Rap

This lesson is part of the Rhythm, Meter & Form category.

Objectives

• Students will be familiar with the history and characteristics of hip-hop.
• Students will explore the rhythmic characteristics of rap.

Resources

Readings

• Connor, Rap Analysis
• Music Theory Online:
  • Adams, "Harmonic, Syntactic, and Motivic Parameters of Phrase in Hip-Hop"
  • Komaniecki, "Analyzing Collaborative Flow in Rap Music"

Listening or Videos

• Vox: "Rapping, deconstructed"
• 12tone:
  • "Hip Hop's Greatest Invention"
  • "How Do Rappers Use Pitch?"

Class Activities

• Discussion of the origins and history of hip-hop
• Rhythmic and prosodic analysis of different types of hip-hop music
• Composition and improvisation of a short rap

Assignments

• Rhythmic transcription of a rap excerpt
• Composition of a rap

Files

• Composing a rap (Word | Pages | PDF)