When most people think of rhyme, they think of "cat/hat" and "love/above." These are perfect rhymes — and they're the least interesting tool in your toolkit.
Pat Pattison's framework identifies six distinct rhyme types, each with a different emotional effect. Mastering all six gives you a palette of resolution and tension that most songwriters never access.
Perfect Rhyme (cat/hat, love/above): The vowel sound and everything after it match exactly. Perfect rhymes feel resolved, stable, and complete. They're ideal for chorus hooks and final lines where you want the listener to feel settled.
Family Rhyme (cat/kit, love/live): The consonant after the vowel matches, but the vowel itself is different. These are close but not exact — like looking at something through slightly foggy glass. They create a subtle tension that keeps the listener leaning forward.
Additive/Subtractive Rhyme (cat/cats, green/screen): One word has an extra consonant sound. These feel almost-but-not-quite resolved. They're useful in verses where you want forward momentum.
Assonance Rhyme (cat/back, love/up): Only the vowel sounds match. The consonants are different. Assonance feels open and unresolved — it's the go-to for emotional vulnerability. Many great ballad verses use assonance exclusively.
Consonance Rhyme (cat/kite, love/live): Only the consonant sounds match. The vowels are different. Consonance is the most unstable rhyme type. It creates maximum tension and unresolved feeling — perfect for bridges and pre-choruses.
No Rhyme: Deliberately avoiding rhyme creates the most unstable, raw feeling. Used sparingly, it can be devastatingly effective — especially in a song that otherwise rhymes consistently.
The key insight is that rhyme type is a prosody tool. In a sad verse, use assonance or consonance to keep things unresolved. In a triumphant chorus, use perfect rhymes to create resolution. Match the rhyme type to the emotional intent of each section.
Try this exercise: take a verse you've written with all perfect rhymes. Rewrite it using only assonance. Notice how the emotional temperature changes completely — even though the words and meaning are similar.
