No matter how naturally talented, or terrible you may think you are at rhyming, then good news is that it is a skill that is improved with practise.  Some people's brains just seem to be able to pop out rhymes like popcorn machines, others will freeze at the very thought of having to come up with a rhyme.  There are many ways to practise rhyming and here are some of the methods we use during Musical Improv Classes.

Playing rhyming games as part of a group is a great way to put yourself on the spot and find out what you can do.  Part of improving your rhyming ability is to relax and allow your brain to make connections, but there are also times when for whatever reason, you just can't think of a rhyme.  That is where Improv skills kick in.  Can you still commit to delivering something?  Do you shrink away in horror at your own fallibility?  Or can you style it out and keep the flow of the game going?  Here are some of our favourite rhyming games for Improv (or anything else).

Rhyme ball uses an imaginary ball that is 'thrown' around a circle.  When you throw the ball you also say a word, when you catch it you rhyme.  Throw-associate, catch-rhyme.  The mechanic is deceptively simple but this exercise has many hidden powers to improv your rhyming and improv.  Firstly you can simply work that rhyming muscle and try to hit as many clean and accurate rhymes as you can.  The next layer though is keeping the ball moving and keeping your thinking time short.  That means that you will not always have a good word ready.  You might even be given a word that does not exist or is just too complex for a good rhyme.  What then?  That is when your improv skills kick in and you accept the offer, yes and it with something and give a gift to the next person.  When coaching rhyme ball we nearly always stop after a minute or two and encourage the players to act more like children actually playing with a ball.  A bad throw or catch is not relevant, but keeping the game going with joy is.  Try rhyme ball with gibberish words or deliberately difficult ones to achieve true master rhyming status.  Read more about how the game works at our Musical Improv Games - rhyme ball page.

Often played right after rhyme ball as it is the perfect chance to put the skills of rhyming and associating into action.  Hush little Baby involves improvising the words to the original song.  One player will give a gift and the next will find something wrong with it and then rhyme with themselves when giving the next gift.  "If that insert gift falls apart, I'm gonna buy you a nice jam tart." etc.
The beauty of this game is that it introduces the mechanics of a musical improv song in a fairly simple structure.  It also highlights the need to keep the song going so it does not fall behind the accompaniment.  You can download the accompaniment backing track for Hush Little Baby here.  It also tends to lead to some hilarious and inappropriate offerings and laughter is such a great way to relax people and get them more free to be creative and inventive.  Read more about how the game works at our Musical Improv Games - Hush Little Baby page.

Another of our standard and favourite rhyming games in a group, Love is Like involves one person singing two lines about their love..."Our love is like the sea, it changes every day" and the other person rhyming with both lines, "Our love is like a flea, it sometimes flies away."  Again this is a nice gentle way to start to put rhymes into a song format without too much pressure.  Just like rhyme ball, we will often do a round of Love is Like and then coach people in the next round to really loosen up in their body and mind and really commit to the song and the emotion.  If the rhyme comes in the moment then great, if not then you still have to be in the moment and deliver something to your song partner.  In our opinion, the way to succeed this game is to look and sound like you know exactly what you are doing, even if the words do not come out quite right.  Read more about how to play at our Musical Improv Games - Love is like page

If you really want to get those reps in there is no better way than just working that rhyming muscle hard on your own or with another person.  Here are some of our most highly recommended rhyming exercises and games to play on your own or with a friend.

I'm not sure if this goes under other names but we have always called it simply questions.  The format is simple enough, one person asks a question, the other responds (or you respond to your own question) and then asks you a question back which you respond to.  The rhyming comes in that your question should rhyme with your response.  So if you replied 'Yes I like truffles they are nice', your question could be 'Have you ever had head lice?'
A simple formula but can lead to some hilarious and revealing moments as you find out about whether you prefer bears or wolves and whether you have ever tickled a pig.  Also gives loads of opportunities to come up with quick rhymes.  Find out how to play in more detail on our Musical Improv Games - Questions page, and listen to our podcast where we play this and other rapping games on our rapping podcast

A lovely technique for setting yourself up for a rhyme.  Watch the expert Abandoman nail it here. There are numerous ways to get your payoff words - the word you want to land at the end of your second line.  Objects held up, just anything that you see or words fed to you by someone else.  Any way you get your word, your job is to set up a line so that you can rhyme with the given word on the next line.  The phrase 'This is how we do it' is simply a way to get into the rhythm of the lines and to give yourself a bit of thinking time.  As you become more accomplished you will be able to drop this line and improvise the whole thing.
Say the word was 'River' you could say:
'This is how we do it, it's the water giver,
Get yourself wet in the mighty River'
Read more about how to play this rhyming game at our Musical Improv Games - This is how we do it page.

Loads of our rhyming games come from taking an existing song and improvising new lyrics.  We have done this with Favourite things, Superclifragilisticexpialidocious, Oh what a beautiful morning, Da Doo Ron Ron and countless more.  You can just pick any song you like that has a rhyme scheme and try to improvise your own version either on your own or a line at a time with a group for an extra challenge.  

If you have any favourite rhyming games you use to help build that muscle than we would love to hear about it.  You can email us, comment on this blog or use the contact form below to reach out and connect to our lovely musical improv community.  You can see a selection of our curated Musical Improv Games by visiting our Musical Improv Games page.

