Singing Guide: Ben Howard
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Ben Howard is an exceptional singer-songwriter from England known for his unique voice and writing style. His music is characterized by a fusion of acoustic, folk, and indie-rock elements. In this article, we will explore how to learn singing like Ben Howard, highlighting his vocal technique and songs showcasing it.
One of the signature aspects of Ben Howard's singing is his delicate yet powerful falsetto voice. To emulate this, it's essential to develop good breath support and control. You can improve your breath support by practicing breathing exercises like "Farinelli Breathing" and "Active and passive breathing" detailed in this Singing Carrots blog post. Ben Howard often uses chest voice and his mixed voice in his songs. Learn more about this in detail in this video about Chest Voice. Moreover, he uses vocal registers and the vocal break to add more emotion to his songs. Learn about them in detail in this Singing Carrots blog post.
Additionally, Ben Howard often sings with a softer palate, so there is no nasality in his voice. You will find tips to eliminate nasality here in the following videos: Soft Palate and Stop Sounding Nasal. He also sings with a lot of emotion, so it's important to let your emotion and feelings flow while singing. You can learn this by Singing with intuition, skills, emotion, and thinking.
Now, let's analyze a few songs of Ben Howard. We recommend learning "Old Pine" to practice your breath control and phrasing skills. This song is a great example of his signature falsetto voice and how he uses it to create a delicate, emotional atmosphere. For those in need of help with pitch accuracy, we recommend taking the Pitch accuracy test to improve your pitch accuracy.
"Promise" showcases Ben Howard's folk and acoustic resourceness. It's an excellent song to learn and practice for those who are interested in mastering this style. To get better with articulation, check out this blog post.
Lastly, we suggest learning "I Forget Where We Were." This song highlights Ben Howard's unique voice, using different singing registers to play with melody and drama.
In conclusion, to learn singing like Ben Howard, you should practice breath support, chest mixed voice, and vocal registers while also honing in on your emotional singing technique. Practice the songs mentioned above and take advantage of the resources provided by Singing Carrots, such as the vocal range test, Pitch accuracy test, and Pitch Training - Educational Singing Game. By incorporating these tips and resources, you'll be on your way to singing like Ben Howard in no time.