Have You Mastered all 7 of these Basic Rhyme Schemes?

Have you been using the same rhyme schemes over and over? Try a new one from this list of 7.

When I first started writing songs, I didn’t 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 you’re 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 you’re writing poetry or lyrics in any musical genre, different rhyme schemes draw different material out of you.

Trying out a new rhyme scheme leads to new discoveries. For both poets and songwriters, a new rhyme scheme also creates fresh patterns of suspense and release for listeners, just like a chord progression does. Rhyme can even make words themselves sound beautifully musical — so you can write lyrics that almost sing themselves.

Below I’ve listed six basic four-line rhyme schemes for you to experiment with. Schemes you’re unfamiliar with may feel a bit strange at first, but stick with them–they can lead to real breakthroughs in your poetry or song lyrics.

ABAB

ABAB is a classic, often-used rhyme scheme with interlocking rhymes. It’s sometimes called alternate rhyme.

To write in the ABAB rhyme scheme:

• Rhyme line 1 with line 3
• Rhyme line 2 with line 4

Here’s an example of ABAB in action, as written by William Shakespeare:

A O, if I say, you look upon this verse,
B When I, perhaps, compounded am with clay,
A Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
B 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 scheme’s a little unpredictable, because it has two lines that don’t rhyme with anything. This allows the writer (that’s you!) a little more creative freedom. The two non-rhymed lines allow you to focus on what you really want 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 do not 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 longer or shorter than the others—varying line length will make it sound less predictable.

AXAA and AAXA

These two rhyme schemes share enough in common that I’ve combined them into one category.

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 ruba’i.

ABBA

A rhyming pair sandwiched inside of another rhyming pair. This scheme’s also known as enclosed rhyme.

The AABA rhyme scheme is found in the poetic form called the Petrarchan sonnet.

AXXA

AXXA allows the writer a lot of room to improvise, just like XAXA scheme above. The two middle lines are unpredictable; they don’t rhyme with each other or any other line in the stanza.

This one’s a personal favorite of mine; I like the way those two middle lines keep us in suspense until the the last line finally releases the tension.

Exercise

If you’ve 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 worries–you can free write until an interesting lyric premise falls out.

Click here to see more articles from The Songwriter’s Guide to Rhyme.

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