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From: Margaret Harrison
To: VOCALIST <vocalist>
Subject: Re: getting your singing message across (was Before I give up)
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DANIaka007-at-aol.com wrote:

> I am veryveryvery new to the list....what would your advice be on trying
> to get your basic message across of whatever you're singing?

Here's a simplistic answer - that's worked the best for me: believe what you're singing.

Now, doing that isn't always easy. First, you have to know what the texts you're singing
mean, which isn't always simple, even when the texts are in English. If you're singing in
a foreign language, you need to know what each word means in that language, and then you
have to "translate" the literal into something that's meaningful to you. And then
transfer those ideas to your singing of the foreign language. And you have to allow
yourself to be fearless in front of people, and not feel silly letting your real inside
feelings out for all to see. In fact, you sometimes have to do everything a little
"bigger" than you imagine, to reach a big audience in a big hall.

Here's one method of "interpretation" I've been taught, which can be used for English or
foreign texts:

Memorize the text as-is.
Make a meaningful translation for yourself in every-day language and memorize that.
Practice >saying< the every-day translation in a natural, meaningful way, so it seems like
something you would say in real life.
Practice saying the as-is text in the same natural, communicative way that you did with
your every-day translation.
Practice singing your song with the same natural communication as when you say the text
without singing.

The above sounds simple and easy, but for most of us it is difficult to do, especially in
front of people. So practice, practice, practice. If you have access to a Camcorder,
videotape yourself to see if you're actually doing what you think you're doing. And
practice in front of people as much as possible, and have your friends and/or your teacher
give you feedback. Ask your friends to be open with their comments, because all they tell
you is "you did a wonderful job", that won't help you get better. (And don't get offended
when they tell you the truth, even if it's something you need to improve on. If don't
think your friends can do this for you in a constructive way, leave the feedback to your
teachers.)

Other ways to get into a song text is to answer a series of questions for yourself like
the following (list courtesy of my voice teacher):

Are you the character in the piece? Or are you describing, narrating the action?
Are you telling a story in the first person or the third person?
Where is the character? Indoors, out of doors, in a city, in a forest?
How old are you?
Is the setting in the present or the past?
What is your social class?
What are you wearing?
Are you being introspective, thinking out loud?
Are you addressing one other person, or a group of people?
Are you talking to friends, enemies, strangers, your sweetheart?
What were you (your character) doing immediately before you began telling this story?
Eating dinner? Running through the field?
Create a subtext (what your character is actually thinking while saying the words*, or
during parts of the music where you're not singing).
Describe the moods or emotions you feel.

Hope all this helps!

Peggy

*example of subtext while saying words - a guy tells a girl he like not to date
exclusively any more, and she answers "Oh sure, that's fine with me, I'd like to date
others too." and she's actually thinking (subtext) "That's definitely NOT OK with me, I'm
really angry and hurt."

--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh-at-ix.netcom.com