The most important thing about singing a duet, is finding a partner, that has a singing voice that blends well with yours. There should be some chemistry between you, that makes singing a love song believable. When you sing to each other, your eyes should meet, and it should show feelings between you both. It is a form of acting and takes practice. If it is not a love song, and sung between two of the same sex, there needs to be a prescence about each of you, that reveals feelings such as humor, or friendship, or even a bit of the comic showing though.
Step 1
Remember, that not all duets are between opposite sexes, nor are they all love songs. A duet is when any two people sing and share a song together, They could be having a humorous time together, or more serious. Make sure that each have solo parts. Unless you try to freestyle harmonize, layer or echo lyrics, do not clash roles, trip up lines, or 'cross lanes'. That means that if you sing lower than your partner, remain there. The limit would be if you are both singing the same note. Stay consistent.
Step 2
Listen closely when you are not singing so you do not miss your cue to join in. If you are not doing karaoke, and you do know the lyrics, you can lip-sync lyrics while not singing to make sure you can prompt your partner if he seems to forget the words or for you to keep track of when to join in.
Step 3
Prompt your partner with a nod, or a glance, or you may even want to open your palms with a finger pointing towards them. The more you practice however, the less often you will need these actions.
Tips
Find a singer that is at the same level as you and has a voice that blends beautifully. - A partner can be of the same sex, or opposite sex. A love song however, works better with one of the opposite sex.
- Make sure you acknowledge your partner after the song by a hug or a pat on the shoulders.
- Find your own style. It is not advisable to copy anyone else.
- When performing with a romantic partner, be sure to have eye contact. This helps with the chemistry between the two people.
- Be sure to relax while performing. If you and your partner are comfortable with each other, it will show.
- For practice on same-sex-duets, try "Beautiful Liar" by Beyonce and Shakira for girls, and "Me & My Shadow" by Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra (or Robbie Williams-Jonathon Wilkes remake).
- Sometimes, you may have to sing lyrics that are not on the prompter as some layering effect (cf. Father & Son, the Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) & Ronan Keating duet). You'll have to really figure out the timing, the lyrics and hit the cue yourself.
Warnings
- Do not try to out sing the other. This rule really depends from song to song. You may have to if there are a lot of solo parts like Tom Jones & Catatona version of "Baby It's Cold Inside". But this rule become important when all you are doing is backing the lead singer up. Check "Something Stupid" by Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman for example. All Kidman did in the song was to harmonize with Robbie.
- Never pick a song that is out of vocal range of any one of the duo. You can change the key of the song so both can be comfortable,
- This guide is only about singing a duet, not about performance or partner ettiquete.
- Don't cross over. It is a general musical rule that if you are lower than your partner, to never go higher than his/her notes. It becomes even more strictly reinforced the more people are involved in harmonizing. The only exception is when all are singing the same notes. In a four-part harmony, the two people singing the middle range can sing the same notes, the one in the lowest and highest range may not. The only other exception is when you are a lead singer in a band, where the lead lines jump notes in a more logical manner.
- The logical downward ending isn't always correct. If you are the higher singer in a two-part a harmony, while a musical phrase from C ('do') to A (lower 'la') or E ('mi') to C ('do') sounds logical in a solo, it is incorrect in a duet or harmony. The one singing lower B ('ti') should move up to C to end the song. You have to stay in E so you won't lose the harmony. Using "Me and My Shadow" as example again, check how Robbie never go down from 'mi' to 'do'. They did, however, do a legal 'lane switch' when Jonathon insisted Robbie to sing the ending again.
