#rhyming dictionary

[thevideowall]

I don’t think I’d like to meet a Xylotomous Hippopotamus

[songwritinghitformula]

“SURPRISING RHYMING” – a new kind of rhyming dictionary designed to make it easier for songwriters to find unique rhymes and avoid clichés …

 With more new songs being written every week than ever before, songwriters are finding it harder to sound original and find rhymes and phrases that have not already been used. As singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran recently remarked: “The most difficult thing to do with writing a song is finding a phrase that you haven’t heard before.”

  Now, a new kind of rhyming dictionary—titled Surprising Rhyming—aims to make it easier for writers to avoid clichés and craft rhymes that people may not have heard before.

  Built on the findings of an in-depth study of the kind of ingenious rhymes used by some of the world’s greatest songwriters and lyricists, Surprising Rhyming offers an astonishing array of thousands of alternative rhyme options. It contains rhyme types that are much broader than those found in traditional rhyming dictionaries which tend to show only ‘perfect’ or ‘true’ rhymes.

  Using too many perfect rhymes can sometimes make a lyric or a poem sound tedious and predictable—and prone to clichés. To avoid this, Surprising Rhyming focuses instead on off-the-wall false-rhymes, half-rhymes, slant-rhymes and near-rhymes that are less predictable than exact rhymes—and therefore more likely to surprise an audience.

  The book also includes many new words that have been added to standard dictionaries in recent years.

  The thousands of ‘surprising’ rhymes crammed into Surprising Rhyming’s 624 pages are based on analyses of the unconventional ‘imperfect’ rhymes that have been used by influential songwriters and lyricists such as: Chuck Berry, David Bowie, Sara Bareilles, James Bay, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Sia Furler, Hozier, Jay-Z, Billy Joel, Carole King, Michael Kiwanuka, John Lennon, Lorde, John Mayer, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Bonnie McKee, Randy Newman, Dolly Parton, Christina Perri, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Paul Simon, Stephen Sondheim, Taylor Swift, Cat Stevens, Bernie Taupin, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb, Lucinda Williams, Stevie Wonder … and many more.

  The concept of the book was inspired by a remark made by Stephen Sondheim, the legendary Broadway composer and lyricist. In a PBS News Hour interview, Sondheim described how people’s ears have come to expect certain rhymes and suggested that writers should try to fool their audience by coming up with rhymes that will take listeners by surprise.

  The ‘surprising’ rhymes listed in this book are typically formed by words with similar but not identical sounds (such as rain/blame or day/late) rather than the more predictable ‘perfect’ rhymes found in traditional rhyming dictionaries (like rain/pain or day/stay).

  “Surprising Rhyming is a new kind of rhyming dictionary that encourages writers to be more adventurous in their approach to rhyming,” explained the book’s creator and editor, Brian Oliver, author of the five-star rated book How [Not] to Write a Hit Song! 101 Common Mistakes to Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success.

  He said: “Many of the cleverest perfect rhymes have been used so many times over the years that they’ve now become tired clichés and writers are struggling to find rhymes or phrases that haven’t been heard before. Surprising Rhyming is designed to enable writers to challenge themselves and make their rhymes bolder and more original … and less predictable.”

  The book is laid out clearly to make it quick and easy to find the perfect word to achieve a memorable rhyme. There are separate sections for one-, two-, three- and four-syllable rhymes, along with many useful tips on rhyming.

  Surprising Rhyming is available as a paperback from Amazon in the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe.  Read a FREE sample of the book HERE (United States) and HERE (United Kingdom).

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[masterarchfiend93]

Zecora is going to be so much easier to write now!

[minibinro]

every page just goes so hard

(the new comprehensive american rhyming dictionary by sue young, 1991)

[minibinro]

i love my rhyming dictionary

(the new comprehensive american rhyming dictionary by sue young, 1991)

[fireandfigures]

Words that rhyme with purple:

curple (the rump or hindquarters of a horse)

hirple (to walk with a limp, or a gait halfway between walking and crawling)

quirpele (the Indian mongoose)

(And this doesn’t count near rhymes like circle, of which there are many.)

[megarhyme]

New updates to rhyming dictionary

A new multi-search feature has been added to the Mega Rhyme Dictionary. Basically, if a search does not produce a large number of results, additional searches are automatically performed using different parameters (shown in image). The general goals of this update are: 1) To help artists find information more quickly. 2) To help artists discover rhymes that they might have otherwise overlooked.

[learnsongwriting]

New Post has been published on https://learnhowtowritesongs.com/lyric-writing-tools/

Lyric Writing Tools You Should Add to Your Songwriting Toolbox

Tools make things easier. That is why lyric writing tools are so important in the song creation process. Imagine trying to drive a nail into a board with your fist.  Not only would it be painful, it would not do the job properly. Now imagine driving that same nail using a hammer.  It is so much easier to accomplish the task using the correct tool.  As a songwriter you need lyric writing tools.

Having the proper tools is vital to the songwriting process. Taking the nail example, imagine again driving the nail into the board.  Except this time use a screwdriver.  Obviously the screwdriver is ineffective in driving the nail.  The same thing is true with lyric writing tools.  It is important to use the right tool.

One of the primary goals of this website is to help songwriters.  In order to do that, many different tools are made available on this site to help you write songs.  Having the right tool at the right time is important.  Having the right tool should never be underestimated.  The key is to learn as much as possible in regards to writings songs.  Build your songwriting toolkit with songwriting software, books, and applications relevant to songwriting.

Songwriting is a creative activity.  But sometimes you hit a wall.  Everything is just flowing then bam, you just can’t find the right word needed in you lyric.  This can be quite frustrating.  However with the RIGHT lyric writing tool you can move past this creative impasse.  Use the resources available in your songwriting toolkit.

To start building your toolkit, you will need to include at minimum the following three vital tools.

Dictionary

Every writer must have a dictionary.  Dictionaries provide you with the correct meaning of a word.  Understanding the essential meaning of a word is important when you are communicating.  Songs communicate thoughts, emotions, and stories to the listener.  Having a rich vocabulary will help you as a songwriter better express your music’s intent.  As you use a dictionary you will discover that your vocabulary will grow in the process.

Thesaurus

If you have a specific thought in your lyric and the word you start with does not fit, a thesaurus will help you find other words with similar meanings. Language has many nuances and this songwriting tool will help bring out these nuances. A thesaurus is a collection of words in groups of synonyms and related concepts.

Rhyming Dictionary

Song lyrics are structured using rhyme patterns. Because of this a rhyming dictionary is a vital piece in your songwriting toolkit. The words in a rhyming dictionary are grouped into words that rhyme with each other.  The words are arranged according to its word endings and are organized alphabetical using the vowel sounds.

  Your Lyric Writing Tools

With these three essential tools the process of writing lyrics is made simpler. If you don’t already have these tools then get them as soon as possible. For your convenience this website is making available a Thesaurus and Rhyming Dictionary.  There are other resources as well available online.  In addition to having these tools online, you should also get hard copies of these tools.

For additional tools to help write song check out the Essential Songwriter’s Toolkit page for more valuable resources.