Form 4 Beatboxing Workshop with Faz Shah 2023

Each Form 4 class was fortunate to have an hour and a half long workshop with actor, composer, writer and beatboxing violinist Faz Shah on 2nd February as part of their Music curriculum. The pupils gained a new insight into creating music, one that was instant and absolutely unique. The beatboxing violinist led each class through an engaging session exploring vocal percussion and beatboxing and how to layer sections, develop basic core rhythms in various musical genres and explore techniques to nurture musical creativity.

Beatboxing is the art of vocal percussion. The term beatbox comes from electronic drum machines from the early 80s. The drum machines would have buttons, which when pressed, would create their assigned sound (such as kick drum, snare etc). Musicians soon started replicating the sounds of these drum machines with their mouths. This is where the term ‘Human-Beatbox’ comes from. Nowadays beatboxers like Faz not only produce sounds of music and instruments but also a whole array of other incredible sounds just by using the voice.

After watching Faz play his electric violin, the children were able to learn exactly how it is done from a seasoned professional and had the chance to learn the techniques for how to make different sounds. They also created a unison idea where they did the same thing at the same time and Faz gave them tips for creating something more complex in groups which they then presented to the class. Faz explained that the skill of beatboxing itself, “Like playing the violin, is a skill like anything. If you practise a certain number of hours a day, you get to a certain level. The challenge is what you do with it. That’s really where the talent is.”

Faz has performed around the world, on the BBC, YouTube, and has released songs on iTunes and Spotify. He has hosted a beatboxing competition on CBBC and at ‘Harmonise – Music Action International’ last June delivered the stories of refugees, their struggles and their journeys to primary schools across Greater Manchester and London culminating in a performance at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and Royal Festival Hall, London on 21st in preparation for refugee week on 23rd June 2022. Faz became the first person in the North West to achieve the Gold Arts Award.