Have You Mastered all 7 of these

Basic Rhyme Schemes?

by Nicholas Tozier in Popular, Songwriting Essentials

Have you been using the same rhyme scheme over and over? Try a new one from this
list of 7.
When I first started writing songs, I didnt give any thought to rhyme schemes at all.
Without realizing it, I used the same two rhyme schemes over and over for five

years: ABAB and AA (if youre not sure what these mean, check out this post: How to
Read and Notate Rhyme Schemes).
Have you fallen into a rhyming rut without realizing it?

Try a fresh new rhyme scheme.

Whether youre writing poetry, rap lyrics, or songs in any musical genre, different rhyme
schemes draw different material out of you.
Trying out a new rhyme scheme forces you out of your usual writing habits and leads
to new discoveries. For both poets and songwriters, a new rhyme scheme also
creates fresh patterns of suspense and release, just like a chord progression does.
Rhyme can make words themselves sound beautifully musical so you can write lyrics
that almost sing themselves.
Below Ive listed six basic four-line rhyme schemes for you to experiment with. Schemes
youre unfamiliar with may feel a bit strange at first, but stick with themthey can lead to
real breakthroughs in your poetry or song lyric writing.
Update: as of May 2015, Im extending this post with more in-depth explanation of each
scheme, along with classic examples and poetic forms that use each scheme. Progress
as of today: ABAB, XAXA, AABB, AAAA, AXAA, ABBA, AXXA.

ABAB
ABAB is a classic, often-used rhyme scheme with interlocking rhymes. Its sometimes
called alternate rhyme.
To write in the ABAB rhyme scheme:

Rhyme line 1 with line 3

Rhyme line 2 with line 4
Heres an example of ABAB in action, as written by William Shakespeare:

O, if I say, you look upon this verse,

When I, perhaps, compounded am with clay,

Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,

But let your love even with my life decay

This ABAB rhyme scheme is built into the famous poetic form called the Shakespearean
sonnet.

XAXA
This schemes a little unpredictable, because it has two lines that dont rhyme with
anything. This allows the writer (thats you!) a little more creative freedom. The two nonrhymed lines allow you to focus on what you really mean to say in your lyric.
To write in the XAXA rhyme scheme:

Rhyme line 2 with line 4

Make sure that lines 1 and 3 dont rhyme with each other or with any other line
XAXA is the rhyme scheme followed by a traditional poetic form called the ghazal.

AABB
This scheme divides a section of four lines into two rhymed couplets, each of which
sounds kind of complete in itself.

AAAA
Also known as monorhyme, this rhyme scheme can be tough to pull off convincingly. To
relieve the monotony of rhyming every line with every other line in the section, you
might try making some of the lines much shorter than the othersvarying line length will
make it sound less predictable.

AXAA, or AAXA
One of the lines in each of these schemes is left hanging. This allows the writer a bit of
freedom to use those words that are difficult or impossible to rhyme, and freedom to use
words selected entirely for their meaning and their connotations instead of just their

rhyming properties. Each of these schemes contains a bit of tension; try them out and
see.
AAXA is found in the Persian poetic form called the rubai.

ABBA
A rhyming pair sandwiched inside of another rhyming pair. This schemes also known
asenclosed rhyme.
The AABA rhyme scheme is found in the poetic form called the Petrarchan sonnet.

AXXA
Like XAXA above, AXXA allows the writer some extra creative freedom. The two middle
lines are unpredictable; they dont rhyme with each other or any other line in the stanza.
This ones a personal favorite of mine; I like the way those two middle lines keep the
audience in suspense until the the last line finally releases the tension.

Exercise
If youve been mostly using ABAB and AABB like I did for years, try one of the rhyme
schemes above for the verses of a new lyric. Write the scheme at the top of a
blank page and get started. If you need a song idea, no worriesyou can free write until
an interesting lyric premise falls out.