Who does backing vocals

[mep]

I help out with backing vocal duties in our band along with the drummer. Although sometimes it more like backing shouting!

Who else does and what songs do you like singing. How do you get on, it's easier than doing the main vocal line. Can you harmonize?

Some fav's of mine over the years are, to name but a few:

Any Oasis song
Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love
REM - The one i love
Kasabian - Fire
Stevie Ray Vaughan - House is rocking
Stereophonics - Just looking
Beastie Boys - Fight for your right
The Beatles - Twist & shout
The foundations - Build me up buttercup
Primal Scream - Rocks
ACDC - long way to the top
Kenny Loggins - Footloose

[casapete]

I sing a lot of BV's - got a very ordinary sounding voice for singing lead,but doesn't seem to matter too much for harmonies!
My range is medium/high so I usually get the third/fifth above stuff to sing-quite enjoy it too.
I've had gigs in the past where singing BV's has got me the job over someone who didn't, so it's a useful thing to have IMO.
I reckon if you can play an instrument you can probably sing to some degree,a lot of it is just confidence.

Did a job a couple of years ago where no vocals were required and went on stage for the first time without a mic stand in front of me,
very odd.

[Rich]

I do BVs in my 2nd band. I used to do some lead in a blues/rock trio many years ago, that was fun but I actually prefer singing backup. When I'm in the car, if I start singing along with the radio/CD, more often than not I start harmonizing with the lead vocal rather than going along with it. It's quite fun making up harmony parts as you go along! Good practice too.

[Gareth Hughes]

I do backing vocals as part of an original trio that I work with - acoustic guitar/lead vocal, upright/backing vocal and backing vocal - and it's certainly led to me becoming an integral part of the sound. I never sang in any bands before, especially after being actively encouraged to never do it after one failed attempt. So with this trio it's been great to have a platform to learn something new, and have that be a new strength to offer.

Like Casapete said - I've a very ordinary sounding voice, and would certainly never think of singing a main vocal - but with another backing vocal and mine adding to a main vocal it's made this trio sound bigger than the sum of it's parts. All good!!

[Huw Foster]

[quote name='casapete' post='755087' date='Feb 23 2010, 03:20 PM']Did a job a couple of years ago where no vocals were required and went on stage for the first time without a mic stand in front of me,
very odd.[/quote]
I also find this a bit odd if I've been doing a long stint of function gigs.

I have a bass/baritone range voice, so I'm not that versatile when it comes to backing vocals. My falsetto is OK though, so I can make do with that sometimes. Mostly I supply some simple harmonies or textural vocals that add a little bit more to the tune. Occasionally (very occasionally) on functions I 'sing' lead on Love Shack. I'm rarely required to do all of the male vocals in that tune though, as most of the time I share it with our tenor player (who's got a much stronger voice).

Don't get me started on my attempts at rapping.

(If only my younger self could see me now. Back then I believed I could retain some artistic integrity. )

[Rosh]

I do like to do them, usually my voice (although being 6ft3 and big and hairy) is medium to high so harmonising is quite easy although the singer from HmF has a higher voice too!

That said, I'm very good at impressions and can impersonate him singing quite well!

[Huw Foster]

[quote name='Rosh' post='755099' date='Feb 23 2010, 03:31 PM']I do like to do them, usually my voice (although being 6ft3 and big and hairy) is medium to high so harmonising is quite easy although the singer from HmF has a higher voice too![/quote]
I'm 5'8" and I can reach a low C. If you're interested in a trade, let me know.

[Rosh]

[quote name='Huwberry' post='755100' date='Feb 23 2010, 03:33 PM']I'm 5'8" and I can reach a low C. If you're interested in a trade, let me know.[/quote]

Sounds like a deal to me People don't expect my voice to come out of me haha

[Basska]

I' the hairy 6'5 tenor that does all the harmonies/backing vocals and a great deal of lead vocals aswell. My brother (the guitarist) does all the rest (check us out if you wanna see what I mean . I was a singer before I was a bass player so I've found that once I got up to scratch with playing that it was a fairly easy transition into singing whenever I wanted to.
moral of the story... it doesn't matter what you do... practice! practice! practice! haha

Chris

[Marvin]

I simply cannot sing. It would be criminal to inflict that much pain and suffering on people.
It' also complicated by the fact that as soon as I try to sing my fingers stop moving.

[thisnameistaken]

I've pretty much always sung harmony in all the bands I've done. The quality of my voice isn't that nice but it doesn't matter so long as I'm not the only one singing.

My current band does occasionally do the odd Toots & The Maytals song in rehearsals if we feel like it (but we don't gig covers), and the one I like singing on most is the silly falsetto part on [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_St8Kbo4uwU"]Sweet & Dandy[/url].

[The_D]

I have only recently started singing backing vocals but am really enjoying the 4 tunes that I do.

She bangs the drums has a decent wee harmony at the end of each line of the chorus and I love it. Have been told I go a bit Manc when doing so though haha!

[Les]

[quote name='casapete' post='755087' date='Feb 23 2010, 03:20 PM']Did a job a couple of years ago where no vocals were required and went on stage for the first time without a mic stand in front of me,
very odd.[/quote]


Always done them. Would freak me out, too, not having a mic in front of me.