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 topic : Re: Why do all of my lyrics have 3/4 feeling I write song lyrics for fun and I always add simple music so the song can be performed. About 40% of my songs are in 3/4 (6/8) signature which is

Kristi637 @Kristi637

Personally, I love songs in 3/4, they tend to be more rare in the bigger picture. But yes, there are several ways of translating a 3/4 rhythm to a 4/4 one.
The easiest, but least natural, is just to add a one beat rest at the end of each line. Another method is to sing in triplets over a 4/4 beat, which can be very compelling if done correctly. You can also do a clave beat, which is three unequal beats over a 4/4 base (usually 3/8, 3/8, 2/8). Finally, you can double the length of a beat in each line, either consistently, or randomly.
The thing about sung lyrics is that, unlike metrical poetry, which is very regular, lyrics tend to be rhythmically irregular anyway (otherwise they sound overly "sing-songy") and often have emphases or extensions that would sound unnatural or forced in spoken word. As an example, consider the hook of the song "Stressed Out":

Wish I could turn back ti-me. To the good old da-ays.

"Time" and "days" are both forced into two syllable words here --it's a major part of what makes the song distinctive.
It's a little hard to depict this in text, but consider a famous song in 3, the Beatles "Norwegian Wood"

I
once had a girl
or should I say
she once had me

You could put this in 4 by making "I", "girl" and "say" an extra beat, and singing "once had a", "or should I" and "she once had" with a clave beat.

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