Singing Guide: Bix Beiderbecke
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Bix Beiderbecke was a famous cornetist and pianist during the Roaring Twenties, a time of jazz and flappers. His music was known for his improvisation style, which set him apart from other jazz performers of the time. If you want to learn how to sing like Bix, it's essential to understand his unique style, emulating his improvisation skills and flair, and incorporate your creativity into your singing.
To improve your ability to sing like Bix Beiderbecke, you need to focus on developing your breath control, tone, and range. Singing Carrots online platform presents multiple resources that could be helpful to this end. For instance, you need to practice and master his vibrato techniques, which are demonstrated in these exercises- Beggars Bounce, Diaphragm Bounce. You'll also want to develop your chest voice and voice registers to deliver the appropriate tone for his performances.
To this end, we recommend utilizing these resources. Chest Voice Explained, Singing Comfort Zone, Voice Break, Mixed Voice. Through the videos, you'll learn how to control your transitional voice and handle any voice breaks that might happen between registers.
One of Bix's notable songs is "I'm coming Virginia." It was evident that Bix had a love for playfulness in his music, and often blazed new improvisational trails while playing. Bix's unique style was built around variations of scale and root progression patterns, giving his music structure and coherence. His approach to improvisation more often incorporated improvisation and playful harmony.
To get a sense of his style, you need to give the song a listen, and learn how to play and sing it perfectly. Search songs by vocal range, and if your voice matches the song's original-singer, then you can sing it directly; otherwise, you can adjust the key of the song to match your vocal range.
To sing like Bix Beiderbecke, you need to understand how to control your breath, voice registers, range, and vibrato techniques. Singing Carrots' Pitch Training and Vocal range test are essential resources to help improve your pitch accuracy and vocal range. For detailed guidance on how to increase your breath support and active breathing techniques, read these articles Breathing basics and Breath support. And as you work on your singing technique, check out these articles on how to learn a song effectively and articulation for additional tips and techniques.
By utilizing the available Singing Carrots' resources listed above, you'll be on your way to sing like Bix Beiderbecke. Practice regularly and remain patient, and in no time, you'll be conducting your improvisational jazz performances in his style.