Blues music is gritty and wonderful, fun both to sing and to listen to. Though the genre was born in the American South, the music carries a universal message: Life is challenging, and we don't have any option in the matter.
Blues songs link with anyone who has ever been depressed, abused, or just plain badly off. The genre touches the hearts of people young and old from diverse social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.
Here's some helpful recommendation for anyone who wants to sing the blues:
Listen to Blues Performances
To seriously get a feeling for blues vocals, listen to a few of the classic and contemporary blues masters, like Bessie Smith, John Lee Hooker, BB King, and Ma Rainey. You will see that the fantastic blues singers have a way of making you feel their suffering.
Practice singing together with blues vocalists. Focus to the way they use their voice to tell a story and infuse it with emotion. You will discover that a raw, rough voice works better than a smooth, normally trained one.
Practice Singing in a Lower Key
Most blues songs are sung in a middle key or a lower. It's rare to hear a blues song with soaring high vocals. That's because blues music itself is strongly grounded in the troubles of life, and upbeat vocals wouldn't communicate that message.
If you usually sing in a high key, work on fortifying your lower notes. You want to get heard over the horns, bass, and keys that function in many blues songs. Work on your breath pressure, your chest voice, and the tension on your diaphragm.
You can as well try singing in the same tone of voice that you speak in. This speak-singing will enable you to put extra power behind your words.
To increase your lung capacity, try lying on the floor and breathing in as strongly as possible to fully fill your lungs with air. Hold for 5 seconds, then release. Do this every day when you warm up.
Sing from the Heart
When you sing the blues, Overlook about putting on a happy face for the listeners - you'd lose your reliability! Practice looking intense, sad, or even aggressive to match the theme of your song.
Of course, blues music has a lot of dark humor as well. Feel free to smile as long as you're laughing at, or regardless of, the many challenges of life.
Blues is all about feeling. The more feeling you put into your voice, the better. Don't hold back, and don't worry about being technically correct when you sing. Get down and dirty and really feel the music.
Forget Most of What You've Learned
Listen to some great blues singers, and you will notice that they have incredible voices that are worlds apart from the sleek sounds of pop and opera. Blues singers tell a story with their words, and their stories are rough ones.
Forget about perfect pitch and clear affirmation when you sing the blues. You want to give your audience a performance packed with power, soul, and raw emotion.
Do your vocal warm-ups before a blues performance, but if your voice is a little scratchy, don't sweat it. Those sounds really add to the blues experience much more than a completely polished tone would.
If you neglect some of the words to the song, repeat quicker verse or make up new words. Just remember that blues songs are about living with life's hard knocks, not about overcoming them.
Blues songs don't normally have happy endings, but with a bit practice, you'll give your crowd some music to smile about.
Blues songs link with anyone who has ever been depressed, abused, or just plain badly off. The genre touches the hearts of people young and old from diverse social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds.
Here's some helpful recommendation for anyone who wants to sing the blues:
Listen to Blues Performances
To seriously get a feeling for blues vocals, listen to a few of the classic and contemporary blues masters, like Bessie Smith, John Lee Hooker, BB King, and Ma Rainey. You will see that the fantastic blues singers have a way of making you feel their suffering.
Practice singing together with blues vocalists. Focus to the way they use their voice to tell a story and infuse it with emotion. You will discover that a raw, rough voice works better than a smooth, normally trained one.
Practice Singing in a Lower Key
Most blues songs are sung in a middle key or a lower. It's rare to hear a blues song with soaring high vocals. That's because blues music itself is strongly grounded in the troubles of life, and upbeat vocals wouldn't communicate that message.
If you usually sing in a high key, work on fortifying your lower notes. You want to get heard over the horns, bass, and keys that function in many blues songs. Work on your breath pressure, your chest voice, and the tension on your diaphragm.
You can as well try singing in the same tone of voice that you speak in. This speak-singing will enable you to put extra power behind your words.
To increase your lung capacity, try lying on the floor and breathing in as strongly as possible to fully fill your lungs with air. Hold for 5 seconds, then release. Do this every day when you warm up.
Sing from the Heart
When you sing the blues, Overlook about putting on a happy face for the listeners - you'd lose your reliability! Practice looking intense, sad, or even aggressive to match the theme of your song.
Of course, blues music has a lot of dark humor as well. Feel free to smile as long as you're laughing at, or regardless of, the many challenges of life.
Blues is all about feeling. The more feeling you put into your voice, the better. Don't hold back, and don't worry about being technically correct when you sing. Get down and dirty and really feel the music.
Forget Most of What You've Learned
Listen to some great blues singers, and you will notice that they have incredible voices that are worlds apart from the sleek sounds of pop and opera. Blues singers tell a story with their words, and their stories are rough ones.
Forget about perfect pitch and clear affirmation when you sing the blues. You want to give your audience a performance packed with power, soul, and raw emotion.
Do your vocal warm-ups before a blues performance, but if your voice is a little scratchy, don't sweat it. Those sounds really add to the blues experience much more than a completely polished tone would.
If you neglect some of the words to the song, repeat quicker verse or make up new words. Just remember that blues songs are about living with life's hard knocks, not about overcoming them.
Blues songs don't normally have happy endings, but with a bit practice, you'll give your crowd some music to smile about.
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