If you’re a fan of classic rock, chances are high that you would know the legendary band, Alive ‘N Kickin’. Their exceptionally high-energy performances, combined with the soulful and powerful voice of Pepe Cardona, charmed audiences with hits such as "Tighter, Tighter", "Just Let It Come" and many more. Singing like Pepe Cardona requires a unique set of skills and techniques. Here, we’ll outline the fundamental techniques that Pepe Cardona uses while singing and the exercises that you can do to learn the same.

Vocal Technique

Pitch Control

Pepe Cardona is known for his soulful voice and impeccable pitch control. To achieve pitch accuracy, it's important to practice regularly. Singing along with a piano, using Singing Carrots' Pitch Accuracy Test and Vocal Pitch Monitor will help develop pitch control.

Breathing Technique

Breathing is a critical part of singing. It's crucial to develop and maintain strong breath control. Daily practice of rhythm-based breathing exercises like Singing Carrots' Farinelli Breathing helps to develop this skill. By holding the notes for longer with proper breath support, you can produce a sound that’s both powerful and crisp.

Vocal Registers

Understanding vocal registers can help hit high and low notes with ease. Learning to switch between registers seamlessly is crucial. Know more about voice registers and vocal break. Singing Carrots’ video tutorial, Chest Voice Explained, helps in understanding the chest voice.

Open Mouth & Throat

Opening your mouth and throat helps to add some more depth to the sound. Check out why to open mouth and throat while singing.

Vibrato

Pepe Cardona’s voice is described as soulful, and vibrato is one of the ways he delivers that soulful sound. Vibrato is a pulsing ornamentation of the note, created by using a balanced breath. One can practice vibrato by singing on the vowel "ah" while moving the tone up and down through the register, as shown in this Beggars Bounce video tutorial.

Articulation

Emphasizing consonants, can enhance a song's lyrics and add more depth. Articulation is the way of making these consonants clearly heard. Singing Carrots’ tutorial, Finger Bite, shows how to articulate the diction in songs.

Songs by Alive ‘N Kickin’

Here are some popular songs that showcase the unique vocal techniques of Pepe Cardona and how you can practice them.

Tighter, Tighter

This song features Pepe's closed-throat technique, which involves constricting the back of the throat slightly to add a raspy quality to the voice. Check out the song on YouTube, practice it, and challenge yourself to mimic Pepe Cardona’s closed throat technique.

Just Let It Come

Pepe Cardona showcases his breath support and rhythm in this song with some prolonged notes in the chorus. The repeated “let it come” part is a perfect opportunity to practice vibrato and pitch accuracy. Listen to the song on YouTube, and try to practice breath support with Singing Carrots’ tutorial, Sustain Vocal.

Crystal Blue Persuasion

The song features Pepe Cardona's unique falsetto and vibrato. Take inspiration from this song and use Singing Carrots’ tutorial on Diaphragm Bounce to practice vibrato.