Editing Rapping (section)

===Rap notation and flow diagrams===
The standard form of rap notation is the flow diagram, where rappers line-up their lyrics underneath "beat numbers".{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=67}} Different rappers have slightly different forms of flow diagram that they use: [[Del the Funky Homosapien]] says, "I'm just writing out the rhythm of the flow, basically. Even if it's just slashes to represent the beats, that's enough to give me a visual path.",{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=68}} [[Vinnie Paz]] states, "I've created my own sort of writing technique, like little marks and asterisks to show like a pause or emphasis on words in certain places.",{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=67}} and [[Aesop Rock]] says, "I have a system of maybe 10 little symbols that I use on paper that tell me to do something when I'm recording."{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=67}}

Hip-hop scholars also make use of the same flow diagrams: the books ''How to Rap'' and ''How to Rap 2'' use the diagrams to explain rap's triplets, flams, rests, rhyme schemes, runs of rhyme, and breaking rhyme patterns, among other techniques.<ref name="Edwards, Paul 2013 p 2"/> Similar systems are used by PhD [[musicologists]] Adam Krims in his book ''Rap Music and the Poetics of Identity''{{sfn|Krims|2001|pp=59–60}} and Kyle Adams in his academic work on flow.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.09.15.5/mto.09.15.5.adams.html |title=MTO 15.5: Adams, Flow in Rap Music |journal=Music Theory Online |date=October 2009 |volume=15 |issue=5 |publisher=Mtosmt.org |access-date=August 25, 2014 |last1=Adams |first1=Kyle |doi=10.30535/mto.15.5.1 |doi-access=free |archive-date=October 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014003755/http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.09.15.5/mto.09.15.5.adams.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Because rap revolves around a strong 4/4 beat,{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=69}} with certain syllables said in time to the beat, all the notational systems have a similar structure: they all have the same 4 beat numbers at the top of the diagram, so that syllables can be written in-line with the beat numbers.{{sfn|Edwards|2009|p=69}} This allows devices such as rests, "lazy tails", flams, and other rhythmic techniques to be shown, as well as illustrating where different rhyming words fall in relation to the music.<ref name="Edwards, Paul 2013 p 2"/>