Pratica di Shadowing: Where Did "Ba-Dum-Tss" Come From? - Impara a parlare inglese con i video

Ba -dum -tis.

Two snare hits and the strike of a hi -hat.

This rhythmic phrase has been used to punctuate bad jokes for a long time now, and in some way or another, we've all become familiar with it.

But where did it actually come from?

What is the origin of ba -dum -tis?

Well, we don't really know for sure.

But, but, but, but, we do have some idea as to where it could have come from.

Unfortunately, it seems like Bedumtis is just not well documented at all, and most of what I could find on its history is just hearsay.

This is in contrast to its much -belothed counterpart, the laugh track.

We know exactly who made it, why they made it, and when.

I guess in this case we're dealing with one of those things that's difficult to determine the exact origins of, like when we started using to build tension and excitement.

But the point of this video isn't to give a crystal clear answer.

I thought it would be interesting to explore two different origin points that people claim Bedumptus was born out of, talk about them a little, and explore how they could link back to this iconic sound.

Because sometimes when you go on a deep dive on a topic, you become more engrossed in the dive itself than what you were diving for.

Again, take all of this with as many grains of salt as you would like.

Before we actually, you know, dive deeper, there's gotta be a better name we can use than "Badumtis", right?

A lot of people refer to it as "The Rimshot", that is the term that it's called by in the entertainment industry.

However, as a person with a music degree, I am required to tell you that this term can be misleading.

In music terms, "rimshot" refers to a drumming technique where you hit the center

and the rim of the snare drum with your stick at the same time, producing a louder sound and a different timbre.

confusion to the point where some sites mistakenly cite acclaimed jazz drummer Gene Krupa, often credited as the pioneer of the rimshot snare technique,

as the inventor of the bedumtis drumline.

Wikipedia refers to the comedic punctuation as a sting, but this is also a generic term that could mean a number of things.

Since rimshot became the industry term for bedumtis, I'll just refer to it as that for the rest of the video.

So when I say it, I don't mean the snare technique.

You got that?

Don't make me go musicologist on your ass!

Let's take a look at the first of the proposed origin points for the rim shot: vaudeville performances.

These were entertainment shows often compared to burlesque or cabaret that were popular in North America from the 1890s till the 1930s,

and they featured a wide variety of unrelated acts performed back to back, including musical performances, magic shows,

various other displays of skill and talent, and comedy routines.

whose names you might recognize include Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, and the Marx Brothers.

Now what interests me about vaudeville is the drummer's role in these live performances, and I found out more about it through this book called Kick It: A Social History of the Drum Kit,

written by musicologist Matt Brennan.

According to Brennan's research, during the vaudeville era, drummers were frequently hired to play sound effects for shows and events.

silent films, which people thought were unsettling without sound.

Drummers would invent and make use of various instruments and tools to produce different sounds.

And this is actually how we ended up with the wire brush sticks that drummers still use to this day.

Seeing as drummers were essentially tasked with "catching the falls" for the various acts at vaudeville shows, it's possible that this is what led to the invention of the rimshot.

And I know that this concept very likely did not originate from vaudeville entirely, but vaudeville is the name that popped up the most often often in my research.

If the rimshot really did originate from vaudeville, then it wouldn't be the only recognizable influence it left on comedy.

If you ever witnessed the trope of someone getting pulled off stage by a long hook, well, that's called the vaudeville hook,

a tool designed for closing curtains that showed its effectiveness in pulling unfunny comedians off the stage.

But that does it for vaudeville.

Now the second alleged origin point of the rimshot is borscht belt comedy.

The borscht belt is the name given to a region of New York State

that used to be a popular vacation destination nation for Jewish Americans, its popularity peaking in the 1950s and 60s.

And for that reason, it is named after the soup borscht, a dish that Jews brought over to America from Eastern Europe.

A lot of the resorts throughout the borscht belt would host these stand -up comedy shows, and thanks to these shows,

many comedians that would go on to lead successful careers ended up getting their start in the borscht belt.

These include Rodney Dangerfield, Buddy Hackett, supposedly Jerry Seinfeld is among these names as well, and also Mel Brooks, the director of the Borscht Belt, and also Mel Brooks, the director of the Borscht Belt,

and the director of the Borscht Belt of movies like Spaceballs, and Young Frankenstein.

