Background vocals (sometimes called backing vocals) can add enormous value to — or detract value from–  a recording. Done correctly, they can make the difference between a commercial hit or artistic masterpiece and … not a hit/masterpiece. I’ve been singing background vocals  and creating background vocal arrangements for decades now in all genres. Through the years, I’ve learned through trial, error, client wishes and resulting mixes what does and does not work. Here are some things I typically suggest to create background vocal magic.

NOTE: When the producer or group leader calls for “doubling or stacking a part” it means to record another track of the exact same part. When calling for “next part or sweetening”, it means singing another new note or part. “Multi-tracking” background vocals simply means recording a part or group parts on more than one track.

• What I chose or suggest to do with background vocals depends mightily on the genre of the song. For instance… for rock, r&b and pop, I usually multitrack and double or triple (or even more) each part. For bluegrass I typically suggest only one track/singer on each part to keep the intimate, tight, live sound this genre is famous for. Country… usually single or double any verse parts and multitrack the choruses.

• When I multitrack and double, for the tightest and purest sounds, I have each singer do all the doubling of one part. For thicker sounds and choir sounds, I have singers switch parts for doubling. And then again, some times I do all the parts for budget, time or other expediency reasons. How many times do I double each part? Sometimes it takes trying it out to see if it needs another track for richness or if another double makes the sound too heavy or muddy.

• As to how many parts I sing or direct to be sung, many times experimentation is called for, and I quickly sing or have sung a single duet part, full chord or an octave at top or bottom of the chord to determine which is best for that song. After many years, though, I can usually make that call without having to try out everything.

• I like to do non-conventional parts, not necessarily paralleling everything. Sometimes breaking a unison into parts at a chosen point, sometimes doing counterparts, sometimes fifths, sometimes even notes out of the chord (rock does this a LOT)…etc.

• If possible I like to have each singer on a separate mic each part can be controlled at mix. However, there are many projects I do that are set up with only one mic, then I make sure we record with the right balance of parts.

• For choir parts, many times a choir is recorded and then ‘ringer’ (professional session) singers overdub doubled parts to focus the choir sound.

• How many background vocal singers do you need per song? It depends on the sound you want (consult with your producer), your budget (AFTRA union singer rates are available at the AFTRA website – look under the tab “Sound Recordings”), and who is available for you to call that can come in to the studio in your area.

• Mixing background vocals is also a highly variable thing. Hopefully your engineer will make sure there is a balance of parts and that

I strongly suggest that you not use amateur singers for background vocal parts. Not only will the sound be sub-par, it can cost you more money because of the studio time it takes trying to get something acceptable. Get pro singers, or if you can do your own, you can save money and that might be the best thing to do. However, sometimes it’s best to use singers with different resonances than the lead vocal. The singers still need to be able to blend with your vocal in the way that gives you the best sonic results… and your background vocalist(s) need to be chosen carefully based on whether or not they can deliver that effect. Consult with your producer as to the best option for your project and your budget.

If you have any questions about this or any other aspect of recording, please let me know!