I know you often think background vocals (popularly called backups) are not as important as the person in front, but the backup to me determines how well or woeful the lead will do. In fact, it is a job some wake up to do.

Essential Roles of Background Vocals

Firstly, if the backups are full and harmonious, it will reduce the efforts of the lead in trying to fill in all the spaces, it will also allow him or her to be properly focused on ministering because you’re holding the fort, and he will also be less anxious.

Furthermore, for a live recording or streaming, voices are always dry and rough if no extra effort is put into the audio setup, mixing, and singing techniques.

In other words, the singing techniques required for recording are different from your everyday singing. You have to wear some ‘vocal makeup‘ to sound good for the camera.

1. Balance

It is very important to sing at equal volume across every pitch. This has to be done consciously, once you begin to sing a higher pitch maintain the same volume as in the lower pitch except when you have to observe dynamics. Don’t allow your voice to jump on high pitches. Maintain the same mouth shape for the same vowels as your pitch increases.

Also, maintain a balance between singing parts, there is no rule that says the melody must be louder in harmony but it sounds a bit out of place when only one part say tenor or alto can be heard from the mics.

2. Blend and Accuracy

As little as it sounds, the greatest weapon of a choir is blend, no voice is standing out from the group, not a word sung by one singer should sound earlier than the next singer’s words, everyone must land at the same time, end their Ts and Ss in alignment.

When singing in unison, it is important for all ladies (sops and altos) to sing on the same octave, if not too high men can join them. Unison singing during rehearsals is one way to improve the choir blend.

Uniformity in volume, vowel sounds, singing techniques, vibrato speed, and dynamics. If the lead singer sings softly the backups must sing softly and vice versa.

3. Accompaniment

Just like the piano, guitars, and bass, the background vocals are to accompany the lead singer not to take over the lead. You’ve got to take a few steps back, no ad-libs (except it’s in the arrangement), no extra notes, riffs, and runs. Never sing louder than the lead singer as no accompanying instrument should not.

4. Tonal Control

The voice usually goes through four stages for professional singers;

✓Sleepy

✓Warmed up 

✓Peaked

✓Fatigued

Study when your voice peaks and avoid going before that level or else it leads to fatigue

You need a lot of air to sing a higher pitch, the higher the pitch the more need to breathe in take. Plan yourself to know when to take breathe for different adlibs

√Head compression is better than blasting out high pitch. Use muscle control, singing as strongly as possible without tensioning the throat 

✓Shaping of mouth is responsible for the tone

✓ Sound of the back of the mouth, producing sound from nose to the semi-chest

✓Sound of the tongue hanging

✓ Back of the tongue press down are all postures that influence the tone. Use these positions and check whether you sound better or worse

5. Agreement

A number of things must be agreed on when you back up; diction (how do you pronounce your “battle, with a silent T or spoken?)

Which part stays on melody? Soprano or any other part? How many times to sing what, where to sing harmony, and where to sing unison?

In a live production, freestyling must be avoided while song structure must be adhered to. If you have the luxury, the music director should make a script of how the entire music arrangements will go, from the breathy singing on the first verse to heavy vibrato on the bridge, to the crescendo on every opening phrase of the chorus, the number of times the chorus of each song is taken, where there are interludes, song sequence. Yes, you can script your ministrations, not every time is spontaneous.

6. Vocal Placement

Where someone sings from the nose and another from the throat and another from the chest there can never be a vocal blend. Everyone must accept their flaws and find ways to quickly work on them, every guest artist in the choir must also come down to the level of other upcoming ones, so as to have a choir with one sound.

The best placement to use while backing up includes chest voice, head voice, and the mix. Falsetto, nasal voice, and forcing the throat must be avoided. They can, however, be used when singing as a soloist if it’s your personal bias. But when singing background vocals NO VOICE MUST SHINE.

7. Closeness of Harmony

It is important that when harmony is deep all singers must be in that low range, when it’s high all singers must move up. Harmony sounds out of place when sopranos stay up there and the tenor is somewhere rumbling at the bottom while the alto is at the middle.

While the soprano must always stay on top of the harmony chain to brighten up things, the other parts must not be too far from it and this is where the challenge is; sopranos don’t have to sing the melody all the time, but to stay at the highest range.

• If the soprano sings the melody, the alto and tenor sing normal parts,
• If the soprano sings the tenor, then the alto sings the melody while the tenor sings the alto.
• If a soprano sings alto, the alto sings tenor while the tenor sings the melody.

Don’t forget at the closest range

8. Sing Loud, Don’t Shout

Shouting, throat clearing, and coughing have the same effect on the voice which is fatigue. Singing loud requires a lot of muscle control and breath support, and it takes an experienced singer to be very loud and nice sounding.

I can tell you that an amateur singer would easily sound like a pro if he sings softly.

Secondly, the microphones are like human ears, they “bleed” when you shout to them at close range but respond better when you’re close and soft or loud from a distance.

Singers must learn proper microphone techniques in addition to singing.

9. Communicate Stylishly

When things are going wrong it’s usually obvious and you shouldn’t leave it to fate. Use style to make eye contacts that can quickly save the day. Issues like off-key, and off-beat singing need a quick fix.

10 .Be Sensitive

Listen to your inner self to know when you’re singing louder than everyone, stop if you’re going off and listen to readjust and realign to the key.

Also listen closely to others as you keep singing so you can know if the lead is trying to pass a message through his or her adlibs. A message like repeat again, skip the bridge, and go to the end. This is one of the uses of adlibs.

Are you ready to take your vocal skills to the next level? Join Elevate Vocal Academy and unlock the secrets of exceptional background vocals. Our expert mentors will guide you through techniques for harmonizing, blending, and perfecting your accompaniment skills.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of a supportive community and transform your singing abilities. Sign up today to become an irresistible background vocalist and enhance your musical journey like never before!
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11. Phrasing

You don’t get to hear about this technique often, but it is one of those techniques that separate boys from men in singing.

This has to do with how you breathe, where you breathe, finishing a phrase without breathing in, and joining the tail of your last note to the head of your next notes when singing slow songs especially in order to create legato.

Phrasing is like observing punctuation marks when you talk. Music has punctuation too and it’s in a musical sentence that makes a whole tune. That’s where you breathe and pause. Singing through a phrase should be even except when dynamic changes are stated.

12. Inversions

When inverting harmony, there is a very high tendency that the whole choir would go ballistic. It is important to maintain the same volume levels when you invert for smoothness.

13. Gesture

• Make a good face when backing up.
• Smile (it actually affects how nice your voice sounds than when you frown).
• It also motivates your audience.
• Don’t make a fixed stereotyped rhythmic movement, flow with the music.
• Get into the spirit of the song and express yourself with eye movements, smiling, and raised hands when backing up.

14. Chord Progressions

Observing chord movements and harmonizing appropriately is a pro move you should try.

Sometimes the musicians change the chords around and once you hear it you can adjust your note as it relates to the chord progression.

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In conclusion, the role of background vocals should never be underestimated. They play a vital part in supporting the lead singer, creating harmonies, and adding depth to the overall ministration.

From reducing the burden on the lead to enhancing live recordings and streams, background vocals are the unsung heroes that can truly elevate the entire musical experience.

Are you ready to take your vocal skills to the next level? Join Elevate Vocal Academy and unlock the secrets of exceptional background vocals. Our expert mentors will guide you through techniques for harmonizing, blending, and perfecting your accompaniment skills.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be part of a supportive community and transform your singing abilities. Sign up today to become an ireesistible background vocalist and enhance your musical journey like never before!
GET STARTED FOR FREE