Want to be a better tribute singer – check out these great tips.
Monitoring your vocal load after, during, and before the gig:
It is common to find band singers that perform in more than one situation or band, have a life outside of performing, and even have day jobs. It is important for cover band singers to know about their vocal load. This is how much their voice is used every day combining all their activities. They should ensure their vocal instrument can handle it.
Getting the right voice training:
Cover band singers can view themselves as vocal athletes and they need to train their voices in that way. You need to get voice fitness training that is going to help in developing vocal sounds that are going to be needed when performing. The exercises that prepare the voice to sing a classical aria in terms of texture, sound, and timbre are not the same that prepare your voice to sing a rock-pop song that has a brassy. Edgy, or speaky voice quality. You need to train your voice in a given style because not all are the same.
Warming up before singing:
There is a good chance you usually run from one place to another, and you feel like you don’t have enough time for training, warming up, or cooling down. You need to make time because it is going to do a lot of good. " target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Warm-up exercises are good because they transition your voice from the speaking vocal range to the singing vocal range. People don’t speak and sing in the same range, and they need to prepare their bodies to reach the notes/pitches comfortably. Not warming up is the same as casually walking and then bursting into a full sprint and doing it for an hour straight. Depending on your level of fitness, it can be a traumatic experience that can cost you a lot both in the short and long term.
Cooling down when you finish performing:
Vocal cool-down exercises are going to do wonders because they help with vocal recovery. The cool-down exercises are not that complicated, they can be as simple as light vocal glides/slides in head falsetto/voice or singing. There are many tips online that will help you with these exercises. When you are done with the gig, quickly say goodbye to important people and leave. This is important so you don’t use your vocal further. Once you are in the car, you can do cool-down exercises before heading home.
Pacing yourself:
Have a repertoire list of songs that you will perform solo and those you are going to sing background on (if you have a soloist in the band). Organize songs by those that are vocally demanding versus those that are easy to sing. You need to organize the setlist so that the songs that are vocally demanding aren’t back-to-back. If you are singing background, you should switch voice parts with the others so you don’t have to sing the same pitch range the entire time (you can sing top on some songs, bottom on some, and middle on some). If you are a lead singer, you can ad-lib over the chorus and not sing the full chorus.
Changing the arrangement or key so it fits your voice:
If it is possible, you should change the key to the song you will be leading if you think that it is too high. One " target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">semitone can make a lot of difference when it comes to vocal comfort. If it isn’t possible to change the key, consider shortening the arrangement. You can turn it into a medley so you can sing the entire song. You shouldn’t change keys for songs with key changes at the climax. There is no need to do modulation at the end for songs like Living on a prayer by Bon Jovi or I wanna dance with somebody by Whitney Houston. Get the rhythm right with a light up tambourine. The crowd will most likely be singing along and it leaves your voice happier. It is common practice for singers to point the mic to the audience so they can sing during the chorus especially when it is a sing-a-long classic. This is going to give you a break as you engage the audience during the performance.
Getting your sound right:
It is hard for unamplified sound to compete with electronic instruments. Singers can overwork or even lose their voice when they try to sing loud over electronic instruments and drums. You don’t have to do that. You should be smart. Understand the positioning of your microphone, EQ, monitor positioning, personnel capabilities and limitations, and sound equipment because it is going to help a lot to preserve your voice during Tribute Nights | Party Nights | myhotelbreak. When you take care of all these parameters, you don’t have to work too much when projecting specific vocal qualities, yet you can end up with the same effect. You should make sure you spend some time before the gig to fully figure out your sound. If all fails, don’t base your vocal output on what you are hearing, instead base it on the vocal output. Make sure you learn your physical limits and know what it feels like when you reach your maximum singing volume, and then make the adjustments.