by Jonas Dahl


One of the main reasons why many choose to write in English is not so much the volume of the language, but more the sound. The influence from Hollywood and English pop culture have, to a degree, romanticized our relationship with the language.
The key to a well written piece of lyric lies not only in the meaning of the words, but also how the words sound and compliment each other.

It'll take some effort for a non-native English writer to compete in an English speaking country. Luckily there are many tools that can help you on your way.

The following is a list of accessible tools for songwriting:


McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme

- what makes this tools one of the best is that it is actually designed by a poet. It has an in-depth search function and it is rich on phonetic references. The program also contains features like: dictionary, concept-map, wikipedia, wikitionary and proofing. The program is free.
www.bryantmcgill.com


rhymezone.com

- rhymezone.com is one of the best online tools for songwriting and one of the most simple. Your search results are categorized in syllables which give you an easy overview and synonyms, antonyms etc. are just a click away. You can go into great detail with your search. You can break the word up, see if it's used in a phrase or even in a play by Shakespeare. And you can of course also search within the phonetic reference of the word.
www.rhymezone.com


Rhyme Genie

- if your are a Mac user then Rhyme Genie could be your alternative to McGill. With over 9 million phonetic references and built with Webster's dictionary it's an impressive offline tool.
Another interesting application is Masterwriter. It's not free, but it's really an all-in-one application. You rhyme, you write and you manage your songs in this application.
www.rhymegenie.com
www.masterwriter.com


Pronunciation

- with all these tools at your disposal you are bound to find some words that you don't know how to pronounce. Well here comes www.howjsay.com. Type the word and let the British gentleman pronounce it for you.


Grammar

- a quick and easy way to point you in the grammatically correct direction is to use google.com. Put your search in quotation marks (like so: "you are but a kiss in the frost") and see how many search results you get and if it's in the right context.


Of course it's always a good idea to have your own-language/English dictionary at hand and a good old-fashioned rhyming dictionary in your bag (e.g. The Penguin).

Last but not least. Have a native speaker check your lyrics before you publish it. Try www.songwriterworkshop.com.


Have fun writing!