Hip-Hop - Writing Bars and Choruses with Schemes (1 Hour)

This course is a special collaboration with Fifth Element Education, a collective of hip-hop artists and educators dedicated to providing workshops and clinics for school districts and universities. Their mission is to inspire, create, and elevate hip-hop culture. 

Course Description

Hip-Hop - Writing Bars and Choruses with Schemes is a 1-hour course designed for teachers to learn how to engage in lyric writing with students. Dr. Cooper teams up with hip-hop artist SoSoon to teach you about "schemes" as a way to write clever lyrics, learn basic exercises to find flow and rhyme scheme, and get tips for engaging students in rapping and performing choruses in the classroom. A PDF of ideas for getting students started with recording and writing bars will be available for download and can be used as a classroom handout.

Course Objectives

During the course, you will:

• Learn how to use scheming (themes) for writing bars.
• Learn tips for developing rhyme schemes.
• Learn rhythm exercises to develop flow.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Write lyrics and perform them over a beat.
• Write a chorus that could be performed by a group of students.
• Teach their own students the basics of writing lyrics and choruses in hip-hop.

Requirements for Modules

In order to receive a Certificate of Completion and 1 hour for this course, you will need to:

• Complete 2 Learning Modules.
• Take 1 multiple choice quiz (Module 2).
• Write and submit a short verse or chorus based on a scheme.