Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Learning to Sing A Cappella #1: Good Tuning and Vocal Blend
Do you want to be able to sing with an a cappella group while having both great tone and tuning? An a cappella group is an ensemble that performs without instrumental accompaniment. This allows your group to lock in the harmonies, which helps achieve the distinctive vocal blend you find in this style. How do you do this? Through ear training and physical skills instruction. Keep reading Where Do I Start if I Want to Be Able to Sing A Cappella? to learn the essential skills you’ll need.
Be sure to check out the video at the end of the post that demonstrates these skills using a Christmas a cappella song.
This post uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the article.
Learning to Sing A Cappella #2: Proper Breathing Technique
If you want to perform great a cappella songs, you need to sing with a supported tone.
All singers must have proper breathing technique:
- Find a comfy couch and lay down.
- Rest your hand on your stomach right below your ribs.
- Can you feel yourself breathing as your stomach rises and falls?
The diaphragm muscle in your torso expands and contracts your lungs, allowing you to breathe:
- The power in your singing comes from here.
- In other words, a cappella choir members need to sing from the gut.
- This means your stomach should move as you breathe, not your shoulders.
Breathe at the phrase endings (the commas and periods in the lyrics):
- This ensures you’ll have enough breath, so your pitch won’t sink, allowing you to stay in tune.
- Also, where you breathe will impact how the phrases in the lyrics connect together.
- This is one reason why a cappella groups should plan out where to take breaths.
Learning to Sing A Cappella #3: Sing with a High Soft Pallet
If you want a good tone, you need to sing with a high soft pallet.
Let’s explore the space at the back of your throat:
- Slide your tongue from front to back along the roof of your mouth.
- The hard part in front is, not surprisingly, called the hard pallet.
- The flexible part in back is called the soft pallet.
When you sing vowels, you’ll need to keep your soft palate high:
- However, be careful to avoid hyper-extending the soft pallet.
- In other words, you’ll need to keep your soft pallet high but relaxed.
- If you do, you’ll be one step closer to the type of tone you’ll hear from the best a cappella groups and in the great a cappella songs.
Learning to Sing A Cappella #4: Harmonizing in Tune
Well-tuned harmonies are the foundation of an a cappella group’s sound.
You need to listen for these three things when tuning up your a cappella group’s harmonies:
The sing along song tracks will help you work on your harmonizing skills:
- Use the Ah vowel to sing along with the specially tuned Melody & Keyboard soundtrack (below) while paying attention to your tone.
- Be sure to sing from the gut and plan out where you’ll take breaths beforehand.
- After singing with the first track (while securely maintaining your pitch) try singing with the second track that has just the keyboard part.
These soundtracks will help anyone who wants to be an a cappella singer, but who struggles with pitchiness.
Melody & Keyboard – Learning to Sing Exercise:
Just Keyboard – Learning to Sing Exercise:
The sing along song track uses synthetic voices rather than actual voices. Research has shown that this will help with the ability to identify and produce absolute pitch information. For more information:
Learning to Sing A Cappella #5: Good Vowel Production
To achieve a good tone, your need to be in tune and produce good vowels. For more information on how to sing the vowels in your a cappella songs:
- Singing Lip Vowels
- Singing Tongue Vowels
- Singing Schwa Vowels
- Singing into the Mask
- Sing in Tune Like a Rock Star
These posts will help you learn how to achieve good vocal tone and blend in your a cappella group.
In addition, the voices in this style of music usually have no vibrato, except for sometimes a little bit in the lead vocals. For more information:
As an example of the different types of vocal blend, I’ve provided a video of the a cappella group Straight No Chaser singing The Twelve Days of Christmas a cappella song.
Video: Straight No Chaser Singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” A Cappella Song
This video shows the type of control a professional a cappella company can have over their tone, pitch, and vibrato.
Learning to Sing A Cappella #6: Final Thoughts
To summarize, if you want to sing great a cappella songs, you must:
- Sing with a supported tone.
- Plan out where to take breaths.
- Sing with a high soft pallet.
- Harmonize in tune.
- Have good vowel production.
If you do this, you’ll be well on your way to achieving good intonation and vocal blend. Which will in turn help you toward the goal of singing great a cappella songs (including great a cappella Christmas songs like the one above).
For more articles with sing along soundtracks:
Relate Posts:
- Singing Intervals
- 10 Elements that Impact Singing in Tune
- Ear Training Exercises for Harmonizing in Tune
© 2024 Geoffrey Keith
Join me for in-person or online lessons today!
Glossary
Is There a Difference in Difficulty for Singing Specific Vowels?
Is there a difference in difficulty in singing specific vowels? Yes, some vowels will be easier to sing in tune, and others will be easier to sing with a strong tone. Click to understand why there is a difference in difficulty for singing specific vowels, and how to do something about it. Estimated reading time 5 minutes.
Read More
Advanced Heterophony Concepts – Part 1
Do you want to understand advanced heterophony concepts? How does timbre affect heterophony in the ma’luf ensembles? Many cultures organize their music by using heterophony which forms the music in essentially different ways than harmony-based music. Keep reading to understand the relationship between heterophony and timbre. Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
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Singing Intervals
Do you want to learn to sing? Do you need help with hearing and singing intervals? Being able to hear musical intervals is a valuable skill. You can use it for identifying intervals, which is an essential skill in vocal sight reading. Also, it’s important for singing melodies in tune. Read more to learn about singing intervals. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
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How to Tune Like a Rock Star
How you tune affects how you sound. We look at how Keith Richards tunes his special open G tuning. The post includes video interviews with Keith Richards. Learn how to tune like a rock star! Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
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