In his method for the analysis of the conjunction of music and text in contemporary music, Peter Stacey initially identifies three focuses of attention;

1. The conjunction of music and word (from the Classical melodrama, or recitation over music, to aria)
2. The formative influence of language over music (from the Baroque theory of Rhetoric to contemporary linguistic theories
3. (a) The descriptive use of language (in the explication of musical experience)
   (b) The prescriptive use of language (in the theoretical basis of musical composition)

Language may be heard as belonging to one of three types:

1. Pragmatic language
2. Scientific language
3. Poetic language

Texts may be drawn upon for compositional use from the following types:

1. Poetic texts
2. Prose texts
3. Paralinguistic texts
4. Phonetic texts

In the case of poetic or prose texts, we may further examine their use in musical settings, considering the following:

1. The text(s)
2. The condition of the text(s)
3. The vocal style(s)
4. The intelligibility of the text(s)
5. The technique(s) of relating music and text
6. The relative status of the media

These aspects may be further qualified with the following elements:

1. The text(s)
   1. Meaning
   2. Form
   3. Sound
2. The condition of the text(s)
   1. Prime condition
   2. Fragmented condition
3. The vocal style(s)
   1. Recitation following ordinary speech patterns (recitation unnotated)
   2. Recitation with prescribed rhythms
   3. Recitation with patterns of non-striated pitch
   4. Sprechgesang
   5. Conventional singing with lexical parameters dominant (syllabic song)
   6. Conventional singing with musical parameters dominant (melismatic song)
   7. Singing of harmonics using textually derived vowel centres
   8. Voice as a percussive instrument using textually derived phonetics
4. The intelligibility of the text(s)
   1. Clear articulation
   2. Over articulation
   3. Under articulation
5. The technique(s) of relating music and text
   1. Direct mimesis
   2. Displaced mimesis
   3. Non-mimetic relationship
   4. Arbitrary association
   5. Synthetic relationship
   6. Anti-contextual relationship
   7. Incidence and application of the techniques
   8. Contiguity and musical meaning
6. The relative status of the media
   1. Textual primacy
   2. Musical primacy
   3. Oscillation between the media

Summarised from Stacey, P. 1989. ‘Towards the analysis of the relationship of music and text in contemporary composition’, Contemporary Music Review, 5: 1, pp. 9-27.