Do you hate the sound of your voice? The good news is your not alone because most people do. And even better news is you can drastically improve it in a short amount of time. The tone of your voice and your words communicate 45% of your message. To break it down further 38% is conveyed by tone of voice, 7% through your words and up until now we have focused mainly optimizing that small seven percent. The reason why good vocal control important is because no matter how good your words are, if you don’t have a great voice they matter far less. This technique allows you to have optimal control of flow and emotion so even if you have crappy bars, at least they’ll sound professional. Small improvements in delivery are more noticeable than big gains in bars.
RAPPING IN A GROUP OR WITH A FRIEND CREATES A CONTAGIOUS ATMOSPHERE, ELEVATING BOTH PARTIES BARS...
Vocal control consists of many components including larynx and tongue position. We’re going to give you exercises you can do to optimize each component. Before we begin you should record yourself reading the following passage twice. Once aloud in your “rap voice” at your normal pace, and once in your normal voice at your normal pace. After you’ve done this end the recording.
Some potential problems:
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Too Nasally
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Too Gravelly
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Too Breathy
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Too Brassy
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Too Husky
USE A PASSED WORD AS A TOPIC INSTEAD OF JUST RHYMING IT. THE AUDIENCE WILL ACTUALLY BE HELPING YOU BECAUSE NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT TOPIC SELECTION...
"Whoa, quite a few of those apply to me, how do I fix that?" Well the first tip is a consistent air stream, and breath support mentioned in Delivery I. This will solve breathiness. The second tip is if you found your voice nasally, brassy, gravelly or husky, then you might have a high larynx. A high larynx means that your throat is partially blocked and results in poor vocal control. However, its very easy to correct the position of the larynx quickly. First, place hand on Adams apple. Then do your best Patrick Starfish/Yogi Bear imitation (make sure the larynx goes down NOT UP). The larynx has a really good memory so if you practice speaking this way a few minutes everyday, over time your larynx will get used to being in this lower position. This in turn will allow you to unblock your throat. The last tip we have about helps specifically with the nasally sound. Practice doing it the second way:
BREATHE SUPPORT NOT ONLY HELPS WITH FREESTYLING BUT ALSO SINGING, RUNNING, WOODWIND INSTRUMENTS, AND ANY FORM OF CARDIO STAMINA...
So what about the other 55% of communication. Well most of that is through body language, the universal language. You always want to portray confidence while rapping, even if you don't actually feel that way. Why, you might ask? Its because ever time you open your mouth to freestyle and people are around, its a performance. Whether you like it or not, people will judge you, and your abilities so you always want to leave them with the best possible impression.
There are a couple of ways to emit confidence via body language as you perform. The first and the best is through movement. Not everyone is a good dancer but that's okay because you don't have to be. You just need a sense of rhythm, which you all have if you've gotten this far. Your feet, head, and arm movements should either reflect your flow or the beat. You should never be standing still. Even if you just nodding your head to the beat is better than doing nothing.
The second thing you should pay attention two is your body position.
You want to be the guy on the far right. From left to right, the first looks stiff, the second is closed off, the third is shy or timid, the fourth is just awkward, and the last is confident. As a general rule, the more you open up your body, the more open and confident you seem.
VOLUME IS ALSO A HUGE PART IN PORTRAYING CONFIDENCE AND TONE ALONE CAN MAKE YOUR JOKES FUNNIER...
The last way to emit confidence is through engagement. Just the act of addressing your audience directly, shattering the fourth wall, will give the impression that you know what you're doing.
The best way to practice confidence through bodily awareness is simply to rap in a mirror. Critic yourself until you really do look confident. Also perform often and frequently. Getting comfortable with rapping in front of people is crucial to becoming a good performer.