The 808 Kick is a punchy and stabby kick sound done entirely using your throat. Beatboxers like to put a microphone against their throat to emphasize the sound and this is a very effective technique and a real crowd pleaser.

This sound has many different names including the 808 kick, techno kick, techno swallow, throat kick and techno bass.

The 808 Kick is not a particularly hard sound to make, but putting it into a beat can be tricky for beginners. It sounds like the kick drum from the Roland TR808 drum machine and this is why it's called the 808 Kick.

Standard Beatbox Notation (SBN)

{ ng }

How it's done

The sound is made by vocalizing and expelling air into the gap between the glottis and epiglottis.

To make the sound:

1. First, close your epiglottis! This means to shut off the airway in your throat as if you are holding your breath or going to swallow.
2. Keeping your epiglottis closed, vocalize (voice). You will find that sound comes from your vocal chords but not out of your mouth or nose! You won't be able to voice for long as the gap between your glottis and epiglottis fills up with air and no more air can be pushed into this gap.
3. The 808 Kick drum is made by allowing a bit of pressure to build up in your lungs then expelling this air quickly into the gap. The quicker you do it you get a short sound. By making the pitch of your voice low it can sound like a kick drum.

Pro tip: Combine the throat kick with a percussive K snare to create a deep techno beat using this beat pattern:

808 Kick: { ng }

Hi-hat: { t }

808 Kick + Percussive K Snare: { ngk }

| ng t ngk t | ng t ngk t | ng t ngk t | ng t ngk t |

Video tutorial