Andrew Huggett

How to Keep Your Rhymes Interesting

Songwriting relies heavily on rhymes and rhyme schemes. As the song progresses, they keep the fluidity in check and allow you to hear the song in a sweet sailing motion. Songwriters use rhymes in different ways in their music. Songwriters take rhymes into account when writing songs because they are vital to presenting the message of the song.

Lyrics that are well-written with well-produced music will most certainly have great vocal performances if the rhyming method is not monotonous. Here, professional musician Andrew Huggett shares a few tips on how to keep the rhymes in your song interesting.


Alternate between Rhyme Schemes

When writing a song, different types of rhyme schemes can be used. However, there is no rule that dictates that a rhyme scheme should be used throughout a song. Some songs sound great with just one pattern of flow. Most of the time, this is a boring approach to writing music.

For the listener, it's important that the song sounds great and is pleasing to the ear. Changing rhyme schemes is one way to achieve this goal. This provides some variety to the song and makes it more engaging and interesting. Keep the listener interested and keep your rhymes fresh by incorporating some of the rhyme schemes that are available for your song, advises freelance musician Andrew Huggett.


Make it Sound Good

Many songs are written by first identifying a melody pattern, and words are then woven into those patterns to make the best-sounding music. It is not unusual for a couple of words to be mumbled into a melody that is so perfectly fitting for the song. When the final words are written to form the song lyrics, such mumbled words may not look good with the song, but they may still sound good. It is important to keep in mind that listeners listen to music. The first thing they judge is how it sounds.

While writing a song, if you find a word that doesn't fit well in the fit but sounds good in the song, Canadian music composer Andrew Huggett strongly recommends to prioritize sounding good over good looks. Changing that word may throw off your writing pattern and kill the flow. Always pick what sounds good in the end, unless you can find a similar word that looks good for context and also sounds good.

Don’t Aim for Perfection

You don’t have to be perfect when it comes to keeping your rhymes interesting. The important thing to remember is that you have to find a good balance between being creative and being strategic. There are many different ways to keep your rhymes interesting. You just have to find the techniques that work best for you, explains Andrew Huggett.

As discussed in an article on Andrew Huggett’s blog, there are various types of rhymes aside from perfect rhymes. If you spend a little time understanding them, you can utilize them to improve your song so that it captures the listener's attention and conveys the emotions that are meant to be conveyed.

In a songwriting process that considers these factors, the chances of the song being boring to the audience are greatly reduced. Rhymes are supposed to add beauty to a song. Take advantage of their beauty and use them wisely.