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Voice Lesson CDs
By Jeannie Deva
August 2008
Perform well and your audience will clap. Touch them emotionally and they cheer and maybe buy your CD. Reach to their very soul with a unique performance from your heart and they become your fans for life.
Perhaps that is a bit melodramatic; nonetheless, it is essential that you are able to express your own individuality through your voice and performance. In other words, have your own style. Let’s explore more facets of style and how you can evolve your own.
Imitator or Innovator
There is a fine line that separates studying the approach of other singers from becoming a clone. It's usual and even recommended to study what other singers do in order to enhance your sound vocabulary. Synthesizing those sounds for your own use and interpretation is different than trying to be like them. Singing the blues and consciously or unconsciously trying to sound like Muddy Waters, B.B King or Bonnie Raitt, is emulating an originality that you can never be.
Well, now it’s your turn! By all means, study what the great singers of your genre have done and incorporate it as part of your vocabulary. Then sing with your own interpretation. Being aware of the sounds that are currently selling in a certain musical genre is one thing. Trying to mold your own expression just to do “what’s in” is to my way of thinking, antipathetic to being an artist, especially in Rock, a music that has its roots in nonconformity. The point is, artists create new ideas and herald the future. The more we try to imitate and fit within the “status quo” the more we undermine our own dreams.
Being Second Best
As a singer, you are creating something. But if you are imitating, you are actually re-creating. You will always be compared to the original. The person who first created it is usually the one who did it best, so you become second-best, which is not very satisfying. Once in a recording studio, I overheard someone tell the singer, “Sing the line and pretend you’re Whitney Houston.” This is like telling someone, “Be someone else because who you are is inadequate.” If a person is having difficulty with the performance or execution of a song, they should be helped to work through any technical difficulties first, and then develop their own interpretation of the song.
Unless you are being hired to sing someone else’s songs exactly the way the original artist recorded them, you can and should find your own interpretation of each song you perform. There are no rules other than basic musical guidelines like singing in tune, and keeping your melody suitable to the chords played in the accompaniment. Other than that, use whatever conveys your message.
“Copy Cat”
In light of what I just said, this may seem contradictory. When you are learning, it is actually a good idea to copy what other singers do exactly. However, this is during practice or study, not while performing. When you do this, you are consciously trying to mimic the other singer in every detail. Of course you will not get the same tone, but you can get the same pitch, volume, vibrato or lack of, dynamics, phrasing, etc.
There are two valid reasons to do this. One is that because you know you are imitating them consciously, you are less likely to do it subconsciously when you perform. Secondly, it will make you aware of your shortcomings. For instance, perhaps you can’t sing as high as the original singer. Then you know to work on range developing exercises. Or, you don’t sing with as precise a rhythmic phrasing and so you should practice this, perhaps with a metronome or pre-recorded music that has a steady tempo.
One at a Time
In future articles about style we will delve into other aspects of singing technique as it applies to developing your style. Until then, you should listen to your favorite singers and be a “copy cat” as covered above. Be sure to pick songs that are not too difficult. You don’t want to get overwhelmed.
If after singing a song you find there are several deficiencies, select one at a time to remedy. Do exercises to improve that one deficiency of your voice until you achieve some improvement before tackling something else. It is important to acknowledge your accomplishments, no matter how small. They eventually accumulate into a great performance.
Until next time,
Jeannie Deva
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She is the originator of The Deva Method ®, A Non-Classical Approach for Singers ™ and of Jeannie Deva® Voice Studios now celebrating their 30th anniversary. Jeannie is the author of the critically acclaimed vocal home-study course "The Contemporary Vocalist" book and CD series and "The Deva Method Vocal Warm-Ups" CD. She has been flown to recording studios worldwide as a vocal production specialist and has been endorsed by producers and engineers of the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Fleetwood Mac and many others. Clients include: Members of the J. Geils Band, Foghat, Grammy Winners, American Idol Finalists, members of the touring cast of Fame and Color Purple, and singers for Pink, Christina Aguilera, Stevie Wonder and many more.
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