A Brief History of Beatboxing

From minstrels to barbershop…

European minstrels travel and tell stories, singing unaccompanied or with a lyre

French gypsies singing together, each forming an instrument with their voices

African ritualistic singing, involving loud in and out breaths

A capella barbershop quartets, using clicks and pops with their mouths

Medieval Period

Medieval to Baroque

17th Century

19th Century

Konnakol

• A South Indian classical performance art of vocal percussion

• Uses a comprehensive language of rhythm• Uses vocal ‘bols’ that sound similar to the percussive

sounds of the tabla• Most common are Dha, Dhi/Dhin, Ti/Tin, Ra, Ki, Ta,

Na, Tin, and Te • Bols are combined and arranged in four-beat patterns

called thekas to provide the rhythm or tal. For example, ‘Ta Dhin Dhin Dha’.

Puirt a beul

• A form of singing found in Scotland, Ireland, Cape Breton and Nova Scotia

• ‘Puirt a beul’ is Scottish Gaelic for ‘tune of the mouth’• It resembles scat singing• It uses the voice to represent an original instrument.

Scat singing

• A form of vocal improvisation• Uses a set pattern of melodies and riffs• The voice is used to represent an original instrument• There are many extended techniques to make the

singing more interesting.

Modern Day Beatboxing

Rahzel Kenny Muhammad

Can you do it?

It’s your turn…

As a group, try to come up with different percussive sounds using your mouth, tongue and throat.

Try to experiment with different drums - the bass/kick drum, the snare, the tom-tom and the cymbals.

You could also try to add some sound effects as well.

See what you can come up with in the next five minutes!