Singing background/harmony

[spdam]

The singer in our band asked me if I would sing backup or harmonies on some of our songs. I sang a little 30yrs ago in high school bands. My voice these days doesn't seem to sound that great.

Does anyone have any advice or techniques that might help me to help out with the vocals? I'm thinking I may improve if I can work on it,

 

[delaware dave]

I started singing background when I formed Dyin Breed back in 2003. Before that I never sang a lick. I've realized that the more you sing the stronger your voice will get. I also noticed that singing and playing can also be a challenge. One of the ways I got around it was to bring the music in the car and "practice" to/from work everyday. So I would sing backup to all of the songs I was listening to. This allowed me to memorize the words as well as to get use to singing while doing something (driving the car) so that I could concentrate on singing and driving at the same time; which I then translated to playing and singing at the same time.

 

[spdam]

That sounds good. I was hoping someone would say something like "the more you sing the stronger your voice gets". I'll start working on it.

Thanks!

 

[ariclewisnorth]

Run scales on the piano and practice your pitch and intonation. Do the scales chromatically and this will eventually help with your mobility and range. Sing from your diaphragm. Make sure you are breathing in a way that gives you enough power to finish out a phrase. Sing dynamically just as you play an instrument dynamically. When practicing with a CD, don't always sing the melody...copy what the background singers are doing as well.

 

[spdam]

Thanks! I'll work on that. We had practice tonight and I sang harmonies on a couple of songs to start off. I was singing the higher harmony on songs "I Saw The Light"(Todd Rundgrun). and"Down by the River" (Neil Young) and I guess I was singing in falsetto. I'm noticing my throat is feeling sore afterwards and I was straining. Is it possible to sing that high and from the diaphragm?

 

[Sugar]

Thanks! I'll work on that. We had practice tonight and I sang harmonies on a couple of songs to start off. I was singing the higher harmony on songs "I Saw The Light"(Todd Rundgrun). and"Down by the River" (Neil Young) and I guess I was singing in falsetto. I'm noticing my throat is feeling sore afterwards and I was straining. Is it possible to sing that high and from the diaphragm?

It just depends on your voice, really. Some voices sing higher than others--some need falsetto, some don't. I for one can't really do falsetto, so I have to try and hit everything with my chest voice. Try not to hurt yourself--a thing about singing is you really need to sing within your boundaries, otherwise you can hurt yourself. However, singing in higher registers over time CAN increase your range, so it can be good to sing high, just be careful. Singing in the car is great. And since you're a background singer, I wouldn't worry about it too much--don't stress if your voice isn't perfect. You are mainly there just to provide harmonies and give the vocals a deeper sound. Hope this helped!

 

[spdam]

Great thanks! Good advice. Singing in the car and shower seem to be helping and I'm finding I can project a little better. I"m also going to do some scale exercise with the piano.

 

[b3maniac]

If you want to have some harmony but don't have the ear or vocal skill to hit it own your own, then you might look into a "vocal harmonizer" unit. I have a
Digitec Vocalist Live Five and use it with one of the groups to help out the vocals. It does great if you don't push the harmony too loud in the mix. Don

 

[spdam]

Sounds interesting. I didn't know anything like that existed.

 

[happyrat1]

TC Helicon makes a whole bunch of autotune and vocal enhancement boxes. PErsonally I own one of their voicetone live units and while it's loads of fun to play around with and do kraftwerk and hiphop style voices, I'd have to say it's not exactly a one size fits all kind of effect.

http://www.tc-helicon.com/products/

 

[ariclewisnorth]

Even falsetto should be done with the diaphragm, to a point. I'm not really an expert, but, I do know that your vocal chords are a muscle. They are going to be sore after a workout. However, there shouldn't be bleeding/pains/abnormal feelings that just aren't right.

 

[MountainSide]

T C Helicon vocalizers are definitely the way to go. I have a VoiveLive Touch...has over 700 vocal harmonies programmed into it....some are nothing more than sound effects, others are spot on. It even has a function that will correct off key notes that you sing!

 

[Wes]

I'm a terrible singer, but I sing backup sometimes anyhow. One trick I use is to play my harmony part in unison on the organ with a simple registration (e.g. 006860000 for those of you who grok Hammond), while comping with my left hand on another manual or the piano.

The other trick is to make sure that your voice is nice and loud in your monitor -- and get used to singing that way. You can't sing in tune if you can't hear yourself.

Wes

 

[spdam]

thanks1