Rhymes – Not As Important As You Think!
FACT: Focusing too much or too early on rhyming your lyric lines can get your song into a heap of trouble. And yet, that’s what many songwriters, especially those who are new to the craft, end of doing. They sweat over perfect rhymes on every line, while losing the emotional feel that launched their song idea in the first place.
Honestly, rhyming is not the most important aspect of your lyric writing. You’ll never hear a listener say, “I’ve just got to hear that song again. I LOVE that rhyme!” Granted, a fresh rhyme can be ear-catching but it won’t evoke the feeling you want listener to experience.
When you’re working on an early draft of a song don’t even worry about rhyming. Forcing a rhyme can twist your song out of shape, send your thoughts in a different direction, or make a lyric sound awkward. Worse, it can make you say something you don’t mean. Instead…
1st: Say what you want to say.
Write out a verse and chorus that express the heart of your song before you even think about rhyming. You could even write it as a couple of paragraphs. Just keep your lines on the shorter side so they are easier to turn into a lyric.
2nd: Describe emotions, people, or situations.
It’s just as or more important to make listeners see and feel what the song is about than it is to dazzle them with your rhyming skills (even if you’re writing rap). Images and action words are key here.
Find out more ways to add emotion to your lyric.
3rd: Imagine you’re telling a stranger what you want them to know.
Look at your lyric through the eyes of a stranger, that’s what most of your listeners will be—strangers. What does the listener want/need to know? Try to bring them inside the situation. What questions do you need to answer? (Don’t eben think about rhyming.)
4th: FINALLY… Look for rhymes that feel natural. As you organize your lines into a song structure, look for rhymes that just happen, or rework a line to keep the meaning while creating a natural sounding “near rhyme.” “Near” or “vowel” rhymes only rhyme the vowel sound. They’re much easier to find than perfect rhymes. Here are a couple of web sites with plenty of ideas for relaxed, conversational rhyming words: RhymeDesk.com and B-rhymes.com.
Find out how some of today’s biggest hits use rhyme on my “Secrets of Hit Songwriting” website.
There are reasons to rhyme
When you’re ready to add rhymes to your lyric lines, remember that rhymes are there for a reason. Rhyming words are used to add emphasis and give the listener a strong sense of completion. For instance, the final line of your chorus (the “payoff” line) is one of the places you’ll probably want to emphasize with a strong rhyme. For other lines, let the emotional message of the song be the most important thing.
If you can’t find a comfortable, natural sounding rhyme… DON’T RHYME!