How to sing like Florence Welch (Explained)
Florence Welch’s name always rings a bell. She is popularly known for her debut “Hunger”.
This phenomenon artist is one of the most prolific and influential acts of the last decade.
She is a regular face on lots of billboards headlining music festivals across the globe. She has been an inspiration to a lot of musicians.
This has a lot to do with her explosive emotion-filled live performances.
If you’re one of those super fans who’d love to sound like Florence, then you are in the right place.
This article contains a guide on “how to sing like Florence Welch”. Have a good time reading!
What Are The Steps Needed To Sing Like Florence Welch
1. Develop yodel singing
One amazing singing technique Florence possesses is the ability to flip between her head and chest voice.
This ability is known as yodel singing. The head and the chest voice are the two basic types of vocal registers.
Yodel involves the rapid alteration between high falsetto and low chest notes. In other words, yodel is more like a mixed voice.
Yodel is accomplished by the enunciation of open and closed vowels on the low and high notes of wide intervals.
If you’re wondering how to yodel, here are some tips that can help you
1. First off you have to determine the transition between your chest and higher registers. Yodeling necessitates switching between your chest register (regular voice) and your higher register (falsetto).
There will be a silent gap in your tone where your normal voice switches to falsetto.
The silent gap occurs where your normal voice transitions up to breathier, shriller, non-chest vibrating tone, which is your falsetto.
2. Second, you must recognize the silent gap in your voice.
Your voice will have a distinct silence gap. If you can’t find yours, steadily lower your voice from a high-pitched siren-like “Aow” until you feel the tone resonate in your chest.
3. Try switching from your chest voice to your head voice. This has to be done repeatedly to be mastered.
Some examples of other singers that apply incredible mixed voice techniques include Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Leon Bridges, Daniel Caesar, Donny Hathaway, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars.
2. Develop a vibrato
This is another key trait this singer possesses.
Vibrato is the subtle oscillation between different pitches. it has a way of adding richness and character to the voice.
Vibrato can either be learned or be a natural attribute as a result of solid vocal techniques.
However, here are some ways to develop a vibrato
- Start by warming up to loosen up your airway. When your larynx and vocal folds are relaxed, they are more likely to produce natural vibrato. As part of your warm-up, use steady breathing exercises and slow vocal falls from your high head voice to your low chest voice.
- Improve your diaphragm control. The breath support required to sustain sung notes is provided by your diaphragm. Here is an exercise you can try;
This exercise involves you fully inhaling and then singing a note ending in “ee” to help strengthen your diaphragm (such as “meee” or “feee”). Place your flat palms on your diaphragm and push in with a slow but constant pulse while singing.
Pulsing diaphragms cannot produce natural vibrato on their own, but they can generate the air pressure required by your voice.
- Perform vocal falls while changing the pitch. Repeat your warm-up vocal falls, but this time try softly modulating pitch as your voice goes from high to low. Making an “oo” sound while singing can assist.
3. Develop Breath support
The purpose of breath support is to exercise control over the amount of air being expelled from the lungs during singing tasks.
It is also necessary to maintain a steady flow of air.
Support is a way of using other parts of the body such as the muscles to sing extended phrases and sustain notes for longer periods.
Florence demonstrated very strong support by holding notes for nearly thirty seconds.
Support works by contracting the abdominal muscles, creating higher pressure in the abdomen and thorax, allowing the diaphragm’s relaxation (and upward rise) to be more carefully controlled.
There is less control in relaxing a muscle than there is in contracting it. So support gives performers a means of controlling their sound, or phonation.
4. Practice
The place of practice cannot be over-emphasized. The aim is not necessarily to sing like Florence but to learn skills that add to your uniqueness.
So, keep learning and keep practicing what you learn.
What Voice Type Does Florence Welch Have
Florence’s voice is best described as a mezzo-soprano. The mezzo-soprano or mezzo is the second-highest female voice type.
The vocal range of the mezzo-sopranos lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a heavier, darker tone than sopranos.
The mezzo-soprano voice resonates in a higher range than that of a contralto.
What Makes Florence Welch’s Voice So Unique
Florence has a very recognizable voice. Florence has a solid and metallic tone. She has an extremely expressive voice that spreads in the room when she sings.
She has incredible stamina when singing. This is not very common with all singers you know.
Her breath support is out of this world. She has an amazing ability to hold notes for as long as 30 seconds.
Here is an article I wrote on how to sing like Dove Cameron
Can Florence Welch Actually Sing
Yes, Florence Welch can sing. She is a unique singer with amazing vocal strength. Florence Welch is capable of singing complex vocal runs which is super cool.
However, one of Florence Welch’s biggest issues is belting tension-strain. This is due to her technical issues in mixing, abusing of chest voice. This consequently pulls up her voice with a shout-like tone.
Overall Florence is still an amazing singer. She has amazing qualities such as;
- Wide and connected range
- Decent lower register
- Good supported range
- Unique vocal tone
- Great skill when it comes to emoting
- A beautiful and versatile head voice
- A good falsetto
- Good enunciation
- Good melisma and runs.
How Did Florence Welch Start Singing
Florence started singing quite early, she started singing in the school choir.
She went on to start a band which started as a joke at the initial stage. She started a band with her friend Isabella Machine.
And that’s when the name Florence the machine was formed.
In 2006 they began to gain popularity after they performed in small London together.
They release their first debut album “Lungs” in 2009. They have since been a recognizable name.
Also check out this article on how to sing like Howard Jones
What Is Florence Welch’s Vocal Range
Florence has a vocal range between F3-C5.
Vocal range refers to how high and low a performer can comfortably sing. It’s the distance between the highest and lowest notes a singer can produce without straining their voice.
Generally, mezzo-sopranos can extend down to G3 and up to C6. However, this is not the case for all mezzo-soprano singers, just like Florence.
What Is The Highest Note Florence Welch Can Sing
The highest note Florence can sing on is C5. Her lowest note is F3. In her Low notes, her voice is usually very breathy, almost like a whisper.
When she ascends to higher notes her voice begins to gain volume. Her voice has a very bright tone when she is at her highest note.
What Are Some Classic Florence Welch Songs To Practice
1. Hunger
2. Shake it out
3. Never let me go
Conclusion
Florence is an incredible singer. She is very expressive and passionate when singing.
Her voice is very easy to pinpoint due to its uniqueness.
Florence has an amazing mezzo-soprano voice type and she sings between a vocal range of F3-C5. This surely uses her voice pretty well.
Her ability to hold notes for as long as 30 seconds is an incredible practice that makes her stand out. This is not so common amongst a lot of singers today.
