Beatbox Tutorial – Block Click

Posted by on May 18, 2012 No comments
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Introduction

This is one of the easiest sounds to learn. I was doing this when I was 5 years old, and kids use it to imitate chickens clucking.

Video

 

Instructions

  1. Put your tongue against the top of your mouth and suck to build up a little pressure.
  2. Let your tongue drop and hit the bottom of your mouth. This should make the clop sound. The clop is actually made up of two sounds; the most obvious is when your tongue hits the bottom of your mouth, but there’s also a click when your tongue pulls away from the top of your mouth. This information is important with some other sounds, so remember it!

Peace, love, and you just a chicken cheep cheep cheep cheep

-FT

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The Petebox – Future Loops Album Review

Posted by on May 8, 2012 1 comment
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On the 27th of March 2011 the UK beatboxer Petebox uploaded a video to YouTube that garnered worldwide attention. It was a cover of Where Is My Mind by the Pixies, performed by Petebox using only his voice, a guitar, and an RC-50 loop station. The video was well received, even earning praise from the Pixies themselves, and it was easy to see why. The quality was outstanding, the cover was distinctive enough to the original to avoid being uncanny, and the talent involved was obvious and extraordinary.

Why am I telling you this? Well, fast forward several months. Petebox uploads another video announcing the upcoming release of an album that would consist entirely of songs recorded in the same fashion. The twist is that each song would also be filmed in the same fashion and posted to YouTube for free viewing, with the album release date coinciding with the upload date of the final song. This means the album would be available essentially for free, with the option of purchasing the higher quality CD or MP3 downloads.

And that brings us to Future Loops, released on the 11th of April 2012, the nine-track debut album from Petebox. Of all the beatboxers I can think of to release a looping CD Petebox is probably the best candidate. He’s no stranger to looping, what with using it in his shows for several years, and he is easily one of the most underrated and musical beatboxers in the UK. He lives up to this as well; Future Loops is really bloody good.

Don’t let the idea of a beatbox-centric album fool you – a remarkable amount of equipment has been used, and in the description for the YouTube videos (professionally shot and edited by Simon Ellis) Petebox lists the increasingly intricate set-ups used. One of my favorite videos is for Panther Dance where he has roughly half a dozen microphones surrounding him, each with a different purpose! There are rather a lot of effects added to many of the songs, although it’s almost entirely subtle or “simple” effects like reverb. The guitar isn’t used sparingly at all and while it never becomes the main focus I can imagine beatbox purists being a little deterred – any complaints will probably be silenced after a few tracks! The Kaoss Pads can get a little overwhelming at times, reaching a low point rather early on with Crimewave, a track that’s so sodden with effects it’s like listening to an electric marshland.

Everything is professionally filmed so you can see exactly what the process is behind each song.

Crimewave is the only track that stands out as weak, however, so it’s nice to have gotten my criticism of it over and done with.  Highlights on the album for me are Kids, a cover of the MGMT song that is almost impossible to listen to without humming the chorus for a week; Wave, an original song with beautiful guitar riffs and meaningful lyrics; and the tried-and-tested Where Is My Mind, a track I loved so much I would’ve felt cheated had it not made it onto the final album. Fugue in DnB Minor deserves a special mention as well for being the first Kaoss Pad track that I’ve really dug, particularly when Petebox starts his lightning fast drum and bass emceeing. Although these tracks are my personal favorites from the album everything is absolutely steeped in musicality, and you’d be hard pressed to find somebody who wouldn’t agree that there’s serious talent on show.

If I had to give a single complaint it would be that the album is far too short, although I’m not so sure “I want to hear more” counts as criticism. But hey, opinions are opinions, and considering the album is available to listen to for free on YouTube you don’t really have any excuses to not form your own. It’s an absolute solid debut album, and I can’t wait to see what he puts out next.

You can – and should – purchase Future Loops by clicking here, or listen to the entire album for free below.

