Singing Guide: Avalon
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Avalon is an American contemporary Christian vocal quartet formed in 1996 by Greg and Janna Long, Jody McBrayer, and Michael Passons, later joined by Cherie Adams. Avalon is admired for its sophisticated pop-rock harmonies, beautiful piano and guitar instrumentation, as well as its devoted, uplifting lyrics.
To learn singing like Avalon, first start by testing your vocal range with Singing Carrots vocal range test, to find out what range you fall into and what songs or exercises are suitable for you. It's only possible to produce sounds that you can hear in your head, so practice listening to Avalon's hits like "Testify to Love," "Can't Live a Day," and "Adonai," to familiarize yourself with their sound. Avalon's singing places great emphasis on harmonies, so explore your own vocal harmony skills and experiment with different vocal ranges.
Avalon also incorporates a techniques called vibrato, which cycles through small changes in pitch to add depth and emotion to their sound. You can learn more about vibrato in this video tutorial: Beggars Bounce. Also, articulation exercises such as the Finger Bite can help train the mouth for crystal-clear singing.
It's also essential to be able to take sufficient breaths and sustain breath throughout a line. Proper breath support helps with singing for a long time and gives your voice the power it needs to make an impact. You can learn more about breath support in this article: Breath support. Farinelli Breathing exercise like the one shown in this video can help you become a more efficient breather: Farinelli Breathing.
Avalon also places great importance on vocal control and excellent pitch through proper vocal intonation. Vocal strength activities such as the Sustain Vocal Exercise can help you develop your optimal breathing, tone control, and pitch control.
Last but not least, to perform like Avalon, learning to control your nerves is critical. This article, How to overcome stage fright can help you overcome stage fright. And when it's time to make your big entrance on stage, remember these tips from Tips For Performing On Stage.
With these skills and resources from Singing Carrots, you can capture Avalon's unique sound and start singing with confidence.