How do you vocalize a rhythm/bassline/drumbeat?

[scott sinner]

Usually the funniest thing I can think of that has some onomatopoeia quality in the neighborhood…South Park quotes, curses in Latin, animal sounds.

I was just suggesting a drum fill the other week with three simultaneous tom hits and a swell on the ride…dey tek er jerrrbs

 

[BismarckHerring]

Snare: ka or ta, with the constant exaggerated, and the vowel as soft and short as possible

hihat: tsss

Kick: with your mouth closed, build pressure in your lungs, and release a bit of air all the way back in the throat. Somewhat similar to clearing your throat, but shorter and more relaxed. Alternatively: buh or duh, a low register

Bass: dunnn or doommm. Can be combined with a kick sound by exaggerating the first consonant, or using that kick sound I tried to describe.

Here’s an exercise: repeat the phrase “boots and cats and boots and cats and”. Try to make the ‘b’ and the ‘c’ as explosive as possible. Instant techno!

And don’t worry too much if it sounds silly, it always does.

 

[Ostie]

Badda boom Badda bing.

 

[Grinderman]

How do you *vocalize* a rhythm/bassline/drumbeat? Literally, what sound do you make? My set task this week is to “sing” a tumbao rhythm as I’m clapping out a cascara rhythm. I’m going nuts figuring out what sound should come out of my mouth. Sounds crazy, but I’m so much not a singer that I might as well have taken a vow of vocal silence as I play - this is HARD. I’m trying tsch, bop, bap… all sound ugh! What do you do?

I’m working on Latin jazz rhythms with my teacher, using Oscar Stagnaro’s excellent book. I’ve got my foot tapping on 1 & 3 as I play, and now the voice. I’m thinking next week we’ll start on incorporating chewing gum!

I know it’ll feel natural soon, but right now this quasi-Trappist bassist is struggling….

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

How do you *vocalize* a rhythm/bassline/drumbeat? Literally, what sound do you make? My set task this week is to “sing” a tumbao rhythm as I’m clapping out a cascara rhythm. I’m going nuts figuring out what sound should come out of my mouth. Sounds crazy, but I’m so much not a singer that I might as well have taken a vow of vocal silence as I play - this is HARD. I’m trying tsch, bop, bap… all sound ugh! What do you do?

I’m working on Latin jazz rhythms with my teacher, using Oscar Stagnaro’s excellent book. I’ve got my foot tapping on 1 & 3 as I play, and now the voice. I’m thinking next week we’ll start on incorporating chewing gum!

I know it’ll feel natural soon, but right now this quasi-Trappist bassist is struggling….

I beat box, and hum.

 

[conttador]

How do you *vocalize* a rhythm/bassline/drumbeat? Literally, what sound do you make? My set task this week is to “sing” a tumbao rhythm as I’m clapping out a cascara rhythm. I’m going nuts figuring out what sound should come out of my mouth. Sounds crazy, but I’m so much not a singer that I might as well have taken a vow of vocal silence as I play - this is HARD. I’m trying tsch, bop, bap… all sound ugh! What do you do?

I’m working on Latin jazz rhythms with my teacher, using Oscar Stagnaro’s excellent book. I’ve got my foot tapping on 1 & 3 as I play, and now the voice. I’m thinking next week we’ll start on incorporating chewing gum!

I know it’ll feel natural soon, but right now this quasi-Trappist bassist is struggling….

#1 go slow to ensure proper syncopation, speed will come on its own. You literally have to be able to play your part without thinking about it.

As far as how to vocalize…

Just do whatever comes natural at least until you’re comfortable with what you’re playing/vocalizing. Once you are comfortable then you can work what “sounds good” to you.

 

[Old_Noob]

When I was in drumline, we always did something like "Yakatacka tick tick, daddleda daddleda chock, chock chock chock, tisszz. DUMmmmm; dackadockdock dock; DUmmmm; dackadockdock dock;

rrrraCK. dack. dadda da dock;
rack-tack, rack-tack
daddle-dadda dock
dockada-dockada-dockada-docka
dock-dock-dock!

 

[timmus]

Boom chicka chicka boom.

 

[mambo4]

Clapping + vocalizing Cuban rhythm section parts is a great approach.
I assume you are vocalizing the bass tumbao and not the conga tumbao.
When I vocalize a bass tumbao, it's "bum bum" or "bop bop"
usually I try to hit the roots, 4th, 5ths and octaves with my pitch
Another bassist I know uses a more guttural "uhn uhn"
but I like the rhythmic precision of a hard "B" consonant

for the conga tumbao I use different phonemes for slap / bass / heel / toe hits

More generally I also used konnakol a lot when first learning to read rhythm notation to nail my 16th note subdivisions, but abandoned it after my literacy improved. Much like sounding out letters in a kid's book: eventually you just read it.

 

[Isaac_James]

Drums:
A rook coo chank
Ook ook coo chank coo
A rook coo chank
Guitars:
Goo jang goo jang goo

Has anyone in this family ever seen a chicken?!

 

[Bass Momma]

Snare: ka or ta, with the constant exaggerated, and the vowel as soft and short as possible

hihat: tsss

Kick: with your mouth closed, build pressure in your lungs, and release a bit of air all the way back in the throat. Somewhat similar to clearing your throat, but shorter and more relaxed. Alternatively: buh or duh, a low register

Bass: dunnn or doommm. Can be combined with a kick sound by exaggerating the first consonant, or using that kick sound I tried to describe.

Here’s an exercise: repeat the phrase “boots and cats and boots and cats and”. Try to make the ‘b’ and the ‘c’ as explosive as possible. Instant techno!

And don’t worry too much if it sounds silly, it always does.

Cat’s boots works well!

And, yeah, feeling silly seems to be situation normal when I’m learning hard stuff… you get used to it after a while…

 

[Watchootognbout]

Too much to explain.
But I do it all the time.

Teen Town:Buh-dob-uh-dob-dob-uh
Durr-dob-uh-dob-uh-dob-uh
Be-dop-dub-dub

 

[ComicBass]

Man I was born with those ales... My grandma owned a bar in Belgium 10 km far from Chimay

That's super cool! I hope to someday take a trip to Belgium. My husband and I are beer snobs

 

[Diplock]

First hear it in your head clearly and vividly with absolute confidence. That's most of it. The rest is just figuring out how to work with your physical range. The syllables you use don't matter.

 

[Killing Floor]

Boots and pants

 

[Bass Momma]

Thanks all for the suggestions and chuckles. It’s coming along.

The brain is a weird thing - I can clap (ie two hands) the cascara and sing/squawk the tumbao (when I’ve got it rolling), but if I slap the cascara on a leg and sing - hopeless, though I’m fine if I slap cascara on one leg and tumbao on the other. Got to be something to do with bilateral symmetry, I’m thinking.

 

[BeMoreFrench]

You're better than many drummers mind you !