Singing Guide: Catatonia

Singing Guide: Catatonia

Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources

Are you a beginner or advanced singer?

Are you a fan of Catatonia, looking for tips on how to sing like the band's lead vocalist, Cerys Matthews? Here is an in-depth guide on how to emulate her unique style and techniques.

Vocal Range

The first step in learning to sing like Cerys Matthews is to determine your vocal range with Singing Carrots' vocal range test. Once you have established your range, listen to Catatonia's music to determine which songs best suit your voice. Matthews is known for her wide vocal range, able to comfortably sing both high and low notes with equal ease. The pitch accuracy test is a great way to work on hitting the notes in the right key.

Unique Vocal Techniques

Cerys Matthews has a unique singing style that is distinguishable from most other vocalists. As a Catatonia fan, you are probably familiar with her breathy, soft-spoken delivery that often explodes into powerful belting. This technique is commonly referred to as belting and requires proper breath support, which is critical to executing this technique properly.

Breath support can be improved by practicing breathing exercises like those found in Singing Carrots' breath support article, which explains the difference between active and passive breathing and how to enhance oxygen efficiency. Once you have mastered breath control, you can use it to better control your belting, as well as other related techniques such as Twanging and Growling, which are demonstrated in Singing Carrots' How to Twang Exercise and How to Growl Exercise videos.

Songs and Performances

To truly emulate Cerys Matthews, you need to practice like a professional. This includes breaking down Matthews' performances and studying her vocal techniques to emulate her singing style. In particular, listen to her vocal control and how she emphasizes certain words in the lyrics. Singing Carrots' article on articulation and the vocal distortion & growling article can show you how to control your vocals and properly enunciate each word.

Once you have a sense of Matthews' vocal style, begin applying her techniques to your own singing by practicing songs from Catatonia's collection. If you're just starting out, try singing along to Catatonia's slower songs while focusing on your breath control and pitch accuracy. Over time, you can work your way up to more challenging songs and begin to incorporate Matthews' belting and growling techniques.

Conclusion

Learning to sing like Cerys Matthews requires hard work, practice, and dedication. Fortunately, Singing Carrots provide a wealth of resources for improving your vocal range, techniques, performance technique, and breath control. By utilizing the tools and techniques provided in this article, you can take the first steps on your journey to singing like Cerys Matthews and performing Catatonia's music.

Learn more about this artist vocal range, voice type and repertoire.