Back Me Up
James Taylor has had some great backing singers over the years, including long-timers Arnold McCuller and David Lasley. Both have distinct voices that could easily be lead vocals.
However, through honing their craft and harmonizing together, they create a beautiful combined sound, which makes the engineer’s work a bit easier in keeping Taylor’s own distinct vocal on top.
Mixing backing vocals starts with considering them as support players, differentiated from the lead (or leads). First there needs to be some all-purpose clean-up, eliminating the bad in general, and usually, rolling off the lows.
Next, blend them together with an overall goal of a unified sound. The focus is reducing the uniqueness of each voice. While the lead vocal needs to be clearly understood, backing vocals don’t often require that clarity because they’re in a support role.
The song arrangement defines their volume in relationship to the lead. They can be alongside the lead during a chorus or playing in the pocket, just like a supporting instrument. Effects can also be used to add distinction. Applying more reverb to backing vocals can push them farther back in the mix, which at the same time can give the lead vocal more distinction.
Dueling Duets
As mix engineers, we aren’t always blessed with harmonious singers. The problem can (again) be in the song arrangement and/or when the voices share defining characteristics in the same frequency range. When faced with this, I’ve had good success in emphasizing the voice that’s slightly more central to the arrangement to add definition while also lightly softening the other voice.
When the vocalists share a song evenly, use the distinctness of the better sounding vocalist to define the song, again while cutting a few dB in the same range for the other so they aren’t battling for the same space. Optionally, both can be smoothed out and softened – it depends on factors unique to the situation.
Captain Fantastic
In his book Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio, Mike Senior explains how the “fantastic-ness” of a song needs to grow as the song moves along, verse to chorus, and so on. The first verse has energy and then the chorus kicks in with a bit more. Next, the mix drops back a little until the next verse all the while building in intensity.
Fantastic-ness can grow during the song, but it can also ebb and flow throughout. For example, “What Do You Mean,” a song by Justin Bieber (hey, I’ve got a teenage daughter), exhibits ebb and flow quite well. Instruments are layered in over the first 30 seconds and then at the 46-second mark, the mix drops back to the way it started. This song has three patterns regarding instrument arrangement which alter slightly throughout the song, eventually propelling the song to the 2:18 mark where it’s more upbeat than ever.
Mixing live, one hopes for a band that understands good arrangements and changing song dynamics. When that doesn’t happen, there are options to create movement and fantastic-ness, and vocal mixing plays a large part in the process. Song movement can be manipulated, on a basic level, with vocal channels, mix groups, and the master fader. The groups, assigned for things such as guitars, keyboards, drums, percussion, and vocals allow easy intensity changes in the song.
The vocal channels enable changing up how the lead and backing vocals interact. The second verse can have a softer lead which propels into a stronger chorus. For the final chorus, the backing vocals might be as loud as the lead. It’s for this very reason my right hand usually stays over the vocal channels.
The master volume enables the overall song volume to build – a great way to end a set. Try this by starting that last song at the same volume spot as the other songs but bump it a little at the second chorus and alter it throughout the song. By the end of the song, subtle master fader boosts can result in a more energized audience.
Vocals make or break a song. Use these strategies to tackle the variety of ways vocals are used in music.