Today I'd like to share with you a very practical way of not only improving your rap freestyles but your songwriting as well using something called Rhyme lists. As the name implies, Rhyme Lists are simply a list of rhymes. The Struggle If you're freestyling off the dome your biggest struggle is going to be coming up with rhymes quickly before your bar runs out. In fact, while you're rapping one bar you should already be thinking of the word you're going to rhyme with it on the next bar. That Guy We've all heard that guy freestyling who keeps using the same words over and over … [Read more...] about How To Improve Your Rap Freestyles With Rhyme Lists
How To Rap
The Four Bar Theory – How To Keep Your Listeners Hooked!
Today I'm going to share something with you that will not only make you a better rapper but it will make you an outstanding entertainer! This "thing" I'm talking about is called "The 4 Bar Theory" and it doesn't just apply to rapping but it's also useful in songwriting, music production, and mixing as well. The 4 Bar Theory is simple. 4 bars isn't too long nor is it too short. If you can create a payoff for your listener every 4 bars you will have them locked in because your song will be highly entertaining! Let's take a quick look at the word "entertainment". To entertain means to … [Read more...] about The Four Bar Theory – How To Keep Your Listeners Hooked!
The Biggest Mistake I Made When I First Started Rapping
Have you ever heard the quote "hindsight is 20/20"? If not, basically it means that mistakes you made in your past due to a lack of experience and understanding are crystal clear to you now in the present moment. What once was so confusing and mysterious is now so simple that you regard it as common sense. Time Traveling I wish I could jump into a time machine and travel back 22 years when I first started rapping. Not just so I could play video games all day without the worries of paying bills, but mainly because I could save myself so much time and frustration with learning this … [Read more...] about The Biggest Mistake I Made When I First Started Rapping
Breathing Techniques For Rappers
Have you ever thought about how much your breathing plays a huge role in how well you sound when you're rapping? Most of the time, us rappers mainly focus on the parts that are being spoken and overlook the importance of the pauses. We have a tendency to overload our bars with too many syllables which cause us to rush words, reducing their clarity while compromising our vocal quality in the process. Let's look a little deeper into this, shall we? Preserving Your Energy Your voice is actually an instrument and in fact, it's typically the main instrument in each of your songs. In order to … [Read more...] about Breathing Techniques For Rappers
How To Improve Your Rap Delivery
Oh the mysterious and elusive technique we know is rap delivery... what is it? why is it important? and how can you improve it? All of that will be covered within this article so without further ado... LET'S GET IT!! What Is Rap Delivery? Think of rap delivery as like a parcel delivery service such as UPS. Your catchy cadences, witty wordplay, and mesmerizing rhyme schemes are your product or package that you've created that's been bundled together in what we know as a song. Once You've created your awesome song you now have to deliver it to the consumer so that they can bask in the … [Read more...] about How To Improve Your Rap Delivery
Why Counting Your Rap Lyrics Syllables Isn’t Accurate
In this article, I'm going to share some advice that will help you the next time you're trying to get your rap lyrics to fit within your bars properly. Counting Syllables I often get asked a question that goes a little something like this. "Cole, how many syllables should my rap lyrics have per bar?" Pretty straight forward right? I usually respond with saying that 11-14 syllables are a good generic syllable count to shoot for. The reason being is because rappers typically rap using 16th notes for the majority of the time while occasionally using 8th and 32nd notes. So even if … [Read more...] about Why Counting Your Rap Lyrics Syllables Isn’t Accurate
5 Steps To Learning How To Rap And Write Catchy Songs
Learning How To Rap If you have recently began your journey of learning how to rap then you may find yourself stuck wondering where is the correct place for you to begin in the first place? This article will serve as an easy to follow step by step guide to help you navigate this new and unfamiliar territory. You may want to bookmark this article in your web browser so that you can keep revisiting it as you keep advancing in your journey. So without further ado LET'S GET IT!! Wait!! Before you go any further you may want to read The Top 5 Mistakes Rappers Make When Learning How To … [Read more...] about 5 Steps To Learning How To Rap And Write Catchy Songs
This One Tip Will Make You A Better Rapper!
Regardless if you have just began learning how to rap or if you've already been at it for an extensive length of time this one tip I'm about to share with you will make you a better rapper and there's several reasons for it. So let's just get straight to it shall we? Building From The Ground Up Now if you're familiar with most of my previous work you know that being a skilled rapper first starts with your rhythm which I define as your ability to stay on beat. And secondly your cadence which is the way that you dance to the music with your syllables on beat. The complexity of your rhyme … [Read more...] about This One Tip Will Make You A Better Rapper!
How To Rap A Verse: Translating Cadence To Lyrics
Welcome to the 3rd installment of How To Rap A Verse. In the last lesson I discussed how to establish your flow and I came up with four cadences and broke them down for you. In this lesson you're going to learn how to translate your cadences into lyrics and I'll be demonstrating these techniques in the coming videos using the four cadences from the last lesson So without further ado... LET'S GET IT!! https://youtu.be/HIRb0DhWoCw Now before I dive in and start translating my cadences into lyrics there's a few things you need to know. Their Relationship It's important to understand the … [Read more...] about How To Rap A Verse: Translating Cadence To Lyrics
How To Rap A Verse: Establishing Your Flow
Welcome to another installment of How To Rap A Verse . In the first lesson I taught you how to establish your rhythm. In this lesson we're going to build off of that and start working on establishing your flow. So without further ado LET'S GET IT!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOiT5je1WzI What Is Cadence? Now before we dive in and start coming up with flows let's cover just a little bit of ground work. Often times I have people ask me what's the difference between your cadence and your flow. Well there isn't a difference they're the same thing. Flow is actually just a slang word for … [Read more...] about How To Rap A Verse: Establishing Your Flow