Backing Vocals and playing Bass...

[thundachopz]

Hey everyone......

Iam new to backing vocals....

Been playinag bass for 15 years but now I have apodted backing vocals as part of my performance....

The band I play in uses gritty growly style vocals as well as backing.... iam looking for any tips or links to help the process other than practice...

I do fine it relativly easy to play and backing vocals at the same time but as the style of music demands a differnt appoch to vocals it can be challenging learning a vocal style/tecnique.... does any one have any advice links etc I would be really greatfull!

Cheerz

K

[Skybone]

Recording really helped me remember the lyrics when I did it some years back.

We did a couple of demo's where we did the music live, then overdubbed the vocal. It really helped to focus the mind to both parts.

Having a rehearsal recording helps too, as you can both use it to practice your bass lines and practice your vocals too, though again, I'd practice them separately.

[Dood]

In terms of ‘singing gritty growly’ vocals, there’s a definite technique required if you plan to keep your throat intact after a weekend of gigs  So on that account I would suggest heading out to a vocal teacher who specialises in said genre. 

My trick for pitching is to always pitch using my bass as a reference (don’t pitch against or listen to your singer’s pitching as reference no matter how much you want to hear those lush harmonies!!)

Then I would use earplugs - which are great as the occlusion effect can help you hear your own voice ‘inside your head’. I’d then select a value of attenuation in my ear plug filters that meant the stage volume was about the same or a little lower than my voice when I’m singing. Great for getting a clear note reference. When I figured this out the quality of my three part harmonies went through the roof. Though to be honest I haven’t sang for so long now, it might not be such a pretty sound ha ha!!

If you are on IEMs then again, use something like keyboards or bass to reference your pitch against, not the singers voice. Indeed, my own IEM mix now tends to have the lead and other vocals merely as a guide. 

Hopefully this will help a bit  

[Dood]

36 minutes ago, Skybone said:

Recording really helped me remember the lyrics when I did it some years back.

We did a couple of demo's where we did the music live, then overdubbed the vocal. It really helped to focus the mind to both parts.

Having a rehearsal recording helps too, as you can both use it to practice your bass lines and practice your vocals too, though again, I'd practice them separately.

Yes to lots of recording and yes to having separate rehearsals for vocals where you can sit down with a guitar or piano and work out the lines and phrases without anyone messing about with instruments and sounds in the background!

[Yank]

Just because the lead vocal is low and growley doesn't mean the backing vocal line has to be.  In fact,  it would stand out more being high and pure.

[Akio Dāku]

10 hours ago, thundachopz said:

I'm looking for any tips or links to help the process other than practice.

I'm guna be that guy I'm afraid; there are no quick fixes, you just have to practice vocals everyday like you'd practice bass. You should check out Melissa Cross and her DVD "The Zen of Screaming" if you after a good routine to practice more heavy vocal techniques. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zen-Screaming-DVD-Melissa-Cross/dp/0739046500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536310182&sr=8-1&keywords=zen+screaming   

[Unknown_User]

I find singing when playing bass particularly difficult because often the rhythm of the vocals and the rhythm of the bass are very different and running them both parallel in my head it's easy to trip over one or the other.  So I would say to try and keep the bass line simple on the bits when you're singing and keep your vocal parts away from any fills.

[Nicko]

I fail to see how practice can possibly change your natural singing voice to gritty/growly.  Short of wrecking you vocal chords or smoking 60 marlboro a day, your voice is your voice. 

You might get grittier if you start shouting but its not sustainable in the long term and you'll lose control as well.

[Unknown_User]

9 minutes ago, Nicko said:

I fail to see how practice can possibly change your natural singing voice to gritty/growly.  Short of wrecking you vocal chords or smoking 60 marlboro a day, your voice is your voice. 

You might get grittier if you start shouting but its not sustainable in the long term and you'll lose control as well.

You can change your technique to change the pitch of your voice, definitely.  If you sing from high up, around the nose and throat, you sound higher pitched and if you try to make your voice gravelly doing that then yes you're going to wreck your vocal chords. 

If you sing from deeper down around your lungs/diaphragm, then I find you can get lower, fuller sounds and put more growl into it without it hurting your throat.