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Stuff I Hear Living in America as a Brit

Posted by on May 4, 2012 5 comments
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It’s fairly safe to say that Americans are blissfully unaware of cultures outside of the USA. I mean sure, they’ll celebrate St Patrick’s Day by drinking, Mardi Gras by drinking, and Cinco de Mayo by drinking, but do they really understand the meanings behind these festivals? Given that at least one American I’ve asked couldn’t tell me St Patrick was the patron saint of Ireland, probably not.

Being British and therefore possessing a British Accent I find myself on the receiving end of ignorance and often downright stupidity on a daily basis (that is, when girls aren’t trying to rub their breasts against me). This is just a small sample of some of the ridiculous comments I’ve received along with my usual retorts.

“Whereabouts in Australia are you from?”
The part where you dig and dig and don’t stop digging until you hit air

“Oh, you’re from England? I’ve been there!”
Whereabouts did you go?
“London! But only the airport.”

“Say ‘water’!”
No.

“So do you guys, like, speak real English? Like we do?
Nah, we English people are renowned for our Slovianski.

“Are US movies dubbed over by British actors?”
As a matter of fact, yes. To us, Arnold Schwarzenegger has a cockney accent.

Arnie

Here he is, sweeping a chimney.

 

“Oh my God, say something English!”
Non, je suis désolé

“So do I sound like I have an accent?”
 No, you sound like you might have been dropped as an infant.

“You must know Harry Potter then!”
The books? Yeah, they’re great!
“No, the actors.”
…

Emma Watson

Alas, no. No I do not.

 

“Whereabouts in England are you from?”
Milton Keynes.
“Oh… where is that in relation to London?”

“Why do you call yourself an immigrant? You’re white!”
There is literally no response to this other than a hearty facepalm.

Alien

It's not like every alien looks different!

 

“Do your best American accent!”
OK. *Stands silently*
“…You aren’t saying anything.”
I know. It’s the best.

“So where exactly are you from, London or Britain?”
I… I don’t… I’m not… Urgh, I’m from Britain.
“I thought so!”

Facepalm

An appropriate reaction.

 

“Was it hard leaving South Africa?”
Pretty hard, given I was never there in the first place.

“Do they have electric washers and driers in the UK?”
No, we still use washboards and metal buckets.
“Really?”
No. 

Washboard and Tub

Believe it or not, this conversation happened.

 

“Have you ever met the Queen?”
She used to come around every week for bad movie night. She’s a violent drunk.

“So what exactly does the Queen do?”
Again, there is no real response to this, but that’s mostly because I don’t think she does very much at all. 

Peace, love, and seriously if one more person asks if I’ve ridden a kangaroo

-FT

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Beatbox Tutorial – Humming Whilst Beatboxing

Posted by on April 26, 2012 No comments
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Intro

Remember when you first saw somebody doing a cover of your favorite song? Remember how impressed you were? There are a variety of ways to make song covers, and few are as effective as humming whilst beatboxing.

The techniques you’ll learn in this video will also come in handy for learning how to sing whilst beatboxing, and will also encourage you to practice unvocalized sounds – something which is extremely important for a variety of reasons.

Video

Instructions

  1. Puff out your cheeks. Completely fill them with air while keeping your lips together. See how silly you look? You look pretty ridiculous. I mean it, you look absolutely crazy.
  2. Now hum through your nose while keeping your cheeks puffed and your lips together. Keep one long note going. Now, using your hands, squeeze your cheeks together so you force it through your lips while keeping the hum constant.
  3. Notice how you make a noise using your lips by forcing the air out. This is, at it’s most basic, humming whilst beatboxing.
  4. Using your cheeks, lips, and tongue, you can manipulate air in your mouth just as you did before. There are endless sounds you can make – experiment and see what you can come up with!
Peace, love, and hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
-FT
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Beatbox Tutorial – Classic Snare

Posted by on April 26, 2012 No comments
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Intro

The classic snare is far harder than the rimshot I teach in my basic sounds tutorial. It took me something like eight months to get this down! Never-the-less it’s a far more versatile sound and one that’s an absolute must-have. Don’t be disheartened if it takes a while to learn; remember, practice makes perfect!

