What is a rhyme scheme? What’s the difference between ABAB vs AABB poetry styles? These questions are often asked by poets, hip hop artists, and other musicians that participate in songwriting. Many artists come to find that finding the perfect lyrics that sound well together will create greater buzz. To achieve this style of flow, one must think about their rhyme scheme.
What is a Rhyme Scheme?
A rhyme scheme is pattern of sounds that repeat at the end of a line or verse. Many hip hop rappers utilize rhyme schemes in creative ways. Poets take a strong stance on rhyme schemes within their written poetry. Other sources define rhymes schemes to be a repeating pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Rhyme scheme patterns may be subjective because some artists design their scheme with same letter rhymes. Others use specific rhymes schemes like the ABAB rhyme scheme. Though the ABAB is the most popular, other methods include the AABB rhyme scheme and more.
Rhyme Scheme Examples
Here at Support Hip Hop, we’re going to share with you our rhyme scheme examples. Many rappers and artists rap this way but if you are new into the space, follow along to learn these styles. Learn the top 3 freestyle rap rhyme schemes here. Some rhyme schemes examples that we will go over include the XAXA, AAXA, ABBA, ABAB and more.
ABAB Rhyme Scheme Example
The definition of the ABAB rhyme scheme is a poetic style that introduces a rhyme for every four lines. In this case, the first and third lines are rhyming while the second and fourth lines are also rhyming. This is a popular rhyme scheme that nearly all the rappers use. Many pop artists also use this method, take at our example below!
“Shirt Looks Dirty, But Shoes Look Cool,
Is He Worthy?, Or Just A Fool?”
AABB Rhyme Scheme Example
AABB rhyme scheme is another popular poetry structure that is utilized in modern music today. Whether it is hip hop or pop, country or even EDM, this particular rhyme scheme is present in all of the popular songs. You may look at Support Hip Hop’s AABB Rhyme Scheme example below!
“I Remember Hard Times, Eatin Cherry Wit The Limes,
Then Heard Shots Outside, And I Can’t Find My Ride,”
ABBA Rhyme Scheme Example
ABBA rhyme schemes is a little more complex but sounds beautiful in the right places. Many of these structures need the appropriate setting, but with practice, you can make this sound awesome. Check out our AABB rhyme scheme example below!
“Gotta Make Money, But I’m Broke,
It’s A Joke, Still Not Funny ,
AAXA Rhyme Scheme Example
Our AAXA rhyme scheme example is quite basic, but with the letter “X” it will allow the writer to freestyle. Many hip hop rappers utilize the X method in rhyme schemes to bring points and ideas together within the song. X does not wither either letter or either line. Check out our example below.
“When You Rap, Do Not Cap,
Walk Around The Block, That’s A Lap”
XAXA Rhyme Scheme Example
The XAXA rhyme scheme is a specific style that many artists use when explaining a story. This poetry pattern allows more space for story time because the X is not a rhyming verse. The X in this rhyme scheme does not write with either of the line in the pattern.
“Gotta Hire The Homies, Visit My Shop,
Expecting Customers, Maybe I’ll Pop”
Conclusion
There any rhyme schemes to master, but with practice anyone can achieve this level! Learn all about rap rhyme schemes on Support Hip Hop and use this information when making music. We’ve covered popular rhyme schemes that are used by rappers, pop artists, and more. The rhyme schemes to practice are the ABAB, ABBA, AAXA, and XAXA. Have a better example? Comment below!
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