How To Write A Song: A Reason To Rhyme
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For a few short moments after I came up with the title of this article, I was super proud of myself. How come no one has thought of this little pun before? My clever blogging skills must be on point! Well, a quick Google search ended that little ego-trip. The internet is in fact riddled with articles bearing various titles based on the rhyme and reason idiom, and there are even several songs with a similar name. But by now, I’ve already written this whole paragraph, and none of this would make sense if I changed the title. So we are just gonna pretend like I didn’t do the Google search, and I am in fact the first to come up with this idea, ok?
People don’t talk much about why we rhyme. There are endless articles, books, and online resources that talk about how to rhyme or helping us find rhymes, and perfect rhymes are instinctual for most of us as we learn all about them as children (Mary had a little lamb, I’m rubber you’re glue, etc). But the reason we rhyme, and knowing when we should and shouldn’t rhyme, isn’t usually given that much focused attention while we learn our craft. What’s even worse, (in my opinion) is the trend in so many educational articles I’ve seen, to de-emphasize the importance of rhyme in favor of story, or as some put it, truth (Hey look at that, I did some research).
Ok, take it easy Nashville, I didn’t say rhyme is more important then story, nor do I believe the opposite is true. My point is that they are both integral to a great catchy song, and a seasoned songwriter will always find a better way of saying something, rather then have one yield to the other.
So here we go: Why do we want to rhyme in a song? Because rhyme is music. Too many of us consider rhyme as a lyrical device, because well, it uses lyrics. But as I’ve spoken about in previous articles, lyrics are about so much more then content. They are about sound. Vowel sounds, plosive sounds, consonant sounds. These different sounds are almost like the “timbre” of the lyrics (timbre refers to the characteristic quality of a sound independent of pitch or loudness. It is the reason we can tell the difference between a piano playing middle C, and a flute playing middle C. The pitch is the same, the timbre is different). It really comes down to science. Lets experiment shall we? Open your mouth wide and sing AH (go ahead, nobody’s listening but me). Now sing the same note but say OH. Congratulations! You have just changed the timbre. The shape of your mouth changed the acoustic chamber the note resonated through.
So now that we know the sound of lyrics is a musical device, where do rhymes fit in? Well, in a similar way to how Lyric sound can be considered timbre, rhymes can be considered rhythm and accents.
We all know the building blocks of rhymes themselves, but equally important is the placement of the rhyme. Mary Had a Little Lamb has two thirteen syllable phrases (not counting the ‘and’ in between them, as it is a pickup) with the target word, ‘snow’ on the last syllable of the first phrase, and the rhyme “go” on last syllable of the second phrase. It is this symmetrical pattern that is equally as important as the rhyme sound itself, for the rhyme to be so satisfying. So by placing our target and rhyme words in the right spots within the phrases we create rhythm. And by using the similar sounds in those spots (rhymes) we create accents. The listener recognizes those sounds as accents because they’ve already heard them, and so their brain makes the connection. And that is again, because of science! Our brains are wired for pattern recognition. There is a reason all those ear worm songs crawl into your brain and don’t leave. It is simply the way our brain works on a very basic level.
Pop music is built on this idea. In fact, Google ‘melodic math’ to find out how the great Max Martin and his associates apply this thinking to their work.
Simply put after all that technical stuff, rhyming is another musical device for creating hooks. And creating hooks IS songwriting. You want the listener to hook on to something in your song. So why not use everything in your arsenal to make that happen? Melody, lyric sounds, rhymes AND story. Those articles I saw favoring story over rhyme have good intentions, story is as important to a song as any other element. But we shouldn’t have to choose (try telling Alanis Morrissette she cant pronounce her stream of consciousness lyrics wrong, in order to get a rhyme and drive her point home, and see what she tells you).
So why do we rhyme? Because we are musicians, and it is a musical tool. And make no mistake, you are a musician. Regardless of whether or not you play an instrument or sing, you are a musician. Your art takes the form of songs, which were the earliest forms of both music and story telling. And so you must master all tools necessary to convey your emotions in a musical way. If you don’t, if you limit your view of the craft just to the story, you’ll be missing out on a vast world of creative opportunities.
So take the time, find the rhyme, and learn how to write a song.
(stay tuned for part 2 of a Reason To Rhyme)
Award winning and multi platinum selling songwriter/producer Chen Neeman's songs have been recorded by artists such as Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Joe Jonas, Zendaya, and The Muppets, among others. Chen is dedicated to helping aspiring songwriters learn how to write better songs through personalized one-on-one coaching sessions via Skype, FaceTime, or in person at his L.A Studio.
Find out more about Chen’s Pro Songwriting Coaching, at HitSongCoach.com