Known to some as Andrew Chaikin (the original drummer for the House Jacks), Kid Beyond has made a name for himself as one of the innovators behind live looping. Live looping is the art of using a computer and mixing board on stage to create pieces live in front of an audience, complete with everything from percussion to lead vocals. Here, he explains it better than I do:

There are a lot of guys doing this now, but for my money he’s the best one out there. His new CD Amplivate boasts four of his live loop projects and four DJ remixes. I bought “I Shall Be Free” (track 4) online and plan on buying the rest of the CD shortly.

If you follow the world of professional beatboxing, you have no doubt heard of Yuri Lane.  It’s amazing how easy he makes this look, but I promise it’s not. If you try holding a harmonica up to your mouth while beatboxing, you’ll learn about when your sounds are going in versus out. Plus, you can see where beats might fill gaps between other musical sounds you make. Try it.

If you just can’t really get the beatboxing thing, you can always resort to using video editing techology instead.

We usually think of beatboxing as something that belongs in the a cappella world, or as a solo art form. But folks like Blake Lewis and others are starting to convince people that beatboxing has a place with instrumental music as well.

Although this guy’s piano skills are much better than his beatboxing skills, it’s a nice little example of the combination. On a personal note, I used to own this very same keyboard.

This video of “Joseph,” age 21, from an appearance on Nashville Star, showcases some of the ways you can make two sounds at once.  Listen as he sends sounds out his nose while making percussion sounds with his mouth. Later in the routine, he is actually only producing one sound at a time, but he’s tricking the listeners’ ears into thinking he’s doing two at a time. Although he’s not nearly as advanced as Beardyman or other pros, it’s a good learning video because you can see his mouth.

Also, although it’s a little sloppy at first, this has to be one of the more aggressive uses of lip buzzing I’ve seen in a while.  One last takeaway is that a good beatboxing solo should move along, keeping the flow going, and keeping each section short and sweet.

Lots of videos and goings on. And what have you.

Go there now.

Filming for a new television series centred around the real life stories of one of Vietnam’s favorite pop groups, AC&M, is set to begin by the end of this month.

Director of the 25-episode series My Khanh said the show, to be screened on HCM City television, is the first in Vietnam to use the lives of a pop band to propel the plot. “It is based on real stories of each member. We will be focusing on vocalist’s lives, their passions and daily trials,” the director said.

Read more at acappellanews.

One of my favorite ways to spice up a beat is actually super-easy to learn as long as you’ve got the “I-can-roll-my-tongue” gene. If you can’t roll your tongue, chances are you already know it — feel free to skip to the next sound you want to learn.

The sounds I use the tongue roll most often with are the bass drum, snare roll, toms and conga drums.

Bass Drum (Df)

Keep your soft-palette and lips the same way you’ve developed them for your Df bass drum sound. For me, the cheeks are relaxed, my palette is high and my lips are constantly in an “f” or a “v.” From there, simply roll a voiced “r.” Be sure to end with strong voiced downbeat, sometimes I end with a Df, to finish the roll with strength and establish it as a bass roll.

Toms and Congas

Toms and congas are mechanically the exact same as a bass roll, just on different pitches. I most often use the roll as a down beat to a conga (think steel drums).

Snare Roll

This one is the trickiest of the three (I had to work on it for a long time). Just as a real snare roll uses two drumsticks, your snare roll will require that both your tongue and your lips roll. To do this you have to have just the right amount of tension in your lips. I like to think of blowing up a balloon (a bizarre balance of tension and fluidity that will allow your lips to vibrate when you aggressively roll your r. Snares can be both voiced and unvoiced, with a sharp “t” at the beginning and end of rolls to get that true snare drum sound.

Advanced Note: For a more authentic sound, remember that both toms and congas are usually pitched a fourth apart.

Roxorloops giving a workshop performance at the 2006 French Beatboxing Championships, August 13-14. Pay attention to his use of speed patterns for rolls, toms and kicks.

Part I

Part II (some of the language in this one is a bit sketchy, sorry)

Vocal Point, Brigham Young University’s premier a cappella group, is releasing a new, much-anticipated album this fall (watch for it sometime in November). It will feature songs from their international championship set in 2006, along with all of their most popular hits from the last three years.

In the meantime, to pique our interest, they’ve released their A Cappella version of the Spider-Man Theme (complete with a live recording of their awe-inspiring THX “deep sound” and Fox Fanfare in concert), which will also be on the CD. It’s available right now on iTunes! Just search “vocal point.” Here’s a video of 2006 Vocal Point performing Spiderman live at the Marriott Center for BYU’s Homecoming Spectacular.