How to Have Kick-ass Vocals on Your Next Record

I wrote a blog post a little while ago about the 6 Non-Negotiables to Recording a Great Record and two of those non-negotiables talked about the importance of vocals. Without vocals that kick some serious ass ;), your record isn’t going anywhere. They’re the biggest thing people love or hate about a record and your chance to really connect to your audience.

When getting ready to record you want to make sure you do two things: Get Your Voice In Shape + Prepare Your Vocals — enter the Vocal Arranger.

Here’s the breakdown:

1. Prepare Your Vocals for RecordingMost recording sessions are done in a concentrated amount of time, so first you need to have your vocal instrument in top shape to sing your songs with proper technique, tone, and pitch for extended periods. The way you do this is through consistent warm-ups and care of your voice. Exercise, massage, meditation, staying hydrated and eating right create the conditions for your voice to feel and sound its best. You don’t have to be perfect all the time, but the more consistently you take care of your voice, the better your feel, the easier it is to make good choices and the more confident you become. It’s win-win-win. Then, there is the vocal pre-production part where you dig into the phrasing. Each song requires a unique approach and figuring out the message and interpretation along with the phrasing is key to making your vocals shine. You may need some help with this – which leads me to #2.
2. Don’t Miss Out on Vocal Arranging
   
   The all-too-often unknown art of Vocal Arranging. Most big records have a vocal arranger come in to “arrange” the vocals. What does that mean? A vocal arranger decides how the song should be sung in terms of phrasing, volume, inflection, and style. An experienced vocal arranger will be able to arrange the vocal for maximum impact – ensuring that every word is heard, understood, and sounds amazing. These are things we can’t necessarily decide ourselves as artists because it’s so hard to separate ourselves from our vocal performance or what we’ve written. A vocal arranger can listen to what you are doing naturally without thinking about it and make it a conscious choice. They can also hear what isn’t working and give you alternative phrasing or correction until it feels right. They also know what vocal styles work best with what grooves and genres and how to use that to your advantage.

Are you about to record vocals on your record and need some guidance? Vocal arranging has the potential to turn a good record into a GREAT one – fit for licensing & noticed by industry.

You may not be able to afford to bring a Vocal Arranger into the studio with you (it can be quite costly) – so what’s the next best thing?

Book a VIP DAY for Vocal Arranging on your next album here!

You can use a VIP DAY or VIP HALF DAY with Cari to perfect your vocals in any situation! Whether you need her on location in a NYC studio, or you need to refine your phrasing during pre-production- she’s there to walk you through each of your songs step by step until you achieve your best vocal performance yet!

©2013 Cari Cole, Vocal Mag, Inc. All Rights Reserved.