APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Beatboxers

1. I was wondering if you could please share some information about yourself with regards to your growth as a musician, when you first became interested in the genre of beatboxing, your musical career and your present role in the ensemble?

2. Do you know of anything that may have influenced you to start getting involved in beatboxing?

3. What type of music did you listen to growing up and did listening to this music influence you in learning your craft?

4. Could you share how you learned to imitate the drums through vocalizing?

5. What are some tips/techniques that could be used to learn how to start beatboxing?

6. If you were training a school-aged child, what would be the five percussive drumbeats that you would teach, and could you give a demonstration of what each loop would sound like.

7. In the future, where do you see beatboxing as a musical form in the educational system?

8. In the future, where do you see beatboxing as an art form in the global cultural context and choral singing?

9. Are there any other items that you would like to share about beatboxing that would add perspective to this art form?

Vocal Ensembles

1. I was wondering if you could please share some information about your group with regards to the range of repertoire that you sing, why you mix genres, and the reasons why you incorporate the use of doo-wop / vocal percussion in some of your pieces?

2. Do you know of anything that may have influenced your group to use the art of vocal percussion?

3. What types of music do you listen to and did this genre of music influence your group to incorporate vocal percussion in the ensemble?

4. Could you share how your group learned to imitate instruments through vocalizing?

5. What are some tips/techniques that could be used to teach someone to use vocal percussion?  Are their any special syllabic phrases that are commonly used?

6. What are some advantages or disadvantages in using vocal percussion?

7. Around the world, there are many types of ensembles that have a beatboxer in their group.  As we move forward, where do you see beatboxing as a musical form in the educational system?

8. In looking at the art of beatboxing internationally, where do you see this art form in the cultural context of choral singing in the future?

9. Are there any other items that you would like to share about beatboxing that would add perspective to this art form?

Composers

1. I was wondering if you could please share some information about your career as a singer, conductor and/or composer with regards to the art of vocal percussion and/or beatboxing in the ensembles that you have worked with over the years?

2. What are some advantages and disadvantages that you encountered over your career with teaching people how to sing vocal percussive pieces?

3. As a composer, what are the major challenges in writing vocal percussion for ensembles, and how does the degree of complexity change with regards to the age of the musician?

4. The doo-wop of the 50’s and beatboxing from the early 80’s have primary roots from the streets of African American culture.  On a global scale, there seems to be more ensembles and groups performing internationally using vocal percussive techniques.  Are we losing cultural identity due to incorporating vocal percussion or is the music of one’s culture safe?

5. As we move forward, where do you see vocal percussion and/or beatboxing as a pedagogical component in the educational system?

6. Around the world, there are many types of ensembles that have a beatboxer in their group such as the our special guests Witloof Bay, as well as Baunchklang (Germany), Jukebox Trio (Russia), The Boxettes (United Kingdom), and Pentatonix (United States).   In looking at the art of beatboxing internationally, where do you see this art form in the cultural context of choral singing in the future?

7. Are there any other items that you would like to share about beatboxing that would add perspective to this art form?