How To Sing Like Amy Winehouse (Explained)
Amy Winehouse was a pop musician who was renowned for her contralto voice and her ability to blend parts of jazz music with other genres giving us a modern twist.
Her unique and distinctive voice captured audiences’ hearts with her 2 albums.
Venturing into music at an early age, Amy sought for perfection in her songs and in her lyrics.
Unfortunately her unstable life and use of drugs led to her early death and many admire her voice and wish to sing like Amy Winehouse.
In this article, we will discuss the life of Amy Winehouse, her voice and style of music, vocal range and her uniqueness.
What Are The Steps Needed To Sing Like Amy Winehouse?
1. Use Your Chest Voice
Singing in your ‘chest voice’ helps you to imitate and recreate Amy Winehouse’s style.
When you hit your notes, you feel the vibrations mostly in your chest with you hitting the notes softly.
This is best when you are singing low notes and always ensure your throat is relaxed
2. Make Higher Notes Breathier
Amy Winehouse usually made her high notes breathy which created the smokey sound she’s known for.
Sing the high notes softly and push a lot of air through your throat as you sing.
3. Scoop and Attack Beginning Notes
To scoop notes try singing a whole or half note lower than the written note, then sliding up to the correct note.
Attacking the notes also implies that you sing the first phrase of the song with a husky sound, implying that you are bringing the vocal cords together to create the husky sound.
4. Practice Constantly
Practice constantly and stay consistent so you can be able to hit the right notes.
Remember that even if you don’t hit the correct note right away, you must eventually reach that note and sing it in tune.
You can practice your singing while carrying out other activities and this will help you to finetune your pitch in time.
What Voice Type Does Amy Winehouse Have?
Amy Winehouse was renowned for her powerful contralto voice which was easily recognizable.
She has made a name for herself in the music industry as a vocalist and songwriter with a unique skill for blending different styles of music such as heart, jazz, R&B and pop.
She sings much of the time in contralto and her voice is distinguishable and easily recognized.
Amy Winehouse was an innate musician with an outstanding technique which was uniquely hers.
What Makes Amy Winehouse’s Voice So Unique?
A major unique point of Amy Winehouse’s voice is the fact that her voice is so easily distinguishable and recognizable.
I mean you listen to a track and go “Ohh that’s Amy on the radio’.
Amy Winehouse’s style was instantly recognizable, especially in terms of her music which was an amazing, original, and strong jazz voice which produced the most original and unique lyrics of that era.
Many experts who worked with confessed she was one of the finest jazz singers they had come across.
Her ability to mix jazz in with a modern style that gave jazz but not jazz was a selling point for her.
She was not a high octave-jumper like other big female vocalists of the time, but her contralto had a snazziness to it that infused her simplest rhymes with a full range of emotion which could be felt by her audience.
Here is an article I wrote on how to sing like Micheal Jackson
Can Amy Winehouse Actually Sing?
Amy WInehouse is personally one of my favorite singers of the 2000’s era.
Despite her short musical career, she was able to impact her audience and get her lyrics passed across. She had so much raw talent with a voice that was filled with emotion.
Her songs were different from the norm however you could hear the influence of various genres right through it.
She never sang the same song twice and was very much good at improvising on the spot.
For many she was a musical genius as she knew how to use her voice, not forgetting her ability to play on words.
Sadly, Amy was a sweet girl that lacked the confidence she needed to carry off her talent.
She never realized how great she was and to an extent it affected her potential.
She gave her best to the world and we will forever remember as our modern jazzy effect singer.
How Did Amy Winehouse Start Singing?
Amy Winehouse was born in 1983 in London England.
Amy had a wide range of musical influences growing up especially uncles from her mother’s side who were mainly professional jazz singers.
She and her family usually sang Frank Sinatra’s songs around the house while carrying out chores and in high school, a classmate gave a demo of her recording to a record label who were in need of a jazz vocalist.
Her first album ‘Frank’ was released in 2003 which was critically acclaimed in the Uk and won the Mercury Prize.
Her success was further solidified by ‘Back to Black’, released in 2006. ‘Back to Black’ was nominated for 6 Grammy Awards and won 5 in a single night in 2008.
Most of her personal life after fame was involved in drug addiction, alcoholism, and domestic issues with her then husband Blake Fielder-Civil. She tragically died at the age of 27 with only 2 albums produced.
Also check out this article I wrote on how to sing like Hayley Williams
What Is Amy Winehouse’s Vocal Range?
Amy Winehouse possessed a vocal range between D3 – Eb6 and 3 octaves with one semitone.
She was a powerful contralto who had her own unique style of music and was able to mix in different genres of music.
Amy was known for her natural talent, good technique, and brilliantly original choice of words.
Her voice is well connected across the vocal range and retains its persona all around.
What Is The Highest Note Amy Winehouse Can Sing?
Amy Winehouse’s significant highest note is Eb6 which can be clearly heard and felt in ‘Take The Box’ which she performed at a live New Pop Festival in Germany in 2004. Other significant highs include ‘Back to Black’, “Mr & Mrs Jones’ and ‘Cherry’.
Her lower pitch was felt in songs such ‘Addicted’ ‘Amy Amy Amy’ and ‘Cupid’.
Probably if we had the sweet Amy Winehouse with us for a longer time, she would have been able to explore her range to farther extents.
What Are Some Classic Amy Winehouse Songs To Practice?
Most of Amy Winehouse’s hit songs were from her 2006 album ‘Back to Black’ and I would list out some of my favorites;
- Rehab: Amy’s first song off her second album was her rebel song against going to rehabilitation. The song is deeply personal and was a hit which got wide critical acclaim both in the US and the UK.
- You Know I’m No Good: this song shows off Amy Winehouse jazziness at its best packed with emotions and which wowed the audience.
- Someone to Watch Over Me: ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ was originally produced by Ella Fitzgerald and which had been sung over by almost 50 artists. Amy’s cover is one which hits the audience with her jazzy powerful voice.
Conclusion
Dying at a young age and joining the ‘27 Club’, Amy WInehouse gave the best of her talent to the world and will always be remembered for her intentionality.
Having a strong contralto voice, she was in her brief musical career able to give us a modern blend and twist on jazz music while also incorporating other genres such as r&b and soul.
She won a whopping number of 23 awards for 2 albums.
Some have said no one can ever imitate her voice but if you learn her vocal technique and stay consistent, you will be able to sing like Amy Winehouse.
