SongWritingFever

Why Rhyme

Lyrics that rhyme are the most memorable, and the easiest to fit in a music vehicle. But, watch out!! Rhyming too much sounds STUPID, and keep in mind that rhyme should come second to meaning...Never sacrifice the idea for the sake of a rhyming word and never put stuff together just because they rhyme...

Rhyme Scheme

The song structure thing we talked about earlier is more about the music than the lyrics. The lyrics, instead, are organized by the rhyme scheme.

The rhyme scheme is the pattern by which a certain rhyme is repeated...There are several conventional rhyme schemes:

1- A-B-A-B
The first line rhymes with the third, while the second rhymes with the fourth.

2- A-A-A-A
The same rhyming sound throughout.

3- A-A-B-B
The first line rhymes with the second, while the third rhymes with the fourth.

Of course, one can come up with an infinite number of different rhyme schemes...

Rhyme Types

I won't get into weird terminology. Instead, I'll name them Type1, Type2...etc. and give examples…

Type1.The end sounds and is written the same way.
EX. I saw my cAT
It was too fAT

Type2.The end sounds the same but is written differently
EX. She said there is nothing more to KNOW
When I asked if she was honest, The answer was NO

Type3.The words at the end sound and are written differently. They, however, share the same vowel somewhere...
EX. If you ever come by hOme
I'll meet you by the east park in the coffee shOp

Type4.The ends don't sound the same. Instead, there is a certain type of "word rhythm". This is the smartest type and the hardest to write as well.
EX. We got Mercedes, we got Porsche
Ferrari and Rolls Royse (From Roger Waters' "It's A Miracle")

Notice that this type of rhyme is usually complemented by a more direct rhyme to make a bigger impact…
EX. We got Mercedes, we got Porsche
Ferrari and Rolls Royse
We got Choice (From Roger Waters' "It's A Miracle")

Type5.The end is the same, the beginning is the same. The middle is different.
EX. I will talk abOUT YOU
I will sing abOUT YOU
coz, I can't live withOUT YOU

Rhyming Your Lyrics

To write good lyrics that rhyme smartly might look easy, but take my word for it: It's not a walk in the park!

You have to be rich in your vocabulary; so you can find words that deliver meaning and preserve rhyme. But no body is that good with language (with the exception of William Wordsworth may be), we all need help with synonyms and rhyming words. I have several help suggestions:

1- Thesaurus dictionary from any book store
2- Online Thesaurus dictionary (although I never had success with any of those)
3- Lyricist Software (This has a lot of other additional features that make your songwriting a lot easier)

Now that I have "gotten you started" with a neat interesting lyric, let's move on to music...

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