Backup vocals?

[tZer]

I sing lead and do backups, so I can't relate, but I do have a suggestion that I may catch a lot of grief for. Invest in a vocal harmonizer w/pitch correction. Yes, I said it......flame on!!

OK - let me start by saying, "whatever gets you through the gig is OK with me"

That said, I am a huge opponent of using technology in place of things you can (and should) be able to to handle without it. Implementing a pitch-correction device will diminish your own ability to sing and while it may get you through some short-term, immediate need situations, in the long run you'll be no better off.

But again - whatever gets you through the gig. If you don't want to become self-sufficient with regard to your own singing abilities, go for it.

I'm in an 80s band right now, so I pretty much have to contribute strong backups at the very least. I don't have a particularly good voice at all. I can sing in tune, but I have a squeaky, nasal kind of speaking voice that I am not crazy about, especially on tape.

There are a LOT of "great" backup singers who have comparably "terrible" voices. Fact is, "non-traditional singing voices" can actually make backup vocals sound quite distinctive (in both a good and bad way) - but taking the good way to heart, it can be the difference between your group sounding like a generic group of OK singers and a really interesting group with really intriguing backups.

Sonny Bono was part of Phil Spectors "wall of sound" IIRC - and was called, "The Frog" because of his "less than great sounding" singing voice. But it became a staple of the backup sound in the music that Spector produced.

In my experience, I've played with a friend who has an excellent singing voice - much more in control and "nice sounding" than my own - but there have been many, many songs where my backups actually sounded better/more correct than his because of my "unusual" (I call it 'novelty') voice. While he hit all the right notes and filled the air with his pristine, pitch-perfect vocalizations, there was something about that perfection that worked against the overall flavor and texture of the backups.

So - having a 'non-traditional' singing voice may keep you from singing a lot of leads - but it could make you very valuable when it comes to creating memorable backups.

 

[Akami]

OK - let me start by saying, "whatever gets you through the gig is OK with me"

That said, I am a huge opponent of using technology in place of things you can (and should) be able to to handle without it. Implementing a pitch-correction device will diminish your own ability to sing and while it may get you through some short-term, immediate need situations, in the long run you'll be no better off.

But again - whatever gets you through the gig. If you don't want to become self-sufficient with regard to your own singing abilities, go for it.

There are a LOT of "great" backup singers who have comparably "terrible" voices. Fact is, "non-traditional singing voices" can actually make backup vocals sound quite distinctive (in both a good and bad way) - but taking the good way to heart, it can be the difference between your group sounding like a generic group of OK singers and a really interesting group with really intriguing backups.

Sonny Bono was part of Phil Spectors "wall of sound" IIRC - and was called, "The Frog" because of his "less than great sounding" singing voice. But it became a staple of the backup sound in the music that Spector produced.

In my experience, I've played with a friend who has an excellent singing voice - much more in control and "nice sounding" than my own - but there have been many, many songs where my backups actually sounded better/more correct than his because of my "unusual" (I call it 'novelty') voice. While he hit all the right notes and filled the air with his pristine, pitch-perfect vocalizations, there was something about that perfection that worked against the overall flavor and texture of the backups.

So - having a 'non-traditional' singing voice may keep you from singing a lot of leads - but it could make you very valuable when it comes to creating memorable backups.

This is a great post, and the second part applied to me perfectly for years when I got lots of derision for my lead tone, while everyone loved the sound of our harmonies. I even felt the same way - on tape the harmonized parts made me happy, but my soloed parts made me cringe.

Now I will change tonalities depending on what I'm hearing out of the other singers (when I have the opportunity to sing with others) in order to try and place my voice into a 'helpful' spot, as opposed to one with too much coverage.

 

[jive1]

So - having a 'non-traditional' singing voice may keep you from singing a lot of leads - but it could make you very valuable when it comes to creating memorable backups.

Very true. And sometimes having a great lead voice may not work well for backgrounds. First you have to hear the harmony, which can be hard for many. Then you have to nail the note, and blend it in so that it doesn't overcome the lead.

I'm a better lead vocalist than a backup, because I'm better at hitting the melody naturally. It's much more effort for me to sing a harmony outside of an octave or fifth. I tend to belt a little in order to hit pitch, which doesn't blend in as well on harmonies. I've learned to back off the mic a bit after cringing at some videos.

 

[jive1]

Never understood bands thinking they sound better with mediocre/bad backing vocals as opposed to none.
Perhaps these are the bands that have average/mediocre lead vocals

Sometimes, there's just alot of power when the whole band steps up to the mic. And if you make the crowd into your backup singers, then you'll have a chorus of mediocre/bad backing vocals.

We did Don't Stop Believing at a wedding. I couldn't tell you whether or not we nailed the harmonies because we couldn't hear ourselves over the hundred people singing along.

