Learning to sing like James Rado

James Rado is an American actor, playwright, director, and composer, best known for his work on the 60's counter-culture musical "Hair". Often controversial and political, Rado's work reflects the youthful spirit and social activism of the era.

To learn to sing like James Rado, it's important to understand the unique qualities of his voice. Rado's singing has a folky quality, characterized by a distinctive twang and nasal quality. His voice is also prone to slides, which can make his singing sound less polished but adds to the authenticity of his performance.

When it comes to learning to sing like Rado, it's important to understand the core techniques that set his style apart. One of the key components is singing with twang, which is a type of distortion that involves narrowing the epiglottis to create a brighter, more focused sound. The How to Twang Exercise video on Singing Carrots is an excellent place to start developing this technique.

Another crucial element of Rado's singing style is the use of vibrato to add color and emotion to sustained notes. The Beggars Bounce and Diaphragm Bounce videos both provide useful exercises for honing your vibrato and using it effectively.

Breathing and breath support are also critical to singing like Rado. Active and passive breathing techniques, explained in this Singing Carrots article, are important to execute properly to utilize the full capacity of your lungs.

Singing without restriction and keeping the mouth and throat completely open are also crucial techniques for replicating Rado's style. This Singing Carrots article explains why opening the mouth and throat is so vital, and in conjunction with the Soft Palate and Stop Sounding Nasal Warm-up/Practice videos, can help a singer overcome nasality and improve overall clarity in the voice.

From a performance standpoint, it is important to note that Rado's singing resonates with his audience. To achieve this, consider researching resonance in singing and articulation, specifically, the Finger Bite Warm-up/Practice video and the Articulation article can be useful.

James's most famous work is the musical "Hair." The title song "Hair" is a great example of the twang, nasal, and slide elements in Rado's musical style. When you add to it his voice's qualities with the vibrato technique, it becomes an incredible and emotionally charged song. Another great song that showcases his stylings is "Walking in Space" which involves some very impressive belting techniques.

A variety of Singing Carrots tools, including the Vocal range test, Search songs tool, Vocal ranges of famous singers, and links to the educational singing course and Pitch Training can provide further assistance.

In summary, singing like James Rado requires understanding and mastering techniques such as twang, vibrato, and breathing, as well as singing without restrictions. Naturally, it's also important to listen to his work and emulate his unique style.