Most of Vocal Percussion isn’t nearly as tricky as it sounds. A lot of the coolest rolls and fills and rhythms are actually just really simple patterns that you can work into your muscle memory and do at blazing speeds through simple repetition. Here are a few that I use frequently to spice up my percussion:

• dig-uh dig-uh dug-uh dig-uh - Especially useful for kick rolls and toms
• biggidy biggidy biggidy biggidy - I use this one in drum solos as a “what the?” moment
• dividi-kuh (the rhythm is trip-uh-let kuh) - I use this one all over the place, from cymbals to snares to scratching.

Start out slow, getting your tongue used to performing each rhythm with precision and consistency (if you have a metronome, use it to make sure you’re keeping a steady tempo). As you get better, gradually increase your tempo - focus on crispness and steady rhythm before moving on to the next speed.

Once you’ve mastered a rhythm, you can start to work it into your beats. Be creative. I’m sure you’ll find places for each of these flairs that I would never think of.

Advanced Note: Feel free to change the sounds that you use with each rhythm. For example, I often substitute tifiti-kah or bividi-kah for dividi-kah, depending on the sound I’m aiming for.