Over the 15 years we have been teaching and performing, we have devised, invented and adapted thousands of Musical Improv Games.  So many have fallen by the wayside, but every now and then we get a keeper.  Here are the Musical Improv Games, exercises and song formats that have refused to go away.

We love to share our discoveries and nothing thrills me more than seeing another group trying out a new game or format and making it their own.  If you have a favourite game that has become a trusted friend on stage or in a workshop we would love to hear about it.  You can let us know by emailing us or commenting on this post below.  Happy Musical Improv-ing and don't be a stranger.

You are not alone.  Most people are scared of singing in public and for many, even the prospect of bashing out 'Happy Birthday' with anyone but the dog present is enough to break out in a cold sweat.  Along with the fear of public speaking, fear of public singing can be more panic inducing than the fear of death itself!  We have heard so many stories of people who were told as children that they couldn't or shouldn't sing.  Sometimes a relative, or even a music teacher can destroy your confidence for singing or speaking in public with one damaging comment.

Any time we achieve something we thought difficult or even impossible we get a huge boost to our self esteem.  The fear of singing in public is largely irrational as we are not going to be socially excluded or ostracised for doing it.  Stepping out of our comfort zone and owning it is going to improve our mental and physical well being and strengthen our connection to others.

While it may seem counter-intuitive to tackle your fear of singing in public with other people, we have found that this provides the most supportive atmosphere to start conquering those demons.  Our fear is based in deep instinctive fears of rejection, abandonment and social exclusion so what better way to start positively reinforcing your voice than to have the support of others who feel the same.  In a large sporting event or music gig you might get thousands of people all singing together and feel that your voice will just get lost in the crowd.  Is that actually facing your fear though? 

One on one singing lessons can be extremely beneficial to unlock your voice and to gain confidence in your own sound.  A supportive singing teacher, and on that specialises in nervous singers or beginners will be perfect to start you on the road to loving your own voice.  

There is a growing number of community and amateur choirs that are open to all abilities and this is a great way of starting your singing journey.  Yes there will be people there who love the sound of their own voice but you will find very supportive communities and other people just like you who are there to build their confidence.

Well we would say that as enabling people to conquer their fear of singing is one of our prime objectives when delivering a Musical Improv class.  The hardest part is taking the leap of faith to book yourself on a class in the first place.  Once you are in the room, physically or virtually, you will soon be laughing, creating, supporting others and singing.  We have spent the last 15 years carefully designing classes to gently encourage people to expand their comfort zone and to actively enjoy singing in front of other people.  There is no judgement of the quality of anybody's voice, musicality or creativity.  Musical Improv Classes are about bringing yourself, being yourself and being part of a trusting, supportive group.

We are running a series of online sessions designed specifically for people who are scared of singing or who hate Musical Improv! Come join us and see what you can achieve and support others on the same journey towards greater self-confidence.  Expect laughter, a safe space, like-minded people and,  well okay...there will be some singing.  Find out more or sign up to our Musical Improv for those who hate Musical Improv Class.

There will be singing!  Musical Improv classes will focus on specific aspects of improvised singing such as song structure, lyric creation, emotional content, choreography or rhyming to name but a few.  There will be warm ups for your brain and your voice and then some exercises, games and maybe some longer performances.  Most of the time you will be singing with other people, and always accompanied by a musician.

Yes! There are some adaptations we have made to make the experience better for participants, and yes there are limitations due to technology, the speed of light and lag.  However our participants have reported the same levels of joy and learning than in real life classes.  The benefits of Musical Improv online are that we get to play with a Worldwide community from the comfort and safety of our own homes.  It is recommended that you have a pair of headphones to enhance your experience.

There are Musical Improv Classes happening all over the world both online and face to face.  Come join us, either to dip your toes in for the first time, brush up your Improv Singing skills or raise your performance to the next level.  Visit our Musical Improv Classes page to find the right class for you, or get in touch using the form below to ask any further questions you may have, or to organise a bespoke class just for you and your friends or Improv Troupe.  We have some introductory sessions coming up here.

You have rehearsed, you can nail a hoedown in your sleep, your longform sets in rehearsal are legendary or you simply want to add some spice to your Improv set.  Here are some of the best, tried and tested crowd pleasers for your showcase, performance, Musical Improv Class or simply for fun.

Almost any game that works well in rehearsal can be presented on stage with a few tweaks.  For a showcase or Musical Improv Jam these games serve as great quick ways to show off your hard work in class.  Some of these are well known thanks to the likes of 'Whose Line is it Anyway' and some have been lovingly adapted over years of classes and rehearsal.

No list of Short form Musical Improv Games would be complete without the ubiquitous Hoedown.  The nemesis and undoing of many, but also the greatest reward to the Hoedown champion is at stake.  If you want a fuller description of how to actually do a Hoedown, have a look at our Musical Improv Games - Hoedown page.
Often sung either one line at a time, or a full verse each, the Hoedown is a quick AABB rhyming verse that usually follows a set tune.  You can download our backing track of the Hoedown here.
This is a commitment exercise as much as anything else.  There can be no backing off and mumbling your way through.  There is no compulsion at all to get it right, hit all your rhymes or stay in tune, but you must stand tall and give it everything you have.  Watch the 'experts' either blag it or nail it here.