Recommended Reading
Today there is so much around us that implies that singing is about image, money and fame. A lot of my younger students want to be singers because of all the glitter and glamour there seems to be around it.
But singing is about so much more than that. Wanting to learn or develop your singing, to me, should be about learning about yourself and your voice and about how you want to express yourself.
It should be about wanting to find songs that really speak to you and about finding ways to interpret these songs in a unique way and making the song your own.
Ask yourself what it is that makes you want to sing. When you listen to singers you aspire to sound like or be like, ask yourself what it is that you find so inspiring about them. In my opinion, you can really hear if a singer has thought about these things and if he or she means what they are singing about. To me this is what makes a good singer.
Here are links to three different performances by singers who have developed unique ways of interpreting the material they’ve chosen, and who really use songs as a medium of expressing themselves. Enjoy!
Billie Holliday (singing 'Strange Fruit')
Bjork (singing at the Royal Opera House)
Joni Mitchell (singing 'Both Sides Now')
