Bill Assumpcao
Member
Hi all,
This was writ by a friend, Bobbie Gallup. It's not a Bible or the law. Just a guide. We hope that somebody may find it useful.
Rhyming tips.
Two or more words are said to rhyme when each contains the same final accented vowel and consonant sounds and a different consonant preceding that vowel, such as 'heart/apart' or say/away. 'Heart and apart' are called 'perfect rhymes' because the same final accented vowel sound of each is preceeded by a different consonant..h/p Spelling does not matter here...as the two words 'bronze/swans' illustrate. Those are still perfect rhymes although they show more creativity than the first two...'heart and apart'...simply because those are so overused in songwriting that they are considered to be trite or elementary.
Rhyme is also not solely a matter of sound...as the words 'sighs/size' and 'won/one' are spelled differently but sound exactly the same. They are not considered rhymes but rather 'identities'.
'Imperfect' or 'near rhymes' come in many specific forms..but the most common of these is 'assonance'...where words that have similar vowel sounds are paired. These give songs a more natural feeling and sound and are much preferred today to a song that is full of perfect rhymes..which to most ears sounds very unnatural. Examples:
'I felt the door slam
It broke my poor hand.'
'slam/hand' is in imperfect rhyme: assonance
'Turn me loose
I won't intrude'
Loose/intrude is an imperfect rhyme: assonance
'Consonance' is also called 'half-rhyme' or 'off-rhyme'. In this case the final consonant sounds agree, but the preceeding vowel sounds differ...such as 'soon/own', 'bath/faith', etc.
'Masculine', or 'single rhymes', occur with the matching of two or more one syllable words (hide/died) or with the last syllable of a longer word (freight/slate).
'Feminine', or 'double rhymes', occur when the last two syllables of words agree such as, splendid/defended/condescended/then did...or replacement/encasement.
You can even have 'triple rhymes' when the last THREE syllables all match in sound: defensible/sensible.
'Light' or 'weakened rhyme' contains one acccented syllable, paired with an unccented one...memory/tree or eternity/free. When you speak the word memory, the accent is on the MEM part, not on the RY. The same is true with eternity. The accent is on the TER syllable, not on the TY ending syllable. In singing, it is considered good 'prosody' to keep the accent where it belongs, rather than forcing the rhyme by mispronouncing the words.
'Internal rhyme' gives a bit of extra sparkle to a line when words on the interior of the line rhyme: (nonsense, I know...but hey...it does illustrate the point..LOL)
'I can't stand your demands all the time.
So don't command me to plan all your rhyme.'
There are a lot of creative options where rhyme is concerned and a good lyricist will learn to take advantage of all of them to expand the boundaries of their skill. There is 'alliteration'...where you use words that start with the same letter within a line...
'A harp in the hand is a like a heart in the band'...(nonsense, but it is just to demonstrate the use of the h's there.) The more you learn about these (and watch for them in the lyrics of songs you enjoy..that please your ears...the more you can work them into your own lyrics.
When I referred to the rhymes in a song as being simplistic, I was referring to the fact that the words used to rhyme with each other are the ones everyone has come to 'expect' to hear used to rhyme with each other. They have been used so often they are considered simplistic or trite...ie night/might/right/sight/fight These days listeners expect to hear more variation in the rhymes they hear in a song. In the case of the above "ight" words...you might consider something like 'strike/time' to rhyme with those words instead. Sometimes a new writer uses perfect rhymes because they are easier to find in a rhyming dictionary. The imperfect rhymes may take a bit more work and creativity....but if you work at it, you WILL improve! I can guarantee it. This IS a case where practice can make "imperfect"!!
The term 'rhyme scheme' is just a simple way of saying the pattern with which line endings rhyme with which other ones. There are all sorts of variations on this..from the simplest to some rather complicated ones with internal rhymes (within a line). When I wrote the rhyme scheme was AABBCCDD, it simply means that every two lines rhyme with each other. In this case..the first two lines rhyme, the second two rhyme and so on. The reason the AABBCCDD rhyme scheme is often considered a tough one for perfect rhymes is that having the rhyming pairs right next to each other only highlights the fact that the words used are pretty basic rhymes. It sounds rather forced and unnatural that way, and reads more like a poem which often has contrived rhymes.
If you wrote the first verse as: (not that this version makes any sense, it is just for the sake of demonstration)
Loneliness never played a part
I never knew a lonely night
I always had someone in my heart
Never wished I may or wished I might
Have someone to hold me near
Now I can see what they mean to say
Never knew all the pain and fear
Everytime I watch that boy walk away
This rhyme scheme then becomes ABABCDCD
If you wrote it as:
Loneliness never played a part
I never knew a lonely night
Have someone to hold me near
Never wished I may or wished I might
I always had someone in my heart
Now I can see what they mean to say
Never knew all the pain and fear
Everytime I watch that boy walk away
This rhyme scheme then becomes ABCB (repeat)
I know this is a lot of information to absorb, but I hope it is helpful to some of you. Believe me..I am still learning!!! These lyric boards have been the best place for me to work on my skills as I post, critique and read what others write and say in their critiques. I read everything I can fit in my schedule. Reading the lyrics other folks post with an analytical eye will help you enormously. Figuring out WHY one line or one song sounds better than another and being able to articulate those reasons is THE BEST way to improve your own writing! In my opinion, that is! <G>
I wish you all the best in your writing,
Bobbie
This was writ by a friend, Bobbie Gallup. It's not a Bible or the law. Just a guide. We hope that somebody may find it useful.
