6. Triplets

A triplet is a sequence of three sounds that span a single sound. Triplets are represented in SBN by using three single sounds in a row that are not separated by spaces:

7. Letter Shapes

Generally, a long vertical line means a hard, non-vocalised plosive sounds such as p, d or k.

Horizontal lines indicate a continuous sound such as f, sh:

Other letters are voiced or nasal such as a, n, m, u and o:

By looking at the shapes of the letters you can decide which fits your sound the best. For example, the letter e is vocalised and continuous, the letter g is a bit of everything, vocalised, plosive, and continuous! Of course, beatboxers make some sounds that do not appear in the English language! For example, the 808 snare sound invented by TyTe is used to mimic the Roland 808 drum machine snare and is given a special symbol 8 to show our respect for this amazing instrument. The trance kick drum made popular by Shlomo is a sort of closed-mouth o sound, and is given the symbol .

8. Combining sounds

In SBN, more complex sounds are made by combining plosive (punchy sounds like p and d) and fricative (continuous sounds like f and s) that can be aspirated (breathed in or out) or voiced (using the vocal chords):

By combining these sounds you can make many drum sounds along with bass notes and sound effects.

9. Inward Sounds

An tilde^ is used to show that a sound should be made either by sucking inwards or by breathing inwards, not the usual outward breath. Here are some examples of inward sounds:

10. Representing Words in SBN

Sometimes words or even whole lines of words are sung at the same time as the beatbox rhythm. This sounds like magic but the secret is easily learnt if you see the routine in SBN. The sung words are notated in capital letters to distinguish them from the beatbox sounds in lower-case. Sometimes it is necessary to break the standards a little bit to make the words fit in, but remember SBN is only a guide, not the law.