How to Get Started with Songwriting - P3



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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...

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6




Comments

There are 28 comments
mandy real
December 18, 2012 - 02:20

Those wbleepedclaim it shouldnt have been written this way, if i may ask.what siezed them from generating theirs to the public.....? What about this rhyme....dear lord your son am worried . This time i hold you solid...that life i swear i shaune it....

emma
September 05, 2012 - 16:33

i cant read it cause its to small and you have to be thirteen to sighn up

Reply to emma
Brelover
September 21, 2012 - 13:07

Wear sum DAMM glasses then if you cnt see

anonymous
August 27, 2012 - 18:07

Reply to anonymous
Brelover
September 21, 2012 - 13:07

LMAO

Emily
August 25, 2012 - 06:29

What I do not understand is this:

You say in the beginning that you shouldn't use a lot of repetition, but in Type 5 (I will write about you, I will sing about you, cause I can't live without you) you repeated the same general idea 3 times. C'mon, I'm 12 years old and even I noticed that, and you're much older than me! You should read this before you publish. This was a big disappointment to me.

Reply to Emily
Emily
August 25, 2012 - 06:32

I mean talk, not write.

Reply to Emily
Klaus
December 27, 2012 - 00:05

He said 3 max.Lol you re the one wbleepedhasn't been reading properly. You re 12 yrs old and can not read properly lol it a big disappointment to the thread creator that you did not understand a word he wrote bout.

Coolness
June 28, 2012 - 00:29

Hey it really helped me thanX <3 LOve Yallll!!!!

Tom
June 19, 2012 - 11:24

This page is not helpful, just confusing.

Why are you bothering with a distinction between type 1 & 2? Rhymes are about sounds, not spelling.

Type 3 is a real type of near rhyme, but your example is terrible. While it uses the same letter, the vowel sound is different. Here's a real example of "type 3", from Journey's Don't Stop Believin':

Just a small town girl
Living in a lonely world

Just a city boy
Born and raised in south Detriot

Girl and world are a near-rhyme. Boy and Detroit are near-rhyme.

Type 4: Not sure what you're trying to say here. The example (choice and Royce) is "type 2".

Type 5: Again, what are you saying? The example (without and about) is a "type 1" rhyme.

As for songwriting references, how about a rhyming dictionary? That's way more useful than a thesaurus.

A true rhyme requires the last stressed syllable, plus all syllables which follow it, to be the same sound. That's why situation rhymes with constipation, fornication, and retaliation, but not with ration, abolition, and friction. It's the long A vowel sound that's required.

Dude, you've got to proof-read this stuff. And it couldn't hurt to do a bit of reasearch before putting this out there. Read this: en.wikipedia.org

Reply to Tom
kayleigh
August 03, 2012 - 09:09

hi im kayleigh sorry for this but when words come together they can sound good unqiue but when it comes to rhyming it ncan sound akward i see where you arecoming from yeah im 13 i have an scollorship and i got that a the age of 9 4 years worth of music into my head i play the tuba but i now want to go into song writing eg getting bored of doing the same thing every monday morning and night at practice

form kayleigh find me on facebook if you want to talk about music

kayleigh trueman

Reply to Tom
riker gf
April 16, 2013 - 17:58

but you should know its hard to write song lyrics becaus not evry body is gifted or talented in songwriting i wish i was but no

Kaysha-Lee
February 19, 2012 - 09:52

I don't really understand it and I don't understand type4,?can you help me?

kaitlin
December 06, 2011 - 11:07

Thanks so much. I'm writing a song for my L.A. class and every time I showed my teacher what I had she would turn me away. Finally after I used this website to guide me she liked my song! Thanks again!

moriah
October 16, 2011 - 21:23

hey this website, really helped me and my friend jasmine we really appriciate the help xoxoxo

Allora-May
September 18, 2011 - 21:46

This was really helpful! Thank you. I have a huge love for singing and needed a few tips on Writing Lyrics You're a life saver. If any of you would like to hear me, I only have 2 songs, for now, (they're covers) then here's my youtube channel. It would be much appreciated!

Reply to Allora-May
NaNaNiall
October 10, 2011 - 08:55

Whats Your Youtube Channel?

wow tnx 4 da tip
July 28, 2011 - 07:42

Laana
April 12, 2011 - 18:30

I thought writing a song would be a great way to get all the hard feelings out but I didn't really know where to start. My songs are fluent and I feel more comfortable sharing them with people because I know some people out there have a similar type or strategy. I want to fit in ,but have the right to be heard. Thanx!

Reply to Laana
Darnell Major
July 20, 2011 - 18:33

I so did not understand Type 5. Can someone help me out?

Reply to Laana
Sylvia
August 03, 2011 - 22:19

@ Darnell - The first sound(s) and the last sound(s)rhyme, but there's a bit in the middle that doesn't. My example will have absolutely no logical sense, but if you think of the sounds, it would be:
BABY say you LOVE ME
MAYBE stars aBOVE ME
SAY, BE rough and SHOVE ME

kay
March 24, 2011 - 11:42

asomeness!!! this helped a lot time to write some more songs!

February 18, 2011 - 15:33

Great tips!

Blade
December 10, 2010 - 18:29

Thanks u helped a lot!

Angel
November 09, 2010 - 18:08

this is awesome and cool thanks

Samantha
March 28, 2010 - 10:14

thank you so much. altogether ive written 14 songs and i got stumped, but with ur help i might beable to begin again
thanks again

Reply to Samantha
George
April 13, 2010 - 12:48

Wow thats awsome i've writen over 20 songs just need to record and distribute to people

ashly
March 02, 2010 - 19:46

thanks this was very helpful

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