 

[tZer]

I'm a better lead vocalist than a backup, because I'm better at hitting the melody naturally. It's much more effort for me to sing a harmony outside of an octave or fifth. I tend to belt a little in order to hit pitch, which doesn't blend in as well on harmonies. I've learned to back off the mic a bit after cringing at some videos.

I am the opposite. I do average leads but can bring the backups with a vengeance. The biggest problem I face is timid lead singers. Because I consciously blend my voice with theirs, if they are timid and not digging into the mic, I have nothing to blend with - and I end up backing off too. The result - super anemic vocals in general - which sucks. The stronger they sing, the stronger I sing - but there's nothing worse than hearing an 'interestingly voiced' backup singer out doing the lead singer because the lead singer is afraid of the mic...

I'll also add that (in spite of reading your "Bass Player's Guide to Singing") I find playing some bass parts to and singing to be very challenging. My fingers want to do what my voice is doing and vice-versa... But that's what practice is all about, innit? IME, bass+singing is more difficult than rhythm guitar, drums, or 'rhythm' piano + singing. Chordal piano + singing = almost perfect! It's amazing how many non-melody parts you can tease out when your playing those chords at the piano.

I am starting a new process with my current ('originals') project where we divide our rehearsal sessions into 2 parts. The songs we're developing are RIPE for backups but only minimal parts have been created so far because we just play, play, play with only a few brave souls stepping up to experiment with a backup here and there...

Each song is begging for LOTS of backups both parallel and intertwining parts, oohs and aahs and so on (Think R.E.M - and since R.E.M. is R.I.P, I think we should just fill that void).

But the parts need to be created - then they need to be distributed and practiced. All of that is VERY hard to do once you let the boys get behind their instruments. In other words, in the band room there is too much 'playing' and/or desire to 'just play' at play and backups suffer.

So we're dividing our rehearsals into 2 parts. The first part we'll sit around the coffee table with minimal instruments (acoustic guitar, acoustic bass - playing minimally - drummer plays a cajon just to keep the groove intact) - but the point is to be able to listen to the melody so we can design the harmonies and counter-melodies and practice them in that 'vocal-friendly' setting. This way we'll each stake out our own vocal territory and start developing our ability to fill in these backups playing to each of our strongest vocal suits.

Then we'll take the session down to the band room and apply it to the fully-electric/instrumented configuration. I figure separating the vocal development and rehearsal from the full-on playing will allow the vocals to get a toe hold and be easier to execute when we are in full session.

 

[Dublin-Bass]

Sometimes, there's just alot of power when the whole band steps up to the mic. And if you make the crowd into your backup singers, then you'll have a chorus of mediocre/bad backing vocals.

We did Don't Stop Believing at a wedding. I couldn't tell you whether or not we nailed the harmonies because we couldn't hear ourselves over the hundred people singing along.

But that said, when the Crowd is that enthusiastic enough to sing along with you then you could think "who cares how tight the Harmonies are if everyone is enjoying themselves"

don't get me wrong, not wanting to sound hypocritical, I've done some Gigs where I did not feel comfortable (either due to not being able to hear myself properly, playing with a Drummer who was just "not into it" as it were, or just generally me feeling under the weather due to whatever, and during those occasions (which are thankfully few and far between) have felt my Bass Playing was not up to scratch that particular night. But I am aware that none of that reaches the Crowd watching you, especially a late night crowd. They're having a blast and really, thats the name of the Game when your playing Gigs like that, whether they be Parties or weddings etc. Still, you want to play your best all the time but as Bryan Beller once said about a rather bad Gig he felt he played, he originally blamed it on the Bass he was using but later realised that "you can't always hit a Home run every time you want to Bat".

 

[happycat]

I used to find playing bass and doing pretty much anything else a challenge. I changed to playing rhythm and lead and I found it much easier - not real sure why.

As I played more (bass or guitar) and become more relaxed and comfortable with what I was playing, I started to be able to think more about singing. This has been the key for me...get as comfortable and proficient as you can with your bass playing and start to introduce backing vocals etc. Start simple and move on from there.

As it happens, I started playing in a 3 piece and we all agreed that everyone needed to contribute vocally. I am not yet ready to sing lead vox (this is a confidence thing for me that I need to work on) but the BV thing is definitely there.

Reality is that this transition from not being able to sing at all to being able to sing B.V. has taken a few years (for me). It was a gradualy progression from just playing bass to playing bass and singing along (no microphone) to actually singing B.V.

So, practice at home on your own. Then at rehearsals and finally at gigs. Start simple, get confident and you will surprise yourself. I expect that the other band members will be quite supportive - mine are.

I find it quite satisfying to help out on vox as well as playing bass. I hope you do too.