Rhyming tips.
Two or more words are said to rhyme when each contains the same final accented vowel and consonant sounds and a different consonant preceding that vowel, such as 'heart/apart' or say/away. 'Heart and apart' are called 'perfect rhymes' because the same final accented vowel sound of each is preceeded by a different consonant..h/p Spelling does not matter here...as the two words 'bronze/swans' illustrate. Those are still perfect rhymes although they show more creativity than the first two...'heart and apart'...simply because those are so overused in songwriting that they are considered to be trite or elementary.
Rhyme is also not solely a matter of sound...as the words 'sighs/size' and 'won/one' are spelled differently but sound exactly the same. They are not considered rhymes but rather 'identities'.
'Imperfect' or 'near rhymes' come in many specific forms..but the most common of these is 'assonance'...where words that have similar vowel sounds are paired. These give songs a more natural feeling and sound and are much preferred today to a song that is full of perfect rhymes..which to most ears sounds very unnatural. Examples:
'I felt the door slam
It broke my poor hand.'
'slam/hand' is in imperfect rhyme: assonance
'Turn me loose
I won't intrude'
Loose/intrude is an imperfect rhyme: assonance
'Consonance' is also called 'half-rhyme' or 'off-rhyme'. In this case the final consonant sounds agree, but the preceeding vowel sounds differ...such as 'soon/own', 'bath/faith', etc.
'Masculine', or 'single rhymes', occur with the matching of two or more one syllable words (hide/died) or with the last syllable of a longer word (freight/slate).
'Feminine', or 'double rhymes', occur when the last two syllables of words agree such as, splendid/defended/condescended/then did...or replacement/encasement.
You can even have 'triple rhymes' when the last THREE syllables all match in sound: defensible/sensible.
'Light' or 'weakened rhyme' contains one acccented syllable, paired with an unccented one...memory/tree or eternity/free. When you speak the word memory, the accent is on the MEM part, not on the RY. The same is true with eternity. The accent is on the TER syllable, not on the TY ending syllable. In singing, it is considered good 'prosody' to keep the accent where it belongs, rather than forcing the rhyme by mispronouncing the words.
'Internal rhyme' gives a bit of extra sparkle to a line when words on the interior of the line rhyme: (nonsense, I know...but hey...it does illustrate the point..LOL)
'I can't stand your demands all the time.
So don't command me to plan all your rhyme.'
There are a lot of creative options where rhyme is concerned and a good lyricist will learn to take advantage of all of them to expand the boundaries of their skill. There is 'alliteration'...where you use words that start with the same letter within a line...
'A harp in the hand is a like a heart in the band'...(nonsense, but it is just to demonstrate the use of the h's there.) The more you learn about these (and watch for them in the lyrics of songs you enjoy..that please your ears...the more you can work them into your own lyrics.
When I referred to the rhymes in a song as being simplistic, I was referring to the fact that the words used to rhyme with each other are the ones everyone has come to 'expect' to hear used to rhyme with each other. They have been used so often they are considered simplistic or trite...ie night/might/right/sight/fight These days listeners expect to hear more variation in the rhymes they hear in a song. In the case of the above "ight" words...you might consider something like 'strike/time' to rhyme with those words instead. Sometimes a new writer uses perfect rhymes because they are easier to find in a rhyming dictionary. The imperfect rhymes may take a bit more work and creativity....but if you work at it, you WILL improve! I can guarantee it. This IS a case where practice can make "imperfect"!!
The term 'rhyme scheme' is just a simple way of saying the pattern with which line endings rhyme with which other ones. There are all sorts of variations on this..from the simplest to some rather complicated ones with internal rhymes (within a line). When I wrote the rhyme scheme was AABBCCDD, it simply means that every two lines rhyme with each other. In this case..the first two lines rhyme, the second two rhyme and so on. The reason the AABBCCDD rhyme scheme is often considered a tough one for perfect rhymes is that having the rhyming pairs right next to each other only highlights the fact that the words used are pretty basic rhymes. It sounds rather forced and unnatural that way, and reads more like a poem which often has contrived rhymes.
If you wrote the first verse as: (not that this version makes any sense, it is just for the sake of demonstration)
Loneliness never played a part
I never knew a lonely night
I always had someone in my heart
Never wished I may or wished I might
Have someone to hold me near
Now I can see what they mean to say
Never knew all the pain and fear
Everytime I watch that boy walk away
This rhyme scheme then becomes ABABCDCD
If you wrote it as:
Loneliness never played a part
I never knew a lonely night
Have someone to hold me near
Never wished I may or wished I might
I always had someone in my heart
Now I can see what they mean to say
Never knew all the pain and fear
Everytime I watch that boy walk away
This rhyme scheme then becomes ABCB (repeat)
I know this is a lot of information to absorb, but I hope it is helpful to some of you. Believe me..I am still learning!!! These lyric boards have been the best place for me to work on my skills as I post, critique and read what others write and say in their critiques. I read everything I can fit in my schedule. Reading the lyrics other folks post with an analytical eye will help you enormously. Figuring out WHY one line or one song sounds better than another and being able to articulate those reasons is THE BEST way to improve your own writing! In my opinion, that is! <G>
I wish you all the best in your writing,
Bobbie
