Listen to some classic scat singers for early inspiration. “Perdido” by Sarah Vaughan, “Them There Eyes” by Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong’s “Heebie Jeebies” are all incredible early examples. Scatting is generally a jazz skill, but artists like Scatman and Bobby McFerrin have expanded it to other genres in modern times.

The blues, with simple chords and built-in call and response, is a great place for beginners to begin. Try out “Centerpiece” by Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. [1] X Research source Try mimicking actual sung lyrics, but don’t use the words. Practice capturing the singer’s melody with random syllables instead of words to get used to scat. As you improve, start copying guitar, horn, and other lines with your mouth, using whatever syllables come to mind to replicate the sound. There is no noise, when scatting, that is off limits!

The musical scale made famous in “The Sound of Music” is a great place to start: do, rey, mi, fah, soh, la, ti, do!

Volume– draw the audience in by going quieter, then build back up to a louder crescendo with bigger, louder syllables. Tone– how do you sound with you chin tucked in? You chest puffed out? How does the shape of your mouth change the sound of your singing? Pitch– perhaps the most important, pitch is how high or low your notes go. As you get used to making up syllables on the spot, start working on varying pitch with each word. Songs get boring when they stay in the same pitch for too long – give some melodic variety.

Always start at a speed you can keep up with comfortably. While you can set any rhythm you want, most scat is over a 3/4 “swing feel” of jazz. That said, practicing improvising syllables on the spot without music or metronome is still a valuable skill. You just need to train your ear so that you can snap to a backing band when the chance arises. [4] X Research source

Hold some notes for three beats, cram 10 notes into two beats, and then leave some silence before launching back in. Rhythmic variety is about playing with the beat to create tension and surprise. Alternating different types of rhythms is a great way to craft a complex, enjoyable scat solo without crazy notes or vocal range. Check out both Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, for example, on “Stomping at the Savoy” for a master class in rhythmic variation. [5] X Research source

12-Bar Blues– the most common progression in Western Music. No matter what the key, the chords will always change in the same order, meaning you can quickly scat to any 12-bar blues once you know the form. I Got Rhythm – known as the most covered chord progression in jazz, these changes are found in hundreds of songs, including popular music. Listen to versions from Duke Ellington to Django Reinhardt[7] X Research source