Whether it's singing in the shower, partaking in car karaoke, screaming your lungs out cheering on the Matildas, or being jump-scared by creepy crawlies, we've all at one point or another found ourselves mimicking weird sounds with our voices – if only for the self-entertainment factor (maybe not the creepy crawlies, lol).
However, do you fancy yourself as an oral gymnast, capable of twisting and contorting your vocal cords to achieve remarkable sonic feats the envy of beatboxers everywhere? Maybe you're contemplating running away and joining the circus, allowing your inner freak to shine bright.Whatever the case may be, one person who is an absolute black-belt master when it comes to manipulating an endless stream of sounds (sourced from an infinite, fertile imagination) from his own voice is Australian beatboxer champion and deadset good guy, Tom Thum.
A career resume that is stacked, Tom's feats include the first 60-minute beatbox/ orchestral concerto for the iconic BBC Proms, a 2013 TEDx performance at the Sydney Opera House (which remains the most-watched TEDx ever at 79 million views and counting), winning the first ever Beatbox World Championships (alongside Joel Turner in the team category), as well as taking home the coveted Underbelly Edinburgh Award at 2012 Adelaide Fringe (not forgetting his vocal cords were the inspiration behind the sandworm in 'Dune').
@tomthummer Yo whatttt @Corridor Digital This is crazy. 🪱#dunemovie #beatboxing #cgi #corridorcrew ♬ original sound - Tom Thum
Now Tom is embarking on a new chapter in his ever-evolving journey, teaching users tips and tricks of the beatbox trade from the ground up. With no instruments needed aside from your throat, the Basic 2 Basses masterclass is an inspiring and engaging digital resource.
"I have managed to corral a huge chunk of what I have learned over the past 20 years and have whittled it down to just over two hours of intensive learning for any skill level," shares Tom.
"Trying to succinctly explain a whole bunch of seemingly inexplicable noises was definitely one of the biggest challenges putting together this course.
"Trying to make inhuman noises human, is definitely no easy feat but I feel like I (hopefully) explained it as simply as possible, so no level of detail was missed.
"In fact, breaking it down to the fundamentals of how the sounds are created taught me a lot about how to approach ways to learn in the future, so not only did I teach most of what I know, I also learned way more than what I thought I would."
In the video tutorial below shared exclusively with scenestr, Tom presents five tips to begin your own beatboxing journey.
The Basic 2 Basses episodes are available at Tom Thum's website.
