How To Sing Like Tom DeLonge (5 Brilliant Tips)
Tom DeLonge is an outstanding singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He became popular for playing pop-punk.
It’s quite easy to identify his voice because of his California accent and nasal sound. Tom has incredible energy while performing live. He practically keeps you engaged throughout his performance.
To top it all, Tom is an amazing singer with spectacular singing techniques that are worth learning from.
This article covers incredible tips on how to sing like pop-punk star Tom DeLonge. Let’s dive right in!
What Are The Steps Needed To Sing Like Tom DeLonge?
1. Develop vocal twang
Twanging is the practice of narrowing your epiglottis to increase the frequency of your vocal tract.
This ability was seen in Tom DeLonge. Instead of trying to sing louder, he sings naturally and resonantly while adding a touch of twang to add taste and style to his voice.
Twang adds resonance to the voice. It also helps to close the vocal cords, which helps to produce a clear tone when singing.
It also allows you to sing in a higher range and increases the volume of your voice.
However, you need to be careful with this technique. As much as you can, do not add too much vocal twang when you sing.
And, if you happen to sing in a choir, this technique is a total no-no. Too much twang hinders your voice from blending when singing in a group.
When twang is utilized as a performance technique it can help vocalists achieve both higher and lower notes with increased strength and volume.
When this technique is applied correctly it can relieve vocal strain and protect your vocal folds. This is definitely a good addition to your vocal techniques.
2. Utilize your head voice
Tom sings with his head voice a lot.
The head voice is the higher portion of your singing voice.
When singing with your head voice, you may notice the vibrations your body produces from the sound that radiates from the head.
Blending and belting out high notes may require you to sing using your head voice along with your chest voice.
This process is called mixed voice, and it may also lead you to sing in higher falsetto pitches.
So basically knowing how to switch from your chest to your head voice is very key.
Singing some high notes with the chest voice may give you a rough sound, that’s where the head voice comes in.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with singing with the head voice if it is done correctly.
You can tell if you’re singing with your head voice or not through vibrations. If you’re singing in your head voice you will feel the vibrations in your skull with your hand.
Here are some steps to help you sing correctly in your head voice;
- First off you have to note that breathing exercises and singing posture are very vital.
- Secondly you have to sigh while yawning. This is a vocal exercise that helps the head voice get stronger and better.
- Ensure you are relaxed. Tension can ruin and strain your head voice and make it sound shaky. You need to be relaxed to achieve a smooth and clear song.
- Listen to professionals. This is a good way to learn how to sing in your head voice. Try to imitate what they do and repeat it.
3. Use auto-tune
Tom used auto-tunes a lot while performing live and during recordings.
Auto-Tune is a piece of software that corrects singers when they sing out of tune, either live or in the studio.
Auto-Tune is intended to disguise or correct off-key inaccuracies, allowing vocal tracts to be perfectly tuned despite originally being slightly off-pitch.
Auto-tunes aren’t bad but they can make a singer too relaxed and lazy.
Also, auto-tune isn’t a magical switch that automatically transforms your voice. To get the best out of this software, you should be able to know the basis of singing at least.
4. Develop nasal resonance
Tom DeLonge has a distinctive nasal voice. Nasal singing doesn’t necessarily damage the voice.
Well, a nasal voice just doesn’t really sound so good to the ears. And, it’s not really the best to imitate. But there is a better way, which is to develop nasal resonance.
Nasal resonance is a vibration that creates tone through and within the nasal passages. Nasal resonance happens when sounds get into your nasal cavity and bounce around.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when practicing singing with nasal resonance.
- First off you can practice nasal resonance by pinching your nostrils as you sing.
- However you have to be sure you are doing this exercise right. Naturally, you are supposed to feel vibrations at the bridge of your nose while doing this. If you don’t feel vibrations you are doing it the wrong way.
- Some consonants will feel impossible to sing because they require large amounts of air to pass through the nostrils. These are: ‘m,’ ‘n,’ and ‘ng.’
- If all your notes feel like the above-mentioned consonants, then you are singing too nasally. If you instead feel vibrations in the bridge of your nose as you touch it, then you are on the right track.
5. Practice Regularly
You cannot take out the place of practice if you want to be a better singer.
You have to put in the hard work. Most music stars wouldn’t be where they are without frequent practice.
What Voice Type Does Tom DeLonge Have
Tom DeLonge’s voice type is the perfect description of a lyric tenor. This voice type is most prevalent in male singers.
The lyric tenor is a warm graceful voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy and can be heard over an orchestra.
What Makes Tom DeLonge’s Voice So Unique
Toms voice his whining, bratty, sneering, and snotty. Tom’s voice is very recognizable due to his California accent.
His California accent is extremely present and noticeable when DeLonge tries pronouncing the long “oo” sound in words like “room,” which DeLonge pronounces as something more like “rehm.”
His accent obviously affects his singing as well. So it isvery easy to spot Tom’s voice as soon as you hear it.
Another factor that makes his voice quite unique is the fact that he makes use of auto-tunes when singing.
Here is an article I wrote on how to sing like Demi Lovato
Can Tom DeLonge Actually Sing?
Tom DeLonge isn’t a bad singer. He is a pop and punk rock singer and his voice suits that genre of music perfectly.
Although DeLonge makes use of Auto-tunes to fine-tune his voice during live performances and recordings, he isn’t a bad singer, however.
But, we can’t deny the fact that there are some musical techniques that he uses that aren’t proper. One of which is his nasal singing.
Having a nasal voice generally affects the sound of your voice. It basically removes its beauty. It’s better to develop nasal resonance instead.
How Did Tom DeLonge Start Singing?
Tom started singing quite early. He received his first musical instrument as a birthday gift and that was when he developed an interest in singing.
He started writing songs shortly after he received his guitar. But, he started officially started singing in 2005 when he formed a group called “Angels & Airwaves of which he was a lead vocalist in the band.
Also check out this article I wrote on how to sing like Harry Styles
What Is Tom DeLonge’s Vocal Range?
Tom DeLonge’s vocal range is between G2- A5. This vocal range is within the borders of a lyric tenor voice type which Tom DeLonge has.
What Is The Highest Note Tom DeLonge Can Sing?
So far, the highest note Tom DeLonge can sing is A5. He did the song “Good time” on A5. This has been the highest he has gone so far.
His lowest note is G2. He did the son “Landscape” on G2.
What Are Some Classic Tom DeLonge Songs To Practice?
1. New world
2. The invisible parade
3. The adventure
Conclusion
Tom DeLonge is indeed a one-of-a-kind pop-punk artist. He is an incredible singer with a lyric tenor voice type. His voice type, lyric tenor, is a rare one, which is a warm bright voice type.
He has an amazing twang to his voice and he makes good use of his head voice a lot. Even though he has a nasal sound and he makes use of auto-tunes, Tom is still a great singer.
The pop-punk artist is not just a good singer, he is also an amazing songwriter and guitarist.
