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Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby RainMan44 » Sep 28th, '11, 07:28

Anybody here that can teach be a thing or two about rhythmic skills? How to be creative with your flows/play around with them? I'm seriously trying to figure this out and all that it's doing is stressing me the fuck out. I'm trying. I'm trying to learn. Just can't. Like, I know how to stay on beat and keep a basic flow for each bar. But I don't know how to be creative with it. In other words, every bar will sound the same in terms of flow. I will have a standard way to flow each bar. I don't understand what the fuck is happening in beats. They say to look out for the percussion and bass, I don't even know what the fuck that is. I can't pick that up.


I heard this new Cole CD, and I see him saying his words in one bar differently than he said it in the other. But when I put on the same instrumentals and try to do that, I go off beat. I'm exhausted trying to figure this shit out.

I saw a YouTube video that said a good way to practice is beat box a basic beat with your hands on the table...and talk while doing it. Multitask. I can't even do that shit. I completely fuck up the beatbox once I begin talking.


Some of you may have heard about the book "How To Rap: The Art And Science of the Hip Hop MC"....a lot of people say it's a great book. Anyway, it has these FLOW CHARTS in it. I was hyped for it...until I opened it and didn't understand what the FUCK is going on.


HERE'S THE FLOW CHART FOR EMINEM'S SONG, "LOSE YOURSELF"

It says that each line has four beats. I DON'T FUCKING GET THAT.
It says that each bolded word is stressed and is on the beat. I DON'T GET THAT, EITHER.


Here's the link: http://www.howtorapbook.com/eminemlosey ... wtorap.pdf




So can anybody help me to understand the rhythmic aspects of this shit? How to be able to flow effortlessly and be creative with my flows? I just want to be able to understand the fucking music, goddammit.



1) Is this possible to learn, or you have to just "have" it?
2) My friend is a great bass/guitar player, is he a good candidate to teach me this shit? lmao



I just want to get great with this stuff. All help is appreciated. Thank you.
"This dude doing this interview wants me to spin a few,
Lyrics while I tie my tennis shoes in the nude
A romantic interlude in a livin’ room,
In an inner tube with a dude with a bit of lube
Fuck that I’m sniffin’ glue, sippin' gin & juice,
And a little bit of paint thinner with my dinner too,
You better pay me for my bars like your rent is due,
Now hurry up and finish dude before I finish you."




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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby mdemaz » Sep 28th, '11, 08:08

Are you talking about your voice tone?
Like how you say certain words?
Or the way you deliver words period..?
Help me out here.

Sometimes it just takes practice, I've been doing this shit for ages and I still need work..Sometimes you just gotta keep practicing, you can't really tell someone how to talk...But if you listen to other rappers like you said, you can learn off them..

If I could say anything, I'd say to breath in-between bars and try to just...Write lyrics that fit with the beat..

Like here's the kick and snare:
..........Kick..........Snare..........Kick, kick..........Snare
Say this:
Why do YOU wanna FUCK up my life again you bitch.

Etc....
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby RainMan44 » Sep 28th, '11, 08:20

No, no...what I mean is...just understanding music and being able to flow creatively. I can stay on beat. I can flow on beat. But, once I try switching it up, I sound sloppy and sometimes miss the end of the bar. Like the bar will finish but my line I won't be done reciting.

Or for example when Tech N9ne raps fast, it seems he IS a part of the instruments. When I try to rap fast, it sounds slurry and off beat and just doesn't fit. :(
"This dude doing this interview wants me to spin a few,
Lyrics while I tie my tennis shoes in the nude
A romantic interlude in a livin’ room,
In an inner tube with a dude with a bit of lube
Fuck that I’m sniffin’ glue, sippin' gin & juice,
And a little bit of paint thinner with my dinner too,
You better pay me for my bars like your rent is due,
Now hurry up and finish dude before I finish you."




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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby RainMan44 » Sep 28th, '11, 08:23

Another example. Give me a beat from a rapper's song I ain't heard before. Once I flow on it, it'll be a fairly simple flow. It will be the standard flow I know to use.

But then you play me the rappers actual track that HE recorded on it...and he has a different flow than I....one which I never thought was possible.

I seem to think the flow I have, which is simple, is the ONLY one that exists. I can't come up with anything different.

My command of the beat is off. I want to learn to COMMAND THE BEAT, instead of having the beat command me.
"This dude doing this interview wants me to spin a few,
Lyrics while I tie my tennis shoes in the nude
A romantic interlude in a livin’ room,
In an inner tube with a dude with a bit of lube
Fuck that I’m sniffin’ glue, sippin' gin & juice,
And a little bit of paint thinner with my dinner too,
You better pay me for my bars like your rent is due,
Now hurry up and finish dude before I finish you."




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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby mdemaz » Sep 28th, '11, 08:26

RainMan44 wrote:No, no...what I mean is...just understanding music and being able to flow creatively. I can stay on beat. I can flow on beat. But, once I try switching it up, I sound sloppy and sometimes miss the end of the bar. Like the bar will finish but my line I won't be done reciting.

