Hip hop is not just about instrumental beats. It is also about powerful vocals! In this music genre, an effective technique to engage the attention of listeners and to make rap lines more interesting is through vocal doubling. Hip hop and rock commonly involve vocal doubling. This transforms a song into a wonderful combination of words and instrumental beats that allows it to captivate its listeners. The primary goal of this technique is to make the main vocal rap more powerful. This can be applied to a choice of word for emphasis, to a single line, a verse or even the entire song. But there are a few ground rules that you should observe to make sure that you are doing it right.
Select the best take and use it as the lead. If you've produced a hip hop track before, you know that a lot of takes are involved before recording is complete. Always prepare for recording by hydrating to keep your vocal cords in top shape. Keeping the mic at the same distance throughout recording will ensure you get even volume levels. Target yourself to perform your best during takes. If you can sing the whole track or even a verse on a single take, prepare and go for it. After a couple of takes, listen to your vocals and select the best and use it as the lead.
Find a double for your lead. After selecting the best take for your lead, listen to the other takes made and select them in the order of close similarity to your lead. However, if free styling or flowing is your thing, it might be harder finding takes that are close to same. In this instance, you will have to make another take rapping as close as you can to the lead. A great technique used by most artists is wearing only one headset when making their takes. This allows them listen to the original lead and simultaneously record its double.
Rule #3. Keep The Doubles Inconspicuous When Mixing Rap Lines. The goal in vocal doubling is to enforce the lead, not to create an illusion that there are 2 or more rappers behind the record. Tweak the volume of the second version so that it blends well with the lead rap. Pushing the double 10 to 12 dB can usually do the job as it makes the vocals thicker without creating the impression that it is doubled. If you are aiming for the spacious effect, use 2 doubles and pan one track hard left and the other hard right by .10 seconds. Left pan delays the track by 10 seconds while the right pan times its entrance 10 seconds earlier. With these, the doubles should be unnoticeable.
Listen to the final production. After mixing the vocal doubles, it's now time to listen to the final production. If you follow the instructions mentioned above, you will easily create vocal doubles that blend well. If the final recording is not what you are targeting, more practice might be necessary to prefect doubling. A great way is to practice using the beats and instrumentals at the same time as training your vocals.
Select the best take and use it as the lead. If you've produced a hip hop track before, you know that a lot of takes are involved before recording is complete. Always prepare for recording by hydrating to keep your vocal cords in top shape. Keeping the mic at the same distance throughout recording will ensure you get even volume levels. Target yourself to perform your best during takes. If you can sing the whole track or even a verse on a single take, prepare and go for it. After a couple of takes, listen to your vocals and select the best and use it as the lead.
Find a double for your lead. After selecting the best take for your lead, listen to the other takes made and select them in the order of close similarity to your lead. However, if free styling or flowing is your thing, it might be harder finding takes that are close to same. In this instance, you will have to make another take rapping as close as you can to the lead. A great technique used by most artists is wearing only one headset when making their takes. This allows them listen to the original lead and simultaneously record its double.
Rule #3. Keep The Doubles Inconspicuous When Mixing Rap Lines. The goal in vocal doubling is to enforce the lead, not to create an illusion that there are 2 or more rappers behind the record. Tweak the volume of the second version so that it blends well with the lead rap. Pushing the double 10 to 12 dB can usually do the job as it makes the vocals thicker without creating the impression that it is doubled. If you are aiming for the spacious effect, use 2 doubles and pan one track hard left and the other hard right by .10 seconds. Left pan delays the track by 10 seconds while the right pan times its entrance 10 seconds earlier. With these, the doubles should be unnoticeable.
Listen to the final production. After mixing the vocal doubles, it's now time to listen to the final production. If you follow the instructions mentioned above, you will easily create vocal doubles that blend well. If the final recording is not what you are targeting, more practice might be necessary to prefect doubling. A great way is to practice using the beats and instrumentals at the same time as training your vocals.
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