Question for you Musical Types...

[-K2-]

I'm looking for direction and suggestions as to how I might convey words drawn out in a song. The character for a few brief lines will be singing, and my intent is to represent the words as sung, regarding length. The 'net way' might be like this: "I like to siiiiing, a stupid sooooong..." What I've learned is how those drawn out words--where the note is carried--as shown on sheet music. What I need are some ideas as to how I might convey that in just text.

E.g.: siiiiing, si---ing, si>>>ing? None of those really strike me as passable, but, any thoughts will help.

Any ideas? Thanks for your help! Here is what I've found in sheet music as an example (note the "la-la" *snort* for the alto's ):

Thanks again,

K2

 

[Foxbat]

If a character is singing just a part of a song, I'd simply italicise.

If it's a whole song, I'd start a new paragraph and structure it more like a poem (and italicise) rather than prose so that folk can see that it's different from the normal narrative. I wouldn't bother with trying to use words to copy musical notation. Instead, if it was important, I'd make a reference to the tune somehow in the dialogue or narrative (an example is in Julian May's Saga Of The Exiles where the aliens sing a song but a reference is made that it is recognisable to humans as Londonderry Air).

 

[-K2-]

@Foxbat ; Thanks for the response (I had a personal wager that you'd chime in )

The song will just be a four short lines lines to make one of the characters even more ridiculous. Off the top of my head, the lines are (before he is interupted and more nonsense ensues):
"Drift pigs, are very stinky.
Drift pigs, smell like your puckered winky.
Drift pigs, are very bad to eat.
Drift pigs, taste like a lusher's feet--"

Stupid and immature, right? Just like it's supposed to be. In any case, the pitch is monotone by line, with the first and third line the same, second and forth the same and lower... That doesn't really matter to me (just in my head to work it out). What is important (to me) is that I want the reader to know the word "pigs" is drawn out. The little bit of rhyming makes it clear that it's a poem or song--but the word pig drawn out makes it clear.

So, are you suggesting I do this?: "Drift pigs, are very stinky."

I get where someone might infer that it's drawn out because it's emphasized, I'm just not sure it positively conveys that word as drawn out. It's important 'to me' because, anything that rhymes, or is poetic, or is a song, etc., is referred to as "a song," nothing else (which has bearing). And, I want to point that out without stating it... but, it's important that a song is a song, a poem a poem, and so on.

So, it's how to show that one word 'pigs' drawn out. I realize it seems as nonsensical as the song, but, it has deeper points.

Thanks for your input,

K2

 

[Pyan]

If I saw something like this, I'd know it was a song, and that the word 'pigs' is drawn out.

"Drift pii-iigs, are very stinky.
Drift pii-iigs, smell like your puckered winky.
Drift pii-iigs, are very bad to eat.
Drift pii-iigs, taste like a lusher's feet--"

I don't think it matters that 'pigs' has an extra letter in it - it's still a recognisable, understandable word.

Or you could go for even more emphasis - though I think this version looks as if it's sung in chorus by many drunken spacers in a bar on, maybe, Ganymede...

"Drift pii-iigs, are very stinky.
Drift pii-iigs, smell like your puckered winky.
Drift pii-iigs, are very bad to eat.
Drift pii-iigs, taste like a lusher's feet--"

Either way, I think it's stopped being a poem and has become something set to music.

 

[Lafayette]

I'm looking for direction and suggestions as to how I might convey words drawn out in a song. The character for a few brief lines will be singing, and my intent is to represent the words as sung, regarding length. The 'net way' might be like this: "I like to siiiiing, a stupid sooooong..." What I've learned is how those drawn out words--where the note is carried--as shown on sheet music. What I need are some ideas as to how I might convey that in just text.

E.g.: siiiiing, si---ing, si>>>ing? None of those really strike me as passable, but, any thoughts will help.

Any ideas? Thanks for your help! Here is what I've found in sheet music as an example (note the "la-la" *snort* for the alto's ):

Thanks again,

K2

If you're in Microsoft Word go to the insert tab, look for symbols, click on that. A window will open. Go to font, scroll until you find Arial Unicode MS look hard and will find musical symbols such as quarter notes, eight notes, and sixteenth notes ♬♬♬♬♬♬♬♩♩♩. Incorporate them with your words and I'm sure your reader will know your character is singing.

One final note you may have to embed this font in your manuscript to get it printed in book form.

 

[-K2-]

Thanks @pyan ; that's a good idea to consider along with @Foxbat 's. I'll think on it too.

@Lafayette ; thanks for chiming in, and thanks for the great suggestion and work looking it up. That said, I'm a little cautious regarding the musical notes. As fickled as it might sound, I think that might be a bit too much for what I'm wanting to do... this goes back to all poems, rhymes, songs being considered the same. Yes, I want it to be clear that it's a song and for the word 'pigs' to demonstrate that, but I don't want it to stand out more than say a poem.

I realize I'm splitting hairs over an insignificant thing, but, that's what I do

Thanks again folks for your thoughts and efforts!

K2

 

[Alex The G and T]

The ditty plays well enough for me, straight up; especially if the singers have been set up as drunk and slurring.

I like pyans approach, the extra i's and hyphen, maybe an ellipsis.

