The percussive voice

The percussive voice: a dialogue between Human Beatbox and singing

Before knowing, unexpectedly and then passionate about it, the world of vocal percussion and Human Beatbox had already passed a few years since I started studying singing to improve, know and understand my vocality.

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Although it can specify its use and study, our voice will continue to be an entity that will be enriched with every new discovery and in which each piece will join the previous one in an interactive continuum.

When I started to propose my first vocal percussion workshops and Human Beatbox I chose as a title "The percussive voice" to emphasize this: if I study Human Beatbox what I already know of my voice is an essential and facilitating starting point, at the same time Everything I experience in the rhythmic-percussive use of the voice will inevitably affect my way of singing. Percussive but still voice.

This continuous dialogue between sung voice, vocal percussion and Human Beatbox characterized my artistic and didactic path: workshops after workshops and lessons after lessons I was able to confirm this strong synergy between the two disciplines that I had already been able to experience personally.

The intent of this article is to present some of the meeting points that emerged during my study and didactic path. 

The percussive voice: space and resonance

Even just focusing exclusively on the basic sounds of a battery, namely Cassa, Rullante and Charleston, their effective definition and repeatability derives from an appropriate management of the resonance spaces, here, however, unlike the sung voice, the percussive sound, for His nature does not help us. The speed of the sounds and the flow of air does not allow us to easily create a connection with what we are producing and, in this case, our previous experience with the song sung can be of help becoming an excellent starting point . 

At the same time, experimenting and mastering percussive sounds can help us increase awareness of how micro-modern can influence enormously on the sound and then transfer this experience even within the cantata voice.

The percussive item: l management of consonants

During one of my workshops I was told ironically: "years and years to work on the softness of certain consonants and here we must do the opposite". In reality, knowing how to repeat the percussive sounds homogeneously, also considering the dynamic aspect, presupposes good control over them. In other words, if I can perform with homogeneity, repeatability and awareness, the percussive sounds means that I have such control, mainly of lips and tongue, to be allowed to manage the same sounds even with softness. This control thus puts me in the condition of being able to regulate the characteristics of the consonants to my liking and based on the context of use. 

The percussive item: at the sound of the sound

Here we connect to the previous speech. Working on the percusiveness of consonants allows me to be greater awareness relating to the attacks of sound in singing. 

Do I want to be more incisive and rhythmic? Does the piece require you to be softer? I can consciously check this aspect if, with awareness, I already manage at least the basic sounds of a battery set. 

The percussiva voice: ridication

Although keeping the fundamental aspects in common with the voice sung, breathing in vocal percussion and Human Beatbox is obviously characterized by greater speed and reactivity. Experiment with this type of breathing, linked to the execution of rhythms and vocal patterns, can help the singer face songs with sustained speeds and genres that require incisiveness and rhythmic mastery such as the funky or r'n'b.

The structure of a song, interplay and timing management,

The latter three aspects I present them together.
Approaching the study of the "percussive voice" does not mean addressing exclusively the technique to learn sounds but requires, necessarily and in parallel, a study of rhythms and song structures also providing for the use of tools such as the metronome useful to make us acquire and Develop a greater awareness of aspects such as pulsation and timing.

In addition, experimenting with the role of a percussionist or drummer, we find ourselves living a new point of view that leads us to observe and analyze with greater awareness, for example, the structure of a song by increasingly increasing our safety in the face a song as singers.

This overview of some of the didactic implications that the "percussive voice" can have ends here.

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