Video

Instructions

  1. This sound is similar to saying the word “poof” without the “oo” so, naturally, start by saying “poof” paying particular attention to how your mouth moves from the P to the F.
  2. Take away the “oo” so you get a short “pff” sound. This is, in essence, the snare.
  3. Now is the tricky part! You need to experiment and try different levels of tension and tightness for your lips to get this sounding more like a snare drum.

Peace, love, and EIGHT MONTHS COME ON WHAT IS THAT

-FT

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Beatbox Tutorial – Basic Sounds and Beats

Posted by on April 19, 2012 1 comment
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Intro

This was the first tutorial I made in my beatbox tutorial series, and my goodness does it show it’s age! Here I teach the three absolute essential sounds you need to begin beatboxing along with a few simple beats to practice.

I later revised this video into a “welcome” video for my YouTube channel – it’s considerably higher quality, although with an introduction to my tutorials, so if you want to see it click here.

Video

Instructions

Note – I later created videos for each individual sound so people who needed help with one specifically wouldn’t have to click back and forth through the video. Click the names of the sounds below for their own video.

Kick Drum

  1. Simply put, it’s a “buh” sound, so start by saying “boo.”
  2. If you say “boo” a little louder you’ll notice you build up pressure before making the “b” – this is the kick drum! So, take away the “oo.”
  3. Focus on getting the “b” nice and punchy. Well done, you just learned your first sound.

Hi-Hat

  1. This is the easiest of all the sounds. Make a “t” sound.
  2. That’s it. No, really. Make sure it is short and sharp and you have your hi-hat.
  3. For an open hi-hat, add a short “ss” after the “t” to get “tss.”

Outward K Snare / Outward Rimshot

  1. This is probably the easiest snare and consists of a “kuh” sound. Start with a word like “cat.”
  2. Take away the “at” so you’re producing the hard C.
  3. Get this a little louder and you have your basic rimshot!

Now that you know the three basic sounds you can start creating your own beats!

Peace, love, and humble beginnings

-FT

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Stuff What is Coming Out Soon

Posted by on April 15, 2012 No comments
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Whew, I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks. Don’t assume I’m ignoring you – during the Beatbox Battle World Championships I posted something like eight articles with a combined word count of roughly 10,000, and since then I’ve had my fingers soaking in a bowl of iced water to recover.

I’m joking, of course. Mostly.

Fingers in ice

Mostly.

Anyway, this is just an announcement of the next few things I’m going to be adding to the site. Now that I’ve finally sorted out a header (don’t even ask how much effort that was, I apparently suck at making images) it’s about time to put some proper content on here.

First up, I’m going to start moving my tutorials over here. It’s going to be pretty much exactly as it was on my old site only without the download links, and given the tedious nature of the task it’ll probably be around a month until they’re all moved over.

Secondly, something new and exciting and cool! I’m going to start creating a database of beatboxers from all around the world. The database will be written entirely by me (unless people feel like contributing!) and will include information like their notability, trademark sounds and beats, a selection of videos, and information on where to find them online (so personal websites, YouTube channels, Facebook, etc). I’ve been toying with the idea for a long time now but didn’t act on it since other people who’ve attempted this have had very little success. However, I think it’ll be a lot of fun, and could provide great information for newbies and veterans alike, as well as give me the chance to shine the spotlight on some of the lesser known beatboxers. Give it a couple of weeks and you should see pages start popping up; I’m currently finalizing the format.

If you have any ideas for beatboxers you want to see in the database or any features you think it should have let me know by emailing admin@fattonybbx.com and I shall, at the very least, consider them.

Peace, love, and we’re going through changeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees

-FT

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Beatbox Battle World Championships – Face-to-Face – Male Grand Final

Posted by on March 31, 2012 1 comment
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Skiller vs. Alem

This is going to be intense.

Skiller opens up with some heavy bass and relatively chilled beats. Sounds rather like KIM, in all honesty. Very bassline heavy until he starts kicking his drum and bass whereby it becomes speedy.

