Arts >> Music >> Songs & Lyrics

How to Show the Lyrics on Sheet Music

While some composers primarily write instrumental music, others compose for both instruments and vocals. If you write a song that has lyrics, you need to know how to include these lyrics in your sheet music for the song. Writing the lyrics in the proper location and with the appropriate phrasing helps singers to know how to perform the song correctly.

Things You'll Need

  • Staff paper
  • Pencil
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Locate the treble and bass clefs. The treble clef is the top set of five staff lines, and the bass clef is the bottom set of five staff lines.

    • 2

      Write your lyrics between the treble and bass clefs. If you only have a treble clef, write your lyrics under it.

    • 3

      Number your verses. This is especially important if you are writing multiple verses in the same section of the music. Stack multiple verses on top of each other in numerical order.

    • 4

      Center a chorus or refrain between the treble and bass clefs if you have both clefs in your piece of music.

    • 5

      Phrase your lyrics according to the rhythm of a song. If you have a word that is drawn out over several notes, use hyphens to divide the word accordingly. For instance, in the song, "Amazing Grace," the word "amazing" is divided up into "a-ma----zi--ng." Make sure that each syllyable of each word lines up with the correct note.

Songs & Lyrics

Related Categories