Is It Good to Imitate Other Singers When You are Singing?

I always see students trying to imitate how the singer sings on the recording (consciously or subconsciously).

It is completely natural to do this - especially if the singer sounds good doing it and it fits the style of the song.

It is okay to do that a little if you are a beginner.

Avoid doing that too much because what happens is you are trying to copy an end result, without really knowing the process of getting that end result.

What you hear on radio/Spotify/Apple Music is the result of a lot of training, practice, rehearsals and trial-and-error (at least for the vocals).

Musicians strive to deliver their best performances on studio recordings. Not to mention there are also studio production tricks/techniques involved to make them sound even better.

Let me give you an example.

Imagine you are a beginner painter.

You look at a painting that was done by a professional artist and you want to see if you can paint it the same way.

It looks pretty straightforward but when you try and do it, it just does not come out right.

That is because you do not know the exact process the professional artist went through to get the painting looking that way.

She might have done many foundational layers that you do not know about.

Maybe she has a special technique of getting the colors to stand out that way.

Not to mention she may have decades of training doing it.

Let me give you another example.

Adele has a unique and well developed sound.

I do not know the details of her vocal training but I am willing to bet that she has been working on getting that vocal tone for a long time.

She had probably tried many different things, and probably had more failures than successes.

She did not let temporary setbacks stop her and finally she got one of the most recognizable vocal tone in the industry.

If you are a beginner, it is better to focus on your vocal technique instead of trying to imitate what you hear.

Sometimes, you may not know you are doing it. I want you to be more aware. If you catch yourself doing it, remind yourself to focus on your technique and develop your own voice.

Once your foundation is strong, you can start to experiment with different ways of making sounds.

That is actually one of the best parts of being a singer.

Your voice is capable of making a lot of different sounds - sounds even you will not believe you are capable of making.

Eventually, you pick the sounds/vocal tone color/voice qualities that you like and you incorporate it into your singing.

You keep practicing making those sounds that you like. Sooner or later, it will become your own signature sound.

At that point, you can say that you have ‘found’ your voice.

It all starts with building a strong foundation.

By the way, if you are wanting to build a strong foundation and sing in public with confidence, have a look at my Shower to Stage Academy.