Or for example when Tech N9ne raps fast, it seems he IS a part of the instruments. When I try to rap fast, it sounds slurry and off beat and just doesn't fit. :(

It all comes down to lyrics, you gotta shorten the bars...Actually, before you even record the song, you should run through the whole song a few times and memorize where you need to place words, sometimes it takes like half an hour, or an hour..
Tech's double-time flow is really rapping 2 bars in 1 physical bar, that's why he flows soo smoothly.

I know what you mean, also you might wanna trim the lyrics while listening to the beat too..

Memory is a key factor, and memorizing the beat and lyrics plays a big role too..
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby mdemaz » Sep 28th, '11, 08:30

RainMan44 wrote:Another example. Give me a beat from a rapper's song I ain't heard before. Once I flow on it, it'll be a fairly simple flow. It will be the standard flow I know to use.

But then you play me the rappers actual track that HE recorded on it...and he has a different flow than I....one which I never thought was possible.

I seem to think the flow I have, which is simple, is the ONLY one that exists. I can't come up with anything different.

My command of the beat is off. I want to learn to COMMAND THE BEAT, instead of having the beat command me.

Beats have many ways you can flow on them, you just need to find the flow right for you, like I said before, memorizing where to place words in a bar will basically make your flow better, also, you can mix them around so it sounds different to your simple flow..
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby RainMan44 » Sep 28th, '11, 08:43

Hmmm, I see. Thanks, I'll take those things into consideration. Appreciate it man :y:


One more thing. When you say Tech flows like that because he does 2 physical bars in one...when I do that, I often find there may be a word that isn't possible for me to flow it properly. Is that just because I can't do it, or are there truly some words that just don't work at times?
"This dude doing this interview wants me to spin a few,
Lyrics while I tie my tennis shoes in the nude
A romantic interlude in a livin’ room,
In an inner tube with a dude with a bit of lube
Fuck that I’m sniffin’ glue, sippin' gin & juice,
And a little bit of paint thinner with my dinner too,
You better pay me for my bars like your rent is due,
Now hurry up and finish dude before I finish you."




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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby mdemaz » Sep 28th, '11, 08:53

RainMan44 wrote:Hmmm, I see. Thanks, I'll take those things into consideration. Appreciate it man :y:


One more thing. When you say Tech flows like that because he does 2 physical bars in one...when I do that, I often find there may be a word that isn't possible for me to flow it properly. Is that just because I can't do it, or are there truly some words that just don't work at times?

Some people just can't rap fast, it's no big deal man..
Glad I could at least give you some info.
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby Slim Fiasco » Sep 28th, '11, 09:09

I think that at first you'll need to practice the changing of your intonation solely, instead of trying to change the pace as well. Like, if you listen to Hopsin's verse on Am I Psycho he flows the same after saying "but with the wicked..." but he changes the intonation.
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby RainMan44 » Sep 28th, '11, 22:32

Slim Fiasco wrote:I think that at first you'll need to practice the changing of your intonation solely, instead of trying to change the pace as well. Like, if you listen to Hopsin's verse on Am I Psycho he flows the same after saying "but with the wicked..." but he changes the intonation.



I'm having some trouble understanding this. :'(

What exactly is intonation, and how should I practice it?


Also, here's a clear way to express the problem I'm having. Let's say I'm rapping one bar. If I fuck up, I won't know how to get back on track. I don't recognize the instruments/sounds to use it to help me get back on track. Let's say the bar is "Mom, dad, I'm no longer the boy you're used to seeing."....I know I have to fit that into the 1 bar...which is the beat that keeps getting repeated. But let's say I say "Mom, dad, I'm no...." and fuck up and get off beat, I don't know how to have the instruments/beats/drum/whatever to help me get back.


So when I flow on beat, that is because I have rehearsed it so much that I know how to make it flow well.


But if you put on a new beat, I won't know how to twist/turn my flow into a creative one...I can just give you a simple "bar for bar" flow.


I want to know how to command the beat with my flow...how come some rappers can go fast, slow down, speed up, twist, etc and still be on beat? I can't do that. :'(
"This dude doing this interview wants me to spin a few,
Lyrics while I tie my tennis shoes in the nude
A romantic interlude in a livin’ room,
In an inner tube with a dude with a bit of lube
Fuck that I’m sniffin’ glue, sippin' gin & juice,
And a little bit of paint thinner with my dinner too,
You better pay me for my bars like your rent is due,
Now hurry up and finish dude before I finish you."




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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby Slim Fiasco » Sep 29th, '11, 09:40

RainMan44 wrote:
Slim Fiasco wrote:I think that at first you'll need to practice the changing of your intonation solely, instead of trying to change the pace as well. Like, if you listen to Hopsin's verse on Am I Psycho he flows the same after saying "but with the wicked..." but he changes the intonation.



I'm having some trouble understanding this. :'(

What exactly is intonation, and how should I practice it?


