What Is Good Singing?
Well, it depends on what you call singing. If you mean can anyone learn to sing brilliant opera or succeed as a great Soul or Jazz singer the answer is probably no, but on a very basic level singing is an expression of self through vocal sound. For instance a baby lying in its cot might gurgle happy tunes and be described by his mother as singing. Unless there is a physical reason for a vocal sound not being possible it follows that everyone can sing and or develop their singing voice to some degree.
Can anybody hold a tune or be taught to make a fabulous sound? The answer to that is, everyone is different. One man's beautiful or great voice is another man's cacophony. Earlier I said everyone is different. That statement can be taken on many levels in respect of singing. Firstly, each singer is physically different, from body shape and size, to facial bone structure and density of flesh. Every one of these things will alter the potential sound of a voice. Each person has different life experiences to draw upon and because the voice works on the living breath, the way we breathe in response to life will vary from person to person. Some people have more energy, enthusiasm or strength, some may have more capacity to express the joy or sorrow they feel through a more open approach to their emotions. Some people are more determined to succeed in creating a certain sound or note or, simply are more intelligent and able to grasp concepts more readily.
The common link through all the various styles and levels of singing is the emotion conveyed by the voice. The level to which this emotion can be conveyed relies on the connection of thought (the meaning of the song) between the brain (mind) and the breath (or body.) Without this link the performance will be left lacking a sense of conviction and leave the performer and or the audience untouched. In order to make the sound believable it is necessary to understand and internalise the emotion by thinking first, then breathing in response to the thought. Then allowing the sung out breath to respond to the thought. If you stop and consider how you might react to good or bad news in real life you might well expect to breathe in a totally different way to each experience. An ecstatic fast breath for joy or a slow drawn, more tentative breath for bad news as you try to take in its enormity and possible consequences. Therefore to make each performance convincing for yourself and the audience you must first think the thought, consider the thought on your in-breath and then express your reaction to the thought on the out-breath as you sing, feeling the emotion in your diapraghm as you would in a real life situation. Thus adding the spirit of the performer to the mix.
The accomplished singer should strive to think in terms of the past, present and future and demonstrate this thought process facially when performing. After all, in real life when something happens it doesn't happen in total isolation. First you receive the news, and then you make a decision on how to deal with the present based on past experience, the implications of this news for the future. By keeping this in mind you can add depth and realism to your understanding of the song. It is one thing to feel something intensely and hope it will be clear how you are feeling by your voice alone but if you can reflect these feelings by means of visual expression too, you and the audience will get a more complete experience.
To show feeling for what is being sung in both eyes and head position makes it feel more real for both the performer by connecting the thought process to the physical expression. There are infinite variables of head position, eye focus, eye level and expression that can totally change the interpretation of a phrase. Try saying or singing a phrase such as "come to me soon" changing the focal point or level of the eyes or tilting the chin down and slightly to the right. Now slightly raised or tilted slightly upwards and to the left. Feel how these things can change the whole sentiment of the text. It is often true that a pop singer may have a technically poor voice but prove immensely popular. How can this be? Perhaps defects like a gravelly rough voice reflect a singers reaction to their life. Take Tina Turner for example. Her voice embodies so many aspects of the tough life she endured with Ike Turner. Within her sound is pain, hope, strength, passion and tenderness. All clearly audible by use of her physical energy and visual re-inforcement. Telly Savalas offered us an almost monotone version of "if" in the 1970's but he delivered it with such vocal warmth and sensitivity together with a genuine understanding of the lyrics that the public found it irresitable.
Regardless of the quality of a voice, it is the connection between the mind, body and spirit to deliver a convincing message that people find so rewarding. I would argue that it is a better musical experience to hear pop singer with a genuine connection with mind and body than a highly trained opera singer with beautiful voice and fantastic technical ability but void of any true insight, personality or convincing performance skills. It is the sharing of an emotional response between the singer and listener that defines a singers success. Consider Tom Waits and Edith Piaf. It is the mix of all these things that determines what makes a good singer capable of reaching their own particular goal.
Success and level of ability relies on whether the above mentioned variables can be controlled and to what degree? It also depends largely on what the aims of the singer are. If it is merely to hold a tune in the local church choir or survive the local karaoke, then learning to sing is infinitely more achievable than getting the lead in the next production of Phantom of the Opera which in turn is infinitely more achievable that taking on the title role of Tosca at La Scala.
