Problem: Article: A quatrain is just a stanza made of four lines with some kind of metrical and rhyme pattern. A metrical pattern means that each line has the same length and rhythmic stress pattern. For example, in an iambic pentameter poem, each line has five (pent) iambic feet (ta-TUM) that add up to ten syllables. Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" is written in iambic pentameter: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Tennyson's "In Memoriam A.H.H." is written in iambic tetrameter: 4 iambic feet that add up to 8 syllables per line. "Thou madest Life in man and brute" Rework your practice quatrain using different rhyme schemes. This exercise will help you figure out what sound you like best. Later, you can apply that rhyme scheme to the poem you want to write. There are no rules about the rhyme scheme of a quatrain poem, so you can run wild with it! Rhyme schemes are usually labeled with letters (ABCD). Every time a line of the poem ends in a new sound, assign a letter to that sound. So, if the last word of Line 1 is "smoke," it becomes an "A" and so does every other line that rhymes with "-oke" ("joke," "baroque," etc.). The next unique sound (and all its rhymes) would be "B," the next would be a "C," and so on. Some common quatrain rhyme schemes include: ABBA: We call this an "envelope quatrain" because the A rhyme envelopes the B rhyme. The result is a dense rhyme in the middle with a comforting envelope rhyme around it. When you write an envelope quatrain in iambic pentameter, we call it an Italian quatrain. When you write an envelope quatrain in iambic tetrameter, we call it an In Memoriam stanza. The name comes from Tennyson's poem "In Memoriam A.H.H." ABAB: We call this scheme an alternate or interlaced quatrain because of how the rhyme sounds alternate. AABB: The double couplet has two very strong rhymes. If you use this kind of scheme throughout a long poem, the rhyme might start sounding too sing-songy. Be careful! You can also insert a third sound into the quatrain, even if it remains unrhymed: ABCB, ABCA, ABAC, etc. A quatrain poem has two or more quatrain stanzas. Each stanza should serve as its own little thought bubble, like paragraphs in a story or essay. Practice developing a single quatrain before sitting down to write a whole poem. Don't worry about writing something that will develop into a full poem; this is just practice. Try to develop a full thought in four lines of metered writing. Some rhyme schemes have a long tradition that you should research, but you don't have to follow any "rules." Learn the history of the pattern, but feel free to make it your own. Tennyson said that his grief took the form of the In Memoriam stanza after his friend Arthur Hallam died. That's why "In Memoriam A.H.H." has that metrical pattern. The tetrameter (4 feet) feels like unfinished pentameter (5 feet). The A sound comes early, then returns at the end of each stanza. This resembles the poem and poet's inability to move past Arthur's death. Thomas Gray's wrote "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" in Sicilian quatrains. A.E. Housman used double couplets in his "To an Athlete Dying Young" to mimic the upbeat tone of a cheering crowd. This contrasts the death that closes the poem. An example of a repeating ABCD rhyme scheme (where none of the first four lines rhyme with one another but instead rhyme with the lines of the next quatrain) can be found in the first two quatrains of John Allan Wyeth's Souilly: Hospital:Fever, and crowds---and light that cuts your eyes--AMen waiting in a long slow-shuffling lineBwith silent private faces, white and bleak.CLong rows of lumpy stretchers on the floor.DMy helmet drops---a head jerks up and criesAwide-eyed and settles in a quivering whine.BThe air is rank with touching human reek.CA troop of Germans clatters through the door.D
Summary: Practice writing a single quatrain in meter. Experiment with rhyme schemes. Develop a full thought in your quatrain. Read and study poems written in quatrains.

Problem: Article: Don't feel bad if you sound terrible at first. Learning to yodel well takes time. If you're self-conscious about yodeling in front of others, yodel when you're alone at home or in nature. If the acoustics in your bathroom are good, yodel in the shower. You may need to put in many hours of practice before you sound like an authentic Swiss milkmaid (or milklad) instead of a strangled cat. Persevere! When you master this, it'll sound awesome. One of the best ways to improve your yodeling technique by imitating top-notch yodelers. There are loads of great yodeling videos and tutorials you can watch online. For a classical take, check out Julie Andrews' "The Sound of Music." If your heart yearns for alpine yodeling, check out the videos of Franzl Lang. For cowboy yodeling, try Wylie Gustafson or America's Got Talent runner-up, Taylor Ware. For a classic example of yodeling in pop-culture, listen to the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" by the Tokens. You might be able to get your hands on some yodeling CDs for relatively cheap, but you could also order yodeling albums through online sellers. Listen to the yodeling experts on these albums and sing along to improve. This way you can involve your friends in fun and still get some practice. Teach your friends the basics of yodeling and encourage them to try. It's as simple as that! Getting the hang of yodeling can be comical; enjoy the laughs that follow. You may have friends willing to yodel along, or to at least bear with you as you yodel. Search for other local yodelers on Facebook, Meetup.com, MEETin.org, or through a general online keyword search for "yodeling groups near me." You might find fellow yodelers at a central European cultural center. Yodeling is still a popular traditional activity in countries like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. If you can play an instrument, such as the guitar or piano, you could play along as you yodel. All the better! Singing along with an instrument will help you stay in tune and make your whole performance more impressive. Even a simple instrument, like a harmonica, can interject variety in your yodeling and help you stay in tune.
Summary:
Expect mistakes in the beginning. Watch yodeling videos. Listen to yodeling albums. Turn yodeling into a game to play with your friends. Join a yodeling group. Play an instrument.