Singing Guide: Gavin Creel
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
If you want to learn how to sing like Gavin Creel, there are a few specifics you should be aware of.
One particular element of his performance that stands out is the use of his mix voice. Gavin seamlessly blends his chest and head voice to create a beautiful and consistent tone throughout his range. Listen to his cover of "The Impossible Dream" and observe how he navigates from a chest-heavy mix to a more head-dominant mix with ease.
To achieve this, you need to master control over your voice registers. You should get to know the differences between them and gain the ability to easily isolate them. A good starting point is to learn about mixed voice and how it functions. You can learn more about this in this article.
Breath support is also a crucial factor in creating this type of sound. Good breath support can assist transitioning from chest to head voice which is what you are mostly aiming to involve in the mix. You can start practicing breath control with this exercise. Remember to sing with a well-supported, free and relaxed breath. This will help you achieve this mix sound.
In addition to this control of registers, Gavin Creel also uses his mouth resonance when singing. He positions his mouth in a more open position and creates enough space for sound to resonate optimally resulting in a ringing sound. This approach also allows him to articulate more precisely. You can learn more about this approach in this article.
Additionally, it would be advantageous to learn how to sing with vibrato, which is a characteristic part of Gavin's style. Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a slight recurring variation in pitch and can be triggered using a contraction of your diaphragm. Videos such as Beggars bounce, Diaphragm Bounce can help with this. You can also practice with this singing game.
Last but not least, once you get comfortable with his unique singing techniques, you can move to learn his specific songs. A great starting example is "You Matter To Me" which showcases his mix voice technique very prominently. You can also look for other music with similar characteristics. A useful resource for this search would be a search tool that helps you locate songs based on your vocal range, genre preference and difficulty. You can use Singing Carrots’ song search tool for this purpose.
Overall, by mastering mix voice, breath control, open mouth singing, vibrato, and practicing with songs, you can learn to sing like Gavin Creel.