Talk:Beatboxing

Questionable phrase

which many consider the fifth element - what does this mean? RickK 21:24, Sep 5, 2004 (UTC)

Definition of "beat box"?

What exactly is a "beat box"? Is it a drum? A loudspeaker? A portable "boom" box? Seems relevant… — mjb 18:49, 4 May 2005 (UTC)

I always thought it was a drum machine, non? Onlyemarie 19:59, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

But does that usage originate from somewhere else? — mjb 20:05, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

I found the following on a human beatboxing forum:

"The term 'beat box' was used as slang for the non-programmable drum machines that were first called rhythm machines. For example, the Roland TR Rhythm Series such as the TR-33, TR-55 that were produced in 1972. Later it was used to refer to a particular line of drum machines - particularly the Roland CR and the later TR series with the Roland CR-78 appearing in 1978.

However, the first rhythm machine was the Wurlitzer Sideman that was made between 1959 and 1964, and this did come in a large box - so it's possible that the term "beat box" was used to refer to this machine."

Onlyemarie 20:14, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

Oohh, check it out. I found a better reference, The Oxford Dictionary of New Words, for which I will provide some free advertising — mjb 21:02, 5 May 2005 (UTC) …

     beat box  noun Also written beat-box or beatbox (Music) (Youth Culture)
     
             In colloquial use among musicians, a drum machine (an electronic
             device for producing a variety of drum-beats and percussion
             sounds as backing for music or rapping: see rap); hence a style
             of music with a throbbing electronic drum-beat which often also
             accompanies interludes of rapping. Also, another name for a
             ghetto blaster.
             
             Etymology:  Formed by compounding: a box which produces the
             beat.
             
             History and Usage:  The beat box, which is essentially a
             percussion synthesizer, became a popular alternative to the
             conventional drum kit during the early eighties, when
             synthesized sounds in general opened up new possibilities for
             many bands. It was really the increased popularity of rap and
             its spread outside the Black music scene that led to the
             development of a distinct style of music called beat box by the
             mid eighties. A beat box is an expensive piece of equipment, so
             it is perhaps not surprising that some youngsters tried to
             imitate the sound without actually using a beat box; this led to
             the development of a new action noun beatboxing, the activity of
             making percussion noises like those of a beat box using only
             one's mouth and body.
             
                 How do you compare an album like that to...the sparse
                 beat-box music and intensely engaging call-and-response
                 served up by today's leading rap group, Run-D.M.C.?
                 
                 New York Times 9 Jan. 1985, section C, p. 14
                 
                 Booming out of beat boxes on the street and bounced to
                 in aerobics classes, the 'Big' beat sounds like the next
                 equal-play anthem for American women.
                 
                 Washington Post 19 Mar. 1985, section C, p. 1
                 
                 They usurp rap and beatbox, scratching their own
                 frequently wild guitar marks on top.
                 
                 Q Mar. 1989, p. 72

I don't think that Justin Timberlake is verifiably credible for spreading the art of Beatboxing; Artists like Bobby McPherrin have done much more in that direction.

United Kingdom

I noticed that the 'United Kingdom' section was generally a mess and did my best to copy-edit and clean it up. I know almost nothing about beatboxing, so I would appreciate it if someone more knowledable could look the edits over and possibly cite some sources. --Ethethlay 08:19, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

Backbeat diagram and SBN

Is this traditional notation diagram at the top of the article really nescessary? It looks awkward and silly and isn't very meaningful; it would also give an unaquainted person the idea that beatboxing is just pronounciation of "boom boom chick" in english, rather than reproducing sounds. I have removed it and edited the definition.

I also don't think SBN is important enough to warrant such a major inclusion right at the top of the article; beat boxing notation is not widely accepted. I have moved this reference to the "Internet Presence" section of the article and removed the link to a specific forum page, which requires registration to view. It should be noted that this whole section stinks of advertisement for humanbeatbox.com and should probably be replaced. --Kineticturtle 07:19, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

IPA transcription?

Is it possible to represent the production of sounds using the phonetic sciences or by IPA? I'm just intrigued, since this is a phonetic curiosity. John Riemann Soong 07:00, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, it would be. I'm a beatboxer and a linguistics student, and I've considered using the IPA as a method of transcribing beatboxes, or at least a base method since many of the sounds are not part of normal human speech. I'll consider writing an article about it Dr-ring-ding 17:28, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Imiterio Ruiz

What is the source for this information? On Humanbeatbox.com the origins of beatboxing are seen in more African culture, from Jazz music to barbershop quartets. See http://www.humanbeatbox.com/The_History_of_Beatboxing/p2_articleid/27 for more info. 165.123.174.163 09:22, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

My gut feeling is that somebody's pulling our leg. Dr-ring-ding 17:30, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Kenny Beats

It looked to me like "kennybeats" almost certainly contributed all this information himself, and a google search for his name returns four hits, which are all either unrelated or also contributed by kenny himself, so I removed the Vancouver section. Dr-ring-ding 17:36, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

== HAHA == (I use bot proxies btw) Quality Standards??? ROFL, this article is better quality than most crap articles on this pathetic excuse for an online ecyclopedia. LOL. It amazes me how you lot devote so much of your time for **nothing** to this tripe whilst simultaneously making a few people who own the damn thing very rich indeed. But hey, if wasting your time so that some ungrateful fat cats can buy theirselves a Bentley turns you on, then go right ahead. I've read some of your own articles, and frankly, your idea of "Quality" is not exactly what I'd call it.