Sharp Practise
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1/8/2009 9:15:06 AM
Backing vocals that can make a difference
Here we are in 2009 and I said I was going to talk about backing vocals, so here goes.
It can be awkward at times if you’ve only one singer in a band to make enough variety in the vocals to make them sit with the lead line. Fortunately I seem to be able to work out where backing lines should go and come up with harmony parts that work behind the lead line – at least, that’s what people have told me over the years.
The key things I keep in mind are (a) how to create variety from chorus to chorus (if that’s where the main backing vocals are going to be); (b) how to ensure that the timing is tight and (c) how to get enough harmonies to give the impression of space being filled by the backing vocals?
The first question is answered by a little bit of forward planning. The second is a matter of performance when the old red recording light comes on. The last is all about stretching the voice (bearing in mind that high harmonies are the ones that suffer if you sing a lot in a short space of time, so do them first!).
Another trick I use is to add artificial double tracking to the process by doubling backing vocals at a few milliseconds behind the main track to add depth to the sound. Don’t forget that the backing vocals should be in a different reverb space than the lead lines – I tend to use medium reverb times for lead vocals and longer ones for backing vocals.
Next time I’ll talk about tidying up the basic tracks before starting to mix.
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