Singing Guide: John Legend
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
John Legend is a multi-talented artist with a unique style that blends R&B, soul, and gospel music. He is distinguished for his soulful ballads, impeccable phrasing, and smoothness in delivering messages of love, hope, and social justice.
To learn how to sing like John Legend, you need to focus on several aspects of your technique, including breath control, dynamics, vibrato, and vocal improvisation. In this article, we will guide you through some of John Legend's signature songs, his vocal style, and the resources available at Singing Carrots to help you learn how to replicate his tone, pitch, and delivery.
Breath control:
Like most successful singers, John Legend has great breath control, which is a critical aspect of producing excellent vocals. You can improve your breath control by regularly incorporating breathing exercises into your daily practice routine. The Farinelli breathing exercise in our resource list is a great warm-up to start developing diaphragmatic breathing.
Dynamics:
John Legend creates a dynamic performance by knowing when to increase or decrease his vocal voice's intensity and emphasis. He’s known for taking a subtle approach to his song delivery, and his dynamics play a starring role in creating his trademark sound. To develop your dynamics when vocalizing, practice using Singing Comfort Zone exercises.
Vibrato:
Vibrato is a technique that singers use to add a pulsating or trembling effect to a sustained note. John Legend has excellent vibrato control, particularly evident in his ballads like “All of Me." To develop your vibrato, practice with the Beggars Bounce technique that provides a nice workout for your diaphragm muscles.
Vocal Improvisation:
John Legend is renowned for his vocal improvisation skills. Improvising can take a song to a whole new level by adding an extra dimension to the performance. To improve your improvisational skills, practice singing along with songs in which John Legend has covered, such as “Feeling Good” or “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” You can use our singing app game, Pitch Training, to practice vocal improvisations and warmups.
Additionally, John Legend's songs such as "Ordinary People," “Save Room," “Green Light," and “P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)" showcase his vocal prowess, style, and values. Sing along with these songs to develop vocal techniques that will help you achieve John Legend's sound.
In conclusion, learning how to sing like John Legend takes practice and constant reassessment of your voice. Singing Carrots provides excellent resources to help develop and refine your vocal skills using videos, articles, games, and singing courses. Incorporate the singing techniques used by John Legend and use the resources provided to hone your singing abilities.