Folks solve my beginner doubts

[u/SoftFix2052]

Broskis should I write lyrics first or find a beat, because I wrote some lyrics but they aren't fitting on the beat, can anybody teach me how I can fit my lyrics on beat, if anybody knows any good playlist then please share

[u/MessyDistributor]

find the beat first man, is way easier to mold your words around the drums than trying to force pre-written bars into a rhythm that dont agree

[u/FatherFashion]

Beat first. You should be drawing heavy motivations from it to blend the tone/mood

[u/LouMinotti]

I've done it both ways. There's no right or wrong way when it comes to that but each way entails it's own process. If you write lyrics first you will need to seek out a particular beat to fit the rhythm/meter of the lyrics. If you find/make the beat first then you'd want to figure out the proper cadence before writing the actual lyrics. A good way to go about that is to simply speak a "da" in rhythm over the beat representing the syllables that would sound decent over the beat and then replace the "da's" with coherent lyrics.

[u/Significant_Cover_48]

Back when I wrote raps, I'd write a full 16, then rewrite the verse once or twice before looking for a beat with the right groove and tempo, then I'd do a last rewrite over the beat, and then spend two-three days memorizing and rehearsing every line. Reading on the mic was not a thing in the enviroment I was part of.

Recording was a lot more difficult back then, plus expensive. We used to book two days in a studio with a mix engineer to do three songs including tracking everything to tape as well as mixing, and we didn'tt have money to spend extra time on doing a lot of retakes. In the beginning we were renting tape, so we couldn't do half songs, we had to finist everything in one long session (sleeping in the studio). Later we bought our own tapes and brought them with us, so we could split work between sessions.

I was always writing, and normally we would test out lyrics on stage before even thinking about recording them, unless we thought of something while in the studio. It was a different way of making music.

All that just to say: find a way that fits your music. Do what makes sense to you.

[u/SunsetVista72]

I always do my lyrics first, beat later. Most of the times the lyrics are just a draft, they will change depending on the beat

[u/illyDiecast]

Find the beat first and then write . Allow the beat to guide you to the topic depending on the vibes. That’s what I do

[u/Impossible-Item-2676]

It depends how visionary you are with the song as a whole. You could spit bars to a metronome if that's the inspiration

[u/410Fresco]

Everyone is different. Lately i have been writing rhymes with no beat or rhythm in mind. Then when I find a beat Ill just keep repeating the line (adding or removing syllables) until it feels natural. Just my current approach, but sometimes you hear a beat and it just starts speaking to you

[u/Auzzyhere]

dont throw those lyrics away btw, i did the same thing when i started lol. try looping the beat and just reading the line out loud over it a few times, you'll hear where it gets crowded. usually i just cut filler words or split one long line into two, way easier than rewriting the whole thing. beat first is easier going forward tho

[u/SoftFix2052 → u/Auzzyhere]

Thanks mate

[u/RobbieBleu]

if you go lyrics first, write to a metronome. Its, in my experience, way better to start with the beat first

[u/Juiceb0ckz]

I hate to be that guy, and I wanna apologize beforehand because I respect anybody who tries, but this might be too steep of a learning curve for you. not knowing how to format bars to fit on beat is like, 80% of the work. lol. but to answer the question, always write with the idea in mind that you're gonna say it on beat. If you don't have that automatically in your brain, you are either trolling, or you don't have a good internal rhythm or are so new to the concept of writing that basic principals aren't even developed. if its any of the last 2, I suggest doing something more constructive with your energy and youth. this rabbit hole will only leave you empty.

[u/SoftFix2052 → u/Juiceb0ckz]

Bro i just started a week ago

[u/edgyallcapsname → u/SoftFix2052]

Ignore the other guy telling you its unteachable. Its not. No one approaches a violin and says "you got it or you dont" your first time practicing it.

First you need to understand where to deliver. For a beginner, land your ending rhyme on a snare. If you cant isolate a snare sound, look up production videos of building drums in fl studio. Youll see how kicks are placed, snares, and your ears begin to see that naturally.

Fuck a metronome and anyone telling you to count beats. Your only measurement is space between snares. More syllables=faster rap because they have to fit in the snares. Less syllables, slower flow and delivery often "smoother".

Now this is where ppl say rap is poetry. Look up poetry meters.

Versace, versace, versace. The flow is triplet but if you wrote thinking 9 syllables, youll be in that style of flow.

Notice if you add 1 syllable it becomes ten? But feels entirely different? Youre in a classic story telling meter. Lil Wayne style syllables would be two syllables, three syllables. Four syllables, three the next is also a good flow.

If your flows arent fitting a beat, you simply tweak it by adding a syllable or subtracting.

