How to sing

Years ago, I and a bunch of singing friends did a couple of vocal technique workshops with jazz maestro Pete Churchill. He had lots of words of wisdom to dispense. I put together a cribsheet for our choir and for anyone else who might have a need for singing tips: Get into the groove, feel the beat, get with the swing, get off the page! (No looking down at scores, watch the musical director and keep an eye for the audience) Understand the “form” (structure) of the song, don’t count bars, feel the rhythm, and know where the repeats and codas fit Be aware of what the other singers and musicians are doing, from the top sops and right to the bottom bass via the altos and tenors, if you lose your place you can always revert to the main melody Be aware of your breath, use your breath, it’s part of your voice, especially in folk/jazz/pop/rock singing as opposed to classical singing, but especially Pete’s type of jazz singing Use the percussive plosives, the buh, pah, bah sounds for expressive emphasis, but obviously not on every b and p, give your singing dynamics You can hold the consonants not just the vowels, make them rich, “Fall in Llllllove” sometimes, don’t “Fall in Luuuuuv” every time. This is more of a jazz nuance, but useful to have in the back of your mind for bluesier/jazzier songs Start your oohs and aahs with a hushed “h” (h)oooooh, (h)aaaaah to protect your voice from hard ah, eh, ooh sounds that clack your vocal folds (cords), this applies...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Music Source Type: blogs