Rapping Manual Table of Contents 1. Count Music/Bars 14. Draft vs Freelance 2. Rhyme Schemes 15. Song Structure 3. Sound Schemes 16. Rap Chorus 4. Fast Rapping 17. The Sacred Process 5. Compound Rhymes 18. Improving Rap Delivery 6. Double Rhyming 19. Improving Breath Control 7. Internal Rhyming 20. Melodic Rhymes 8. Style Combinations 21. Rap Microphones 9. Metaphors 22. Audio Editing Software 10.Wordplay 23. Improving Rap Performance 11. Feel the Instrumental 24. How to Treat Your Engineer 12. Rap Content 25. How to Stay Motivated 13. Translate Speech/Bars 26. What is a Record Deal Bonus: 27. How to find your rap style 28. Tricks and Tips of Live Performance 29. How to Get Ideas to Write Lyrics 30. How to Keep Your Lyrical Content Concentrated 31. How to Rap-Summary From The Creator of RappingManual.com
Lesson 15-Song Structure Now we're going to look at song structures. Song structure is the structure of the song. Obvious isn't it? However, there are different types of structures, suited for different types of songs. Each structure has its own benefits and drawbacks. Each structure gives the song a different feel. Today, we'll look at the different types of structures and their components. The only thing that is present in all kinds of structures is their components. Each structure has them, however their length and order varies from structure to structure. The song components are: 1. Verse 2. Chorus 3. Intro/Autro 4. After/Before Chorus 5. Bridge 1. Verse A standard verse is 16 bars. That's 4 quatrains per verse, 3 verses per song, which is enough for you to give your point of view. That's where you actually do the rapping, showing your rap skills and your ability to ride the beat. It's the most important component of a song in my opinion. Nowadays, you get to see verses that are around 8 and 12 bars. It s a format, taken from pop music and it s used when your song is concentrating on variety of elements. However, if you want to tell a story or something which has more depth to it, you can use the 24 bars verse. The song usually gets longer, plus you might have to cut back on the chorus, but you'll have the opportunity to say what you want to say fully. So, bottom line? A verse can be: a)8bars b)12bars c)16bars d)24bars. It's the place where you do the rapping. 2. Chorus
Now the Chorus is important too. It's main aim is to sum up the whole meaning of the song. Also, choruses are used and constructed in a way, which helps the listener to remember your track easier. They are sometimes called hooks, which literally means Hook up the Listener. Its length can vary between 4 to 8 bars. In most cases, the chorus is 1 quatrain which is repeated twice, however there is no rule to this. You can repeat one couplet 4 times or have 2 individual quatrains, with no repeat. 3. Intro/Autro Those two are not always present and not that important. However, when included they can reinforce the feeling of a song. They are both usually up to 8 bars long. They are inserted before the start/end of the song. They can be anything really, from regular speech to sex sounds, depending on the content of the song. 4. After/Before Chorus Now, not alot of people know about this, that's why you don't see the up and coming rappers using it. However, all the experienced rappers know about it and are not scared to use it. 50 Cent s first album was full of songs with after or before choruses. All there is, it's a 4 liner(in most cases), which has the job of assisting the chorus. Most of the times it's repeating a statement or something really simple. Since the chorus is the element which makes the song memorable, the after/before chorus is there to assist it, in this objective. Most of the times, it's so repetative that you can't stop repeating it inside of your head. 5. Bridge The bridge is an element, which is placed between two choruses, usually at the end of the song. The bridge is 8 bars and serves as a breath of variety for the projects. It s being proved that listeners attention span drops right after the second chorus, if the song continues as it began. That s why, the bridge is placed there, to give something new to the audience and keep their attention a little longer. Song Structures Now you know about all the components of a rap song. Let's continue with the different types of song structures. There is no concrete number to the types of structures, so we cannot cover all the possible combinations. Therefore, we ll cover the most popular ones.
1. The Standard Structure Verse(16)-Chorus(8)-Verse(16)-Chorus(8)- Verse(16)-Chorus(8) This is the standard structure. It has 3 verses and 3 choruses. Used commonly due to the fact that it's neither too long nor too short. This song structure length is around the 4 minute mark, which is the usually norm. Advantages -People seem to like this structure. -The Choruses are long enough, making the song easily remembered. -It's content orientated. Because of the standard structure, the listener pays more attention to the content. Disadvantages -It's verses are not long enough to tell a story. -Unless your content is not good, the song would be easily forgotten, since it's one of the many. -Some listeners might find it tedious after the second chorus. 2. The 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) This one is concentrating on variety. The structure usually works when you have thought of a great chorus and want to showcase it. It s great for pop songs and audiences that get bored easily. Advantages -Introduction with a Chorus is a great way to let the listener know what s the song all about from the start. -It makes the song more memorable, due to the higher number of choruses in it. -It has great variety, capturing people s interest for longer.
