When we sing, we are communicating with our audience. One of the ways we do that is with the words of the songs we choose.
There are times when the music makes getting the accent in the correct places a challenge. The song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen is just such a challenge. Indeed, anytime you sing the word hallelujah, depending on the length of the phrase and thus your need for air, it is tempting to accent the last syllable. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Halle- LU-jah is the correct accent of course. Please listen to this beautiful rendition of Hallelujah and notice how he accents his phrases. The syllable that would be LU is on the down stroke and thus stronger. The last syllable - jah- is on the upstroke and of course creates that softer accent. Listen carefully and then sing it as it is played here.
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