Singing Guide: Buck Owens
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Buck Owens was a prolific American country singer and guitarist, whose music falls into the sub-genres of western swing and honky-tonk. His sound, characterized by the unique use of a shiny red, white, and blue guitar, was a hit in the 1960s and paved the way for Bakersfield sound movement.
To emulate Buck Owens's singing style, you need to imbibe his twanging sound that leans heavily on the use of his chest voice. Owens' voice is characterized by quick and sharp vowel sounds in his twang singing style. In his classic up-tempo hit "Act Naturally," he mostly sings short syllables and quick vowel sounds. Also, Owens's use of yodeling is prominent in his music style. This signature yodel is used as a melodic transition and adds a captivating sound to his vocal range.
To learn the basics of twang singing, Singing Carrots offers an exceptional vocal exercise on How to Twang. In the video exercise, you'll learn the various aspects of twang singing and tips to help you imbibe Buck Owens's singing style.
Buck Owens's notable songs like "Act Naturally," "Together Again," and "Love's Gonna Live Here Again." These songs are examples of Buck Owens's signature style and can serve as excellent practice material for budding singers. To explore the vocal range of Buck Owens and other famous singers, Singing Carrots provides an extensive vocal range tool. The tool allows you to search for songs by vocal range and genre preference.
A key aspect of Buck Owens's singing that is worth noting is his diction and accent. Singers hoping to emulate his sound should pay particular attention to articulate your words as he does in his songs. In addition, Singing Carrots has an excellent article on articulation that provides various tips on pronunciation when singing.
In summary, learning to sing like Buck Owens requires that you warm up with twang vocal exercises and practice his trademark yodel. A mastery of his unique voice diction and accent is also essential. Singing Carrots provides excellent vocal exercises and tools to help you achieve that. Happy learning!