NOTES FROM A COACH
CHAPTER FOUR

Owning Your Material!

• I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SING!
• Always be on the Lookout!
• Last Minute doesn't cut it!
• How do I know if this Song is right for me?
• BUILDING EMOTIONAL RESONANCE!

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SING!

Not knowing whether material is right or wrong for you or how to choose is a conveniant stumbling block for a lot of developing artists. It will keep you out of the rehearsal hall or the audition studio and away from the stage if you let it, allowing your fears to gather and for your energies to become focused on self doubt. ("I would audition/perform etc but I don't know what song to sing!")

Simple solution folks:
SING WHAT YOU KNOW!

So many times students will add unnecessary drama to their lives by trying to learn something new in time for an audition or an upcoming show. Facing a crowd, or a band you are auditioning for, you are guaranteed to be nervous and more than likely dealing with unknown factors like microphones and soundsystems etc.. If you're still strugging to master the melody or breathing requirments of a piece of music then it's usually best to leave it in the rehearsal room. In order to meet these new challenges the best position you can take is HOME POSITION. Know your material like the back of your hand so you don't have to sweat about remembering the lyrics or the melody.

Decrease the drama and increase the ease baby!

ALWAYS be on the LOOKOUT!

The constant process of RESEARCHING for material will help you get a stockpile of possiblilities to choose from when you are sitting down to learn new stuff. Listen to the Radio, your friends CD collections, soundtracks to movies and TV shows etc and WRITE DOWN the title of songs (if you can catch 'em).

The best acts emerge with an original batch of songs that say a lot about the singers personality and perspective. Start the process of developing your taste nice and early so you'll know whats right or wrong for you later on!

LAST MINUTE DOESN'T CUT IT!

You want to be a singer right? So why are you waiting for the audition/opportunity to spring up before you take your material seriously? That means you are always in an emergency situation when you are reviewing and polishing material and that's just not fair to you, your audience, or the experience of singing which should feel joyous and full of pleasure for you. So start early is you see a performance opportunity coming up.

And if you don't work well without a deadline ask a few friends over for a coffee date a comfortable distance away and work up a few songs to try out on them.

"HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS SONG IS RIGHT FOR ME?"

I am asked this question by singers all the time. Certainly your voice and it's special timbre or specific character will help you make the right choice, as will your range and ability to hit all the notes comfortably. In general the best material to perform is that which is well suited to your musical abilities at this time, and of course which is also emotionally satisfying to sing.

A very important question would be is the material appropriate to the performance situation? Not all material is suitable for every situation. For a jam session or getting together with friends, anything goes. For a band audition, you will want to have spoken with the leader and gotten a sense of what they might want to hear. For a musical or theatre show you will want to have a ballad and an uptempo prepared, usually from the musical theatre repertoire, especially if there is a pianist who will be sight reading the music while accompanying your audition.

BUILDING EMOTIONAL RESONANCE

Emotional resonance is probably the most important factor in choosing the best material for you. Here are a series of questions and excercises you can use to work out your material and find out if it is suitable to you and your needs.

First ask yourself why am I attracted to this material?

Is it because you love another singers recorded version of the song? That might make it a good song for stretching your technique but unsuitable for performance at the present time, especially if your audience is familiar with the recorded version.
(In my book singing someone else's hit song is only cool if you know how to inhabit it and make it all your own!) Are you attracted to the song because of an image you may hold of yourself singing that particular style of music, (Torch diva in the long gown, Rocker in a tight skirt etc?). Well that's all great when you are dancing around your room but how do you actually sound when you are singing that song all alone?

Beware of the trap of singing along to the original C.D. Many students find a terrible shock when they are forced to sing without their 'safety net" and find they can't even hit the notes! Get a pal to record a guitar or piano accompianment on a tape machine for you and rehearse with that version. NOT the orginal C.D.!

If you are attracted to this song because it resonates with you for some personal emotional reason (and you'll know) then I say you've hit a bullseye!

So lets get going!

PRACTICAL TIPS
1) Start by memorizing the lyrics and melody untill you could sing it in your sleep.Don't over analyze the song or try to figure out your interpretation of the lyric for now. Lets just keep things simple for now until you know the piece by heart.

2) Now let's have a look at the emotional terrain of the song. Ask yourself, "What is the specific narrative story or situation here"? It may be something that has never happened to you, but never fear, we can always imagine ourselves in the emotional situation of any well written song. They are built that way. Not feeling it yet?

3) These two excercises will help you sink right down into the lyric and allow the parts of the song that resonate deeply for you to float up.

a) Speak the lyric in its entirety, this will feel awkward at first, but let the fresh understanding come to you as you repeat this exercise a few times.

b) Now reduce the lyric to one key phrase that sums up the emotional condition of the song. It may be a part of the chorus or verse. Mabye it's not in the actual lyric at all and something you feel that the song is really trying to express. Say the phrase out loud before you sing the song and remember to use it again later whenever your ego starts to worry about whether you are doing a good job! That will return you to the emotional energy of the song and keep you on the right track.

4) Observe any resistance you may have to letting the emotion of the song take over. You might be being asked to experience something that is not comfortable for you emotionally. You may notice yourself suddenly hating this song and wanting to choose another, or feeling that you are just too busy to work on it etc.

Your job as the singer is to get your ego ( and it's fear) out of the way, so you can truly let the song get into your bloodstream and start to sing itself through your body.

Choosing material is what seperates the pro's from the amateurs and it always takes time to develop the skill. So take that part of your job seriously and watch as your critical skills sharpen over time.

The best singer is a smart singer who knows their instrument and what material suits it the most!