Songwriting: Essential Guide to Rhyming (2nd Edition)

Find better rhymes, and use them more effectively. Rhyme is one of the most crucial areas of lyric writing, and this guide will provide you with all the technical information necessary to develop your skills completely. Make rhyme work for you, and your lyric writing will greatly improve. If you have written lyrics before, even at a professional level, you can still gain greater control and understanding of your craft with the exercises and worksheets included in this book. Hone your writing technique and skill with this practical and fun approach to the art of lyric writing. Start writing better than ever before! You will learn to: * Use different types of consonant and vowel sounds to improve your lyric story * Find more rhymes and choose which ones are most effective * Spotlight important ideas using rhyme The second edition of this classic songwriting text contains new strategies and insights, as well as analyses of the rhymes of Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, T.S. Eliot, and other songwriters and poets.

Pat Pattison’s many successful students include GRAMMY® award winners John Mayer, Gillian Welch, and Tom Hambridge. Pat has been teaching at Berklee College of Music since 1975, where he played a central role in developing Berklee's unique songwriting major—the world’s first college-level songwriting degree. In addition to four books about songwriting, Pat has developed several courses for Berklee Online (online.berklee.edu) and Coursera.org. His lyrics and articles are widely published, and he presents live songwriting clinics worldwide.

“Teaching lyric writing, or poetry can seem overly technical—or even, futile. What can we really ‘teach’ the next Joni Mitchell, the next Paul Simon? Pat manages to move through these murky waters, offering clarity, perspective and his unique sense of humor. He encourages the songwriter/lyricist to relish the details, to be passionate about the craft so that inspiration—hovering, near weightless, like a bird—has a safe place to land!

—Marcus Hummon (GRAMMY® winning hit songwriter, artist and producer)

“Pat Pattison does the impossible: he takes the mystery out of songwriting without taking the heart out of it. His book will help you write more compelling songs. No more rhymes that wag the dog! Pat Pattison shows you where to look—when you think you have looked everywhere for the right word to sing what you need to say. This book contains inside information that would take a songwriter decades to glean intuitively. But here it is, beautifully organized and accessible. Thanks Pat.”

—David Wilcox (Songwriter and recording artist with nineteen albums to his credit)

“I love words, and I love writing songs. So does Pat Pattison. He spells it all out for you right here. He takes you deep and inside the lyric process. If you want to learn how to write songs, or you write songs but want to write better songs, you should read this book.”

—Tom Hambridge (GRAMMY® winning singer, songwriter and producer)

“A funny thing happened while I was reading Pat’s book. After writing songs professionally for twenty years, I realized I still had a lot to learn. I found myself evaluating and critiquing my own methods of how I come up with rhymes and use them I the songs I write. This book should be required reading for all aspiring songwriters.”

—Chris Dubois (Hit songwriter with fourteen number 1 songs)

Also by Pat Pattison

Songwriting: Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure