Writing Lyric Line Length

Writing lyric line length is a tool for lyric writers. Just as the number of lines in the sections of your song is important its also important to learn this other tool. When you"re writinglyric this affects how listeners connect with your song. A songwriting lyrics line length affects the mood of the song.

No matter what you do, every line will have a length to it. You can change line length within verses and choruses as well as between sections. In fact its quite important to change line length between sections so your sectional differences in your song stand out more.

When you're writing you should think about the number of phrases and words in each line. Not just for meter and stressing of words but for the possibility of varying the length of the same line in a subsequent line in a repeating section.

This is a tool that you should not overuse in a song. It creates unbalance or a jar to the listeners expectations. For example if you write the first verse you usually repeat the melody and the lyrics in the second verse so it fits identically with first verse.

You could also do this with the chorus, but be careful because you want listeners to lock into the chorus so they remember it and changing the chorus may have a big effect for memory retention of your song.

This techinque works on the listeners need for balance in the song. They will seek it out so once you establish the routine in the first verse it will be a suprise when you provide a change.

It doesn't have to be a big surprise to provide a fresh variation that stands out. The more the variation the more you have to be concerned about bring them back into a state of balance so you don't loose them.

For example if your first verse has four lines and you want to vary the length of the fourth line in the second verse. You can make it longer or shorter as doing either will provide a surprise.

If you shorten or lengthen the line it will create the effect of the listener having to lean forward to get to a stable part. This also has the effect moving the song forward. The use of rhyme scheme can also have this effect.

You can use this if thats what you want at that point in the song. Don't do it just because you know how to do it. Do it because it serves the emotional content of your song.

Learn how to count the stressed syllables in your lines when your are writing lyric. Its changing the number of stressed syllables that has the biggest impact.