Add something new to your vocal improvs!
When was the last time you were a true beginner at something? When you started right at the beginning, being ‘wrong’ and making all kinds of beginner mistakes? Whether it’s pottery or a new language, using a looper or video editing, diving into a new musical genre or technique or a new instrument, when was the last time for you?
We’re all aware that we need to learn new things throughout our life to keep our brains and bodies active, but if we’re honest, we’re probably more comfortable just walking along the edges of what we already know and extending that just enough to stretch but not break—which is all well and good and important. It IS easier and very common, in our improv world, to find some riffs, or scale patterns or keys or progressions that we we return to over and over and to stick with them, but it doesn’t help us grow.
At Music for People workshops we have always experimented with vocal sounds, with Solkattu (ta-ka-di-na, as an example) and with different kinds of ‘mouth music.’ We’ve been amazed at Bobby McFerrin, at the sounds from Pentatonix and other a cappella groups who use vocal percussion in some ways. How many of us have then decided to dig in a little and learn to better use our voice in new ways? Might we suggest adding a little beatboxing to your musical menu?
Bill of Musical Rights #4:
The human voice is the most natural and powerful vehicle for musical self-expression. The differences in our voices add richness and depth to music.
Beatboxing emerged during the early Hip Hop years when drum machines—the Roland TR 808 in particular— were prohibitively expensive. Musicians used their voice to imitate the sounds of the drum kits. While hip hop in the 70s and 80s was rooted in North America, there were also vocal techniques from the blues and African music.
Is it Beatboxing or Vocal Percussion?
Beatboxing is a style of vocal percussion, but vocal percussion is broader—and is not beatboxing. Beatboxing is a category within vocal percussion; that is, imitating a drum kit or other percussion instruments. Although beatboxing’s base is in hip hop, like all genres, it has adapted, evolved and expanded. It is no longer ‘simply’ imitating the drum kit.
Now that we have that sorted…
The World Beatbox Championship will be held in Poland this year. More recently, though, The Great North Beatbox Festival took place in Toronto, hosted by Scott Jackson, a former Canadian Beatbox Champion who was first discovered at Canada’s Got Talent. The winner at this year’s event was DEN @denbeatbox, who has been at the top of the game for a few years now and will compete in Poland. DEN can show us what beatboxing can be. (Follow @denbeatbox on IG and on Spotify and Apple.)
These two masters, DEN and Scott Jackson, can help us learn a new thing! Scott Jackson is really good at helping anyone (he’s done a lot of kids shows and he shows up at street festivals) start out with the basics. And by basics, we mean THREE sounds to begin. THREE.
Here’s Scott Jackson at the Showcase of the Great Beat Box Battle in 2025. As you’ll see, showmanship is part of the performance. But before you break your face attempting some of his sounds, check out the how-tos in the TRY THIS AT HOME section.
We’re also throwing in Tom Thum because his TED Talk is great. (Check out his YouTube channel.)
Might there be a little beatboxing at Art of Improvisation?
- David Darling used to say, “I don’t know all the notes, but the ones I know, I know really well.”
- Also, Quality over Quantity!
- Above all else, have some fun!
TRY THIS AT HOME
- At 14:40 in this Scott Jackson video, learn the three basic sounds of beatboxing. Scott makes it super easy to begin. Then… practice.