Behind The Mixer

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Top Seven Ways for Blending Backing Vocals

Blending backing vocals is a critical step in mixing.Photo provided by jakeliefer

Don’t let your backing vocal mixing be an afterthought.  Backing vocals can define the quality of your mix.  Looking back at my last twenty years of mixing, I’ve seen worship teams with anywhere from one to five backing vocalists.  Backing vocalists can sing in different ways for supporting the song and/or the lead vocalist. Let’s get down to mixing…

Before jumping into the top seven ways, let’s first look at where backing vocals can sit in the mix;

  • Behind the lead vocalist as a means of supporting the verses or chorus.  They are singing the same words but they aren’t as loud as the lead singer.  They might only sing the chorus or specific parts, but they are in a supportive roll for adding depth to the mix.
  • Counter melody.  Much like supporting the chorus, they might be singing a different melodic line.
  • In place of the lead singer.  In this case, the backing vocalists take over during a chorus and the lead singer doesn’t sing.  Did I mention song arrangement is an important part of performing music?

Mixing the backing vocalists, you need to consider their role (arrangement) in the song and their placement in the mix so their role can be fulfilled.

The Top Seven Ways for Blending Backing Vocals

  1. Less volume.  Most of the time, the backing vocalists are supporting the lead singer.  You don’t have four lead singers, you have a lead and three backing singers.  While there are instances of multiple leads, that’s another story.  Therefore, their volume needs to be less than the lead.  How much less?  I can’t assign a magic dB number but I’ll say it should be noticeable.
  2. Roll off some of their high frequencies.  As well as reducing their volume for lead support, you want to place them in a reduced frequency range, just as you would any instrument in your mix.  You don’t want to cut out their highs completely, but by using a shelving EQ on their highs, you can make the lead stand out.  Remember, backing vocals should be blended together while not sounding like a doubling of the lead singer.
  3. Back off the lows.  Again with a shelf filter so they aren’t clogging up the instruments while at the same time, not sounding too flat.
  4. Separate and blend with reverb.  First, use a different type of reverb than the lead vocal.  The lead vocal would be good with a short reverb time while the backing vocals can be blended together with a longer reverb like a Hall reverb.
  5. Compress them.  They will be fitting in the mix in a very tight space and you don’t want a backing vocalist to suddenly sound louder than the others…especially the lead singer. Use a higher compression ratio if necessary, especially if you have one singer who really likes to belt them out.
  6. Actively mix them. Blending is more than setting the initial volume levels, setting the EQ, and putting on some reverb.  Place the backing vocalists into a group and control all of their volumes with one fader.  Then, you can easily cut or boost their volume so they are always in the right relationship in the mix.  If the lead singer let the backing vocalists take over for the chorus, then you can easily boost their volume. You can also boost their vocals at a point in the song when a verse has a punched up line that stands out.  This is where it helps to listen to professional recordings of the same songs during the week.
  7. Blend the vocalists together.  You aren’t creating three distinct sounds for the three backing vocalists. You are creating a single sound.  Cut and boost frequencies so they sound as one.  Looking beyond the highs and lows, consider these frequencies as a place to start;

150 Hz – 600 Hz: Warmth
500 Hz – 2 kHz: Nasal (Cut to eliminate)
3 kHz – 5 kHz: Sibilance (Cut to eliminate)
1.5 kHz – 8 kHz: Clarity and Presence

The Take Away – and a question

All vocalists on the stage shouldn’t be singing at the same volume level.  They shouldn’t all sound distinct.  Backing vocalists can be used in multiple ways depending on the song arrangement. They aren’t used to sound like a duplicate of the lead singer.  Consider the group as an instrument when in one song, they are a blended rhythm guitar and in another song they are the highlighted lead instrument.

Question: What tips do you have for mixing backing vocals?

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Comments

  1. Paulo Pinheiro says

    What if one of the voices is very low, like very next to 100Hz? Won’t it vanish if you cut around 200 or 300Hz?

    Reply
  2. Jeffrey Musser says

    How do you handle multiple voices singing lead at the same time? I am not talking about unison, like in a choir will sometimes sing.
    Depending on the situation we can have up to 4 women all singing the melody, as well as a couple of men. How do I make it sounds a good as it can in this sitch? For a Mennonite church we don’t have an abundance of people to sing harmonies on our worship teams!

    Reply

  4. What steps would you recommend when blending three or four distinct voices in harmony such as the Manhattan Transfer? Are there general engineering rules/levels for the low voice, mid voice and high voice to make them sound as one yet distinct?

    Thank you

    Reply

    • I’ve found to mix a small group, to minimize any overlapping distinctives – such as if two voices both have a lot going in the in 1.25 kHz area. Then deciding who needs to own each freq area. For example, if a bass vocal is present, they own the low end. Other singers shouldn’t be competing in that area. It doesn’t mean to cut them out completely but to roll off some of those lows.

      Reply
  5. shane says

    I love when you guys leave up the frequency ranges. Makes getting my objective done so much easier. I always look for to tampering with the eq after reading a post like this

    Reply

  6. Have regular and separate vocal practices.Keep vocal sessions simple with only a guitar or keyboard as a guide.Always have a key person with a good ear, to lead the session.

    Reply

  11. I think something very important is actively mixing. Also, I sing along with the audience when appropriate. This helps me adjust the volume better than just listening as if it were just a performance. Obviously, if the audience is not singing, then don’t sing along. I’ve also had lead vocalists who are either weak in their high range or very quiet in the low range. This is another time when back up vocalists can “back them up”. It’s also a good idea to mix up the vocalists each week until you get some good groups. Some voices just don’t sound good together. We tend to use female background vocals with a male lead vocal. Sometimes we will use a male backup vocal but be careful not to use voices that sounds similar to each other. The audience can get lost as to who’s leading if they sound too similar.

    Reply
  13. Sithembiso says

    Honestly not a new tip,more of a testament to what i’ve learnt from this site:
    1, have them perfect their own craft. I am finding it easier and easier to have a better mix when they rehearse properly,know the lyrics etc
    2, have them stand the correct distance from the mike. Enuff said.

    Reply