How To Sing Like Drake (5 Brilliant Tips)
Drake is a Canadian singer, rapper, and actor. He started as an actor and then transitioned into music. He has sang a couple of songs that has become major hits on MTV.
This phenomenal artist is recognized for his ability to be a good singer and rapper simultaneously.
His music has increased his fan base over the years, with lots of upcoming artists aspiring to be like him.
If you are interested in learning skills that can make you a superb singer and rapper, then you’re in the right place.
This article covers tips on how to singer like superstar Drake. So, keep reading.
What Are The Steps Needed To Sing Like Drake?
1. Build vibrato skills
Drake’s voice has a fantastic vibrato. Vibrato can be applied in different music genres like blues, RnB, rapping, and as many genres as you think.
Typically, it is essential for singers in all kinds of music genres. Although Drake is a rapper, he still implements his vibrato to his rap.
For clarity sake, let’s talk a little about what vibrato is;
Vibrato is a quick, minor change in pitch when singing. Vibrato is caused by a muscular tremor in the vocal folds.
In general, developing vibrato requires a focus on developing balanced resonance and a warm timbre. This makes the voice more vibrant, and vibrato becomes a part of it.
There are three components of vibrato which are ;
- Pitch
- Timbre
- Volume
Interestingly, there are really good exercises that can help you develop a perfect vibrato. Here’s a quick one to practice;
- Make sure your vocal cord is clear, then, start by taking a diaphragmatic breath and hum an “mm” sound on a comfortable pitch. E3 would work fine for males and B3 for females.
- Now, start to hum up a half step to the second note. If you’re a male, try this on F3 and if you’re female, C4 would be best. It should sound like the melody from jaws.
- Toggle back and forth between your starting note and the second note as fast as you can.
You can do this exercise for about 10 minutes or more.
2. Make use of auto-tones
Drake uses auto-tones quite often. Auto-tones is used by most rappers.
This software helps to correct singers who sing out of tune. The most intriguing aspect about auto-tone is that it’s got you covered whether you’re singing live or recording in the studio.
Auto-tone is designed to hide or correct off-key inaccuracies, allowing vocal tracks to be perfectly tuned despite being slightly off-pitch at the start.
Drake uses auto-tones to perfect his pitch and other inaccuracies that may occur while singing.
Drake uses a pretty significant amount of auto-tone on most of his songs. He typically used it in his songs like “In My Feelings” and “Passionfruit.”
Drake is one rapper that knows how to use auto-tones and still sound great.
3. Develop a good glottal compression
Drake has a balanced singing tone and this is because of his glottal compression.
Glottal Compression refers to a well-supported singing which is achieved by limiting the amount of expelled air used in the production of the tone.
Glottal compression is created when air pressure is increasing along with the amount of vocal-fold closure.
This leads to a balance in airflow and this is typically what causes glottal compression.
Glottal compression can be achieved by engaging in lip trill exercises. Lip trills are great for training efficient breath control and balanced tone.
Because they provide back pressure on the vocal folds, they’re also very helpful for range extension.
Drake engages in a lot of vocal exercises and the lip trill is one of them. His good balanced airflow is attributed to the fact that he does lip trills a lot.
The good thing about lip trills is that it’s nearly impossible to hurt yourself while doing it. If you’re a singer who tends to strain, lip trills can help you relax and use your voice most efficiently.
Lip trills are quite easy to learn. Here are some tips that will help you engage in lip trills correctly
- You have to ensure that the lips are relaxed and there’s no tension on your cheek muscles. This is quite important because it helps to direct your airflow while keeping your facial muscles relaxed.
- Secondly, start exhaling and directing the air through your lips. If you are not able to set the lips into vibrations, use more air until you get it right.
- Once you become confident in doing lip trills with a good amount of air and relaxed vocal mechanism, you can try to produce the lip trill on the pitch, on scales, and sustain for a while.
4. Develop breathe control
Drake is an amazing rapper and there is no way he can be that good without good breath control. Breath Control is a fundamental requirement for rappers as well.
Ever wondered how rappers can sing lots of lyrics at a fast pace? You guessed right if breath control was your answer.
It’s nothing new that rappers require more breath control when compared to other genre singers.
However, every good singer should be able to have good breath control regardless of the music genre. The importance of controlling one’s breath while singing cannot be over-emphasized.
Good breath control involves;
- Inhaling air quickly while singing.
- Exhaling air gently while singing.
- Maintaining proper posture.
Here is an article I wrote on how to sing like Christina Aguilera
What Voice Type Does Drake Have?
Drake is the perfect description of a baritenor voice type.
Generally, baritenors have the enrich tones of a baritone as well as the capacity to sing quite high when needed, similar to a tenor.
The baritenor is distinguished by a dark and hefty lower range. It is classified as a low tenor voice type. Baritenor singers have a vocal range that goes from low C4 to a high F4.
What Makes Drake’s Voice So Unique?
Drake has a very calm, neutral, smooth, and warm tone voice. In a world where there are lots of trending singing styles, Drake still maintains his singing style and that’s really unique.
Another remarkable feature to note about Drake’s voice is that he doesn’t strain his voice when singing higher notes.
This is one of the reasons why he makes us of auto-tones.
Drake doesn’t stress too much about doing riffs and runs. While riffs and runs are great singing techniques, applying too much of it can ruin a beautiful song.
Drake prefers to keep it simple and we love him that way.
Can Drake Actually Sing?
Yes, Drake is not just an amazing rapper but also a good singer. And this makes him really awesome to listen to.
Good singing is not just attributed to riffs and runs. Good singing is attributed to a balance of singing techniques.
And, Drake has developed sound singing techniques over the years.
His breath control makes him an outstanding rapper. His glottal compression adds to his balance airflow and amazing tone.
Although he makes use of auto-tones, it is not a disadvantage on his part because his fans love his sound.
How Did Drake Start Singing?
Drake was born into a family with a good musical background. In an interview, he mentioned that he got his stage name from the middle name which his father gave him.
Drake began making music at a young age, and as a teenager, he started writing song lyrics.
Drake started singing officially in 2006 when he released his debut “Room for improvement.”
In 2007, he released his second mixtape “Comeback Season”.
Drake became the first unsigned Canadian rapper to have his music video on BET when he released his song “Replacement Girl”. This was a major shift to Drake’s music career.
However, in 2008, Drake quit acting to focus on his musical career.
Also check out this article I wrote on how to sing like Ed Sheeran
What Is Drake’s Vocal Range?
Drake’s vocal range is between D2-C#5.
This simply means that Drake is a two octaves, three notes, and one semi-tone singer. He sings in high baritone and low tenor which is why he is regarded as a baritenor singer.
What Is The Highest Note Drake Can Sing?
The highest note Drake has Sang on so far based on his recordings and live performances is C#5. While the lowest note he has sang on is D2.
What Are Some Classic Drake Songs To Practice?
1. Find Your Love
2. Laugh Now Cry Later
3. Headlines
Conclusion
One amazing fact about phenomenal singer Drake is that he started as an actor. I mean who could have imagined that he would be behind most of the major hits on MTV.
This rapper and singer is super skilled. And, he has amazing singer techniques that can make anyone a professional over time.
He has an amazing baritenor voice that can hit notes as high as C#5 and notes as low as D2.
