To achieve prosody, the rhythmic placement of a lyric in music must support its natural rhythm, meaning, and emotion.
[5] [6] It is of importance to identify these suprasegmentals in language, as it is the combination of these variables that defines the stressed and unstressed syllables of words.
The factors of intonation, duration, and dynamics contribute greatly to the process of identifying and executing proper lyric setting.
Intonation is additionally used in speech for special effect, highlighting words to create emphasis or to support a specific emotion.
[10] Syllables in the English language are expressed through different dynamics depending on their natural prominence, or stress.
Pitch is considered the strongest variable that determines syllable prominence, with duration and dynamics following in that order.
[13] Organized patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables create rhythms and meter in poetry and lyric writing.
A primary stress in a word is the strongest syllable with the highest pitch, longest duration, and loudest volume.
When setting lyrics, it is important to note that these levels of strength are applied to the entire duration of the beat.
Recognizing strong and weak rhythmic patterns is essential during the process of proper lyric setting.
A melody is defined as a "succession of tones comprised of mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged as to achieve musical shape, being perceived as a unity by the mind.
Stressed and unstressed syllables within a phrase create a rhythmic pattern that is then matched to the strong and weak beats of musical rhythm.
Within a lyrical phrase, stressed syllables occur in strong positions of the measure because they hold the most meaning.
If unstressed syllables are set on strong beats, the lyrical content sounds unnatural and suffers a loss of meaning.
The unstressed syllables are placed on weak beats in order to embrace the most authentic meaning of the lyric.
This is not an essential factor for proper lyric setting, but it has the potential to preserve the natural contour of the language.
Although emotions may appear as though a mere happenstance, it is the technical tools such as proper lyric setting that are working behind the scenes to maintain some of the basic building blocks a song needs in order to achieve prosody.
When a lyric is properly set, with its natural rhythms present in music, words are familiar and easily recognized by the listener.
By the time the listener identifies an improperly set lyric, the song has already moved onto new words and melodies.
When words are easily recognized and understood in a song, the chance of establishing an emotional connection to the listener is increased because it subconsciously creates a level of trust and expectation.
Placing more important words on stronger, more prominent beats of a measure puts spotlights on their meanings, more effectively enhancing and communicating what the song is trying to say.
Nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives, or words that serve the meaning or cognitive function, have the potential to access the listener’s personal memories through the senses.
In this way, placing these words on strong beats of a measure not only encourages them to be noticed, but also increases the chances that the listener’s personal memories will be accessed, promoting relatability.
When the listener notices likeness between their memories and lyrical content, an emotional connection is established, because of their ability to find representation for their own experiences.
These tools can be applied only after stressed and unstressed syllables have been identified and the emotional intentions for a lyric are decided.
A mis-stressed lyric is a word with one or more stressed and/or unstressed syllables that do not properly align with the strong and weak beats of a measure, and, therefore, neither preserve the natural shape of the language nor promote prosody.
Musical time constantly moves forward, but the distraction and misunderstanding that mis-stressed lyrics cause slow down the listener’s thought process.
Whether the lyric is identified by the listener or not, its meaning is lost due to the fact that it does not stay true to its original conversational rhythm.
By placing both stressed and unstressed syllables on strong positions of the bar, the rhythm is suggesting that the meanings of both are equally important.
The lyrics do not convey their ultimate meaning and emotion because the nouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives will have to share the spotlight with less important words.