How do you pick up clean vocal songs fast without having an ear for music? This is what I do for my cover versions and learning sessions. It took me a while to get there, so I hope the method helps vocalists out there to progress faster.
About me – deathdoom.com, music and more
- Stefan Nordström
- Musician, songwriter, content creator, digital freelancer
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Bands: Desolator, Soliloquium, Ending Quest, Ashes of Life, Trees of Daymare, The Ashen Tree
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From death metal growls to clean vocal songs
I started out singing death metal and thrash metal for years, with the occasional clean vocal session sprinkled in there. For a long time I had no idea what I was doing, and hitting a note was more luck than anything. As my clean vocals got more serious in my band Soliloquium and other projects, I realized this needed serious work. In my mind I saw clean vocals just like extreme vocals; e.g., as words and rhythms, not melody. This didn’t cut it, and now I’m on the long walk to understanding it.
My clean vocal trajectory and musicality
Learning clean vocal songs has always been a mess for me, as my ears simply aren’t the best. I rarely find melodies and notes, and in many cases I make up my own melody and go with it without noticing it. If you don’t have a natural ear and fall into this, picking out the melody and making it yours is a good way to go. I’ve recently started doing it and it works great.
In my case, I use an autotuned Melodyne recording to detect how the song sounds if I would sing in the right pitch. This is based on the original song, so there’s no chance of learning wrong notes or taking “taking liberties” with the melody. It also helps me to not imitate the original vocalist when I’m recording covers.
Learn clean vocal songs in 4 steps
Step 1: separate the music and vocals
The first step is to separate the music and the vocals, so you have the vocals on a solo track. I used Vocalremover.org, which has worked fine. There are many different ways to do this. Find what works best for you. Anyway, the result of this service is a separated vocal .wav. or .mp3 that you can download locally and analyze. Get the separated music file too. You’ll need it!
Step 2: put the separated vocals in an analyzer
Import the separated vocal file into your DAW and put it through the analyzing software of your choice. Now, you’ll have a clear picture of the notes in the vocal melody. Play it a few times – I’m sure it’ll surprise you in the naked version. If you want to familiarize yourself with it further, pick up a guitar and play it or hum it. It will prepare you for the next step.
Step 3: record your take on the vocal melody
It’s time to sing your take on the melody. Use the music file for background and make sure it’s synced with the separated vocal file you analyzed before. Don’t worry if it’s sloppy or off-pitch, just try to hit the tempo.
Step 4: analyze where you are and/or autotune it to the melody
This is where it’s time to pitch correct, at least if you do it the same way I do. Use the notes from the separated vocal files to pitch correct your own take. Now, you have a track where your voice is singing the correct notes. This is usually a huge aha moment for me, as a lot clears up when I start hearing “myself” sing it. Granted, there’ll be some eurodisco twang and so on with the autotune, at least if you sing as off as I do sometimes.
If you don’t wanna use an autotune software, I recommend picking up a guitar or piano to play the vocal melody. It’s very good for familizaring yourself with clean vocal songs, and it helps to detect diversions and bum notes. Optional step 5: record your version and use your robo alter ego as a reference. Now it’s pretty easy to detect whether you’re hitting the notes or not.
Summary – learning clean vocal songs
This method has done a huge difference in the recording process for my new album. I’ve gained more understanding for melody and my arrangements, and it speeds up the learning curve a lot. Learning clean vocal songs and writing melodies are still among my biggest musical challenges, but this helps. Hope it help you too, so you can progress faster than I did!
Want to hear what I sound like or support my content?
The Soliloquium song “Själamörker” is a pretty good representation of where I’m at in 2025. It has a fair share of clean vocals, but also demonstrates my false chord growls and fry screams. Hope you dig it! Leave a comment on YouTube with what you think, I’m curious.
If you want to support my content, please buy my digital music or merch at the Soliloquium Bandcamp page. Helps a lot!
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