Singing Guide: Sara Bareilles ft. John Legend

Singing Guide: Sara Bareilles ft. John Legend

Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources

Are you a beginner or advanced singer?

Sara Bareilles is known for her pristine voice, a broad range, and her perfect pitch. She is one of the few contemporary singers who can perform complicated melodic arrangements while maintaining a natural sound without overdoing it. The unique trait of her voice lies in the perfect synchronicity of her vocal cords and her breath. In this article, learn how to sing like Sara Bareilles, the techniques necessary to achieve this, and the songs that she has performed to showcase these techniques.

Vocal Analysis:

Sara's singing voice ranges between mid-to-high soprano. Her style involves the use of many delicate high notes, which she hits with ease. In addition, her voice has a light-quality resonance that is crisp and transparent. Sara's trademark sound is the perfect combination of chest and head voice, which she blends for a smoother overall tone.

Chest Voice, Falsetto, and Balanced Mix Techniques

Sara Bareilles has a balanced mix of head and chest voice that is difficult to mimic. However, with proper training, you can learn to sing a balanced mix. Here are some of the techniques that will help you achieve that:

  • Chest Voice: The chest voice is when the voice resonates from the chest and gives a powerful sound. Sara uses the chest voice to hit high notes with ease, making it a unique part of her singing style.
  • Falsetto: This technique involves singing in a high-pitched voice, which is breathy and light. Sara uses her falsetto to create a soft sound, which makes her voice sound unique.
  • Balanced Mix: This technique involves a combination of chest and head voice, to give an even sound. Sara uses the balanced mix in many of her songs, giving her voice a smooth tone.

Songs to improve your singing technique:

To learn to sing like Sara Bareilles, you must become familiar with her music. The following are songs that display her voice and techniques:

  1. Brave: A perfect song to learn chest voice technique, which requires power and control over the lower part of your vocal range. The chorus will require a lot of chest notes.
  2. Gravity: This song has a mix of chest and head voice and will help you learn to blend them together. It also requires proper breath control to hit high notes easily.
  3. She Used to Be Mine: This ballad allows you to sing with emotion while using your chest voice to create a smooth tone.
  4. Love Song: This song is a great example of the balanced mix of head and chest voice. It also helps you understand how to keep your voice from becoming too breathy or strained.
  5. You Matter to Me (ft. Jason Mraz): A perfect duet that requires blended vocals and balance in chest and head voice to emphasize the emotion.

Resources to improve your singing technique:

  1. Vocal Range Test - a test that helps you identify your vocal range and compare it with Sara Bareilles.
  2. Pitch Accuracy Test - a test that determines your pitch accuracy while you are singing simple melodies.
  3. Vocal Pitch Monitor - a virtual piano where you can see your sung notes and practice hitting them.
  4. Search Songs - A useful resource where you can find songs matching your vocal range, difficulty, and genre preference.
  5. Songbook - Create your performance set and get linked lyrics, sheet music, chords, karaoke, and YouTube audio.
  6. Singing Course - A 21-lesson program covering singing theory and practical tips.

In conclusion, to sing like Sara Bareilles, you need to have control over your chest voice, head voice, and falsetto. Sara Bareilles's music and her unique vocal techniques provide many opportunities to focus on your weaknesses and reinforce your strengths. By using the resources at Singing Carrots, and practicing regularly, you can improve your singing technique and begin sounding like a true Sara Bareilles fan.

Learn more about this artist vocal range, voice type and repertoire.