The words to this old standard suddenly invaded my dreams the other night and I awoke with a new revelation.
Although it was written as a romantic love song, the last 2 lines seemed to speak to me of something else...something genuine, authentic, and true...kinda like the way I want you to sing. The words to the last lines are,
"The music is sweet, the words are true, the song is you"
When I talk to you about being real when you sing, I am talking about choosing songs that are comfortable to you in style and mood, as well as lyrics and melody. When you choose comfortable songs that say what you want to say, AND are based on your beliefs your traditions, your customs, your upbringing and environment, then you ARE the song, and the song is YOU!
Finding Your Song
I grew up in New York City and was influenced by Jazz and Broadway musical styles. Jazz songs feel very natural for me...the way jazz notes are bent and improvised feels familiar and comfortable, and when I sing Broadway songs, they flow from me with an effortlessness that feels as if I could go on singing for hours and hours.
Oh sure! I'll sing a Country tune when asked, or power-ballad, or a rock tune, or even an Art Song if requested, but although I can appreciate and perform all musical genres, if I were to choose an audition song to fully express my essence, it would have to be a Jazz tune or something from Broadway. And the reason for this is that as early as I can recall, the sounds of the melodies, harmonies and rhythms contained within these 2 styles drifted through our house non-stop.
You must examine your roots to find music that fully expresses you!
I have students who love the Jazz Style, yet find it difficult to negotiate through jazz syncopated nuances that are just not part of their comfort zones. These students sound much better, freer, looser, more confident when they sing in styles that they can FEEL and that are natural to them. It's where they can best express their own essence.
The Singer's Comfort Zone
Now I can hear you saying,
"WAIT, Chrys! Are you saying that we should never venture out of our comfort zone?
How can we ever grow if we don't?"
That's a good question! And "No", I'm not saying don't widen the border lines of your comfort zone. On the contrary, we should always be willing to stretch ourselves through our performances.
- If we're used to clutching the microphone, we should try sometimes to sing with the mic in the stand and our hands free.
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And we should try to stretch our range - and to listen to music that is popular and "happening", but may not be what we would normally purchase at Tower Records.
But everyone has a center where the music of the heart lives and breathes. In this place is where the Song and the Singer are ONE.
If you filled out the SingYourLife.com questionnaire a few months ago, you remember when I asked you what music you listen to. I asked that to get an idea of what songs best express your essence, cause that's where those songs are, in your CD and MP3 collections...and where we begin to discover the voice inside you...and the songs that are YOU!
The Current "American Idol" Season
Did you follow this last season of "American Idol"? Then you've already heard some of the judges' comments when they reject a pleasant enough sounding voice that just didn't touch them.
Let me echo what they said about a nice voice not being enough, especially when the song is not reflective of who the singer truly is in his/her soul. In this competition, SONG CHOICE seems to be the number one factor in whether or not one moves on or goes home.
When Simon says, "That was forgettable", he is saying that the song and the singer weren't ONE.
He is saying that the there was something disingenuous about the performance, maybe the song was chosen to impress rather then to express.
Even a singer with a dynamite voice can ruin his/her chances at an audition by choosing material that simply is not in harmony with his/her essence.
This is one of the reasons that I always discourage copying another singer's style. Whenever I hear, "Make me sound like Christina", I have to respond by telling the student that it's just not my thing to make carbon copies of other performers.
My mission is to help singers find their OWN voice and then to develop it to be the very best it can be, and to realize that it will be much more than good enough!
So I guess, I am saying 2 things here:
First- Be Yourself and let your song choices reflect that, and
Second - Stretch Yourself musically, technically, harmonically, and rhythmically to get more flexibility and vocal strength, and then use your improved vocal ability to express your inner soul.
When you do that, the Song is You, AND You are The Song!
That's when the Magic happens, singers!
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