Comments on: The Producer’s Guide to Putting Passion into Vocal Delivery

By: Allen Mackley

Allen Mackley — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:05:38 +0000

I very much agree with this article. It’s the timbre and the dynamics of the voice of the singer. We as humans are very good “lie detectors,” and if the singer doesn’t really know what he’s singing about, most listeners will be able to tell, if only on a subconscious level. We’ve become so used to determining the truth and sincerity of other’s words for the spoken word – in business and in our personal lives as well – that we can usually tell when something is “off” in music as well.

Sincerity is key. Other’s respect it and it’s much more fun to listen to.

By: paolo van braumberger

paolo van braumberger — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:34:25 +0000

I would get the lyricist on speakerphone with the crew and the singer. Get it straight from the source, rather than intrepretation. Then the singer actually connects with the music and the writer.

By: jAMES rOGERS

jAMES rOGERS — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:09:49 +0000

I think you guys need to sit down and read the original post thoroughly. The best approach is to convey the feeling of the meaning of the vocals to the performer in such a way as that they understand. Nothing more and nothing less. What this entails is as subjective as the individual you are coaching, so use the language that works, be it dictionary definitions, metaphor, picture, movie, whatever. Any person can feel what you want them to if you are able to understand it for yourself…

By: jeffreyjames

jeffreyjames — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:22:40 +0000

I’m not sure a dictionary has to be involved. I think just sitting down and looking at the lyrics can be more effective because the singer has to try and figure it out… it’s more engaging than letting a dictionary define a song. and you’ll probably get things out of it just by studying it that you won’t get by looking up words…

By: Steve Chatterton

Steve Chatterton — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:37:31 +0000

Rats – I read through all that flowery prose to help get a better vocal performance out of myself, but I am the songwriter & I’m well aware of the emotional & intellectual content of the lyrics. Oh well.

By: vladimir poopen

vladimir poopen — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:22:08 +0000

Depends… how many times have producers received lyrics and nothing more? As the producer, you start going over the verses, bridges, chorus and then come up with a base line (not bass line) track. You then start trying to work the words around a beat, a bass line, etc. If I get lyrics (rare), I also tend to lay down a midi track in place of the vocals before meeting with the vocal talent. Basically writing the notes for the singer to follow (and it’s open to interpretation and modification).

I think with multiple takes, a producer can work with a performer to achieve that ‘feeling’.

Having said that.. what would you do with obscure lyrics? If someone handed you “smells like teen spirit” back in the 90s, how would you interpret the feeling of the song?

But wait.. there’s more to rant about. What if you get get something like The Waitress (tori amos). How would you interpret and write the music for it?

http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/tori-amos-lyrics/the-waitress-lyrics.html

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=3977970

Starts off like a morbid ballad and then when she talks of believing in peace, the tone is anger. Sorry for the myspace link… was the best live recording I could find.

By: Ian D

Ian D — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:35:58 +0000

I think the intent is well communicated in the article , just get the singer to connect with the words by whatever means you think appropriate. Read the lines over and over to get the message and emotions being conveyed. If a dictionary is needed to understand “a” word or two then fair enough. Getting the message and feeling is all important so it can be conveyed in the performance.

Even at the mixing stage this is important for the mix engineer to understand before mixing to the right aesthetic.

Proviso here is that this is largely dependent on the quality of the source material and performer. If its not well written then the performance will only get to the depth it achieves. And if the singer is not very perceptive and inexperienced then you are not going to get the results you are looking for.

By: Kenli

Kenli — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:05:32 +0000

It’s definitely good to get a singer focused on the intention of the words of the song. Sounds like something to try in those situations. COuld be weird, but couldn’t hurt.

I think it’s probably a god idea to have the musicians know what the song is about too. Joe Meek used to have session guys memorize lyrics of the songs they were recording.

By: Joel Falconer

Joel Falconer — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:58:59 +0000

Actually, this is exactly what does give the singer “the understanding of a song in detail.” You’d be surprised how often it works – I’ve used this trick myself. There are many words that seem similar until you go and define them and then whole shades of language are revealed by the differences. Don’t knock it until you try it.

By: TheArtist

TheArtist — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:22:36 +0000

From my experience (I’m 47), most of the singers I’ve come across couldn’t get the feeling, let alone the understanding of a song in detail to make this work. And, the one’s that would get the meaning, all ready get it on the first read, so I don’t think this would work, I mean, you’d only have to try to explain it to a singer who wasn’t making it work. It would be a Spinal Tap moment!