THE ROLES OF A BACKUP SINGER Learning how to sing backup is not easy. In fact, it can be harder than singing as a solo artist. As a backup singer, you have to pay attention. You need to follow the lead of someone else. You have to blend your voice with theirs. You even have to cover for someone else’s mistakes, sometimes. When you sing backup, think of being part of a group. Not in any circumstances should one voice stand out. Backup singers should blend properly and beautifully. You should be aware that a big difference exists between singing backup and lead singing. If you want to perform a backup role, blend into the group gracefully. A great backup group produces a kind of sound which is bigger and better than the parts. You can’t learn how to sing backup without learning how to listen. Listening is vital for a backup singer. Remember, As a backup singer, you are not the center of the performance. In fact, a good backup singer is practically invisible. You should be there to accent the main performance, not take it over. Blending in with the main vocal is very important. To do that, watch the main singer constantly. Be sure that you can see their face. That way, you can tell when they are going to sing. You can tell other things, too. For instance, if the main singer accidentally sings the wrong verse, you can keep up. If you watch your own sheet music, you might sing a different verse and, even if it’s the right verse, you might be blamed. Learn to recognize gestures and small movements of the lead singers. Sometimes a singer may want to repeat a certain section of a song. If you miss that indication, it can lead to trouble It’s very crucial to line up your phrasing with the lead singer. The best way to do that is to watch their face and start singing your line quietly, when they start. As the phrase progresses, you can get a bit louder and blend in easier. Also, when you end a phrase, do the same thing, only reverse it. Sing quieter toward the end. Jumping in at the wrong time is a major problem that a lot of backup singers have. If you want to be a successful backup singer, avoid falling into that trap. Sing in Harmony Next important concern about backup singing is the ability to hold your voice, while other members of the team sing different parts. If you’re a professional backup singer, you should be able to show your strength in singing by performing in a group harmony. You’ll find this very different compared to choral singing, where other singers surround you as they sing with the same harmony. In the case of backup singing, you usually sing your own part by yourself alone together with the group of other backup singers who sing complimentary parts. Know When to Stop The ending is especially important. You should be sure that you don’t sing longer than the lead singer does. To do that, try dropping the first consonant of each word that you sing. That will do two things. First, it will make sure the lead singer gets the lead in the phrase. Second, it will help to keep you in sync with them, so you aren’t singing beyond the point at which they stop. Of course, it is also important to keep your eyes open. Be prepared for what is coming up. Watch for subtle cues. Remember, your job is to blend in. Making it a memorable performance is important, even if the audience won’t remember you specifically. Follow these simple steps and you can be a professional back up singer in no time. Singing Consonants In singing consonants, you should sing the beginning in a silent mode to avoid creating multiple sounds of strong consonants if you have to sing a song that starts with consonants. When there are several people singing a song that begins with a consonant, it can result to multiple sounds that are unpleasant to the ear. For example, when you sing the letter “ p“, it may sound like two or more heavy “puhs” to the listeners. Just leave the 1st consonant of words, or you can sing the beginning of a word silently, and become louder as you go on. When you’re performing with a backup group, consider these tips and warnings: 1. Sing along with other voices nicely, so that no one stands out from the rest. 2. Make sure that you sing in a way that you make your tone or timbre similar to the tones of other singers. 3. Watching your vibrato can help. Try to smoothen it out so that you won’t stand out. 4. Make it precise when you’re trying to match your dynamics and volume with other singers. 5. When performing with the group of singers, watch your style in singing the ends of some vocal phrases, especially the ones that end in “s”. Lastly, you should see to it that all of you are synchronized. Finding difficulty in hitting high notes? Possibly you are one among many singers trying to learn how to increase your vocal range so that you may finally sing all those beautiful songs you wished to sing. For this you have to improve the strength of your vocal chords by doing exercises and following proper techniques of singing. One of the best methods to find and increase your vocal range called “speech level singing techniques”. This singing technique utilizes specific exercises focus on training your particular muscles next to your vocal cords. These muscles are “inner muscles of the larynx” … It’s purpose is to develop your larger vocal range and to establish a more consistent tone from your lowest note to your highest. Articulation and production of sounds and words in the form of music or in a specific tune is called singing. An artiste who sings is called a singer or a vocalist. Songs can be sung in two ways. As a Cappella, that is singing without accompaniment and Orchestra and that is singing accompanied by other musical instruments. In the vocal singing, this can range from a single instrument accompanist like a piano, or an entire orchestra; and the singers can be single, duet or group/band or choral. Almost everyone who can speak can sing, since singing is only a form of sustained speech, which comes out in the form of a tune. Singing is very often done with a group of other musicians, such as in a choir with different voice ranges such as tenor, soprano, alto and bass. The first step towards improvement is to find out the reasons for not being able to hit high notes. One reason is that you are possibly singing in your falsetto voice. This happens when your chest voice has reached its maximum capacity and your vocal chords get separated, your tone loses depth and you sing in a falsetto voice which is thin and high and a little artificial. Falsetto voice can be used at times for certain notes. However even the transition from normal voice to falsetto has to be so smooth as not to catch too much attention. At all other times even the high notes should be sung in a normal voice which has fullness and depth to it. Another reason for trouble in hitting high notes is that you could be pushing your chords to sing beyond its capacity without fully developing your vocal chords. When this happens you try to yell out the high notes thinking that volume will make up for hitting the high notes. This will will not only be jarring to the ears of the audience, it will also surely damage your vocal chords. Hence you have to correct both these singing methods by learning how to increase your vocal range with speech level singing exercises. These exercises will help you to develop your mixed voice which is a blend of chest voice and head voice and allow you to hit high notes without straining your vocal chords.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 14:54:02 +0000
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