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Step 1
Listen to different styles of music and pay attention to the different kinds of beats you hear. Even genres that are only subtly different like Hip-Hop and R&B contain different beats.
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Step 2
Remember to listen for more than just what the drums are doing in a song. The bass line is the backbone of the song's melody and harmony and you'll understand the style better by listening to it as well as the bass and snare.
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Step 3
Practice different snare noises. The classic snare works for lots of styles, but possessing a wider variety of sounds helps you explore new patterns more easily.
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Step 4
Add falsetto sounds on top of your kick drum to create a new style. Techno and house beats usually have some drum machine noises mixed into the standard snare, kick and hi-hat sounds.
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Step 5
Ornament a basic hip-hop pattern with scratches. To take scratching one step further, mimic a turntable with your hands and adjust your beat to whatever they do.
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Step 6
Remember that the three basic elements of all beatbox patterns are the snare, kick and hi-hat sounds. Whenever your beat's getting crowded or messy, return to these fundamentals and restructure your pattern so it's cleaner.
