Singing Guide: Brian Ferry
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Brian Ferry is a renowned English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is most notable as a founding member of the iconic glam rock band Roxy Music, which rose to fame in the early 1970s. Ferry's style is characterized by his smooth, crooning vocals, and his sophisticated, romantic lyrics. His unique vocal technique is a combination of his masterful vibrato, dynamic range, falsetto, and the ability to sustain notes for a long time. In this article, we will provide tips and resources to help you learn singing like Brian Ferry.
Vocal Range and Song Selection
One of the first things to consider when learning to sing like Brian Ferry is his vocal range. Ferry has a wide vocal range that spans from a low D2 to a high E5. Some of his most famous songs that show off his impressive vocal range include "Avalon," "Slave to Love," and "More Than This." These songs showcase his crooning style, falsetto, and the ability to sustain notes for a long time.
Breathing and Warm-Up Exercises
To sing like Brian Ferry, it's important to have proper breathing technique. Singing Carrots offers a helpful article on breathing basics, which explains the importance of active and passive breathing, and how to improve your breath control.
You can also try the Farinelli Breathing exercise video to improve your breath control and warm-up your voice for singing.
Voice Registers and Vocal Technique
Brian Ferry's unique singing style relies heavily on his masterful use of different vocal registers. He often switches from his chest voice to his head voice seamlessly, and is known for his use of falsetto in his singing. Singing Carrots offers a helpful article on voice registers, which explains the differences between chest voice, head voice, and falsetto, and how to develop them.
To help you practice your vocal technique, you can try the chest voice exercise video, which explains how to sing with proper chest voice technique, or the Mixed Voice and Voice Break exercise video, which explains how to transition smoothly between vocal registers.
Singing with Emotion and Articulation
Brian Ferry's singing style is not just characterized by his impressive vocal range and technique, but also by the emotion and artistry he brings to his performances. To learn to sing like Brian Ferry, it's important to practice singing with emotion and articulation. Singing Carrots offers a helpful article on singing with intuition, skills, emotion, and thinking, which provides tips on how to bring emotion and meaning to your singing.
You can also try the Finger Bite exercise video to improve your articulation and clarity when singing.
Resources
To help you further in your journey to learn to sing like Brian Ferry, Singing Carrots offers a range of helpful resources, such as the song search feature, which allows you to find songs that match your vocal range and difficulty level, and the vocal range test, which can help you determine your vocal range and how it compares to famous singers.
The Pitch accuracy test provides feedback on your pitch accuracy, while the Vocal Pitch Monitor provides a visual representation of the notes you sing on a virtual piano. You can also try the Pitch Training interactive vocal warm-ups and exercises to improve your range and agility.
For those who are new to singing, the beginner-level Singing Course covers singing theory and practical tips to help you develop your singing skills.
We hope these tips and resources help you on your journey to learn to sing like Brian Ferry. Keep practicing, and soon you'll be crooning like a pro!