BARREL

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Friday than with bourbon and beatboxing. What is beatboxing? Beatboxing is the art producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one’s mouth, lips, tongue and voice. Sounds complicated right?

Last Friday, we were lucky to have a beatboxing class at Barrel taught by Beats Myth, Chesney Snow and James Kim from B.E.A.T. For some of us, this was actually the second time we beatboxed at Barrel. Last September, Beats Myth taught us the history and basics of beatboxing. For this workshop, we learned about the art of breathing and the philosophy of human vibration. We were also treated to extensive demonstrations of two masters performing the craft. By the end of the workshop ,we learned how to create kick drums, hi-hats, and snare drums in unison. We even had four Barrel team members participate in a beatboxing battle!

At first beatboxing seemed really difficult and intimidating, but the most important lesson I learned was to have fun. Want to learn beatboxing on your own? Try reciting “boots and cats“.

A special thanks to Beats Myth, Chesney Snow and James Kim from B.E.A.T. for making this workshop possible. Bridging Education and Art Together (B.E.A.T.) is a nonprofit organization in New York City that creates and operates extracurricular programs for urban youth.