So You Rhyme Huh?!?

In my last post I mentioned that one of the biggest mistakes new songwriters make is putting too much weight on "rhyming" to the point where it sounds forced and undermines the message. However rhyming does have its uses. For one, along with a good melody, rhyming makes your song easier to remember and sing along to. In addition, we have all been trained to respond emotionally and sometimes even physically to rhyme and melody (just think of your kindergarten and grade school years) so we're used to learning in that way. The bottom line is listeners are more comfortable with songs that have great rhyme and melody.

With rhyming in particular, the complexity of your rhyming patterns show how experienced you are at writing songs. As you start to research and explore various structures and pattens be very careful not to make it too technical and remember that songwriting is an art form, not a science (although most art forms have some technical attributes that can be broken down). Below I've listed some of the most common rhyming patterns for your to try out... Feel free to dig in and get a little creative!

First, Let's go over some Rhyming Terminology

Stanza - A series of lines arranged together in a cohesive recurring pattern of rhythm and rhyme.

Masculine Rhymes - The most common form of rhyming; one syllable rhymes. (i.e. Cat & Bat, Lagoon & Monsoon)

Feminine Rhymes - A rhyme that matches two or more syllables

Internal Rhymes - Used heavily by hip-hop pioneers such as Rakim, this is a rhyme that occurs in the middle of a line or in a single line of the verse. (i.e. "Ready to aim at the brain" - Rakim, Let the Rhyme Hit 'Em)

Partial Rhymes - An imperfect rhyme (i.e. rough and love, or make and Chase)

For a more extensive list of rhyming terms click here

Now For Some Rhyming Patterns:

These are all the ways you can set up your rhyme schemes... They are usually written by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme.

AABB

ABAB

AAAA

BBBB

ABABABCC

ABABBCC

ABAABBA

Now We'll Breakdown a Popular Song by it's Rhyme Schemes

"So Sick" by Ne-Yo

Gotta change my answering machine, now that I'm alone (A,B)

Cause right now it says that we, Can't come to the phone (A,B)

And I know it makes no sense caused you walked out the door, (C)

But it's the only way I hear your voice anymore (C)

It's ridiculous (A)

It's been months And for some reason I just (A/B)

Can't get over us (A)

And I'm stronger then this (B)

Enough is enough (A)

No more walkin' 'round With my head down (B)

I'm so over being blue (C)

Cryin' over you (C)

And I'm so sick of love songs (A)

So tired of tears (B)

So done with wishing (C)

you were still here (B)

Said I'm so sick of love songs (A)

So sad and slow (D)

So why can't I turn off the radio? (D)

Notice how complex Ne-Yo's rhyme structure is. Although they clearly establish a structure they're not too stiff and he maintains some interesting dynamics. This was one of Ne-Yo's biggest hits. Take notes...

For the full list of rhyme schemes click here...

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