consider appropriate musical responses to the textual applications of the word:

A group villagers, soldiers, trees etc. as in an operatic chorus

A collective voice a unified group of singers singing text, poem-like; messiahesque!
The chorus in a verse/chorus structure

a) Generating lyrics

Points to consider
Repetition (used for emphasis, momentum and clarity)
Unity
Clarity
Authenticity
WRITTEN TASK III
Brainstorm dramatic themes from Tosca.
Brainstorm significant props.
Your chorus should intend to convey a message or statement using repetition. Select a chorus type, a
prop and theme, and create your own 4 - 8 line chorus text (line limit depending on chorus choice).
b) Generating music
MUSICAL TASK III
Workshop and discuss the following guidelines to create a musical chorus composition:
1. Trusting in a groups natural harmony!
2. Spoken word to musical speech
3. Given rhythms
4. Hearing parts and teaching by ear
5. Perfect cadences
6. Augmentation and diminution
7. Bass line hitches
8. Canonic verses
9. Pace, unity and repetition
10. Time signature changing times!
Copyright Hannah Conway and Jane Buckler for ENO Baylis

Copyright ENO Baylis. These pages are for educational use only and may not be
published in any form without permission from ENO Baylis.
ENO Baylis
London Coliseum, St Martins Lane, London WC2N 4ES
Telephone +44 (0)20 7632 8484 Fax +44 (0)20 7845 9443
email baylis@eno.org www.eno.org/baylis

Lyric writing and composition

Appendix 1
Notes on writing an aria
AN ARIA is the word used in opera to describe a song sung by one character. I sometimes call it an
I song. It usually feels like a little complete piece in itself. Often, the character sings the aria to the
audience in private or out of earshot of the other characters in the scene. In a musical this is called a
solo. In a play its called a monologue.
Here are some differences between Recitative and Aria:

RECIT

ARIA

Can involve any number of singers

Usually one singer

Significantly more information

Often very little information is given

Forward motion is the primary concern: the plot

jumps into a much faster gear and the story leaps
forward

Reflective, thoughtful, examining emotions or an

event

Narrative is speeded up

Narrative is slowed down in terms of action

Less repetition

Repetition is common

Copyright Jane Buckler for ENO Baylis, November 2002

Lyric writing and composition

Appendix 2

The Writers Toolkit

The T oo lk it provides a list of reference points and principles for lyric writing. Each item offers
an opportunity, when generating text for performance, to develop and refine the work. When
considering what makes good writing ( by good we mean alive and interesting as opposed to
lifeless, dull) it offers a terminological guide by which material can be criticised in a positive
manner.
Any introduction to lyrics might start with a demonstration of the form using examples taken
from a variety of sources. Differentiate the form from other types of written texts (see
Economy, point 1 below).

1. Economy. Less mess (Alan Bennett on poetry). It may seem obvious, but make the connection
between the number of words used in a book and those in a script, lyric, libretto or poem.

2. Pace, Variety.

3. Rhyme, Rhythm and Momentum.

4. Narrative or Story/Information.

5. Character how is character revealed?

6. Mood and Tone

7. Repetition

8. Detail

Copyright Jane Buckler for ENO Baylis, November 2002