OT: non conventional syllables placing practices

Hello everyone,
I hope this is not too off topic for the forum. I am copying a composition for piano and voice where the syllables of the text do not follow the conventional syllable division rules of the language. I would like to know if there are any conventions in writing the text under the notes in these cases that would make it clear that the syllabication is exactly as written and not errors. Thank you in advance.

Andre, if you place the hyphens exactly where you or the composer wants them, it should be quite clear to the performer. May be add a little remark, too.

example
co - m - pos - er *)

*) sic

You want conventions for non-convention lyrics…? :grin:

Is there a specific reason for the non-standard word division, such as in order to convey special effects, like hard consonants and long mmmms at particular places?

Elaine Gould offers considerable dos and don’ts for describing special effects in vocal music in her book.

Is that what you’re doing, or is it “literally” just non-standard word division?

But generally, in any case where you want to do something that is not already well-understood or expected, you need to write instructions in footnotes, or on preliminary pages, or on the first page of music, so that the choir director can read them and decide what they will actually do.

The question is always “what information does this convey to the reader that standard notation does not?”

5 Likes

Sorry for the late response, it’s been a rough weekend!
Anyway, thank you for your answer. In the end I just put a footnote in the score, that worked. Thank you! :slight_smile:

Andre, you are welcome.
Out of curiosity, would you post a little snap/screenshot of an example (to give us an idea)?

Hello @k_b ,
I unfortunately can’t share, but I can give you some examples.

For istance, in italian language, whenever you have two equal consonants, you split them. So like “Cor-re-re” - “Mi-rag-gio” and so on. The composer wanted to divide like “Co-rre-re” - “Mi-ra-ggio”.

Does it change the performance, or is it just un capriccio? :grin:

The Italian language is wonderful for singers and for singing. I like it that the composer has an ear on the hyphenation. Like the spelling it has changed over the centuries. Copying old sources one will find fantastic music and “terrible” spelling.

As a native speaker, I don’t think it would change much given the writing style, but since there’s much room for improvvisation, it could change things to me.