Crafting the Poetic Symphony: Unleashing the Power of Words in Song writing

You most likely encountered poetry during your education, at some point or another. I, for one, developed a fondness for poetry when it was introduced to me during my school years. It quickly became my favorite section in English examinations, despite the occasional difficulty in scoring.

That love for poetry has remained with me ever since and has greatly influenced my journey into songwriting. My initial foray into songwriting involved setting melodies to some of the poems I had written. I discovered the inseparable connection between poetry and music. As I mentioned in a previous blog, a song is essentially a poem intertwined with melody. But for now, let's focus on a few essential aspects of poetry that will immediately benefit you.

Rhyme
Ah, rhyme! The launching pad of a song that can make it soar or cause it to plummet! Initially, I didn't pay much attention to this aspect, but once I realized its integral role in creating a good song, I revisited my previously written songs and diligently crafted rhymes where they were lacking.
Rhymes can take various forms, and sometimes they may not be consistently applicable throughout a song. Nevertheless, rhyme must appear wherever possible. There are different types of rhymes: full rhyme, half rhyme, end rhyme, near rhyme, and more. Familiarize yourself with these concepts by studying different song lyrics. Learning from existing songs that resonate with you and serve as inspiration is still the best way to grasp songwriting techniques. Use them as models to shape your own work. This doesn't mean you should write about the same topics; you're merely learning techniques to tell your own story and express your individuality.

Alliteration
Next to rhyme, another powerful tool is alliteration. I began paying closer attention to this technique after writing several songs and studying the works of other songwriters. Once I realized how effectively alliteration can make a song stand out, I started incorporating it wherever possible.
Alliteration involves the repetition of similar or nearly similar sounds in quick succession. For example, "Take time to tour the town" showcases alliteration with the repeated sound of "T." This device enhances a song's accessibility, making it easy to remember. It often lingers in the background of your subconscious mind, and when it resurfaces into your consciousness, you're immediately compelled to open your playlist and give the song another listen because of its irresistible allure. This is why people effortlessly remember lines like J. F. Kennedy's famous quote, "The princes of privilege."

Imagery
Imagery adds an artistic quality to your work. By employing vivid and relatable visuals, which are often familiar to the majority of your audience, you can paint the ideas expressed in your song on the walls of your listeners' minds. It's akin to the art they have as wallpapers on their phones, homes, or offices. For instance, "You swept me off my feet" is a sufficiently evocative line, but "You swept me off my feet like a violent flood" is much stronger. The image of a flood reinforces the impact of the line, ensuring quick registration in the listener's mind and making it difficult to forget.

Adjectives
This brings us to the next point, which is not necessarily a poetic device but a linguistic one, yet it's just as helpful. Remember that you are essentially using language to create your work. Let's revisit the first line, "You swept me off my feet," and consider how it would sound with the addition of a simple adjective. By including the adjective "trembling," we have "You swept me off my trembling feet," which adds more detail and paints a clearer picture. We can combine this with the previously adopted flood imagery, which already