Singing Guide: City High

Singing Guide: City High

Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources

Are you a beginner or advanced singer?

Learning to Sing like City High

City High was an American hip-hop trio formed in 1999. Known for their soulful melodies, conscious lyrics, and vocal harmonies, this group made a lasting impression on the music industry despite their short-lived career. Lead vocalists Claudette Ortiz and Ryan Toby had unique techniques that were pivotal to the group's sound.

Claudette Ortiz's Vocal Technique

Claudette Ortiz has a powerful and soulful voice that is marked by an exceptional sense of pitch, emotive delivery, and an extensive vocal range. To learn to sing like her, you can start by taking Singing Carrots' Vocal Range Test to determine your natural range and identify any areas that need strengthening. You can also benefit from Singing Carrots' Pitch Accuracy Test to assess your pitch accuracy.

Once you know your range and pitch accuracy, you can begin to emulate Ortiz's style by practicing Singing Carrots' Breathing Basics exercises to develop breath control. Learning to maintain proper breath support while singing will help you sustain Ortiz's power, control, and range. You can also watch and sing along with Singing Carrots' Twang video lesson, which Ortiz used frequently in her singing style.

Ryan Toby's Vocal Technique

Ryan Toby possesses a high range, emotive delivery, and is known for his falsetto technique. He is particularly skilled in vocal harmony and transitions between his chest and head register. By practicing Singing Carrots' Voice Registers & Vocal Breaks exercises, you can learn to shift between your registers with ease, as Toby does. For an extra challenge, Singing Carrots' video lesson on the Voice Break can help you master Toby's distinct vocal transitions.

Additionally, Singing Carrots' Warm-up Exercises can help you train your voice to reach high notes, improve your breath control and expand your vocal range, essential skills to sing like Ryan Toby.

Songs Highlighting City High's Singing Techniques

City High's songs showcase both Claudette Ortiz's and Ryan Toby's unique vocal techniques, and practicing them can help you learn to sing like them. Some of their best-known songs include:

  • What Would You Do?
  • Caramel
  • City High Anthem

Conclusion

To learn to sing like Claudette Ortiz and Ryan Toby from City High, focus on developing your breathing technique, expanding your vocal range, and practicing voice registers, including their distinct vocal transitions. Don't forget to pay close attention to the emotive delivery that made City High a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.

Enhance your training with Vocal Range Test, Pitch Accuracy Test and Pitch Training on Singing Carrots, and find songs that match your vocal style using the Song search tool. You can also learn more about vocal techniques and stage performance from Singing Carrots' various articles on Contemporary vocal techniques, Performance on stage, How posture affects your singing among others. Good luck on your singing journey!

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