"Call it." "A ham -ch -broom -chip !" Oh, and sort of off -topic here, but do you remember that old -ass meme of the prairie dog with the dramatic music?

Well, turns out that music is from Young Frankenstein, and that revelation just completely blindsided me as I was watching the film for the first time recently.

But yeah, the man said it himself.

No Borschtbelt, no Mel Brooks.

"I just got back from Venice, and boy are my arms tired !" didn't age well, because of course they didn't,

this is 1950s and 60s America we're talking about.

The humor of the Borscht Belt proved to be appealing to the rest of the country as well, as evident by the success of the comedians that it nurtured.

Borscht Belt comedy is typically described as being self -deprecating, but also fast -paced.

"Well, when I was born, the doctor told my mother I did all I could, but he pulled through anyway, you know?" And this is what gives me reason to believe that the rim shot could have originated from it,

because the fast pace really lends itself to be coupled with some sort of musical sense sting.

Not just the rimshot, but really anything that can help punctuate a joke.

"This guy walks in the doctor and says, 'Doctor, I have a ring in my ear, what'll I do is you don't answer?'" This is Henny Youngman,

another borscht belt comedian that I've seen associated heavily with the rimshot.

His rapid -fire style of comedy, relying on short, bite -sized jokes instead of telling stories, earned him the title of "The King of One -Liners".

He also made an appearance in the movie Goodfellas

"I take my wife everywhere but she finds her way home." It's an interesting

but unsurprising coincidence that a lot of successful figures in comedy are also drummers.

And you know, this is the point where I'd say something about the importance of timing and rhythm in comedy, but I think I've yapped enough.

And even after all that talking, I haven't even given you guys the true answer to the question at hand: where does Badumtis come from?

Well...

Obviously, it comes from the drum kit that it's played on, Eh?

It comes from the...

Are you gonna -

Sorry, sorry guys.

It wasn't all that good actually.

Can you just play the thing?

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65 frasi

Obiettivi di parlato per questo clip

Questo video è perfetto per chi vuole migliorare la pronuncia inglese e rafforzare la pratica di conversazione in inglese, specialmente nel dominio della discussione analitica e della narrazione storica. L'obiettivo principale è padroneggiare l'intonazione e il ritmo nelle espressioni complesse, come quelle usate per presentare teorie, fare distinzioni e citare fonti. Ideale per chi cerca di superare la barriera della fluency in contesti informativi.

Banca di frasi riutilizzabili

"We don't really know for sure, but we do have some idea as to where it could have come from" (Espressione per presentare ipotesi con cautela)
"This is in contrast to its much-beloved counterpart" (Per fare confronti tra due concetti)
"Take all of this with as many grains of salt as you would like" (Consiglio per considerare informazioni non definitive)
"I found out more about it through this book called..." (Per citare fonti di ricerca)
"It wouldn't be the only recognizable influence it left on..." (Per sottolineare l'importanza di un fenomeno)

Correggi i tuoi punti deboli

Il video aiuta a migliorare la pronuncia inglese, soprattutto nella gestione delle pause e dell'enfasi in frasi lunghe. Molte espressioni come "ba-dum-tss" o "rimshot" richiedono un'attenzione particolare al ritmo, elemento chiave per la comprensione. Usare la tecnica del shadowspeak (o shadow speak) con questo clip è efficace: ascolta una frase, ripeti immediatamente dopo, cercando di imitare l'intonazione e le pause. Questo esercizio rafforza la memoria muscolare e la capacità di replicare pattern linguistici complessi. Inoltre, la discussione su termini specifici (come "vaudeville" o "borscht belt") aiuta a espandere il vocabolario specialistico, utile per la pratica di conversazione in inglese su argomenti culturali. Imparare l'inglese con YouTube non è mai stato così produttivo: sfrutta ogni dettaglio del video per lavorare su fluency e precisione.

La grammatica di questo video

Le strutture che chi parla usa di più, con le parole esatte del video:

Struttura	Nel video
Present perfect have/has + participio passato — un’azione passata che conta ancora adesso	has been · I've seen associated · I've yapped
Forma passiva be + participio passato — conta ciò che accade, non chi lo fa	was born · is named · be coupled

Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?

Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.

Tecnica dello shadowing: leggi la guida completa passo dopo passo →

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La grammatica di questo video

Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?