Singing Guide: The Mutton Birds
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
The Mutton Birds are an iconic New Zealand band famous for their unique blend of folk, pop, and alt-rock. Their songs often showcase the lead singer, Don McGlashan's, distinctive vocal technique, characterized by his emotive storytelling, tight harmonies, and mastery of falsetto. In this article, we will explore how to learn to sing like Don McGlashan and some of the Mutton Birds' famous tracks that highlight his unique singing style.
One of the best ways to approach singing like Don McGlashan is to understand your own vocal range and how to use it effectively. Singing Carrots' vocal range test is a great tool to help you determine your range. Once you know your range, you can begin studying McGlashan's delivery of songs in that range and incorporate similar techniques into your practice routine. Singing Carrots also has a pitch accuracy test, which can help you to refine your pitch and improve your tuning.
To achieve a vocal style similar to McGlashan, it's essential to pay attention to your breath support and control. Breathing basics come in handy here as it teaches you how to use your breath and how to support sustained notes. Meanwhile, breath support provides more specific exercises to improve your breathing for singing.
McGlashan's unique vocal quality is also remarkable in the context of his lyrics' emotionality. Singing with intuition, skills, emotion, and thinking can be helpful in teaching you techniques to convey the emotional content of your songs. By embodying the emotions portrayed in a song, you can achieve the same level of emotional depth present in the Mutton Birds' music.
Now that we've discussed some techniques to develop and hone your singing ability more generally, let's dive into some of the Mutton Bird's most famous songs and the techniques used in them.
"Anchor Me" is one of the Mutton Birds' most beloved songs. It's a beautiful ballad that has almost become the band's signature song. The vocal harmonies and McGlashan's heartfelt delivery make this song a vocal standout. Learning perfect harmonies isn't always straightforward, but helpful articles like how to learn a song effectively can guide you.
Another standout song by The Mutton Birds is "Nature". In this track, McGlashan's vocal prowess is particularly remarkable when he hits the high notes during the chorus. Practice exercises that cover the use of the mixed voice, register, and voice breaks can help you hit high notes in your singing with the same ease and power as McGlashan.
To conclude, singing like Don McGlashan is a fantastic goal to aim for when you're developing your vocal style. Incorporating exercises aimed at improving your range, breath control, and emotional delivery from Singing Carrots can help guide you. Understanding the techniques used in the Mutton Birds' songs, such as harmonies, mixed voice, and falsetto, can help you achieve McGlashan's vocal styles adequately.