Customer Reviews

Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Rhyming and Lyrics

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I happened to mention to a couple of friends of mine that I was reviewing a book on rhyming this month and one of them said, " What a dumb thing to write a book about, dude, I mean, a word either rhymes with another word or it doesn't...so you don't need a whole book for that, duh!?!"

My other friend was shaking his head in affirmation of this noble theory.

This confirms that I really need to do whatever it takes to find some smarter friends.

Songwriters need to be expert rhymesters and despite what the rest of the world might think about it being the most natural thing in the world, it's an ability that's got to be developed to the extreme for us to be able to write great songs to the extreme.

Enter: the book!

Songwriting: Essential guide to Rhyming by Pat Pattison.

Pat begins this book by describing the number one "rhyme crime" in the business, transitive verbs. It's the rhyme that you find when a good rhyme doesn't show up so you flip the sentence upside down and jam it into your song like, "My love for you is not a fake, your heart I will now pledge to take".

By the time the listener gets to the verb "take", they have to try to remember that the "heart" was the object. It forces the listener to think backwards as they listen forward and this confusion will not attract your listener to your work.

Yoda, from Star Wars speaks almost exclusively, using transitive verbs like, "Much to learn, you still have". This may work for Yoda but it has no place in a song, so unless Yoda suddenly gets a major label deal...

Back to the book.

Pat offers some great solutions for transitive verbs and also solves the other problem that goes along with them which is how to express universal themes without cliché rhymes. This will be amazing stuff to check out.

Pat also deals with a problem that I have whereby, I don't really like to write with a dictionary and a thesaurus and a stack of grammar books on my piano but he writes convincingly that a good rhyming dictionary is good to keep at arms reach since rhyming is a purely mechanical thing and may help find you the word you need fast enough to keep your muse on track. This now makes a lot of sense to me.

Through the remaining chapters, Pat shows you all the types of rhyming available to you and if your anything like me and don't know all that much about; masculine and feminine rhymes, identity, mosaic rhymes, perfect and imperfect rhymes, additive and subtractive rhymes, assonance and alliteration then you need to get your hands on this book.

The real point of the book, really, is to lay out the rhyme types and let them expand you opportunities to BOTH say what you mean AND rhyme. The book presents the rhyme types in descending order, from the closest to perfect rhyme to the most remote rhyme types. And better, the book shows you how and when to use the different rhyme types.

This is the last of the three books by Pat Pattison that I have had the pleasure of reviewing in these last three issues of The Muse's News. They were, "Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure", "Writing Better Lyrics", and "Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming".

I have almost run out of superlatives to express the value of the material in Pat Pattisons books but I would have to say that his books actually define lyric writing for me and have impacted my work like no other outside influence. If this is what you want to bring to the table for your next songwriting project, hit a good bookstore...

This book does an excellent job of explaining the types of rhymes available to songwriters. How to choose the appropriate rhyme, and where to find it in a rhyming dictionary. I have had no previous experience in lyric writing or poetry and it was very easy reading, yet there is enough depth to last a very long time. You will need a rhyming dictionary for the exercises in this book, Pattison recommends 'The Complete Rhyming Dictionary' by Clement Wood. Overall this book is excellent for beginners, with enough content to assist more advanced lyricists.

James Lindermann's comments are exactly right. Despite being native English speakers and experienced songwriters, most composers have no idea what they are doing as far as rhyme goes or why they do it at all. Pattison's approach, of putting the hottest words with the strongest images in the rhyming position, is so right and logical, and his method of using a rhyming dictionary is perfect. He is the only writer I have seen mention the usefulness of family rhymes (various imperfect rhymes), non-rhymes, and what he calls "mosaic rhymes" (rhymes made up of more than one word per rhyme.) His other book about lyric structure is also excellent.

This book explains rhyme and its importance to writing and inspiration. The author lays out the approach to writing much differently than I have been approaching it for years. This has opened up a whole new level for me in lyric writing - inspiration is much less of an issue because of this book. I highly reccomend this book for beginners, but it can improve even the best lyrical writings. This book is filled with exercises to improve your writing, and if you take the time to do them, you will be a better writer.

You will need a rhyming dictionary to use this book, as it is primarily an instruction on getting the most from your rhyming dictionary. This book explains how you can put a complete idea together using only a rhyming dictionary.

I agree completely with the other reviewers. Excellent book especially if you are just begining to explore the subject. Easy read. Quite practical. He has totally knocked the enigma out of the laborious process of rhymimg. What are you going to do with all the time you save? You are going to spend it on your thoughts on the lyric itself and still have some left to spend at the beach. And write another song while you are there. You can apply newly acquired information instantly and surprise yourself. He has two other books on song writing that sell at reasonable price on Amazon. All worth the price. Even if you think you are a natural rhymer Pattison's methods are worth a shot.

This is a great book. Half an hour after I finished it I was using some of the tips and techniques contained herein. The writing style is clear, concise and to the point. He also has a sense of humour! Truly useful.

I've had the pleasure of interviewing Pat for the ChristianSongwriters Group. I have all 3 of Pat's books and think he is simplywonderful. Pat will teach you things in this book that will make your head spin and lights go off over your head. (can you tell I like his stuff?) Pat has influenced and inspired me greatly. As music lovers we pour money into equipment and so on, but this will be 10 of the wisest bucks you ever spent. :-) Dave Byers

I was absolutely amazed at the number of possible ryhmes I was missing. Studying Pat's techniques not only helps you write better lyrics they also help you broaden your songwriter's vocabulary. Once you read this book, you will notice an immediate change in your approach to lyric writing.

This book was not as helpful as I thought it was although the information is accurate and somewhat helpful the book expands on a concept far beyond necessity. It is redundant and takes a mile long journey to get a two block experience. I felt my money could have been better spent.