Digital @ The Arts Unit Creative Classes
Beats and rhymes
Write and perform a rap or slam poem
Student drama and public speaking resource developed by The Arts Unit
Years 7 to 10 drama and public speaking
What will I learn?
You will:
warm up your voice
explore examples of slam poetry and rap in performance
devise a slam poem or rap
perform to communicate with others.
Welcome to the class
Duration: 00:25Before you begin
You'll need:
a clear space to move in
comfortable clothing that allow you to move freely
your logbook to record ideas and take notes
a device to record your voice and your final performance.
- Warm up
Warm up your vocal chords!
The voice is one of the most important instruments a performer has. It is very important to warm up your voice before doing any performance.
The following exercises will help you warm up your voice and focus on the skills of articulation, projection and delivery.
Articulation
Articulation describes how clearly you speak in order to be understood. To articulate well, you need to use the muscles in the mouth, tongue and throat to create sounds.
Tongue twisters are a great way to limber up your tongue and vocal chords.
Practise saying each of the following tongue twisters slowly. Make sure you say all of the sounds in the words.
Tongue twisters:
"A library littered with literary literature."
"Four fat friars frying fat, flat fish."
"Six thick thistle sticks."
"A proper cup of coffee in a proper coffee cup."
"Disciplined dissidents this is the difference."
Projection
Projection describes the volume of your voice and how clearly you can be heard without having to shout.
Follow these steps to practise your projection skills:
Take a breath. Open your mouth as big as you can and say “aahhh”. Say it as long and loudly as you can, but don’t strain your voice.
Now close your lips but keep your teeth slightly apart and say "mmmmm". You should feel some tingling in your head, face and nose.
Now put the palm of your hand close (but not on) your mouth. Take a deep breath and say “aahhh”. Notice the vibration you feel in your throat and also in your hand.
How far away can you move your hand and still feel the vibrations by pushing out your voice and not straining?
Delivery
Delivery describes how expressive your voice is and how interesting it is to listen to. Notice how much you can communicate by the way you use your voice in the following activity.
Talk to an invisible partner for 30 seconds using only the words "cup and saucer". As you do this, use your voice, face and body so it appears as though you are:
asking directions to a park
giving an order to a soldier
apologising for forgetting your invisible partner’s birthday
telling a joke.
Perform one of these to someone and see if they can understand what you were trying to say.
2. Explore
Explore two popular styles of performance poetry: slam poetry and rap. They are both powerful ways to communicate a message.
In slam poetry and rap, the articulation, projection and delivery of the words are important to communicate ideas and entertain an audience.
Slam poetry
'Slam poetry' is poetry that is written to be performed.
Watch the slam poetry performance from the 2016 Multicultural Playwright Program.
Multicultural Playwright Program 2016 – Slam poetry example
Duration: 01:19Rap
Rap (this stands for rhythm and poetry) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates rhyme, rhythmic speech and street language.
Watch the rap performance from the 2016 Multicultural Playwright Program.
Multicultural Playwright Program 2016 – Rap example
Duration: 04:10Have a go
Listen closely to Alexander Hamilton's rap song, performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Notice how he emphasises certain words. He articulates clearly, uses projection and delivery to enhance his performance.
Alexander Hamilton's Rap Song
Duration: 04:27Try rapping this verse from the musical 'Hamilton'.
Emphasise the rhythm of the underlined words.
Hint: take a breath and a beat at the end of each line.
Hamilton rap excerpt:
"Every action has an equal opposite reaction
Thanks to Hamilton, our cabinet’s fractured into factions
Try not to crack under the stress, we’re breaking down like fractions
We smack each other in the press and we don’t print retractions."
3. Devise
Devising your own performance
Using both slam poetry and rap, students from the Multicultural Playwright Program delivered powerful, emotional and personal messages using rhythm and verse to express their ideas to an audience.
Now it's your turn!
Write 16 lines of your own slam poem or rap based on your experiences and feelings.
Use the topic 'Life is what you make it', or you can choose to create your own topic.
Step 1 – Brainstorm
Brainstorm your topic. Write down every thought, emotion and idea that you have about the topic.
This can be added to at any time and the list will become your inspiration.
Step 2 – The hook
If you are rapping, write the chorus (or the 'hook') first. This should capture the theme of the rap and contain the message. The chorus also establishes the rhythm and flow of the finished rap.
Step 3 Writing verse
Write lines of verse using your brainstormed ideas.
Some things to keep in mind:
You have to maintain a rhythm (and if you are rapping, follow a beat).
Rhyming the sound of the words at the end of lines is a good technique.
The rhymes don’t have to be exact.
Try reading the lyrics out loud to make sure you are following a beat.
If you are rapping, a backing beat can help when you are devising verses. You might like to use a 'dababy' or 'freestyle' type beat (see videos).
'Dababy' type beat
Duration: 02:01'Freestyle' type beat
Duration: 03:51Step 4: Finishing touches
Be personal and express your ideas. Keep your message and audience in mind.
Organise your lines and then group them into verses.
Practise your slam poetry or rap (to a beat if necessary) to check it sounds right.
4. Perform
Practise reading your slam poem or rap aloud several times.
Make sure your meaning is clear through your delivery. Also ensure that you can pronounce the words with clear articulation.
Memorise your lines so that you can keep the flow and rhythm, especially if you are rapping.
Try saying them fast and slow so you can see what better suits your style.
Film yourself performing your slam poem or rap.
Remember that you need to incorporate your visual style as well as your vocal style in order to get the audience’s attention.
Write a review of your performance in your logbook or journal.
What did you do well? What do you need to work on to improve?
Congratulations! You have completed this Digital @ The Arts Unit Creative Class.
You are on the way to losing yourself in the music, the moment and if you don’t know, now you know.
Drop the mic!
