Scratching... No Band Aids Necesssary

Scratching... No Bands Aids Necessary

Whether you are a fanatic of hip-hop culture or just familiar with it enough to call yourself a casual fan, chances are you have heard what scratching sounds like. 

A technique used by DJ's in the art of turntablism, the "scratch" is where a DJ manipulates the musical content on a song by dragging his or her hand across the record. 

The sound which was popularized through hip-hop music, is the result of the DJ pushing and pulling the record forward and backward.

Here is an example of what scratching is:

DJ Killa Jewel - Scratchin' on Battle Records

Video courtesy of vson11's channel

With respect to vocal percussion, scratching for beatboxers is the manipulation of sound by way of an individual's voice, lips and tongue (with the occasional aid of finger manipulation).

Scratching provides a variety for beatboxers looking to add something different to their routines. Apart from just sounding "cool" adding a scratch sound can add something unique to a beatboxer's repertoire.

Below I direct you to two videos of techniques which many beatboxers use in their routines...

The Vocal Scratch

The sound in visual form is represented by the word: Ibidi

That's right you read that correctly, IBIDI... it may sound ridiculous but I promise it will make more sense once you watch the tutorial.

Video courtesy of 80Fitz

The Chewy Scratch

Video Courtesy of MonkeySee

Both of these sounds are beginner level to intermediate level techniques; I will be providing a deeper look into more advanced techniques which I have learned over the years in future weeks.

Thanks for reading this week's post, I hope you enjoy!

If Your Mother Only Knew...

Rahzel: The Godfather of Noise

A former member of the musical group The Roots, Rahzel "is an American musican, beatboxer and rapper" who hails from the city where hip-hop's origins began; New York City.

While Rahzel's accomplishments contributed to a thriving hip-hop movement of the early 90's, there is one which remains as one of the most influential in the art form's history; the ability to sing (and/or rap) while beatboxing.

Rahzel - "If Your Mother Only Knew"

Video courtesy of Sean Thompson

What was originally a cover of Aaliyah's If Your Girl Only Knew, Rahzel's beatbox version of the late artist's popular hit demonstrated beatbox's creative new direction. The song was a hidden track on his album Make the Music 2000. 

Within the beatbox community, the song did more than grasp the attention of hip-hop fans; it served as the medium through which beatbox would gain a more respectable identity.

Aaliyah - If Your Girl Only Knew

Video courtesy of AaliyahVideoHD

In addition to this major contribution, Rahzel's reputation and musical resume extends beyond solo work and his affiliation with The Roots. Another song which can be found on his same solo album, Man vs. Machine is a song where Rahzel teamed up with another legendary and contemporary vocal percussionist, Kenny Muhammad.

The song, which is called "Man vs. Machine" has both Kenny Muhammad and Rahzel going up against a DJ Skribble and DJ Slinky. Here is their audio performance...

Man vs. Machine

Breathing... Kind of Important...

Breathing... Kind of Important...

Now having learned the basics...Don't remember? No worries!

Let's refresh...

Crash Course

1. B - Kick drum
2. T // ts - Cymbals & Hi-hats
3. K - Snare

Rudimentary Exercise

1. Boots Cats
2. B oo ts C a ts
3. b ts k ts // b ts k ts // etc.

** For a more detailed analysis, you can find that post here! **

Breathing

Just as breathing is important in our every day lives... ("duh?...")... breathing is a crucial element to beatboxing. For beginners and novices, finding a consistent supply of oxygen can be one of the most difficult tasks required of a vocal percussionist. 

Luckily for new and aspiring beatboxers, there are techniques which incorporate breathing and allow the percussionist to carry on without having to stop for fear of suffering a collapsed lung.

Techniques

Below, I have compiled a variety of techniques (both beginner and advanced) which will hopefully serve to benefit those individuals seeking help.

The Inward "K-Snare"

Video courtesy of The Orthobox
** If you are looking for more advanced techniques & tutorials, be sure to subscribe to his page! **

The Basic Breath In

Video Courtesy of Urban Method

The Inward Drag - Advanced

Reeps One's "Inward Drag"

Video courtesy of Swissbeatbox

"Inward Drag" Tutorial presented by The Orthobox

Video courtesy of The Orthobox

Pioneers Continued... The 90's

Pioneers Continued... Kenny Muhammad

Kenny Muhammad

Better known as "The Human Orchestra", Kenny Muhammad continues to serve as one of beatbox's most iconic and influential contributors to this day.

Muhammad, who also goes by the name of 'Kenny X', is one of the first musicians in beatbox history to "modernize" the art form. His style incorporated rhythmic replications not only of percussive instruments, but demonstrated stylistic influences derivative of "djing" and turntablism. 

He is one of the first artists to replicate what would seemingly appear to be an effortless performance, by layering electronic sound effects over his percussive rhythms. 

Two of the techniques he is widely credited for are:

1. "The Vocal Scratch"

2. "The Wind Technique"

In the same manner that beatboxers and vocal percussionists would imitate percussive sounds, Muhammad would mimic and replicate the sounds credited and popularized by DJ's in the 90's. The sounds replicated would be that of the vinyl scratch, or in this case, the vocal scratch. 

The Wind Technique is a routine which Muhammad developed himself and which remains as one of the staple techniques in beatbox and hip-hop culture.

"The Human Orchestra"

Video courtesy of TEIMULTIMEDIA

"The Wind Technique"

Video courtesy of RebornKorean

Early Influences: The 80's

Early Influences: The 80's

Artwork designed by Creature (Tyler Sing)

What is beatbox?

