Keeping Your Singing Focused on Artistry, Not Technical Perfection

As a voice teacher, it is my first job to make my singers as technically proficient as possible.  We work on resonance, range, vocal tone, you name it.  But let me tell you this: a perfect singer is a boring singer!

Think about your favorite singer.  When I was growing up, my mom's favorite was Barry Manilow.  Now, he isn't a pop star anymore, so you might need to google him if you are under the age of 40.  But he was a pretty big deal back in the day!  And yet, listen to his actual singing and you realize, from a technical viewpoint, his singing talent wasn't great.  He had polyps on his vocal folds that caused him to have a very raspy sound which limited his range and power.  But that didn't prevent him from having a HUGE career as one of America's great crooners.  Why?

It boils down to this; when you sing, people want to hear you communicate and express emotion. If people wanted technical perfection, they would pay to hear a robot sing.  What makes a great singer is not technical perfection - though that helps - but their ability to communicate through song.

Now back to voice lessons.  As a voice coach, my primary job is to improve your singing.  But I have to remind myself that the first goal of any singer to express themselves and move an audience.  Technical prowess means nothing if a voice teacher turns you into a robot.  I am very careful to keep the uniqueness of each student preserved and encouraged, because "you being you' is what will make you competitive for auditions and solos. 

How do you increase a person's musicality or artistry?  That is a tough question to answer.  It boils down to a couple of principles.

1) I encourage my voice students to listen to numerous recordings of different singers and understand what it is they like or don't like about that particular singer. 

2) I regularly ask my voice students how they would sing a certain phrase and let them know there is no wrong or right answer.

3) I keep my voice students' tone quality their own; I do not try to force my students to adopt a "one-tone-fits-all" approach. Some students have dark voices; others have bright.  Some have big voices, some have small.  All are equally beautiful when used correctly.

DWS