Vocal percussion

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Furrykef (talk | contribs) at 00:20, 27 January 2005 (decap title; cymbol -> cymbal; also an open hi hat is possible (and as easy as the closed)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Vocal percussion is the art of creating sounds with one's mouth that approximate, imitate, or otherwise serve the same purpose as a percussion instrument, whether in a group of singers, an instrumental ensemble, or solo. The term "Beatboxing" is often used as a synonym for vocal percussion, but in fact is just one type, often used to accompany hip-hop music. Vocal percussion is used by most college and professional a cappella groups, in order to attempt a more complete fascimile of the pop music that these group primarily perform. It is not necessary to attempt to imitate real instruments; in fact, vocal percussion can be used to create unique sounds. When it is used to imitate a drumset used in most rock or pop music (i.e. music with the emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beat of every four-beat measure), however, vocal percussion has three basic sounds: bass drum, snare drum, and cymbal. Variations on these sounds can be used to approximate other elements of a drum kit. A higher bass drum sounds like a floor tom; cymbal sounds can either be made short like a high hat (employing a sharp ts-ts-ts sound) or long like a crash or ride cymbal (attacked with a psh or a ksh sound).