Tips on how to sing like Beyonce

If you are looking for tips on how to sing like Beyonce, you are not the only one! Beyonce is probably one of the most impressive singers out there right now. She has everything: immense range, absolutely fantastic control and – for want of a better word – soul! Lots of soul, in fact.

To sing like Beyonce, sing with soul

Beyonce’s vocal roots are very clearly in gospel and early soul, yet she makes them relevant to today’s sounds. So the first place to start is to get some grounding in gospel singing. Vocal coach Dileesa Hunter makes a great point in her video about Beyonce. She looks back to singers such as Sam Cooke for a comparison, saying “What was important in those days was not so much to sing pretty as to get through great lines”.

That’s an interesting comment which might seem counter-intuitive. How can you sing without being pretty? Why would you even want to? I’d say it’s a question of attitude. Beyonce – like many great singers – really wants to get a physical reaction from her listeners. She is not singing to be dainty or demure. There is no doubt in my mind that she could do either if she wanted to. But when singing she slips into her alter-ego, Sasha Fierce and she pushes hard to get her message out there. She goes for the emotion.

So go for it. Step up and sing as if you want to physically project the words through your audience to the back of the room. I’m talking about emotional intensity as much as the power of your voice (you don’t want to shout at people).

Sing vibrato and runs like Beyonce

Part of Beyonce’s appeal is her amazing use of light vibrato and her “runs”, the little flourishes she uses to go from one word to the next. A word of advice: keep those for later. It’s better to work on your breathing and power before looking at details such as these. But a good vocal coach or training programme can get you there once you are on the right path. Runs are never random. Singers know three things before they start: what note they are starting from; what note they will finish on; and the rhythm. After practice, this can become relatively easy – in fact some singers have a hard time turning their runs off!

Look at the video below to see just how precise – and how uplifting – it can be to sing like Beyonce. This is already a singer with experience. Think it’s hard? Maybe you should start with some more basic lessons before going to vocal coaching from any of the great coaches out there. Try Marjorie Searcy’s Middle Voice Method or Sing Like Never Before.

And remember what the superstar herself said, “I have someone else that takes over when it’s time for me to work and when I’m on stage, this alter ego that I’ve created that kind of protects me and who I really am.” Are you ready to unleash that singer within?