KrisBurntRice
New member
If a rap verse usally has 16 to 32 bars and there are 4 beats per meausre then how many 4bpms would i have to make to equally out to one verse
Rap beats and theory
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Pumpthrust
New member
You just answered your own question....16 to 32....based on your vague wording.
KrisBurntRice
New member
So there are 16 meausres in a verse?
Pumpthrust
New member
The problem here is the wording.
A measure is the same thing as a "bar". This is where I think you are confused. As for how many measures(bars) a verse should be, that's entirely up to you. Usually, rap verses are 16 measures(bars)
Bar (music) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Last edited:
bandcoach
Zukatoku - Mod Scientist
pump has the right of it here - bar=measure=bar
2 responses from a recent thread that covers the second part of your question
The powers of 2 "law" is another of those myths that keeps being rehashed to make people stick to a formula; of the old-school composers, perhaps only Bach and his contemporaries adhered to such a rule of thumb, but then Bach was writing a lot of dance oriented music.
Mozart and Beethoven are both known for writing 7 bar and 9 bar melodic phrases as well as other odd-length themes. Only in dance music are we really enslaved to the power of 2 in our melodic, rhythmic and harmonic writing....
as for writing within the power of 2 "law", consider the following thoughts/insights
Given that you are writing a 24 bar length verse, you really have 3 phrases, - this will make it easier to structure your harmonic movement and melodic movement.
Alternatively you could write a 16 bar sentence and then repeat the second half to round it out to 24 bars
Now neither of these answers your question about how long a verse is - because that is like asking how long is a piece of string? long enough to do the job needed is the usual answer......
2 responses from a recent thread that covers the second part of your question
You could also forget about writing to the powers of 2 "law" - 2-4-8-16-32-etc and switch it up to be what it is, 24 bars (16+8) or even 19 bars or whatever it is that works for the flow of your delivery.
The powers of 2 "law" is another of those myths that keeps being rehashed to make people stick to a formula; of the old-school composers, perhaps only Bach and his contemporaries adhered to such a rule of thumb, but then Bach was writing a lot of dance oriented music.
Mozart and Beethoven are both known for writing 7 bar and 9 bar melodic phrases as well as other odd-length themes. Only in dance music are we really enslaved to the power of 2 in our melodic, rhythmic and harmonic writing....
as for writing within the power of 2 "law", consider the following thoughts/insights
- 2 bars is a motif or motive
- 4 bars is a strophe,
- 8 bars is a phrase
- 16 bars is a sentence
- 32 bars is a paragraph.
Given that you are writing a 24 bar length verse, you really have 3 phrases, - this will make it easier to structure your harmonic movement and melodic movement.
Alternatively you could write a 16 bar sentence and then repeat the second half to round it out to 24 bars
Now neither of these answers your question about how long a verse is - because that is like asking how long is a piece of string? long enough to do the job needed is the usual answer......
KrisBurntRice
New member
And thats why all mainstream rap, hiphop, and pop sound the same?
bandcoach
Zukatoku - Mod Scientist
It's about targeting your audience, as with any good marketing campaign. Eventually everything begins to look or sound the same. This is why music videos were such a big thing in the 70's and 80's; they provided a means of differentiating your product (song) from all the others out there.
Think of it as a flock of sheep or a flock of seagulls - they all go where the rest of the flock goes, but actual impetus/push/pull to go in a particular direction is impacted by a few strategically placed leaders who are not afraid to change direction or more importantly change direction to avoid a hazard. Same goes with pop music in its broadest sense - most of it sounds the same until someone branches out and does something subtly different or radically different; then the rest of the flock rushes to catch up with the change in direction.....
Think of it as a flock of sheep or a flock of seagulls - they all go where the rest of the flock goes, but actual impetus/push/pull to go in a particular direction is impacted by a few strategically placed leaders who are not afraid to change direction or more importantly change direction to avoid a hazard. Same goes with pop music in its broadest sense - most of it sounds the same until someone branches out and does something subtly different or radically different; then the rest of the flock rushes to catch up with the change in direction.....