Why do we sing instead of speak? It's an honest and serious question. Why do we? We can talk for hours but when it comes to singing we only get so lucky! Well, in singing there is an emotional meaning stronger than regular speech. Embracing this fundamental fact is the joy of singing; having control and understanding of it is the challenge of all vocalists.
What is it about what you’re feeling, what you’re experiencing, what you’re listening that must be sung? Getting specific and detailed with this question in every moment of a song is sure to bring out the clarity in one’s performance like no other point of analysis can. Close friends of mine who are professional performers have shared that, due to the size of the houses they perform in front of, details like these are essential to communicating the intimate details and to share their realizations alike to their fullest potential. However, it wasn’t the idea of performing and getting people engaged that brought this question to my immediate attention. Her voice had energy and sounded smooth.
What inspired me to write this articles were my students. When they are singing a song after class they get so expressive, they are sharing their emotion, sharing how they feel. One specific example: my 11 year old student was singing "Sad Song" by We the Kings thinking and showing how she felt about her crush. When singing becomes lazy, when vocals don’t appear motivated, when catchy riffs or embellished arrangements dominate a song above its message it becomes a burdensome thing to watch or it just makes you sleepy.
We sing because we feel a relation to a song and it is easier to express when we don't have the words to describe when speaking. It is a way that we can express us without not thinking about it. This is why we sing. Singing is the extension of communicating what we want to say and feel.
