Bernard Fanning - Style, Technique, and Influences

Style, Technique, and Influences

Fanning has been described as having a strong vocal range when singing, but has stated that he is not highly confident in his voice. In a 1998 interview, Fanning said, "I don't think I have the perfect voice or anything", and stated that delivering the message of the song was more important than "showing off chops". He noted he was not interested in singing for the purpose of singing alone, but rather because he enjoyed getting the purpose of the song across. Fanning has stated: "For me, writing songs comes from anywhere", drawing inspiration from his experiences.

In his work on Tea & Sympathy, Fanning noted less of a collaborative song style, referring to his inability to play guitar solos as causing different elements to become a focus of the songs. In an interview, he said, "I wasn't relying on solos to be big features because I simply can't play them." Fanning explained that the shorter length of songs was due to him not having "four other people" to back him up when producing independently.

Fanning has stated his favourite band is The Beatles.