Singing Guide: The Beat
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
The Beat is an English band known for its unique blend of ska, reggae, punk rock, and new wave music. The band was formed in the late '70s and enjoyed commercial success throughout the '80s.
If you want to learn how to sing like The Beat's frontman, Dave Wakeling, you'll need to focus on developing your ability to perform intricate rhythmic patterns while retaining a clear and powerful vocal tone. Additionally, you'll want to familiarize yourself with The Beat's discography to understand their unique sound and lyrics.
To start, it's essential to practice your rhythm and timing skills. Singing along to instrumental tracks can help you build your sense of timing and improve your ability to fit your vocals within complex arrangements.
You can also make use of Singing Carrots' Pitch Training Educational Singing Game to improve your ear training and pitch accuracy. Practicing with this resource will help you be able to hear and match the unique rhythmic patterns found in The Beat's music.
It's crucial to develop good breath control, too. To do this, you can use resources such as Singing Carrots’ article on breathing basics, which explains the mechanics of proper breathing for singing, or the Farinelli breathing exercise, which helps improve breath support and lung capacity.
To master the distinctive vocal styling of Dave Wakeling and The Beat, pay close attention to Wakeling's use of twang and growling techniques. You can use Singing Carrots' How to Twang Exercise and How to Growl Exercise videos as a starting point to develop these skills.
The Beat's music often features intricate call and response vocal sections. To practice this technique, you can use Singing Carrots' Singing Comfort Zone video or Chest Voice Explained video.
Finally, to ensure your performances are pitch perfect, you can take Singing Carrots' Vocal Range Test and Pitch Accuracy Test. You can also use their Pitch Monitor tool to visualize your pitch accuracy while singing.
In conclusion, by practicing rhythmic accuracy, breath control, twang, growling, and call and response vocals, while familiarizing yourself with their discography, your singing ability will improve, and you'll be on your way to performing like Dave Wakeling and The Beat.