Sam Cooke was an American singer-songwriter and recording artist, widely regarded as one of the most influential and pioneering soul musicians of all time. A remarkable and unique feature of Cooke’s vocal technique was his seamless ability to shift between his chest and head voice, particularly during his sustain notes, without the slightest audible vocal break. Known as his mixed register, this technique enabled Cooke to convey genuine emotion and soulfulness in his performances.

If you want to learn to sing like Sam Cooke, try the following:

• Analyze your voice: Knowing your voice type and vocal range is essential to understand your vocal capabilities and limitations. Singing Carrots offers a free vocal range test to help you determine which register you're comfortable in.
• Breathing: Breath support is crucial for achieving the style and technique of Sam Cooke. By mastering the art of breath control, you can produce fuller and more powerful notes by using your diaphragm muscles. Breathing basics is a great source for building breath control and adding depth to your voice.
• Voice registers: Sam Cooke's mixed register was an essential part of his technique. Read more about voice registers to learn how to link your chest and head voice.
• Support and resonance: Sam Cooke solely relied on his natural ability to project his voice, and he did it exceptionally well. Building and supporting your resonators is as important as working on your breathing. Check out breath support and resonance in singing to learn more about this.
• Warm-ups and practice starters: Loosen your vocal cords with warm-ups exercises such as humming and Farinelli breathing. And also try other exercises as shown in 3 Minute Warm Up.
• Learn the song: Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" is an anthem that showcases his vocal range and mixed register technique. Do a search for the relevant song in Singing Carrots Search. Practice singing along the melody using pitch accuracy test and use the vocal pitch monitor to see where your voice fluctuates.
• Articulation: Clear articulation is crucial for soulful expression. Begin by pronouncing words correctly. Finger bite is a great exercise to improve diction and eradicate nasality.

By incorporating these tips and undergoing relevant Singing Carrots resources, you can achieve singing like Sam Cooke and grow as a confident and soulful vocalist.