Hi Martin,

When writing lyrics, it's not just the syllables that align. The most important aspect is that the stressed syllables of speech align with the stressed notes of music. These stresses should also align from verse to verse.

Adding an extra unstressed syllable to an unstressed musical note here and there does not impact on sonic relationships between verses all that much. On the other hand, if stressed syllables do not match from verse to verse, or unstressed syllables in speech are put on stressed notes in the musical phrase, the impact on the verse-to-verse relationship is significant.

If you want to learn more about aligning notes and music, I suggest the book "Essential Guide To Lyric Form And Structure" by Pat Pattison. In my opinion, he's the best author around on lyric writing.

All the best,
Noel


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