Learn vowel sounds are more important than actual rhymes. Learn where consonants feel in your mouth. If you want percussive style spitting, you want your tongue repeatedly hitting same parts creating another layer of rhythm.

I have a couple tiktok breakdowns of it, DM me and ill send them through and answer any questions you have. Its never too late to start. I started producing in 20s and 5 years later i was being tutored by one of the most heavily sampled tracks on donuts' producer. Ive been heard by SID reynolds and offered a job (shitty trap to steal your music, low pay, super high cost of living relocation, not allowed release your music. Its why Mario Judah disappeared. He accepted one of these "beat lab" deals major producers use to make beats they can take credit for. So while im mainly a producer, i only got into it to learn rapping better but ended up being a natural and loving it. So im able to see through the lens of both rapper and producer, giving me a solid basis for understanding what makes a song tick from the using K and hard G sounds to frequency cutting and boosting and everywhere in between and plenty beyond

[u/SoftFix2052 → u/edgyallcapsname]

Thanks buddy for your advice, i understood this guy is also making me aware but ig in a slightly wrong way its like if a person has to start trekking mountain and he asks for good techniques and u tell him your legs aren't strong enough otherwise u would have already known this

[u/Juiceb0ckz → u/SoftFix2052]

you've heard hiphop before, right? How do you think they get their words to match up with the beat? I don't mean to sound harsh. I apologize. but sometimes the hard truth needs to be said. you came to reddit of all places to ask this question. any music maker or music listener instantly understands that words have to match with the beat if you wanna make music (unless artistically intentional). its a rhythmic pattern. it's not something that can just be taught. if you didn't develop it at a young age, it gets harder to comprehend and practice the older you get. I went through this with someone who wanted to be my prodigy. If you truly want to take this serious and be good, it requires a lot of hard work, harder than average because the lack of rhythm puts you at a disadvantage. the success rate of even getting passed that point alone is slim, but then add in creating and developing your sound. if you just want to just make some shit, then you dont need reddit to tell you what to do.

[u/Financial-Koala6995 → u/Juiceb0ckz]

Hearing that a verse is on beat and knowing how to write one are different skills. Asking how to do it after a week doesn't establish that someone lacks rhythm.

[u/Juiceb0ckz → u/Financial-Koala6995]

they are both synonymous though. if you wanna flip burgers but never flipped a burger before, you're gonna look at other burgers to see how its done. you're not gonna ask someone how to do it. because flipping a burger is mad easy... and if it itsn't easy for you, then thats a sign that flipping burgers isn't your thing.

[u/edgyallcapsname → u/Juiceb0ckz]

Thats so dumb.

Any instrument you seek a tutor. Singers get vocal coachers. Songwriters learn poetry. And burger flippers are taught fully by others whether you think so or not (experience as a head chef of a decent restaurant down to fast food.... your metaphor isnt there and im becoming intrigued by how your raps hold to your confidence. Youve clearly never worked in food and speak with conviction. Does that conviction reflect in your raps?)

[u/Juiceb0ckz → u/edgyallcapsname]

What rapper learned to rap by seeking a tutor? The point is ,nobody has to teach you to flip a burger for you to know how to flip a burger. if you've grown to understand what a burger is but still need help learning how to flip one, it's a telltale sign that you have a disadvantage. it's going to take twice the work just to get to the starting line, let alone hang in the race.

[u/edgyallcapsname → u/Juiceb0ckz]

Dude check yourself. You truly dont think rap has a blueprint? Just because you can make something sound good, and theres plenty of succesful prodigy artists who blew up sharing this same bad information,doesnt mean theres not a science. If someone picks up a guitar the first time you dont go "lmao sorry have u ever heard a guitar song". Theres an actual science to a rap flow. Just because you dont know it doesnt mean its not there.

Youre being extremely condescending to someone looking to learn something new. Why the confidence in your belittling reply, when you dont have a basic knowledge yourself? If you want some, refer to my reply to OP where he responded to you

[u/Juiceb0ckz → u/edgyallcapsname]

you're missing the point. I'm sorry you feel effected by my statement but it doesn't make what I said any less true. You're just stating parallel facts that don't really respond to me. rap does have a blueprint. and the blueprint has always been consumed naturally by just listening to it, being around it. It's cultural. getting bars to fit on beat is a fundamental mechanism that you kind of just pick up by listening to rap. and if you had to learn that sort of thing then learning to play an instrument would benefit more than just jumping into writing bars. the point still stands, its not meant to belittle, its meant to put the uncomfortable truth in the forefront so that they aren't wasting time.. if they can look past this and continue then they will be just fine. but this is the threshold of the inevitable hang-up they clearly will have. hence the post.