Singing Guide: The Skyliners
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
The Skyliners are an iconic doo-wop group of the late 1950s founded in Pittsburgh. Their unique vocals, characterized by Fred Parris's piercing falsetto and the background harmonies of the other members, continue to attract audiences worldwide. To sing like the Skyliners, it's important to understand the techniques that define their signature sound.
Breath control is key to achieving the Skyliners' smooth, soaring sound. Singers can develop their breath control with Singing Carrots' breathing basics article and Farinelli breathing exercise. To train the voice to switch between registers smoothly, the use of chest and head voice, along with voice breaks, can be learned through the voice registers and vocal break article and the corresponding YouTube exercises: Singing Comfort Zone, Chest Voice Explained, Mixed Voice and Voice Break.
The Skyliners' distinctive harmonies can be studied with Singing Carrots' articles on voice registers and vocal break and open mouth and throat. The articles pop/jazz vs classical singing and articulation both provide valuable information for singing in a clear and precise way.
The Skyliners' most famous recording, "Since I Don't Have You," showcases Parris's falsetto and a rich, complex harmony. Singers can learn how to perform this track and similar doo-wop hits with Singing Carrots' learn a song effectively article and youtube exercise: finger bite. For further vocal practice, the pitch training section offers interactive vocal warm-ups, pitch visualizations, and exercises for range and agility.
Singing like the Skyliners also means channeling soulful emotions. Singing Carrots' singing with intuition, skills, emotion, and thinking article and Relaxing Breath YouTube video can help singers better understand the connection between lyrics, emotions, and vocal delivery.
Through the use of Singing Carrots' resources — including articles, exercises, vocal range test, pitch accuracy test, song search, and singing course — singers can train their voices to sing like the Skyliners.