Re: lyrics to music

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hi Father Michael,

> the musician who puts some music together for us monks uses beams across 
> syllables and words ...

Exactly — this is one of the main reasons the standard is now to beam according 
to beat. There are too many situations where the lyrics in different verses of 
the same music have different syllabic structure. In the old engraving 
practice, each verse would potentially need a completely different beaming 
pattern, each of which would require more engraving space (or more confusing 
overlays) and demand that the [sight-]reader parse different patterns which 
ultimately describe the same metrical pattern of notes.

> That's definitely pushing my limits for ease of reading when the piece is 
> unfamiliar!

Yes.

Do yourself (and all other musicians) a favour: Always beam lyrics to the beat, 
not the melismas. There are several other notational elements (extenders, 
slurs, etc.) which should be used to highlight melismas, which will not obscure 
the underlying metrical pattern of notes.

All the best,
Kieren.