How to Rap: 5 Ways To Flow On Beat Better
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How to Rap: 5 Ways To Flow On Beat Better
I think this is a great question. When you’re first trying to get on beat it can be really difficult to write in a way that translates onto the beat. If my past experience serves me right,
The biggest difference between acappella and rapping on beats is your control of the timing. Acappella, you can rap at any speed and rhythm you want - you can also get away with transitions in flow that you can’t over a beat. The beat will hold you to a fairly rigid tempo and count.
To overcome this you’ll have to try a combination of things and practice until you get it right.
First, learn how to count bars. If you’re having problems getting on beat, being able to count bars is pivotal. This skill will give you the baseline you need to understand rhythm and placing your lyrics over top of this rhythm. If you don’t already know how to count bars, check out some of the other videos on it.
Second, learn to freestyle or at least scat in time to the beat. Once you’ve learned to count bars as a baseline, you can start putting lyrics on top of it. Your voice is just like adding another instrument to the track, so before you put words on, you might want to feel out some potential rhythms for adding words.
Third, write with the instrumental on. Writing with the instrumental on makes it exponentially easier to compare your lyrics to the beat as you write. This way you can test lines as you write them and will know fairly quickly whether they fit or not. If you write without the instrumental then try to fit your lyrics, you may find yourself way off when you try to put it all together. Having the instrumental on gives you a way to check your work.
Fourth, make sure you understand syllable counts. As a general rule, when rapping at a normal pace 10-16 syllables fit comfortably over each bar. To be clear, this is simply a general rule for beginners, there are absolutely circumstances where more or less syllables make sense. That being said, trying to fit your bars within this syllable count should make it a little easier to flow over most beats.
Finally, don’t be afraid to adjust your writing to fit the beat. Sometimes, the way the instrumental is structured will make it extremely difficult to flow specific words or phrases over. As your skill increases you’ll be able to use the same lyrics over more varied instrumentals, but to start - adjust your words to match the beat. An extra syllable or one less syllable can make all the difference.
That’s all for this video, feel free to ask questions in the comment box below. You can also check out RapBetter.com, which is a community dedicated to creating better rappers.
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