What Happens When Classical Flute Meets Beatbox?

Greg Pattillo, Beatbox Flute Player, Takes You Tube by Storm

Sep 1, 2009

Millions of flute players logged onto You Tube and were blown away by Greg Pattillo's fusion of flute and beatbox. Here's how the seeds of that sound took root.

Every so often, the rare musician conquers the conventional and breaks ranks with the masters to explore a totally unique style. When Greg Pattillo, a classically trained musician, fused flute with beatbox, he set the standard for a refreshing new flute technique.

Greg Pattillo Starts Playing Flute

Pattillo opted for flute as his fourth grade band instrument. He continued all the way through a Masters degree in Orchestral Flute Playing at the classical conservatory known as the Cleveland Institute of Music.

As Pattillo grew up, he found himself trying to play the music around him. And during the 80’s, most of the music coming out of his radio didn’t involve flutes. “I spent a lot of time trying to sound like an electric guitar,” he remembers. “That’s what was cool, and that’s what I listened to.”

Flautists who bridged the gap between classical and pop proved scarce. Still there were certainly some to be found. One of Pattillo’s earliest inspirations was Jethro Tull, a classic rock band from the 70’s. This band was fronted by the outstanding flute player Ian Anderson.

Anderson, in turn, borrowed many of his flute chops from an old jazz musician named Rahsaan Roland Kirk. “These guys all did a lot of singing into the flute, some humming, some chucka-chucka, and other weird articulations,” Pattillo comments. “I gobbled up those recordings.”

Greg Pattillo’s Flute Playing Meets Beatbox

Sometime in the late 70’s to early 80’s, a style of hip-hop known as beatbox was born. “Basically,” Pattillo explains, “Beatboxing involves making drum noises with your mouth. Over the years, there have been some really amazing beatboxers, and they’ve developed the genre into an art form."

Like the beatboxing greats of the day, Pattillo devoted hours of practice to transform his mouth into a musical instrument. “Everyone is working with a head and a face,” he says. “But it’s really amazing how these guys make sounds so close to electric guitars, trumpets, drum sets, robots, lasers, or what have you.”

As Pattillo digested the methods and techniques behind beatboxing, he began to realize he could do it on the flute. What’s more, he discovered a diverse audience welcomed his new sound. Classical musicians marveled as Pattillo played the Flight of the Bumblebee while backing the melody with a complex percussion track. And millions of kids flocked to download his energetic rendition of Inspector Gadget on You Tube.

Where’s Beatbox Flute Playing Today?

Pattillo adds a dash of hip-hop to everything from Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker to Sesame Street and Super Mario Brothers. “Everyone’s happy,” Pattillo reflects. “They know the tune, it’s an interesting rendition, and the beats sound good.”

Thanks to Pattillo’s inspiration, a beatbox flute concerto has been commissioned by the well-known flautist, Ransom Wilson. Wilson teaches at Yale and Julliard, conducts at the Met, and recently was offered the conductorship at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Randy Woolfe, the concerto’s composer regularly collaborates with Pattillo to explore the possibilities when beatbox sounds meet flute. This coming May, Pattillo will premier the piece at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Pattillo Challenges Flute Players to Find the Beat

As a result of Pattillo’s online presence, hundreds of flautists are experimenting with their own articulation, embouchure, and breathing. Pattillo has never been one to hide his secrets. In fact, much of his time is spent teaching other flautists how to spice up their melodies with a rhythmic beatbox accompaniment. “There’s all this wonderful music flute players could be making, if only they were exposed to this kind of stuff,” he remarks. “I believe this sound will be heard more and more.”

The copyright of the article What Happens When Classical Flute Meets Beatbox? in Flute is owned by Marcy Paulson. Permission to republish What Happens When Classical Flute Meets Beatbox? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.