One Voice

Singing communicates with the listener in a direct, instinctive way that requires no intellectualisation, which is perhaps why it has been the cornerstone of popular music since time began (or at least since that bit of time in which people might have sung to celebrate their day’s exploits inventing fire and avoiding violent death). Anyone can do it, albeit badly in most cases, whereas that is not necessarily the case for an instrumental performance. With no barrier of technique or process in the way, you are able to relate directly to the content, and even if you can’t actually hear the lyrics, the sound of the voice itself and manner of delivery generally still manage to impress something of their emotional intensity on you.

Given how important singers are to most contemporary forms of music, it’s surprising how little attention many vocal performers pay to the basic maintenance of their ‘instrument’. If your guitar lets you down, the chances are you’ll have a spare, or at least be able to borrow one. If your singing voice fails, you are not going to finish the gig, or certainly not in the manner you intended. The ability to sing with the control and timbre that you want, and especially to go on singing night after night, is not to be taken for granted, however effortless it may seem to you at the moment.

This month’s cover feature doesn’t attempt to tell you how to sing — we would no more do that than we would try to tell you how to play your instrument — but is intended to help vocalists look after their most precious asset. Pragmatically reconciling the stresses and strains of everyday life with the needs of the vocal performer is not easy, and I still know plenty of singers whose idea of ‘preparation’ is another pint and a couple of extra fags (for our American readers, in England those are cigarettes). Sooner or later — and if you are planning any kind of serious singing career, preferably sooner — you will have to take vocal maintenance and performance preparation seriously, just to ensure that you can go on doing it at all. You don’t have to engage the services of a vocal coach to take some sensible precautions to keep your voice in shape, and you could take a big step towards a longer career and better performances just by following the tips in our feature. Enjoy the issue!