Also, here's a clear way to express the problem I'm having. Let's say I'm rapping one bar. If I fuck up, I won't know how to get back on track. I don't recognize the instruments/sounds to use it to help me get back on track. Let's say the bar is "Mom, dad, I'm no longer the boy you're used to seeing."....I know I have to fit that into the 1 bar...which is the beat that keeps getting repeated. But let's say I say "Mom, dad, I'm no...." and fuck up and get off beat, I don't know how to have the instruments/beats/drum/whatever to help me get back.


So when I flow on beat, that is because I have rehearsed it so much that I know how to make it flow well.


But if you put on a new beat, I won't know how to twist/turn my flow into a creative one...I can just give you a simple "bar for bar" flow.


I want to know how to command the beat with my flow...how come some rappers can go fast, slow down, speed up, twist, etc and still be on beat? I can't do that. :'(


Intonation is the tone/melody of your voice and it doesn't affect the speed of what you're saying. It ultimately leads to inserting emotion into your rapping but that's a more advanced part of flowing so you should worry about it later. But let's say you have a line to act, you can say it with a more angry voice, a sad one, as if you're laughing etc.

Ok so, you need to fit your pace to the drum pattern and you may change the intonation according to the various melodies of the beat (like you're almost singing them) or simply add a random melody to your voice. The best way to practice this is to try rapping by saying "one, two, three.. one, one, two three", you'll notice that catching the beat like this is much easier and you almost can't miss it. When doing so, you should also try to change the sound of that "three" which should hit the 2nd snare of the loop (the repeated beat as you call it) and that's usually the ending rhyme of a line.

So when you write, try to make your lines to end in a rhyme and make small pauses when you say each line. You should also make tiny pauses within the line itself (not always though) and you'll notice this when you'll try rapping the "one, two three" thing. Pay attention at the (very) short pauses between each word!

Among other things you should understand the concept of a beat. The best way is to download the demo of FL Studio (or watch a tutorial) and make a simple loop. You'll notice 16 small squares for the kick, the hat and the snare. There should be only 2 snares, each at the beginning of the red groups of squares which are the 5th and the 13th square. There should be more kicks just don't overlap them with the snares, and hats you can put in-between. There's also a bass line but it's not very important to your delivery. If you do end up making your own beat (loop) don't forget the tempo which should be around 90-95.

So anyway, if you listen to a loop over and over again you'll notice the pauses which are usually around the snares, and you should also know that emphasizing of certain words is recommended when the snare comes around (which is what you read in the How To Rap book).

To conclude, start practicing the "one, two, three; one, one, two three" pattern and you should get a better feeling of the beat, which afterwards you'll start doing with actual words/lines. Oh and another good example is to "chop" words like Em does in Lose Yourself when he says:

Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He's so mad, but he won't give up that
Easy, no
He won't have it , he knows his whole back's to these ropes
It don't matter, he's dope
He knows that, but he's broke
He's so stagnant that he knows

And by chop I mean adding an extensive pause ala emphasizes at certain words. If you try this more often in a line you'll catch the beat even better but do this only to get that feeling, you shouldn't really rap like that all the time i.e. those pauses shouldn't be very extended but start by overextending them so that as I said, get the feeling.
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby RainMan44 » Sep 30th, '11, 06:58

You have no fucking idea how much this helped. I'm going to work at it right now some more.


Thanks a lot man, I appreciate all the help :worship:
"This dude doing this interview wants me to spin a few,
Lyrics while I tie my tennis shoes in the nude
A romantic interlude in a livin’ room,
In an inner tube with a dude with a bit of lube
Fuck that I’m sniffin’ glue, sippin' gin & juice,
And a little bit of paint thinner with my dinner too,
You better pay me for my bars like your rent is due,
Now hurry up and finish dude before I finish you."




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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby mdemaz » Sep 30th, '11, 10:50

Couldn't of said it better myself, btw, some songs can range from 90-110 beats per minute..
It depends really on how you compose..
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby Slim Fiasco » Sep 30th, '11, 15:15

It's all good guys, glad I can help. Here are two more tips for now, and I'll see what else I can add later:

When you say a line with a certain intonation, keep it like that for at least another bar. It will sound out of place if you say one rhyme in one way and leave it hanging like that.

Don't yell or go too fast! Yelling is not the way to convey emotion, it is done by changing the intonation in the proper way which will come natural to you after a while. Just start practicing things step by step, don't you dare quit and all will be good.
Last edited by Slim Fiasco on Jan 14th, '12, 12:54, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Anybody here with good rhythmic skills?

Postby Slim Fiasco » Sep 30th, '11, 15:33

mdemaz wrote:Couldn't of said it better myself, btw, some songs can range from 90-110 beats per minute..
It depends really on how you compose..


Thanks. And yeah, you're probably right about that but I think it's easier to practice on slower beats and it's also better for noticing the elements of the drum pattern and the way they go together. Which reminds me to advice everybody to start producing by yourself (even if you suck and can't make a full instrumental, just make loops if nothing else) so that you develop a better ear for beats.
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