5 Industry-Standard Vocal Layers

Vocal layering has been a prominent technique in music production since the mid-20th century. From the iconic opening harmonies in Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” to the atmospheric vocal pads in Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” layered vocals are the defining quality of countless hit songs.

Utilizing multiple tracks of voices in your original music can elevate your songs from sounding amateur and lackluster to professional and captivating, no matter the genre.

If you’re overwhelmed at the thought of creating vocal layers for your own songs, don’t fret! You’ll soon learn that tasteful simplicity is often the mark of great vocal layers in popular music.

Vocal Layering Defined

Vocal layering is the process of recording multiple vocal parts and placing them together in a song. It is a standard part of music production, specifically vocal production. Layering vocals is also called vocal stacking, and layers of vocal recordings are sometimes called vocal stacks.

Older music tends to feature harmonies and other vocal layers from singers other than the artist, but in modern music, it’s more commonplace to hear an artist sing their own vocal stacks.

The amount of vocal tracks in a music recording can range from just a few, say five or less, to dozens. In other words, producers can be minimalists or maximalists with their vocal layering.

Word to the Wise – Don’t use too many vocal tracks.

Layering vocals is not always necessary. Improper use of backing vocals, harmony lines, and other layers can compromise a song’s impact. Look no further than Adele’s “All I Ask” for proof.

This massively-successful ballad features a single recording of Adele’s voice, a piano, and nothing more. You might be thinking, “Well… yeah. But only someone like her could pull that off.” Curiously, that line of thinking points to a useful perspective on vocal layering.

Corrective Vs. Creative Vocal Layering

An aspect of vocal layering that often goes overlooked is its corrective benefit. Vocal stacking creates an auditory effect called masking. Masking can be favorable as it can hide rhythm, pitch, and tonal issues.

Case Study in Hiding Strained Lead Vocals

A famous song that uses corrective vocal layering is “Thinkin’ Bout You” by Frank Ocean. Listen closely to the first chorus. There are no vocal layers in the first half, but vocal doubles of his lead vocal kick in when he pushes out the high note, G5, in the second half.

Switching to a layered vocal helps mask the strained quality in Frank Ocean’s voice on that note. Given that “Thinkin’ Bout You” skyrocketed him to the A-list, I’d say adding layers was a wise choice.

So the next time you hear pesky tonal discrepancies in your main vocal recording, consider recording some vocal layers to mask the imperfect parts instead of reaching for Melodyne or Auto-Tune.

Creative Vocal Layering

Music producers typically think of layering from the creative side. Well-crafted stacks can significantly elevate songs. Think of them as steroids for the emotions your song evokes.

Vocal layers can subtly enhance the mood of a song, like in “Yellow” by Coldplay. Listen to the chorus and see how many layers you can identify. Songs like “Yellow” use vocal layering to compliment the main vocal.

Conversely, vocal layers can also be the prominent feature of a song, like in “California Dreamin'” by The Mamas and Papas. This song employs vocal layering to produce a call-and-response effect.

 

Vocal layers are the backbone of countless hit songs. They’re often used to create an emotional lift to parts of a song, but these layers are also just plain ol’ ear candy.

Here are the 5 industry-standard vocal layers added to recordings:

1. Doubles

A double is a layer that duplicates a previously recorded part. For example, after recording your lead vocal, you could record the same part all over again on a separate audio track, thus creating a “double.”

This layer has an interesting thickening effect on music recordings. Doubles are the sound of two voices singing together in unison. Listen for vocal doubles in the pre-chorus of Alicia Keys’ “Un-thinkable.”

The science behind doubling is that no two takes of a vocal part are ever perfectly identical, so when two or more recordings of the same part are played together, it creates a cool audio effect.

Octave doubles are a common variation of this vocal layer. A producer may have a singer record a lower or higher version of the lead vocal. This is not considered a harmony because it is the same pitches as the lead vocal part. Though different from a standard same-octave double, octave doubles have a similar thickening effect.

Quick mixing and production tip: At a minimum, record two additional takes of your lead vocal. One to pan hard left and another to pan hard right. (Learn more about panning here.) Doing this will widen the stereo image of your vocals and make your songs sound more pro!