Because this video has professional sound and not too much EQ post-production, you can discern each percussion sound fairly easily. Watch it a couple times and see if you can figure out how to make some of these sounds. If you’re a beginner, don’t worry too much about speed or advanced sounds — just start with some of the basics. Beatboxers of all skill levels will undoubtedly appreciate Zenger’s unbelievable scratching.

Before the hit show Punk’d ever aired, MTV had another prank show called Stung.  In this video, Method Man and Redman pull a prank on some professional beatboxers.  The series never took off, but the prank is funny.

Method Man, Redman, & Matt Besser: Beat Box Prank

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.

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)

The more I hear of this guy, the more impressed I am by his versatility. Not only does he have an incredible palette of sounds, he also impersonates an Austrian Lecturer on global warming, sings both Michael Jackson and Michael Buble and basically throws more innovative, great stuff into his solos than any beatboxer I’ve come across to date.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more patriotic. Props to whoever put this one together.