Singing Guide: Richard Clapton
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Richard Clapton is one of the most distinct Australian artists, with a voice that resonates with Aussie rock fans worldwide. Known for his exceptional onstage presence and remarkable vocal range, Richard Clapton's singing style spans a wide variety of genres such as rock, pop, and blues. Clapton’s seemingly effortless range sets him apart from other singers, and enables him to achieve vocal heights that astound audiences.
To sing like Richard Clapton, you'll need to start with a solid understanding of your voice type and the basic principles of singing. Begin with a vocal range test to ascertain your range. Once you understand where your voice sits, dive into some of our singing courses to improve your voice quality and achieve the tones required to match Clapton's vocal range.
To prepare for this journey of emulating Richard Clapton, focus on refining your breathing technique, which provides the foundation for all singing styles. This is crucial for achieving the dynamic control and tonal accuracy that Clapton's songs require. Our Breathing Basics article provides a good introduction to this fundamental component of singing.
Next, hone your pitch by taking our pitch accuracy test and practicing with our Pitch Training educational singing game. Both of these resources aid in developing and training your vocal pitch accuracy.
Richard Clapton's unique singing style is characterized by his unfiltered voice and the use of vocal registers, mix voice, and pitch slides, which he uses to enhance emotions in his singing. Clapton's popular song, "Girls on the Avenue" is the perfect example of his signature style in action. "Girls on the Avenue" is an uplifting example of Clapton utilizing a kinetic, joyful energy in his high-energy vocals.
Using vocal monitors like Singing Carrot’s Vocal Pitch Monitor is helpful when looking to replicate Clapton's sliding tone. With the monitor, you can hear your own voice and explore the tonal changes while learning to adapt Clapton's sliding tones reminiscent of "Girls on the Avenue."
One of the most exciting parts of singing like Richard Clapton is replicating his well-known mix of rock, pop, and blues. It's crucial to note that the sound you want to replicate isn't just the vocals but the whole package that made Clapton great, which includes the storytelling and writing style that can truly make a performance remarkable. To truly honor the great singer's sound, experiment with some of our exercises like the Glottal onset exercise that Clapton uses in "Down in the Lucky Country."
Finally, prepare yourself for stage performances by taking our stage fright and performance tips articles to get the best out of your live performances. Put all of what you’ve learned into practice, find songs you enjoy singing which fit within your range and watch your talent progress over time.