Prof. Carol

My favorite sentence in all of music? That’s easy. Prima le parole, e dopo la musica. It means: “First the words, and then the music.” In terms of impact, it’s right up there with “A stitch in time saves nine” and “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Prima le parole, e dopo la musica refers to the order in which compositions with words were created, at least traditionally. The text writer (lyricist, in our lingo) would write or arrange the words, and then the composer would take it up to write the music.

There were practical reasons for this. Throughout European history, official censors had to approve the words first. If you ever saw the Academy Award-winning movie Amadeus (1984), directed by Peter Shaffer, you might remember when the young Mozart gets into trouble because he’s composed an opera (The Marriage of Figaro) to an unapproved text—a play banned because of its disruptive elements.

Back then, a composer wasn’t fool-hardy enough to touch a text until it had the official seal of approval from the court, theater, or church censors. There was even a popular musical comedy written by Anton Salieri, Mozart’s rival, that spoofs the whole process. In Prima la musica, e poi le parole (First the Music, Then the Words, 1786), a court poet is suffering from writer’s block. But the monarch is waiting for his new opera! So, the composer finishes the music first, and the poet endures the irritation of fitting his text to already completed music.

How about in modern times, when court censors aren’t in charge of the arts? Even today, many composers prefer prima le parole. A composer looks at a text the way a seamstress looks at a pattern. From the outline of the text, a composer imagines the color, form, and flair of the music. 

Authors and composers do collaborate, of course. In larger works, like operas, there’s endless tweaking before everyone’s happy. Some of the rewriting is text-based, but some of it is musical, or practical. If the star singer demands two solo arias in the second act, then those arias get added. If a line turns out not to “sing well,” then something will be rewritten, whether words or music.

If you’ve studied how a musical (America’s favorite form of opera) comes to Broadway, you know that a lot is left on the cutting floor. One of my favorite reference books, The Collectors Guide to American Musical Theater, by David Hummel (Scarecrow Press, 1984), lists virtually every American musical you can think of. In great detail, it traces the many versions necessary until the musical finally succeeded (or flopped). Imagine if there’d been Special Features and Director’s Cuts on DVD back when Rodgers and Hammerstein were haggling over their masterpieces!

But can the text writer and the composer be the same person? Yes, absolutely. The 19th-century genius Richard Wagner gets the credit for upsetting this apple cart in the world of opera. Writing his own words (librettos) for his music dramas was one of the most radical things he did. And he did it in order to be in full control of his creations—that sounds modern, doesn’t it? It was bound to happen, and there are plenty of examples after Wagner. 

But just remember: the talent for writing great words is not identical with the ability to write great music. 

If you wanted to write a song, would you write the lyrics yourself (or have someone write them for you) – and then focus on the music? Or would you craft a melody first, and then seek the words? Give it a try both ways, even if it’s only a line or two, and see how it works for you!

Note from LRG: For more on songwriting, take a look below:

• The Way You Write Your Song
• Tips to Help With Your Songwriting
• A Unique Gift: A Custom Written Song
• The Art and Science of Songwriting
• First the Melody, Then the Words

Carol Reynolds, aka Professor Carol, a retired music history professor from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, has launched Silver Age Music. Her latest product is a multimedia course: “Discovering Music: 300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Art, History, & Culture.” Prof. Carol now lives on a ranch, raises goats, and writes and lectures on classical music (to humans).