Vocals

How many vocalists?
Between two and four vocalists (with microphones) is generally a workable number for a music group. If you have a worship leader singing the tune, it’s great to have someone of the opposite sex also singing the tune to add depth (or height!) to the sound. The other one or two singers can add harmonies; one in the alto range roughly a third below the tune, and one in the tenor range roughly a sixth below. Having more singers on stage will make it harder to keep the sound tight and may present monitoring and PA problems.

What are the main priorities?
It's a given that the worship leader will usually be a singer, and he or she needs to be very clear with the main tune of each song to help the congregation. That will often mean avoiding ad-libs and 'extra bits' until the song is well established and the congregation are confident. The other vocalists play a supporting role; helping with the tune and bringing in harmonies at appropriate moments. It's important that you remain engaged with the worship and help lead visually even when you're not singing on the microphone. Back away from the mike when your part isn't needed but keep worshipping! Tuning and phrasing are important so you need monitoring that will allow you to clearly hear yourself and the other singers.

Let’s harmonize?
Adding harmonies to the tune adds great dimension to the music, but think carefully about where to bring them in. Rather than singing harmonies all the way through, consider adding them to emphasise particular lines or for the chorus etc.  As with the other instruments, it’s all about dynamics. You’ll need to take time out with the vocalists to work out the parts and practice singing them together tightly. Try and phrase things exactly together.


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Overview
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Acoustic guitar
Electric guitar
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Orchestral instruments

How do I get the best from the microphone?
Most live vocal microphones like the ubiquitous SM-58 are designed to work very close to your mouth. It's fine to hold the mike or have it on a stand, but either way, you need to be within an inch of it when you sing. If its more than a couple of inches away the level will drop enormously, and will make PA feedback much more likely. The tone of the microphone also suffers if it's too far from your mouth, so it's worth getting used to having it close. You may need to back off slightly for really loud notes that you sing.

How do I sound?
Whatever level you're at, it will always pay dividends to practice your singing just as you would any other instrument. Learning good breathing technique and warming your voice up thoroughly before you sing (especially early on a cold Sunday morning!) will be invaluable. There are masses of resources available to help you with vocal technique and warm-ups.

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