As defined by Wikipedia, "beatboxing, also known as beat boxing or b-boxing, is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum beats using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice."

Although beatboxing is non-genre specific, it shares a rich history deeply rooted in hip-hop culture. Giving birth to the original elements (emceeing, turntablism, b-boying and graffiti art), hip-hop was widely considered a sub-cultural movement in the early 1970's.

Beatboxing began capturing national interest and started gaining popularity within the world of hip-hop in the early 80's. During this time, both amateur and professional artists alike were dabbling in the art form; however, with regards to its connected history in hip-hop culture, the mimicry of percussive sounds was just considered a novelty.

It wasn't until Doug E. Fresh, self-proclaimed as the first "human beatbox", released the song "La Di Da Di" and mesmerized crowds with his trademark sound the "click roll" that beatboxing transcended its novelty status and permeated into the realm of hip-hop musicianship.

Doug E. Fresh

The "Clicks" aka the modern "Click Roll"

Sound: 0:52
Video courtesy of realhiphop3000

Today, the title of "Human Beatbox" is widely accepted as a common handle for anyone who practices and participates in vocal percussion; however, during the 80's there were disputes as to who held the title as the art form's first, or original.

Even though Doug E. Fresh had claimed the title for himself, there was another beatboxer around that time who was gaining a lot attention for his percussive talents. Buff Love (aka Darren Robinson) of the hip-hop group called The Fat Boys, was also an early influence who served as a pioneer to the history of beatbox.

Like that of his contemporary, Doug E. Fresh, Love incorporated vocal percussion into his performances. Despite their differences competing for beatbox supremacy, the contributions of both individuals will forever be remembered as key factors which helped shape what beatbox is today.

Buff Love - The Fat Boys

"The Human Beatbox"

Video courtesy of LONGLIVEROCKTHEWHO

Rudimentary Knowledge: The Basics

Rudimentary Knowledge: The Basics

One of the most wonderful things about the English language is that its alphabet lends itself to the art of beatbox! The sounds which are associated with the individual letters can be replicated by the human mouth to create the sounds which are frequently associated with vocal percussion. Everyone has to start somewhere. Although basic, they serve the necessary function to provide novices and beginners with a foundation to build upon.

Here are the sounds as they are represented in written form!

The Basics

The Kickdrum

Letter: B or b
Sound: [ buh ]

The "K" Snare

Letter: K
Sound: [ kuh ] or [ keh ]

Hi-Hats // Cymbals

Letter(s): "t" - open // "ts" - closed
Sound: [ ti ] or [ ts ]

Exercise

Now that we have established the sounds, it is time to incorporate them into a working exercise. For those individuals who are somewhat acquainted with the rudimentary sounds and techniques, the words "boots" and "cats" may represent a familiar exercise; however, for those who are new to the art form it may represent a foreign concept.

The reason why "boots" and "cats" is a good starting point for any beginner, is because it incorporates all of the basic sounds in a patterned sequence.

Steps:

1. Start by saying the words "boots" & "cats"
• boots, cats
2. Syncopate the words in 4/4 time
• one & two & three & four &...
3. Once comfortable, (un)emphasize the "oo" and the "a" in their respective words
• b oo ts, c a ts
4. Now, you're only left with "b ts" and "c ts" or in this case, "k ts"
• b ts k ts // b ts k ts // b ts k ts // ... etc.

Videos - Tutorials

Because not everyone is a visual learner, here are a few videos that might help from an auditory perspective.

Fat Tony

Video courtesy of Fat Tony

For more tutorials, be sure to check out his channel by clicking on the link above!

The Groovy Newts

Video courtesy of thegroovynewts

Be sure to check out her channel by clicking on the link above!

What is Beatbox.On.Lock?

Purpose:

Michael Johnson performing at the Fall club fair.
Photo courtesy of Emily Brown

While the creation of this blog and its requirements serve an academic purpose, I view this assignment as an opportunity for me to further develop a project which I started over a year ago.

The project to which I am referring is the SRU Beatbox Society (SRUBS).
In October 2014, SRU Beatbox Society was officially recognized by the university as a student-run organization. In creating the beatbox society, my goal started as an opportunity to provide Slippery Rock's students with an alternative to special interest clubs here on campus; however, my objective now is to provide the students with an experience where they can, hopefully, learn something new about themselves.  

As children, we're often told to follow our dreams... that we are fully capable of being anything we want to be and achieving anything we want to achieve.  However, as we get older reality begins to sink in and the process in order to achieve those dreams gradually becomes more difficult. Most people abandon their dreams because they fail to recognize the potential within themselves - that they are, in fact, more capable than they actually believe.

Beatbox and the cultural experience that is associated with the art form is an opportunity to demonstrate this very sentiment - that they are indeed capable of reaching that potential. Beatboxing is an activity just strange enough, that if people can convince themselves that they are capable of doing it (which everyone is!) then they should be able to apply that same mindset to other worldly experiences. 

My purpose for this blog, in association with my responsibility as member of the beatbox society, is to not only share with my readers a different cultural experience but also to inspire and encourage others. 

What to expect?:

Every week I will be diving into the world of beatbox culture and exploring the different styles and techniques that have helped shape and continue to influence the music world. I will be posting videos and content that are expressive of early and rudimentary techniques, followed by content that illustrate how beatbox is growing within the hip-hop culture.My readers can expect to see a series of historical events which will start with the art form's early influences and will ultimately conclude with how beatbox is being represented today.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy!