Walking Bass doesn’t mean the performer is actually walking on stage, it means the performer mimics the sound of a double bass with the sound of ‘dio-bu-deng’ plus some melody. The music is quite lively, just like someone is walking.
		For rock and roll songs, the band needs an electric guitar with the sound of ‘dung-now.’ The sounds need chorus to go along for the song to be complete.
		Besides acting chorus or mimicking the sound of an instrument, when it comes to a song in a low key, bass can be the lead, like the song ‘the song of tomorrow.’

Mimicking instruments

Beatboxing can mimic lots of instruments. We will look at jazz drums mostly. Besides aspirated articulation, there is also unaspirated articulation. No matter which way of articulation is adopted, they can add more dimension to the music to make it stand out.

		Close the mouth tightly, stress the lips, then articulate the ‘bu’ sound, just like puffing into the microphone. The sound of drum has different varieties, like a nasal sound of ‘en,’ or blocking air coming from the throat, and then let it burst out. The most commonly used sound is ‘bu.’
		One way to do it is by making the sound of ‘zi’ in pinyin and then make it shorter to sound like ‘ci.’ A variation is the sound of ‘qiu’ in pinyin, similar to the sound that cymbals make when the petal is pressed down.
		The sound is like ‘ge-si.’ For starters, the sound of ‘ge’ will be softer, and keep practicing and it should get louder. For the ‘si’ sound coming from a snare drum, I would make the ‘ge-si’ sound to do it.

Forming different music genre

With these beatbox techniques, you can use them to make some beats. Different combinations of them can create different types of rhythm for rock, funk, and more.

Animal sounds and ambient sounds

Besides mimicking instruments, we sometimes have to mimic ambient sounds or animal sounds for the music.

		Make the ‘ci’ sound, cover the mouth with your hand, gradually open and then close it to amplify and then diminish the sound. This adds realness to the buzzing of a cicada in summer with that gradually amplifying and diminishing effect.
		Make the sound by pushing air out of your mouth. This takes practice. You can do it like whistling!
		Whistle softly and it will sound like a gentle breeze. You have to make sure the microphone doesn’t point directly to the mouth to avoid getting interference.

Source: the Beautiful Voices
Photos and sounds: Demonstration by HanGuang Vocal Band, recorded by the Beautiful Voices