Beatboxing

**Beatboxing** can be loosely defined as the art of imitating drum pads and other musical sounds using only the human mouth, throat, tongue, and other parts of the vocal tract.

## History

### Origins

Techniques similar to beatboxing have been present in many American musical genres since the 19th century, such as early rural music, both black and white, religious songs, blues, ragtime, vaudeville, and hokum. Examples include the Appalachian technique of eefing and the blues song *Bye bye bird* by Sonny Boy Williamson II.

Additional influences may perhaps include forms of African traditional music, in which performers utilize their bodies (e.g., by clapping or stomping) as percussion instruments and produce sounds with their mouths by breathing loudly in and out, a technique used in beatboxing today.

> Vocal percussion [is], "the imitation or approximation of percussion instruments," and beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion but can be described as, "music with your mouth... beatboxing is making and *being* the music, not just rhythm." ...Beatboxing is both the rhythm — predominantely through the bass and snare drums as well as hi-hat — while also incorporating various sound effects such as DJ scratching, synthesizers, and bass lines. Using the mouth, lips, tongue, and voice to make music is thus the beatboxer's equivalent to a pianist's fingers and arms.
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Many well-known performers used vocal percussion occasionally, even though this was not directly connected to the cultural tradition that came to be known as beatboxing. Paul McCartney's "That Would Be Something" (1969) includes vocal percussion. Pink Floyd's "Pow R. Toc H." (1967) also includes vocal percussion performed by the group's lead vocalist, Syd Barrett. Jazz singers Bobby McFerrin and Al Jarreau were very well known for their vocal styles and techniques, which have had great impact on techniques beatboxers use today. Michael Jackson was known to record himself beatboxing on a dictation tape recorder as a demo and scratch recording to compose several of his songs, including "Billie Jean", "The Girl Is Mine", and others. Gert Fröbe, a German actor most widely known for playing Auric Goldfinger in the James Bond film *Goldfinger*, "beatboxes" as Colonel Manfred von Holstein (simultaneously vocalizing horned and percussive instruments) in *Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines*, a 1965 British comedy film.

### Contribution to hip-hop

The term "beatboxing" is derived from the mimicry of early drum machines, then known as beatboxes, particularly the Roland TR-808. The term "beatbox" was used to refer to earlier Roland drum machines such as the TR-55 and CR-78 in the 1970s. They were followed by the TR-808, released in 1980, which became central to hip hop music and electronic dance music. It is the TR-808 that human beatboxing is largely modeled after.

"Human beatboxing" in hip-hop originated in the 1980s. Its early pioneers include Doug E. Fresh, the self-proclaimed first "human beatbox"; Swifty, the first to implement the inhale sound technique; Buffy, who helped perfect many beatboxing techniques; and Wise, who contributed significantly to beat boxing's proliferation. Wise inspired an entire new fan base of human beatboxers with his human turntable technique. Other pioneers of beatboxing include Rahzel, well known for his realistic robotic sounds and for his ability to sing and beatbox simultaneously; Scratch, a beatboxer and musician well known for further revolutionizing the use of vocal scratching in beatboxing; and Kenny Muhammad, also known as The Human Orchestra, a beatboxer known for his technicality and outstanding rhythmic precision, who pioneered the inward k snare, a beatbox technique that imitates a snare drum by breathing inward.

### Modern beatboxing

The Internet has played a large part in the popularity of modern beatboxing. Alex Tew (aka A-Plus) started the first online community of beatboxers in 2000 under the banner of HUMANBEATBOX.COM. An early example of modern beatboxing was seen in the 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film *My Sassy Girl*. In 2001, Gavin Tyte, a member of this community created the world's first tutorials and video tutorials on beatboxing. In 2003, the community held the world's first Human Beatbox Convention in London featuring beatbox artists from all over the world.

Beatboxing's current popularity is due in part to releases from artists such as Rahzel, RoxorLoops, Reeps One, and Alem. In the Pacific, Jason Tom perpetuates the art of beatboxing through blogging, mathematics and motivational speaking in Honolulu, the westernmost and southernmost major U.S. city of the 50th U.S. state of Hawaii.

Sometimes, modern beatboxers will use their hand or another part of their body to extend the spectrum of sound effects and rhythm. Some have developed a technique that involves blowing and sucking air around their fingers to produce a very realistic record scratching noise, which is commonly known as the "crab scratch." Another hand technique includes the "throat tap," which involves beatboxers tapping their fingers against their throats as they throat sing or hum. Beatboxers these days can produce up to 8 different sounds at the same time.

Today there is an increase in the variety in which we see beatboxing throughout musical culture. People have gone as far as adding beatboxing in with different instruments to create a completely different sound unlike any other. Artist Greg Pattillo goes as far as adding in beatboxing while playing the flute to very iconic songs. Beatbox has become modernized and has even been seen in popular movies such as *Pitch Perfect* and *Pitch Perfect 2*. These movies showcase classical songs performed with a cappella covers in which all of the beats to the songs are done completely using the idea and technique of beatboxing to complete the sound capable to imitate the original song.

## References

1. ↑ Sherman, Phillip (2015). "Introduction". *Boots and cats!: Beatboxing from a pedagogical perspective* (M.A.). Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Department of Music Education. p. 3. Retrieved 2 February 2019. ([1]) Cites: McDonald, Brody (2012). *A Cappella Pop*, p.81, Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Music, ISBN 9780739095072; who quotes Jake Moulton (of The House Jacks and Mosaic).
2. ↑ Michael Jackson BeatBoxing. *YouTube* (2008-03-27). Jackson beatboxes while explaining how he composed "Tabloid Junkie", "The Girl Is Mine", "Who Is It", "Billie Jean", and "Streetwalker" (song on the *Bad* album 2001 Special Edition)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 HISTORY OF BEATBOX: OLD SCHOOL, Human Beatbox
4. ↑ Doug E. Fresh. *MTV Artists*.
5. ↑ Darren Buffy Robinson | HUMAN BEATBOX (en-US).
6. ↑ Hawai‘i’s Human Beatbox. *University of Hawaiʻi Foundation Office of Alumni Relations* (19 October 2018). Retrieved on October 31, 2019.
7. ↑ Kapiʻolani CC alum stays on beat spreading message of perseverance. *University of Hawaiʻi News* (December 13, 2018). Retrieved on October 31, 2019.
8. ↑ Garfield, J. *Breath Control: The History Of The Human Beat Box*. 2002. *A documentary on the history of the art form, including interviews with Doug E. Fresh, Emanon, Biz Markie, Marie Daulne of Zap Mama, Kyle Faustino, and others.*