"Cliched Singing Phrases" - Sing Like You Speak

This vocal phrase comes to me from a voice lesson I had in college.  During the summer, I was accepted into Opera in the Ozarks, a prestigious summer “opera camp” in Arkansas where lots of young artists can focus solely on their craft with minimal distractions.  And when I say minimal distractions, I do mean MINIMAL…the nearest town is Eureka Springs, and it’s not exactly a metropolis!  That being said, the scenery is out of this world and I grew a lot as a singer.
 
During one of my vocal coaching sessions, I was working on a French aria from Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet.  The pianist was getting increasing frustrated and finally, he just snapped – “stop trying to sound like an opera singer, and just sing like you speak!”  That phrase, “sing like you speak,” helped me tremendously and I stopped putting ‘artificial’ sounds in my voice and sang with a far more natural delivery.
 
What exactly does “sing like you speak” mean?  And how does it apply in a voice lesson?  The phrase can be useful in different contexts:
 

1. For the singer who is trying to imitate another singer.  Many singers of all genres have an idea of what they think a beautiful sound is.  Here’s the problem – God only gave you one voice – yours.  If you try to imitate other singers, you often introduce physical tension in your singing, creating a lackluster sound that is far less pleasant than the instrument God gave you.  The best sound you can make is the sound that comes easily to your voice.
2. For the singer who sings with an overly dark, or “woofy” sound.  This habit is especially prominent in young men, because we tend to associate dark and back sounds with being ‘manly.’  It also sounds more resonant to the singers’ ears but often has little ability to project.  In this context, “sing like you speak” often drives the sound more forward and creates a brighter tone quality.
   
3. Finally, “sing like you speak” is an excellent way to help singers focus on better diction and making the text more understandable to the audience.  In an effort to produce the best vocal sound, singers often forget that text is very important to singing – we poorly project or even drop consonants.

 
I do want to add that “sing like you speak,” as is true of most voice lesson phrases, has to be managed with care.  Applied incorrectly, it could easily result in a tinny, overly bright quality in which there is little resonance.
 
The next post on phrases you’ll hear in lessons, especially choral directors: “Spin the Air”