Singing Guide: The Staple Singers
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
The Staple Singers are an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Led by patriarch Roebuck "Pops" Staples, the group consisted of his son Mavis, daughters Cleotha and Yvonne, and later, son Pervis. They were known for their gospel-infused songs with socially conscious themes, as well as Mavis Staples' powerful, soulful voice. To learn to sing like The Staple Singers, you need to develop good breathing technique, work on your vibrato, and practice singing gospel music with feeling and passion.
Breathing technique is key to developing a strong, powerful voice like Mavis Staples'. Singing Carrots has some great resources to help you improve your breathing skills, including their articles on breathing basics and breath support. You should also check out their Farinelli Breathing video for a helpful breathing exercise.
Vibrato is an essential part of soulful singing, and Mavis Staples was a master of it. Singing Carrots has several videos on how to improve your vibrato, including their Diaphragm Bounce and Beggars Bounce videos. These exercises will help you develop control over your vocal chords and produce a smooth, rich vibrato.
To truly sing like The Staple Singers, you need to embrace gospel music and its emotionally charged themes. Singing Carrots has a great course on singing for beginners, which includes lessons on gospel singing and tips for learning a song effectively. You can also search for gospel songs that match your vocal range and preferences using Singing Carrots' song search tool, which allows you to filter by difficulty level, genre, and more.
Finally, it's important to remember that singing is about more than just hitting the right notes. The Staple Singers were known for their passionate performance style, and you should strive to put your own emotion and feeling into every song you sing. Singing Carrots has a great article on singing with intuition, skills, emotion, and thinking that can help you develop a more expressive singing style.
In conclusion, to learn to sing like The Staple Singers, you need to work on your breathing technique, develop your vibrato, embrace gospel music, and put your own emotion and feeling into every song. With Singing Carrots' resources and your own dedication and hard work, you can achieve a soulful and powerful singing voice like Mavis Staples'.