Vocal Percussion is the catch-all term for all drum sounds made with the mouth. Vocal Percussionists tend to emulate real drum sounds whereas beatboxers tend to emulate electronic sounds. However, the term 'beatboxer' is now more commonly used.

A-Plus in 2002 defined the difference between vocal percussion and beatboxing as, "Vocal percussion' is more commonly associated with a-cappella and rockapella groups, whereas 'beatboxing' and 'human beatbox' are terms usually associated with hip hop or other urban music genres."