Singing Guide: Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Singing Guide: Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources

Are you a beginner or advanced singer?

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was a well-known American blues singer, songwriter, and musician. His music was a blend of various genres, including blues, rock, and soul. Hawkins was famous for his unique and theatrical performances, often wearing colorful costumes and throwing spears at his audience. However, most notably, he was known for his unearthly and spine-chilling voice, which he used to great effect in his songs.

To learn how to sing like Screamin' Jay Hawkins, the first thing you need to do is to analyze his singing style. Hawkins' vocal technique was notable for intricate ornamentation, heavy shouting, and growling. He often employed distortion on his voice, which added depth and grittiness to his delivery.

To master this unique style, you need to start by understanding your voice type and learning proper breathing techniques. Singing Carrots offers a range of resources on these topics, including articles on how to analyze your voice, breathing basics, and breath support. You can find these articles on the Singing Carrots website, and I highly recommend you take the time to read them.

Next, you should focus on developing your resonance and articulation with exercises like Finger Bite. Singing Carrots also offers videos on articulation, such as Soft Palate and Chest Voice Explained.

To embody Screamin' Jay Hawkins' unique vocal style, you should work on exercises that develop growling and other vocal distortions. Singing Carrots has excellent resources on this topic, including the Vocal Distortion & Growling article and the How to growl exercise.

As you practice, try to combine these techniques with Hawkins' characteristic theatricality and showmanship. One of the best ways to do this is to carefully study his most celebrated songs, including "I Put a Spell on You" and "Constipation Blues". Listen to the way he delivers his lines, how he adds emphasis and character to certain words, and how he uses his unique vocal style to make his performance truly unforgettable.

In addition to these resources, Singing Carrots offers several tools to help you in your singing journey. You can determine your vocal range with the< a href="https://singingcarrots.com/range-test"> Vocal Range Test, test your pitch accuracy with the Pitch Accuracy Test and use the Vocal Pitch Monitor to see your sung notes on a virtual piano, find songs matching your vocal range, and explore the vocal ranges of over 5000 famous singers. Additionally, Singing Carrots offers an insightful educational singing course.

By using these resources and following this advice, you can learn to sing like Screamin' Jay Hawkins and develop a style that is uniquely your own.

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