A lofty goal indeed. To KNOW and UNDERSTAND the key to great singing. Almost anyone knows great singing when you hear it. Somehow, you can hear the thing that sets apart an ok voice from a great voice. But, what is it? Can YOU pinpoint it?
Certainly, one of the greatest singers to ever live was Enrico Caruso. Listen to some of these examples of this amazing, God-given talent – youtube of Caruso.
I have several favorite singers that I love and admire for different reasons…
the first being, Linda Eder…you simply must watch this amazing performance and the notes she is able to achieve…
the second is Kristin Chenoweth…this is one of my all-time favorite performances of hers…Glitter and Be Gay , ‘cuz then she can also do this song “If” and likely, most of you know her as Glinda in “Wicked”
then there’s this really cool young lady who is super talented and I found her on youtube, just like a few million others did…Madilyn Bailey.
Now, these singers sound nothing alike, in fact, they are about as far apart as possible! How could I possibly love them all?! What is the common denominator? The obvious one is, beauty of voice. The literal sound they make is breathtaking and almost everyone can agree to that, even if they don’t enjoy the song or genre. I also believe there is something else. I believe they are making a CONNECTION with the music and thereby, they make a connection with us.
I happen to know that all of them studied their craft quite seriously. They aren’t just singers, they are musicians. They get plenty of sleep, warm up and they drink lots of water. All extremely important things, indeed! So, I go back to the original thought today…what is the key to great singing?
Connection. Work on it, think about it, DO it. It is the key to great singing!
Day 5 of thankfulness is:
I am so grateful to MY music teachers, then and now!
Take a peek at other local posts you may enjoy…Pamper Yourself, Gordon Ramsay Steak, The Container Store, Las Vegas Valentine’s Day Ideas.
“Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin
Like you, I love so many voices from many different genres of music. Unlike you, I cannot carry a tune in a bucket unless I am alone in my car, then my voice rivals Aretha Franklin’s. Music can do so much for me and move me in ways that makes people think I am crazy when I talk about it, but I can be brought to tears by a song sung in Italian that I can’t even understand or paint a masterpiece picture with angry-girl music cranked all the way up on the radio. There is something in music that transports me out of myself and makes me feel things I have never felt before. I was listening to an (I don’t know the PC term for this, sorry), but an all black church choir sing praises and, oh my goodness, they put so much energy and heart into it! I cried and cried and it wasn’t during a sad song! I am pretty sure I was supposed to be rejoicing, but I just bawled like a baby. Thank you for the new-to-me artists you have talked about today. I’ll be giving them a listen!
hey Theresa! thanks for the comments and for reading! are you a part of NaBLoPoMo? I just found you as well. 😉 I hope you have a fabulous day!
Hi Karen: This is a lovely post, and I agree with you–connection when singing, with both the material and the audience, is really the key to being an entertainer when singing. And I love Linda Eder–she did some gorgeous songs with Michael Feinstein that I like a lot.
hey Athena! so glad you liked it! I would venture to say that you have NO problem connecting!;-) hope all is well, I’ll “visit” you at your cabaret site!enjoy a great weekend!