Excellent points by the forum members above. I'm thinking a few of a few specific scenarios related to the question. Some songs with lyrics can be played without lyrics and achieve a different but equally compelling result - take for example Jimi Hendrix's rendition of The Star Spangled Banner. You can bet the farm no one at that performance questioned it being instrumental, although it I concede it was written with lyrics.

Also, there are things you can do with melodies that no singer could possibly handle, or that would be so difficult to perform that most singers could not perform it well.

It also relates to the purpose of an artistic work. Words, including sung words, generally convey a very specific message, which at once narrows the focus of a piece of music or other performance art, but also allow subtle nuances of expression that the voice can convey in a unique way. A singer can bring out the emotions in the words and music in very unique ways.

There's also the fact that a song with a vocal provides an easy way for the listener to focus, so the vocal (and the singer) often becomes the centerpiece of the song. If the singer happens to be well known or have a particularly strong voice, this can make a good song into a great song in a way that an instrument would have difficulty in achieving (in general). I think it's generally easier for people to be engaged by words/vocals, than instruments simply because it is human nature. This does not mean that it is better or more valuable than a purely instrumental song.

I'll just touch on the performance aspect here since I think the main topic is the composition and not the performance, but in this arena there are many advantages to having words/vocals. It's just going to be a lot easier to get listeners with lyrics and also easier to get a performer or band to play your song, unless they are an instrumental group. There's a practical aspect to it as well, so any composer is going to be influenced by the fact that words will help in getting their music "out there" to the broadest audience.

By no means am I saying that lyrics are more important or valuable or effective in a song. It all depends. There are countless instrumental songs which I adore, and I listen to both.


Ed Z

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