Hello fellow harmonica enthusiasts! I myself have been rather fond of beatboxing for quite some time and thought about ways to incorporate the harp somehow
I hope you enjoy this little try of mine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNl8oaHi1RU
as the description of the video states, I have put a few filters over this one as it makes the whole ordeal some less awkward the part where i incorporate the harp starts around 0:37 for those who do not want to listen to my intro :)
Hi 10BIT. You are obviously a skilled beatboxer. I am interested in this stuff as are a few members of this forum, perhaps more than a few. To embed a video, click on "share" on Youtube and copy and past the embed code.
You have a lot of different sounds going on. I would be interested to hear a more stripped down version with just a few simple elements. You are definitely on to something here!
10BIT, cool. If you haven't already, you should check out Son of Dave (more loop pedal than beatbox, but pretty cool) and Brandon Bailey. I've done a little beatbox harp. (We call it harpboxing!) Isaac will probably stop by this thread. Interestingly, if you look at some of the early Fox Chases, like Deford Bailey, even although he's barking and yipping, he's using it more like percussion, sort of a beatbox lyric hybrid.
Your beats might need to come down a bit in the mix. It's really tough to balance them on a single track recording. I have the opposite problem; I can't get my beats loud enough, or at least the bass beats (or my vocals, I've actually had to resort to a gain pedal for my vocals when I'm doing harp.) There are also some articulations you can do on the harp that will give you beats too. Tck ch, rolling your r's hard on blow chords... the tough part for me is I can do an interesting beat, or an interesting harp part, but I haven't mastered doing both at the same time.
Hey man! Welcome to the forum! As one of the few people here at MBH that actually does a bit of this beatbox harmonica things myself, I'm happy to see another beatboxer join the ranks! I think nacoran is onto something in his comments about these particular recordings, however. It sounds to me like the gain was up way too high, and the audio clipped like crazy. This happens a lot when close miking your beats, because the puffs of air cause the mic output to spike way high. What are you recording with (phone, computer, cassete tape, etc.)? Try recording it with the gain turned way down, and then amping it up later if necessary.
BTW, I'm keeping a playlist of well done examples of beatbox harp (as a sort of inspiration for me). I'll embed it below. If you get a chance, watch all the videos in it. There are only a few of us out there who can pull this off in a generally pleasing way, so it's great to be inspired by our peers!
hello and thank you for your comments! I am recording on a pc (my mic is a blue snowball) i guess im rather new to editing the audio so the filter is kind of bad at the moment :/
I will try to incorporate your tips in the future! i find it to be rather hard to find an opportunity to actually use bass in some cases and struggle to play the harp in other cases as it just doesnt seem to fit...
btw.: thats a great playlist! i have actually seen some of those videos already but i will save it for later in case i need some inspiration!
I don't think I can really 'assess' the playing/beatboxing because the audio makes it all really muddy. Buy a pop screen for your snowball (to limit the distortion from your breath hitting the mic), and lower the input levels, because you're punching in on literally everything. The distortion makes it difficult to tell exactly what's going on.
Yours is a mistake that we all make when we all make when we first start recording ourselves. Someone sorted me out back when I was first getting into it, so I'm just returning the favor.
Hope that helps.
---------- Check out my music at http://bmeyerson11.bandcamp.com/
The secret to beatbox harp is using a minor tuning, like Moses has. Hohner makes some harmonic minor harps that are pretty cool. Nice chords and if you insert som melody, they practically play themselves, since they are designed to be played in first postion (the key of the harp).
Natural minor harps like Lee Oskar and Seydel also have good chords, but the minor scale is complete without bending in second position (starting at the 2 draw), not first.
i guess a pop screen wouldnt hurt... actually i might buy one tomorrow if the local music store has any left (its closing soon :/)
i barely own any good harmonicas in the main keys :/ i have a B and an E harp and a rather mediocre C harp the rest of the keys are very low quality i will give it a shot though
I am glad there is so much interest in harpboxing! That is a great compilation Isaac, its so interesting to see how many different techniques and styles people use harpboxing for. I just want to say that a minor harp isn't really necessary, but if you want to play a hip-hop, dubstep or reggae style, then you definitely want to try a minor harp. I think it would probably be best for the style of beat-boxing you use. My personal recommendation is going to the official hohner website and seeing if you can order a G# (aflat) harp on the cheap. I usually can get one of those special 20s for 20 bucks, which is a ridiculously good deal considering how much they normally cost. You are unlikely to find a minor harp in a regular music store unless you order one specifically. Here's my take on harpboxing, with a minor harp. I still have a lot to learn, but I also have some cool techniques of my own which I've developed! I guess every player does!
Hey! thats some nice videos! I found a mic and plugged it into my bass amp today and the sound turned out to be rahter nice I hope you enjoy this little try :)