If "Drift Pigs" is already established as a commonly known pejorative; you could go hog wild (cough) with the spelling: "Peeyiiigs" (e.g). Whatever suits your [character's] internal cadence.

I suspect that establishing the cadence is less important to the reader than to the author?

 

[-K2-]

If "Drift Pigs" is already established as a commonly known pejorative; you could go hog wild (cough) with the spelling: "Peeyiiigs" (e.g). Whatever suits your [character's] internal cadence. I suspect that establishing the cadence is less important to the reader than to the author?

Plays well enough huh? You're not going to be singing this at Karaoke are you? However, yes, drift pigs is a pejorative term for 'Ko'es,' or 'Sweet Sand Sifters,' and that's established just before hand.

"Cadence?" Hmmm... I'm not sure there is anything more special about the word other than it's drawn out (which cadence to me reads as more, but I may be inferring too much into the meaning). I guess the best way to explain the situation is; a young man begins singing to himself (monotone, almost speaking except for the word 'pigs') quietly. About the same volume as we 'talk to ourselves,' but without much style. Think of a kid singing to themselves... mostly just speaking the words. Part of the point will be, sound carries easily in this place. Another being, he does this often and believes he's just singing in his own head, at most humming.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't want him coming off as creative or even conscious of his singing...

Or, did I miss your point? Thanks for the help!

K2

 

[Alex The G and T]

By "Cadence" I'm saying that the extra vowels stretch the sound, and the hyphen-stops make a rhythm.

Misspell it to suit what you are "hearing."

If all you want is a slight emphasis on "pigs," then italicize it.
(Popeye mutters under his breath, "We ain't building an opera, here.")

 

[Foxbat]

If you're in Microsoft Word go to the insert tab, look for symbols, click on that. A window will open. Go to font, scroll until you find Arial Unicode MS look hard and will find musical symbols such as quarter notes, eight notes, and sixteenth notes ♬♬♬♬♬♬♬♩♩♩. Incorporate them with your words and I'm sure your reader will know your character is singing.

I knew about the symbols but didn't know there were music symbols there. Very handy to know

 

[tegeus-Cromis]

I think "piiigs" (no hyphen, no italics) is enough. "Pii-iigs" looks a bit too busy, and makes me think there's a pitch change in the middle of the word.

 

[tinkerdan]

Here's a suggestion on where to look for notions...

The Grammarphobia Blog: Eeeeeeeek!

How do you write stretched-out words that are used as interjections or exclamations?

www.grammarphobia.com

on this subject.

 

[-K2-]

Well thank you everyone. You've given me a lot of great ideas to help me with this silly little issue. It doesn't seem like something of consequence, but when combined with other parts of the story will convey a deeper importance. I'll think about it a bit, lay out the suggested ways and see what strikes me. One last option I considered using @pyan 's example was inserting a tilde instead of a hyphen: pii~iigs/pi~igs... so perhaps the least conventional (and least passable) of the bunch.

Thanks again!

K2

 

[Alex The G and T]

Heheeheh, @-K2- , you've stumbled onto something. In musical notation, a tilde is called a "grupetto." it indicates a small group of ornamental "grace notes," akin to a short trill.
So, there you go.

 

[Lafayette]

Heheeheh, @-K2- , you've stumbled onto something. In musical notation, a tilde is called a "grupetto." it indicates a small group of ornamental "grace notes," akin to a short trill.
So, there you go.

I would like to add in music notation that the # sign is called a sharp and a lower case b is called a flat. Oh, I forgot the natural sign ♮♮. If you change your mind and employ them you can add emphases by bolding or italicizing them.

 

[tegeus-Cromis]

I think any editor would have a heart attack if you tried to use a tilde for a hyphen. Even if your song contains baroque ornamentation...

 

[-K2-]

Heheeheh, @-K2- , you've stumbled onto something. In musical notation, a tilde is called a "grupetto." it indicates a small group of ornamental "grace notes," akin to a short trill.
So, there you go.

Perhaps... it works better than the typical (web text) manner of 'pIiIigs,' though I did not intend to imply a pitch change such as a grupetto does. If I understand it correctly, a grupetto works like: 0-pitch, 0+1, 0, 0-1, 0...

I'm surprised... this learnin' stuff don't hurt

K2

 

[Lafayette]

You have that right. I recently heard, Tony Polecastro of Acoustic Tuesday (a youtube channel) say something to the effect "That when you're trying to teach someone else to learn something you're learning yourself."

You bringing up this subject has caused a number of us to learn something new. Thanks.

 

[J Riff]

or maybe try saying something like :-- "he burst into song, to the tune of (pop goes the weasel) or "something akin to Happy Birthday" to give the reader a vague reference point. Usually stretching words, like siiiiii-iing, might only work for one word before it becomes too silly. The editior might just take out ten letter'i's on ya. Just saaaaaa-aaayin. )

 

[-K2-]

Thanks for helping out @J Riff ; I think you're right about extending-out no more than one word out of all of them. At the most, the first and third 'pigs.' That said, since this takes place 5,000+ years in the future, but has some very specific references made by the characters to our relative present, I don't want to use references in the narration to now (like the particular song titles and tunes), leaving the connection as vague as that span of time might leave it. Past that, as said, they're simply monotone words throughout each line as though speaking to yourself. So, that would not apply anywho.

Thanks again!

K2