The High Performance Singer

Call me dedicated, call me crazy... Often when I'm learning a new cover song that's going to be in the repertoire for a while, I record myself singing it. Then I compare myself with the original singer, WORD FOR WORD. That means: play a second or two of the original recording, then play the same couple seconds of myself singing, and see what's different in every single syllable. Yes - I do think it sounds kind of weird if you try to imitate someone else's voice exactly. Yo

This week's post is an article from guest blogger Jim Dix. Jim is a Florida singer, trumpet player, and teacher. If you are in Florida and looking for voice or performance coaching, I recommend contacting him. To make a song live and breathe, speak the lyrics. Speak the lyrics of the song when learning a song (even if it’s your own original song) and check back in with this practice periodically. Speak them freely, as you would in a conversation. This puts the meaning of th

Yesterday I worked with a student who sang a song with a chorus consisting of the same line repeated four times with the same melody. It sounded the same each time: a descending melody of "I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin' in love with you." While she could sing it technically just fine, it lacked punch and emotion. Why? ... Think about how many different meanings can be expressed with the same exact words. Take, for example, the phrase, "That's great." H

Last weekend I spent with Rene Marie, jazz singer, at a workshop she ran for a few women looking to access more emotion in their singing. Many pearls of wisdom came out during the 17 hours we all spent together, but here's just one I'd like to share today: A single song can help you find your voice. Find one song that you really connect with. One song that moves you. One song that opens the door for you. It might be old, it might be new... it might be from your teenage year

Ever listen to ska or reggae? Have you noticed the prominence of the upbeat, usually played by guitar, or keys? (The upbeat is the beat that's normally not prominent - the beat when, if you're tapping your toes, your toes would be up. For example, if you count 1-2-3-4 in a pop or rock song, the 1 and 3 are usually stronger, and the 2 and 4 are less prominent. Divide the time into divisions half as long, and then you have "1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and," where 1-2-3-4 are stronge

Ever wonder why people aren't raving about your singing voice even though you can't see any problems with it? Or why people love someone else's singing voice even though they don't have perfect vocal technique? What do you need to do to get your singing voice noticed? Some people think of the definition of a good singer as someone who doesn't have a discernible break, who is on pitch, who has a pleasing tonal quality, who has perfect control of their vibrato, etc. But ther

Do you have anaudition for a band coming up? Do you know how to pick a good song for your audition? Usually, the band will give you some direction in terms of which songs they'd like to hear. They might give you several songs of which you pick three, or they might give you a general genre or several artists to work within. Assuming that you have some choice, here are three things to keep in mind while picking your audition songs. You LOVE the song. This will do more than a

Are you a good singer? Yes? Great! But are you a good performer? What’s the difference? A good singer has good vocal technique, and interprets a song with feeling appropriate to the song. A good performer is also a good singer, but is also so much more! A good performer knows how to move around on stage with purpose appropriate to the song – not just wandering around. A good performer knows how to use the microphone not only as a sound amplifier, but as a tool and prop.

Do you sing cover songs or jazz standards? Do you find yourself singing just like the artist on the recording? Would you like to sound more like yourself when you sing, and less like an imitation of another singer? Here are a bunch of ways to help you break out of the box of what you hear and find your own voice. Play with dynamics (getting louder and softer at different times). Intentionally try using different dynamics than the dynamics the original artist used. Play wi

Do you imitate the sounds of your favorite singers? You probably do to some extent, without realizing it. We are products of the musical environment we surround ourselves with! But... Do you really study your favorite vocalists? How they pronounce words? How they phrase their lines? The dynamic variation they use throughout the song? How they use vibrato, or don't? How breathy or how clear they sound? How big, fat, round and deep, or (conversely) how pointed and sharp