How do I get the music and lyrics to match together in the mood of my song? When writing lyrics to music, you must watch your prosody. What is prosody? The word prosody has two meanings.
First, the mood of your lyrics should fit the mood of the music. The only time you might want a mismatch between the mood of your music and lyrics is when you want to create irony.
Sarah McLaughlin’s All I Want to Do is Have Some Fun has upbeat music. However, the lyrics paint a glum picture of a couple of alcoholics sitting in a bar.
The mismatch in music and lyrics highlights the dichotomy between what the protagonist wants versus what she has. She wants fun, but she’s stuck in a bar getting drunk.
You have two ways to get the mood of your music and lyrics to match together. You can start with the music and then write the lyrics to the music. If you start with the music, you’ll generally have catchier music, and you can write the mood of the lyrics to fit the music.
Or you can start with the lyrics and write the music to the lyrics. Usually, this will yield more subtle and nuanced lyrics even though the music may be a little less catchy. However, starting with the lyrics you can fit the mood of the music to fit the lyrics. So, it can work either way.
Do you do better at fitting the music to the lyrics or vice versa? Figure out where your strength lies and go with that.
Learn about writing music and lyrics: