Singing and Personal Expression

Just a bit about vocal style: Turn on any radio and you’ll hear a lot of different vocal styles. There’s styles by genre and then there’s personal style. I once gave a workshop that focused on singing as both a meditation and also as personal expression…so a comment I heard by vocalist K.D. Lang recently caught my ear.

She was asked about American Idol, and she said she never watches it. To paraphrase what she said: her feeling was that individual vocal style became homogenized by the industry and the media, and that by those standards a Bob Dylan or a Joni Mitchell would never have gotten to be heard. (Simon would’ve crossed his arms and said something rude, and we’d never have experienced all those great tunes.)

Think of all the very unique rock voices that couldn’t be categorized as a “good” voice. How about Mick Jagger? Tom Petty? Kinda nasal, kinda raw, but they connect because they’re expressing their true selves and you hear it.
OK, now think of some killer rock vocalists: Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury, Glen Hughes, Ronnie James Dio, Paul Rogers, Klaus Meine… each of these vocalists are strong singers with excellent technique, but with something else that makes them stand out: they express themselves, their soul; when they sing.

You can be blessed with a good ear and great pipes, but without allowing your voice to reveal the real YOU, you can’t touch people deeply. Yes, you can sell records… but to connect on that deep level, you need to come from that depth. Like attracts like, soul calls to soul… that’s the real magick. And when the band is playing on that same wavelength, it’s really powerful. That’s why a band like Led Zeppelin still stands after all this time.

So, you know I’m very into good technique and proper breathing, etc… but really it all comes down to expressing your genuine Self, being vulnerable and unafraid to be YOU.

You’re putting an energy out into the Universe, make it REAL.