Judy Rodman - All Things Vocal Blog

Training & insights for stage and studio singers, speakers, vocal coaches and producers from professional vocal coach and author of "Power, Path & Performance" vocal training method. Download All Things Vocal podcast on your fav app!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Singers: Soft First Verses Need To Deliver Impact

I just worked with a singer who has been asked by her producer to sing the first verse of a song softly but not breathy. I think that's good direction, and a way to build a song. But she was having trouble knowing how to do it effectively.

Here's what worked for her and can work for you when you want to sing with a smaller dynamic.. first verse or breakdown 1/2 chorus are common places:

Sing everything with all of you! From your heels to your face... your whole being has to be involved.

You need to support and communicate the lightest places in your song as passionately and purposefully as the highest, longest, loudest notes. This works for all genres of music.

Think about it... do you want the audience to be lightly involved with the first verse? Or do you want to engage them from the start... making them understand something from your very first lyric? Here's a fact...if you don't engage them at the beginning, you'll likely loose them for the rest of the song, too!

Like a great athlete or violin player, even the smallest moves are deliberate and purposeful. If you just sing from your shoulders because the passage is not hard or you're trying for a quieter dynamic, you will not communicate. Don't tense your body, but do involve it. And pronounce your smallest lyrics as clearly as your loudest. Support (as Power, Path & Performance teaches -- without pushing) every note with breath.

Something to think about the next time you want to sing soft. Your comments are most welcome!

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2 Comments :

  • At April 7, 2010 at 10:35 PM , Anonymous Gaye Lindfors said...

    The first verse of a song reminds me of the opening paragraph of a story or a presentation. You either capture the listener or they'll move on to something else. Thank you for the reminder.

     
  • At April 9, 2010 at 9:28 PM , Blogger Unknown said...

    Gaye... thank you for your comment here. I think you've got a great point... attention is much easier to get if you capture it at the beginning! Sorry it took so long to acknowledge your comment... been quite busy lately:)

     

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