So Alem responds with more speed. This could end up being speed against speed. Alem sounds a little sloppier than before though, so this could be a bad move. Doesn’t help that Alem is taking the time to face the audience. It’s a battle! He looked like he ran out of ideas at one point as well, but redeemed himself at the end with some more smooth beats.

Skiller begins with a rolling bassline before yelling “are you ready!!!” and dropping more drum and bass. Sounds intense. His technical beats are possibly a little faster than Alem but considerably clearer. He start doing “Popcorn” in 7/8 timing before ending with a high pitched sad trombone.

So Alem begins with his own 7/8 beat. He is going considerably faster – he could well take this if he gets through this smoothly enough. But again, he has this odd habit of stop-and-starting in between beats – this could work against it. He does a terribly sloppy vocal scratch beat toward the end as well. This could still be an incredibly close call though.

Winner: Skiller!!!!! I cannot even begin to highlight how happy I am!!!!! I cannot think of a beatboxer who deserves it more!

Peace, love, and what a day that was

-FT

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Beatbox Battle World Championship – Face-to-face, Female Grand Final

Posted by on March 31, 2012 4 comments
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Pe4enkata vs. Flashbox

Pe4enkata gets the first round and breaks out the same technical stuff she’s been using all evening, but with some different styles. This is definitely go to be an interesting battle. She uses an interesting cover to “Barbie Girl” although this just ends up being her roaring “I’m better! I’m better!” – I’m hoping this isn’t a sign she’s losing material. Her later beats make up for it though.

Flashbox begins quite coolly – I’m surprised at how calm she is, truth be told. I wouldn’t want to be facing Pe4enkata at all. She uses her own technical beats and the contrast between the two’s styles is intense. Both use very different sounds and when Flashbox emulates one of Pe4enkata’s beats and one-ups it the crowd went absolutely crazy.

Pe4enkata is using more new sounds, namely hollow clops, in her beats. Again, roaring at Flashbox, this time “this is my game. Don’t! Try! To play! It!” before going into some shrill dubstep and… blowing a kiss? Hey, all’s fair in love and war.

Flashbox, the final female battle of the night, no pressure. Does slower and more mellow beats at first with a constant bassline. Sounds pretty impressive. Pe4enkata must be hard to battle against as she moves around a huge amount. Just stand there for a bit, no need to get all up in your opponent’s face. Sheesh.

Winner: Pe4enkata. A well deserved victory for one of the most intense female beatboxers around at the moment.

Peace, love, and girls girls girls girls girls

-FT

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Beatbox Battle World Championships – Face-to-Face, Male Semi Finals

Posted by on March 31, 2012 No comments
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First Battle – Skiller vs. Reeps One

Skiller starts off suspiciously slow, kicking it up rather quickly into his usual speed. He kicks some real cool technical beats that even Reeps seems to be getting into. Finishes perfectly to the second…

…and Reeps spits some of his own technical beats, although he stopped to try and… I dunno, get the audience to sing a melody? Not convinced that’s part of the rules, but he wasted a good chunk of time doing it. Shame that. He started some cool melodious beatboxing though, which made up for it, switching into his gruff throat bass for some bassy beats.

Skiller starts with some ultra-fast clicks, followed by “your time is over!” before cracking into more fast beats, of course. His sounds really are absolutely crystal clear. He drops into his 9/8 beat and unleashes his insanely long hair to some huge cheers from the crowd! Awesome ending.

Reeps might not have the hair but he’s certainly got the beats. With some crazy basslines and technical beats of his own he’s at the very last putting up a darn good fight. This is going to be an incredibly close battle.

Winner: Skiller

Second Battle – Shawn Lee vs. Alem

Alem starts, and already I’m kinda hoping he and Skiller make it to the final so we see a battle of the tech. Unfortunately the live stream packed in during this battle, so I didn’t get most of what was going on. Annoyingly. I managed to get part of a Tik Tok cover, and that’s about it, truth be told. Sorry.

Winner: Alem

Peace, love, and argh where’d it go argh

-FT

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