A Fluteboxing Workbook by Andrea La Rose is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at reloadsanear.com.
A Fluteboxing Workbook by Andrea La Rose is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at reloadsanear.com.
Do consider making a donation (of any amount), if you choose to use this workbook, make copies of it, use it for educational purposes, if it has improved your life in any way (otherwise, yes, it's yours for free; it is copywritten, so give credit as necessary):
from the introduction:
Fluteboxing = flute plus beatboxing, simultaneously, by the flutist.
Beatboxing is the art of vocally imitating drum sets and drum machines.
If you are completely unfamiliar with beatboxing, you may acquaint yourself at http://humanbeatbox.com.
For this fluteboxing workbook only the basic sounds are used; others are possible.
b = bass drum sound
k = snare drum sound
t = closed hi-hat
Ц = open hi-hat (this is a friendly Cyrillic letter I'm using to represent "ts")
The flute part is notated only rhythmically. Start with one pitch, to get yourself used to doing two things at once — something flutists do not usually have to do. Even experienced musicians with good rhythm can find this challenging! It's one thing to hear it and understand it, but another to actually embody it and make it happen.
As you improve, move on to scales and melodic ideas. There is no rush. It's perfectly okay to simply go on to two notes, then three.
The rhythms in the flute part first consist of some very basic ideas; then they consist of three different types of "clave" rhythms, used in systematic permutations. I chose those kinds of rhythms because of their complexity and pervasiveness in all kinds of popular musics (not just Latin).
The rhythm in the beatbox part consists of basic rock beats with some systematic variations.
A work like this could go on forever, but there is no need to make it that comprehensive. There is enough here that should enable you to figure out everything else. The point of such workbooks is not to slavishly follow them as some sort of gospel truth (which, unfortunately, is often how flute method books are regarded), but as a basic model for working and creating — with an emphasis on creating! Do not let the mechanical, systematic (there's that word again), exhaustive nature of the workbook fool you or discourage you.
You will have to experiment with where to breathe, how long to hold certain notes out, what sounds you can produce on an inhale as well as exhale, and whether to leave certain beatbox sounds in or out (when in doubt, 86 the hi-hat). You will have to experiment with the best sounds for you. Sometimes you'll have to think more like a flutist, other times more like a percussionist. Experiment with swing. Experiment with other sounds not represented here.
Work at a variety of speeds. Slow work refines. Fast work tells you where you need to do more slow work.
Work with songs in addition to exercises like these. Do as much as you can by ear.
Lastly, stamina is a big issue with fluteboxing. Take many breaks; practice in spurts. Play long tones more than fluteboxing. Maintain good posture. Be aware of how you move when fluteboxing. Keep your body fit. Working on fluteboxing made me painfully aware that while I wasn't fat, I wasn't fit, either. A small amount of weight training and stretching put muscles back on my back and solved the problem.
An example of my own fluteboxing work: