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Like other genres, when learning how to sing rock music, there are some important tricks and techniques to be employed. When learning rock music you will realize that the fundamentals are similar to those of learning how to sing classic, opera, and other styles. When you have become more experienced, you can then make some changes to your skills to the genre of your choice, which is rock music in this particular case.
Rock music has gained an immense popularity way back the 1950s, and even today, there are still rock groups that are staying in power that is why many youngsters are drawn to the passion on singing rock. Rock bands are composed of a lead singer, an electric guitarist, a bass guitarist and one at the drum. If you have a burning ambition to join a rock band, you should have the ability to sing rock music and play it on the guitar.
Rock Singing Techniques & Skills You Must Master
So what techniques can you use to improve your skills and to become a professional rock singer?
Well, if you do not know, there are some basic principles that are relevant to all forms of singing. In a way, singing done correctly is always done in a similar way.
This means that excellent rock singing technique is similar to the technique used to sing classical music, and is similar to singing good quality opera music.
It is almost similar to racing cars, where there are different categories and types of cars but the basic concept is one. The racing equipment is operated in a similar way by all drivers.
So, your singing machine is not different from that of others. However, there is a certain way that this machine can be used to produce exceptional singing results.
Rock Personality
In rock music as in all kinds of singing, you should develop a great emphasis on your personality to blend with the type of songs that you are supposed to sing. You should know the proper technique in determining the distance of your mouth to the mic to create a great sound of your voice while singing live. The common practice of some professional singers is they hold the mic very near their mouth whenever they sing an intimate song with feeling. And baritone rock singer also does the same.
This is done so that you can create your own piece of individuality in singing the music, and even the instrumentalists can make their personal flexibility while on stage. At the present set-up, best-selling rock music requires men to sing falsetto and head registers, while women sing through their chests and middle registers. One good thing about singing rock or pop music is that you can do it at a lower or higher pitch compared to other musical categories like theater and classical styles of singing.
Rock Singing Posture and Voice Projection
A good posture can be said to be low key in terms of singing because any form of constriction in the neck or chest will have an impact on the way air will reach your vocal organs from within. On the other hand, an upright posture with slightly pushed out arms at your sides and in front of you will encourage expansion in the chest. This will offer a good singing environment from within, which will help in strong voice projection.
Normally, the rock singer will walk and run around during the on-stage performance, Thus, you will need a proper posture to clearly project the voice while jamming, singing and running around on stage. Just remember to maintain the upright posture.
Sing It Loud
For you to be able to sing rock, you must be loud.
You also have to have a powerful voice. This way you will be able to blow away your audience using the aggression and power of your performance.
One of the elements of a good singer is having good control of your diaphragm. This is important because it is the main energy source, which comes from pushing air via your vocal cords. Most of the basic rock band singing skills are interrelated. A well-controlled voice is the overall total of all hidden parts.
Use Gravel in Singing
One of the effective ways of rock band singing is to use some “gravel” in singing. The reason for this is that rock singers are usually expected to perform with raspy vocal quality. The public wants to hear that raspy or bluesy quality of your voice as a rock singer that distinguishes you from other singers.
When you sing, try to play around with the quality of your voice, and do some exercises such as singing in a breathy/smoky tone or a scratchier melody to accentuate the types of songs that you are practicing.
Proper Light Screaming
Rock singers are usually known to use a scratchy sound when singing which seems like screaming. So, if you want to sing in a rock band and reach the limelight, you have to preserve your voice from being damaged. This way, you can make those cool rock sounds that will make the audience go wild.
However, excessive use of your voice in screaming for so long when you’re performing in concerts can be too taxing for your voice that can cause tone changes, strain, and fatigue. You can use resonance for creating screaming sounds to prevent serious damage to your vocal cords.
Rock Singing Tone
Compared to classical singing, the process on sing rock songs does not need the same amount of clarity and intensity since you are using a microphone. In singing rock, you can apply a little fuzzy tone in your voice.
With the modern technology used in different sound systems, the wayward pitch done by some rock singers can be corrected instantly. In this genre of music, the use of phrases and lines tends to be less intense.
How to Improve & Perfect Your Rock Singing Performance
Improve Your Skill & Stamina
The best way to perfect your rock band singing skill is by perfecting your voice.
In mastering your vocal abilities, rock music uses several styles that require versatility on the singer. You have to control your “instrument,” and practice your vocal runs and licks.
It is a great pleasure to listen to rock singers perform for hours on end without getting tired or their voice cracking. If you were to ask them they would tell you that this achievement is not purely due to having a good voice or talent, but due to a lot of effort to strengthen and improve their voice and to increase their stamina.
Avoidable Mistakes
However, amongst these very talented singers, there are also singers who have overstrained their voices and ruined their careers. This is one avoidable mistake that beginners should not commit. It is important to know that technique and voice control goes a long way in rock song delivery. Similarly, for a long performance, you need to develop the muscles at your throat and thereby develop your stamina so that they do not give up halfway through a performance. Muscle coordination comes only with practice and continued exercises. There is a misconception among people that rock music can be sung with a loud voice and some screaming. This is not so and in fact, that will only help in damaging your vocal cords. On the other hand with a little exercise and proper rock singing lessons even a person with a mild voice can develop a strong and powerful rock singing voice.
Advantage of Rock Lessons:
These singing lessons will teach you to perform note transitions smoothly. Similarly in rock music you may have to shift octaves, sing falsetto and normal, and do ascend and descending sirens. And the techniques used for each of these styles are different. Rock singing lessons will teach you how to transfer from technique to technique and to inject power where required and inject rasping sounds where required and sing in a normal tone where required.
Preventing Voice Damage
It is also important to take care of your voice while training for rock singing. It is very easy to be overzealous and damage your voice. However, any time you feel there is even a slight strain on your vocal cords, it is better to rest your voice for while, take advice from your trainer, drink plenty of warm water so that the vocal cords repair itself. Follow the training techniques taught by your coach, then there is less likelihood of strain happening.
Voice Exercises
Even the most reputed rock singer would have gone through voice exercise sessions to strengthen their voice like opera singers. These exercises may be boring and annoying, but remember they have lasted because these exercises have wrought wonders in the voice of great singers. Besides these, you can also do breathing exercises, yoga or calming down exercise like deep breathing before a performance for better effect. Whether you decide to sing heavy rock music or light rock music training your voice is absolutely essential. And for this, the best method is to go for rock singing lessons.
Flexible Pitches & Keys
In general, it’s not a big problem to sing rock songs since as a professional singer that you can vocalize in 3-octave ranges. Therefore, there’s no problem if you concentrate on other fields of vocal production. But if you encounter any difficulty in singing a rock music piece, you can modify the melody of the pitches in order to obtain your vocal ability.
