How to write a song that doesn’t rhyme


how to write a song that doesn't rhyme

It’s difficult to come up with unique lyrics that don’t fall into the same patterns as other songs,

but there are some techniques that can help you out.

Rhymes and rhyme schemes are some of the most obvious culprits that lead to cliche or cheesy-sounding lyrics.

But do we even need them?

Well, not as much as you might think. That is if you know what to do instead.

Let me prove it to you and share how to write a song that doesn’t rhyme

how to write a song that doesn't rhyme

Do most songs rhyme?

There’s no rule that says a song lyric has to rhyme.

But if we consider that rhyme is really the repetition of sound, then yes! most songs rhyme in one way or another.

But there are many ways to use repetition of sound that aren’t the typical ‘end of line rhyme’.

What songs that don’t rhyme do instead.

The repetition of sound that results in using rhyme in our lyrics can make them easier to remember.

That’s one of the reasons nursery rhymes stick with us for so long.

Songs that don’t rhyme can often avoid this nursery rhyme cheesy trap and come across as more serious

For example “Jeremy” by Pearl Jam. 

At home drawing pictures
Of mountain tops
With him on top
Lemon yellow sun
Arms raised in a V
And the dead lay in pools of maroon below

Or be more anti-establishment

For example “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop.

Here comes Johnny Yen again
With the liquor and drugs
And a flesh machine
He’s gonna do another striptease

But there are ways to have our cake and eat it too.

The most obvious type of rhyme is end-line rhyming. The repetition of similar sounds at the end of a line.

A far more underused approach is to put that repetition at the start of a lyrical line.

songs that don't rhyme

Anaphora

Start of line repetition or ‘Anaphora’, is the repetition of words or phrases at the start of a line…

Under the Bridge by the chili peppers kicks off each verse with this technique…

verse 1

Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner”.

Sometimes I feel like my only friend”.

verse 2

It’s hard to believe that there’s nobody out there”.

It’s hard to believe that I’m all alone”.

Of course, rhymes do more than just make a lyric easier to remember.

Repetition of sound can be used to highlight important words and ideas

“umbrella by rihanna”

“When the world has took its part
When the world has dealt its cards

Apart from the Anaphora, We can see that the words that are rhymed are important words.

But of course, there are other ways to do that.

Parallelism

Parallelism

Parallelism is an effective way to highlight words and ideas by using the same grammatical structure.

One hand in my pocket by Alanis Morissette

I’m broke but I’m happy

I’m poor but I’m kind

I’m short but I’m healthy, yeah

To use this technique the parts of speech have to line up,

The same number of verbs or nouns or adverbs or adjectives in the same tense and form.

The example above is using all adjectives.

And this is a powerful technique for emphasizing important ideas.

You can find it in many historical speeches…

 “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rhyme is a great tool to connect words and ideas. Again through the repetition of sound. But there are lots of subtle ways to achieve this effect.

assonance

Assonance & Alliteration

Assonance is vowel sound repetition.

Alliteration is consonant sound repetition –

We can see both of these at work in karma police by Radiohead

alliteration

In the end, you may find that there are many ways to make a song without using rhyme or even rhyme schemes.

When used in a creative way, rhyme can be a pleasure and a surprise.

But there should be a reason for our rhymes.

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