Singing Guide: Pentatonix & Maren Morris
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Pentatonix, an a capella group, is recognized for innovative vocal arrangements and a unique sound. Maren Morris is a country music artist who brings an authentic, soulful touch to her performances.
To learn to sing like Pentatonix, you need to perfect the art of humming. Humming is a vital technique for acapella, and it's the cornerstone of the Pentatonix style. According to Scott Hoying, bass singer of the group, humming is the foundation for finding your sound. He advises humming melodies and making sure you hear the melody in your head before placing the notes on your vocal cords.
Once you have honed your humming technique, you need to master pitch accuracy. Pentatonix, especially the bass singer, uses low notes to create a rumbling effect that adds depth to their arrangements. To get started, try out Singing Carrots's pitch accuracy test. It provides immediate feedback and will help you determine which notes you need to work on.
The next step is to practice chest singing. It's a vocal technique where you sing with resonance from your chest, creating a richer sound. Kevin Olusola, Pentatonix's beatboxer, suggests practicing a diaphragm exercise to strengthen your chest voice. Singing Carrots's singing courses cover chest voice and offer interactive vocal warm-ups and pitch visualizers to help you get this technique down.
To sound like Maren Morris, mastering breath support and resonation techniques is crucial. Practice singing with an open mouth and throat to let sound escape your body with less force and with more flexibility. Practicing 'ooo' and 'ah' sounds is helpful to achieve this goal. Additionally, proper posture can help you keep your breath moving freely. Singing Carrots's posture tutorial and breathing basics article provides useful tips.
For both artists, articulation and enunciation are essential. According to Kirstin Maldonado, one of Pentatonix's lead vocalists, hard consonants are what create percussive sounds and help the audience understand the lyrics. Singing Carrots's article on articulation provides techniques to enunciate flawlessly.
Once you have mastered these techniques, practice singing Maren Morris's "The Bones" or Pentatonix's "Hallelujah" to showcase your skills. Keep practicing, and with time, your singing will sound like the artist you aspire to be.
Singing Carrots is an excellent resource for aspiring singers. They offer a wide range of tools, including a vocal range test, pitch accuracy test, vocal pitch monitor, pitch training game, song search by vocal range, search for famous singers' vocal ranges, singing courses, and a variety of tools to help you improve your singing.
To learn more, visit Singing Carrots today!