So you want to be a session singer ...
Well, what is a session singer exactly?
It’s the other main type of employment in the
music industry for singers aside from the more usual ‘artist'
path. Officially it’s a singer who is a ‘hired hand’
brought in to be part of a live or recording project. These days however,
it’s generally considered to be someone who regularly sings in
a freelance capacity in a recording studio and which makes up a fair component of their income. The type of work (and pay)
varies a lot.
The following are examples of vocal "session work":
- Lead and/or backing vocals on jingles (commercials) for television
and/or radio (eg. “Currys, always cutting prices...”)
- Lead and/or backing vocals on radio station idents (eg. "BBC Radio
Twooooo...").
- Lead and/or backing vocals on new material that songwriters have
written ("demo songs") where you're generally the first
singer to interpret the material, often from a very sketchy guide
track. This is generally used to pitch the song to a particular artist’s
management or for the writer to get a publishing deal etc.
- Backing vocals on other artist's tracks/albums (known and unknown).
- Lead vocal feature on songs written by others for release (eg. for
the dance market).
- 'Ghost' vocals: where your voice gets mimed by the 'artist' on a released track.
- Vocals for film soundtracks (nb. a very high level of music sight reading
ability is generally required for this type of work).
Points to consider ...
Having been a session singer for many years (since 1990) I
would suggest that you consider the following questions when deciding
whether session singing is for you:
-
Have you had any studio singing experience of any
kind to know whether it's your thing or not? This is a crucial first
step because not everybody enjoys the scrutiny & perfectionism
involved in session singing. It’s very different to singing
live and is often not what you imagine it to be.
-
Do you learn things super fast both by ear and
reading music? We're talking about a couple of minutes here maximum
as 'time is money'. The more musically educated and knowledgeable
you are the better!
-
Are you able to change things musically &
vocally in a multitude of ways to get exactly what the producer/writer
is after? Sometimes they don’t know what they want till they
hear it!
-
Do you hear all the harmony parts by yourself
quickly? It’s most often up to the singer to know all the parts
innately - it's an essential part of the job.
-
Do you have very accurate pitching, especially
when it comes to 'tracking' parts up (ie. doubling, tripling etc)? Can you do it fast and efficiently?
-
Do you blend tightly in all aspects (eg. tonally,
phrasing, diction etc.) both with yourself when tracking or with other singers?
-
Are you stylistically versatile (eg. pop, rock,
soul, dance, jazz etc etc)? For an 'artist' it is often highly desirable
to have a distinctive and identifiable voice and specialise in one
style. Conversely, for the 'session singer' it’s often preferable
to have quite a ‘generic’, commercial vocal sound and
stylistic versatility to maximise your work opportunities.
-
Do you have a reliable vocal technique that gives
you a high level of control, stamina & consistency? Are you able
to sing for hours on end if need be without losing your voice? For example,
at times I’ve had to sing for 12 hours straight to get backing vocals done on a whole
album done in one day.
-
Do you have infinite amounts of patience? For
example, with producers who aren't singers and who don't know exactly
what they're after or give you odd/vague instructions, or with sessions
that start really late. Even if you've been waiting around for hours
you've still got to be able to sound fresh & vibey etc.
-
Are you able to generate performance-level vibe
in a completely 'dead' room with no audience, take after take after
take? Many singers find this difficult and need an audience to get
them going.
If you answered ‘yes’ to most of these questions
then session singing may be something you could consider pursuing.
How to get into it ...
From the outset, you need to be aware that it’s
a highly specialised, ‘closed’ and competitive area. Generally,
only a handful of people make a decent living out of session singing because
it’s such a specific 'head-space' and skill set. To be honest, it just doesn’t
suit most singers. Also, there is only a limited amount of work available
which generally goes to the tried and trusted few. This is why it's usually
quite difficult for new people to break into the scene.
In order to get good quality session work, you’ve
either got to be:
a) extremely lucky (right place at the right time), and/or
b) so naturally good at it that you will eventually be noticed and recommended by
other producers, writers or singers(ie. ‘word of mouth’ working for you).
To get started I suggest that you begin by getting
as much experience as you can and be prepared to work for free initially. You need to build your network and get
your skills well honed. If you have no track record as a session singer
then you can mostly forget about contacting the session agencies as they
generally only want to list singers with impressive CVs that understandably they need to
sell your vocal abilities to their clients. For example, check out the singers’ CVs on
session agency sites such as www.hobsons-international.com
to see what I’m talking about.
So where can you get studio experience then to get the
ball rolling? Keep your ear to the ground. Be entrepreneurial. Do your
research. Find your contacts. Put the word out to all your musician and singer
friends that it’s something you want to try out. It doesn’t
generally stare people in the face, but the path is there for people who
are observant, committed, determined and sufficiently skilled and talented of course! You should also consider becoming a member of Equity so that you have a network of professional support behind you before you start and guidelines for knowing what to charge in different scenarios.
There are some useful resources readily available for
those prepared to trawl through them on a regular basis looking for the
little gems of opportunities that pop up, and one of the best and easiest places to start getting session experience in my opinion is by demoing songs for songwriters. Each country will have its own resources,
but here in the UK you could check out adverts in “The
Stage” newspaper every Thursday and websites such
as http://www.soundonsound.com/readersads/ (under "Wanted - Personnel"), http://www.starnow.co.uk and http://www.gumtree.com.
In order to be ready for the opportunities if and when they
come, you will need a great promo pack:
- flattering, professional quality photos
- a concise, well-worded biog, and
- an outstanding and varied demo.
This is the first thing people will ask for when you
apply for any session work. A 'standard' demo is around 3 to 5 minutes
long and should be comprised of short sections from 3 or more songs of
contrasting tempos/styles. If you are really serious you
should consider putting together your own website, or a least have
your own page on a free, easily accessible, industry standard site such as MySpace Music http://www.myspace.com/.
For those who are based in and around London, our recording
studio is available at competitive rates for people wishing to record
a pro quality demo. Contact info@virtualvocals.com
for more details.
I hope this has provided food for thought and all the
best for your future career!
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