top of page
Search
Writer's picturePeter J Lake

Rhyming

Updated: Dec 25, 2019

Rhyming - perfect rhyme or imperfect rhyme or non-rhyming? Rhyming can be a controversial subject but very often it depends on the genre. For example, country music is known for not making perfect rhymes and Broadway musical theatre often uses perfect rhymes. In country music, the skill is with the singer making the correct vowel sound to make the rhyme 'fit'.


How about non-rhyming? Famous examples are Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' and Paul Simon's 'America.' Sting's 'Fields of Gold' either doesn't rhyme... or only rhymes 'barley' with 'barley' and 'gold' with 'gold' - depending on your point of view. All of these are great songs. Whether you decide to rhyme perfectly or imperfectly also depends on the story you are trying tell - you may not want to compromise on telling the story correctly at the expense of the rhyme. My advice is use a rhyming dictionary. This can open new doors to you - create new directions for a story and add richness to the language. It is always good to challenge yourself. You may find you already have the best and most appropriate rhyme but it is always good to look at the other possibilities - this is the craft of songwriting.


10 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Shepherd Prince - The Musical

Currently working on the musical demos for my Musical, Shepherd Prince. ‘Shepherd Prince' is a tragic folk romance about duty and the...

Comments


bottom of page