Description:
Aspiring country singers, welcome to part 2 of how to sing country. If you haven’t already, please begin with my first How to Sing Country lesson series: https://www.30daysinger.com/tutorial/how-to-sing-country. You’ll recall that we covered 3 elements: accent & vowels, tone & resonance, and style.
In this series, we’re applying what you’ve learned to two country classics: Oh, Susanna and Home on the Range. In part 1, we’ll learn the melody to both songs. Then in parts 2 and 3, we’ll walk through how to attain a more authentic country sound while singing each song.
For accent & vowels, remember that in general we go for a flatter, wider mouth shape: for example “skies” instead of “skies”. We may eliminate some diphthongs, as in “cry” (cra) rather than “crah-ee”. For tone and resonance, we’ll achieve a twangy chest voice sound on a syllable like WAH or NAY before adding the lyrics back. And for style, we’ll have fun adding scoops, slides, falls and even yodels.
Let’s jump in!
Lessons:
Instructor: Camille van Niekerk
Camille van Niekerk is a singer, writer and vocal instructor in Southern California. Camille began studying voice and performing in musicals at age seven. In 2010, Camille began working towards her BA in Music Education at Azusa Pacific University. She then earned her teaching credential from San Diego State University and taught classroom choral and instrumental music. Shortly after moving to LA county, Camille began her private vocal studio, providing vocal coaching, ear training, and recording for students of all ages. She is constantly refining her skills and methods for greater versatility and effectiveness. When she is not teaching, Camille enjoys singing with the L.A. Choral Lab and Ensoma Creative. She lives in San Diego with her husband and loves going to the beach, practicing yoga, reading, and cooking.