Rap Music: Structure, Techniques & Tips

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Discover the art of rap music in this lesson, from writing lyrics to song structure to
creating the best rap song possible. Explore what you need to become a rap artist,
writing songs and performing freestyle.

The Art of Rap Music

Imagine you want to be a rap artist. Can you ride the beat? Can you rhyme in rhythm?
Do you have emotions and ideas you need to express? Can you make the song flow?
Great rappers speak from the heart, repeat their message, and have the ability to rhyme,
flow, and ride the beat.

Writing Rap Lyrics

Rap may be considered a form of poetry with rhythm and music, and the first step to
rapping is getting your ideas written down, or brainstorming. When you brainstorm, you
use your imagination and write down every idea, thought, and feeling that enters your
mind. Your song lyrics can come from this brainstorming session. The sound of
instruments and a beat might also give you ideas. Just remember to stay personal and
write about you. As you write your song, you can organize these lyric ideas into a
structure that contains a strong emotional drive and maintains a cohesive topic
throughout.
In addition, you need to learn to count bars. Listening to instruments to find the musical
pattern is the first step. Next, you cut the pattern into four equal parts to signify a bar.
A bar is a measure of time in music, and in rap music a bar signifies a verse of the song
within a 1, 2, 3, 4 count.
After determining the bars, you will be able to write your lyrics within the confines of a
bar. Finding rap instrumentals online or picking a favorite rap song can help you learn
how to identify bars.
The key elements to consider for rap songwriting are:

 Embracing the feeling you are expressing, and writing down what is on your mind.
 Adding to the lyric syncopation, or a type of rhythm, which stresses certain
beats, often the weak beats, and then adjusting the lyrics accordingly.
 Including a rhyme scheme into your lyrics, meaning you might change words at
the end of sentences to facilitate the rhyme.
 Creating a structure for the song, and inserting lines if necessary to maintain that
structure.

Structure of a Rap Song

Rap songs have structures appropriate to each song and are built with different
components, including the verse, chorus, intro/outro, after/before chorus, and the bridge.
  Verse: The verse is the primary part of the song where the rapping occurs and
where the artist makes his point. The duration is usually 16 bars (4 quatrains to
the verse, 3 verses to the song), but the verse may last 8 bars, 12 bars, or 24
bars.
 Chorus: The chorus sums up the main idea of the song, and is usually repeated
to help listeners remember the song. Choruses are catchy to the ear and are
often called hooks because they hook the listener's attention. The length of a
chorus is typically 4 to 8 bars, 1 quatrain repeated two times.
 Intro/outro: The intro and outro are commonly 8 bars and go right before the
song starts or ends. They support the song's significance, but they are optional
and not always included. Intros/outros can use speech and other sounds in
addition to rapping and music.
 After/before chorus: The after/before chorus lasts about 4 lines and reinforces
the catchiness of the chorus. The after/before chorus is simple and repetitive,
which is a great device to keep the song in your head.
 Bridge: The bridge is a section that falls between two choruses towards the end
of the song. The bridge sounds different than the verse and the chorus, adding
interest to the song.

The most common specific structures are as follows:

1. Standard Structure: Verse(16)-Chorus(8)-Verse(16)-Chorus(8)-Verse(16)-

Chorus(8)
2. Pop Structure: Before Chorus(4)-Chorus(8)-Verse(8)-Before Chorus(4)-
Chorus(8)-After Chorus(4)-Verse(8)-Before Chorus(4)-Chorus(8)-After Chorus(4)-
Bridge(8)-Before Chorus(4)-Chorus(8)-After Chorus(4)
3. Storytelling Structure: Verse(24)-Chorus(4)-Verse(24)-Chorus(4)-Verse(24)-
Chorus(4)

Improving Your Rap Song

The opening of the song is critical for capturing the audience, so start out of the gate
strong. Also, choose a title that may grab attention from listeners. It's also important to
create a flow with the instruments. The music, melody, lyrics, and sounds must balance
and flow together.
Further, memorize your lyrics in portions until you know the whole song by heart. Before
entering a studio, do a rough recording of your song to listen to and critique on your own.
You will hear parts you want to improve before you lay down a final track. After you
record, but before you release your song, try doing a test drive with some trusted
confidants, who will tell you the truth objectively. Ask these peers to give you honest
feedback. Then if they respond positively, you are ready to release the song to the
masses. If they have some constructive comments, then you might want to make some
more changes before the final release. Remember, the creative process has many steps.

Freestyle Rap
Not excited by all this structure? Another style of rap is freestyle, which is improvised.
To learn to freestyle, start by keeping a rhythm using simple words, which do not have to
rhyme at first. Then, just continue to speak the words to the rhythm, or flow. The more
you practice freestyle, the better you will get. Also, create rhymes in advance, so once
you speak a phrase, you will actively think of a rhyming word for your next line.
If you are writing rap songs, your writing will help your freestyle and vice versa. Similar to
songwriting, you should freestyle about yourself, your ideas, and your thoughts.
Rap and freestyle both include metaphors and similes, and freestyle often also
incorporates current events. Freestyle rappers frequently rap in groups, called  ciphers,
and play off of each other. Ciphers trade verses, create beats, and connect rhymes with
each other. In a cipher situation, also plan your verses in advance and take cues from
the other rappers.

Lesson Summary
Becoming a rap artist involves expressing yourself in rhythm and rhyme by riding the
beat and creating a flow with a song. To write a rap, first brainstorm ideas to help create
lyrics. Then, organize lyrics into a song structure
using verses, choruses, intros/outros, after/before choruses, and bridges. Decide
what structure fits the song the best, and use the tips from this lesson to improve the
song, like starting off with a strong opening and testing the song before releasing it to the
masses. Freestyle is another, improvisational form of rap music. As an art form, rap
music emphasizes poetry, music, rhyme, flow, and the beat.

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