Disadvantages -It concentrates too much on your chorus, leaving your verses out in the cold. -It's possible that you condition your audience to just wait for the choruses, not paying attention to your verses. -It might get repetative, because of the high number of chorus repetitions. 3. The Story Telling Structure Verse(24)-Chorus(4)-Verse(24)-Chorus(4)- Verse(24)-Chorus(4) Okay, now this structure is used when the song is in the form of a story, with introduction, characters and so on. The Length of the verses is 24 bars, giving you more writing space for developing your story. The choruses are smaller, otherwise the song would ve been too long. This song structure can go up to the 5 minute mark. This structure concentrates on the content and the emotion of the story, rather than the repetition of the choruses. The only way people would remember your song is if your story is worth remembering. Advantages -Long verses, giving you an opportunity for the presentation of a fully developed story. -If the story is well written, it is likely to affect your audience on a bigger scale. Disadvantages -If the song gets too long, the listener might lose interest quickly. -If this structure is not used for a story based content, the excessive flow might not grab the attention of the listener. -It doesn't have variety, since throughtout the most part of the song you are rhyming and the choruses are short.
We re going to stop here. These are the main types of song structures. All the others are the sub-categories of these. I would recommend trying out each of them. See how they feel. You have to remember though, there is no right structure. It all depends on the type of content you have. Lesson 16-Rap Chorus This lesson will answer the following questions- 1. What is a rap chorus? 2. Why is the rap chorus important? 3. How to write a good rap chorus? 4. What are the different chorus structures? 1. What is a rap chorus? The chorus is the section of a rap song, which connects it's verses. There is usually only one chorus, which is repeated before/after each verse. A chorus is usually 4 to 8 bars long. It s also called a hook, meaning that this section of the song is meant to hook up the listener's attention. It can be consisted of anything, from different types of rhyme schemes to a number of single statements or phrases. 2.Why is the rap chorus important? The chorus is the only section of a rap song, which is repeated a number of times. Therefore, that's the part which your listener is likely to remember first, so anytime he thinks of this song, the first thing he would think of is the chorus. A chorus helps the listener differentiate your song, from the others. A chorus is like the cliff notes of a song. It basically tells the listener what is the song about, right from the start. With a bad chorus you are likely to put off people, because if the most memorable and important element of your song is not good, why should they give you a chance and wait for your verses?
So think of this as if you were the listener. Would you waste 4 minutes of your life, listening to something, which gave you a bad first impression? 3. How to write a good rap chorus? In my opinion, a good rap chorus is memorable, melodic and it sums up the content of the song. In order to create a good chorus, you have to take into account those three components(melodic/memorable/sums it all up). How to write a memorable chorus? A memorable chorus should really stick to your audience memory. This chorus has to be so memorable, that they can't stop singing it, in their head. This would make them come back and listen to your track one more time. There is a number of techniques, which will achieve this task, however there is no recipe for a successful chorus. For example, repeating part of a word might do the job. Ever heard of lil wayne s song Lolipop? Isn't part of his chorus something like, luk-luk-luk look like a lollipop? That repetition of sounds, seems to penetrate the listener s memory and they remember it. I don't really know why, but I did my own research once. I went on youtube and checked out most of the songs, which have over 50 million views. Almost all of them were using this repetative technique. Pitbull can be used as another example. Another way to make your chorus memorable is to think of a really fly punchline. Something original, never written before. If it's original and stylish enough, there is a big chance that your audience will remember it. After you have your phrase, fill in the bars with it. Create a structure, which concentrates on that phrase. For example, if our phrase is I m the king of this rap kingdom, you can create a focused structure like: I m the king of this rap kingdom(rap kingdom echo) I m the king of this rap kingdom(rap kingdom echo) I m the king, king, king, king, I m the king, king, of this rap kingdom All you do is play with the phrase. Play with intonation, pronunciation, repetition etc.
If your audience starts quoting your chorus throughout their day, you can be sure that you ve done a pretty good job. How to write a melodic chorus? 1. First of all, you can try writing your chorus in a flow, which is different from the one you ve used for your verses. 2. Most of the rappers nowadays try singing on their choruses, making them more melodic. It s not as difficult as you might think. All you need to learn is how to hold a higher note and then rap your chorus, while staying on this higher note. Check out the melodic notes ladder exercises. It will help you get started. 3. You can use some sound schemes. This might break the ice and bring some variety to your sound. The thing you need to remember is that your chorus has to have a different sound from your verses. How to sum up your verses in a chorus? Now what you can do, is read your verses, one after the other and then ask yourself: What is the bottom line? What do I want to say with this project? What is the whole purpose of this song? What is the overall message I want to send? If you don't come up with something, read your material again, asking yourself those questions and your brain will eventually start working, giving birth to a great idea. Pay attention to the feeling of the song.the feeling of the whole project. This will guide your choice for chorus very well. 4. Other chorus structures -The most common structure for a chorus is the repeating quatrain. You basically think of a quatrain, which you repeat twice, filling in the 8 bar space. It's so commonly used, because of it's wide variety, giving you an opportunity to use any kind of rhyme schemes you want. -1 on 1 off is another chorus structure. It's basically 1 bar you rap, 1 bar you let the melody stay clean. So you are missing out every second bar. It's used to bring more weight to your words. -The conversation is another chorus structure, but you need a partner for it. It's basically: I rap two bars, then you rap two bars. You switch places each couplet or quatrain.
-Anything original. That's the truth. If your structure is fresh and original, it s likely to be noticed. Bottom line is that there is no strict recipe for making a sucessful chorus. However, I'm trying to write mine in accordance to those guidelines. My advice would be to try and write the chorus in a way, which represents the feeling of your song. For the full e-book, feel free to browse to: The Rapping Manual