Hi,

Not sure if this should be on the production forum (please feel free to move Mr Moderator).

I'm working on an acoustic track and would like my vocalist to sing backing vocals in a more 'breathy' way i.e as per Messrs Gibb although not in quite such a high register.

Now he's a big guy so I could just get him to run up & down the stairs a few times before we start but I don't think that's going to give me quite what I'm after. So, anyone got any vocal coaching tips that I can ask him to try?

Thanks,

Simon

Double with wispers and falsetto to taste but most importantly get the main BV's sing in a breathy way - Huge breaths and lots of air but sung quite

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Mac Pro, Logic Pro, lots of software and 17 hard drives!

compress the sh*t out of them when your mixing. Tastefully.

This is one of the few good uses I have found for the (free) SSL LMC compressor. It does some strange things to the tonality of the material but if you are lucky you can get it to really bring out the breaths and assorted mouth noises.

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'These are my principles and if you don't like them...well, I have others' (Groucho Marx) www.ownlittleworld.net/tunes.html

This is one thing where getting the mic choice right, and working the mic in the right way seems to work wonders. Eg for me — ie for my own voice — the Blue Dragonfly is superb for this. It's got a weird knobbly frequency response that just fits my voice well for this. For other people it's sounded terrible on vox, and it doesn't surprise me.

You may prefer a bright sort of breath for pop/rock stuff— in which case a condenser like the Dragonfly might work; or the warmer, smoother sound of a Coles 4038 (or perhaps even a Sontronics Sigma?) ribbon, which can make for a nice smoky sort of breathiness on jazz vox. There are loads of options here, but spend some time working out what gets you closest.

With that stuff sorted, picking the right sort of compressor/EQ to run it through to bring out some character in the breathy range, and to boost air, is worth consideration. LA2A can sound nice for this on breathy rock/pop vox, though it's easy to get too heavy handed. Nice shelf-boost EQ like the Abbey Road R127 can help. It really is a case of performance and horses for courses though...

...funny, most singing teachers spend years trying to train this sound out of their pupils.

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Daniel Davis
Edinburgh Recording Studio Windmill Sound

...which is precisely why one of the ugliest sounds to my ears is a 'trained' voice.

The very premise of there being a generically 'correct' way to sing is one I find baffling.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

if you use a LA73 of some description (i use the Waves one) with 'all' buttons in, pushing it pretty hard, all the breaths should come through. I mention the LA73 because I find it particularly great on vocals, even when pushed really hard.

Hope that helps.