subject: Vocal Techniques - Create It And Hear It In Your Mind Before You Sing It [print this page] How often have we heard parents and teachers say "THINK." My answer to this (usually unspoken) was "I am thinking. Otherwise I'd be dead." it took me years to figure out that they were really saying "think BEFORE you speak, act, write a note, drive the car or answer that question."
Actually most of us are accomplished "pre-thinkers". Take a few seconds from reading this and quickly say your name, address and phone number out loud. ------ Did you do it? C'm on, humor me. Now, if I were to tell you that you had to THINK of that information before saying it you'd probably agree. What you say must be created in your mind before you say it, otherwise you wouldn't make any sense. But were you actually aware of the thinking process? Probably not. You didn't stop and take the time to think every word before you said it. If we had to do that, conversations would take a really long time. The thinking part of the speaking process is almost (but not completely) instantaneous.
Ella Fitzgerald, the great jazz singer, was once asked if she actually thought those amazing riffs and fast scat passages she was so famous for. She answered "of course. I create everything in my mind before I sing it." This doesn't mean she had to think of every note, but rather that she had in her mind a memorized collection of different riffs, scats and wonderful melodic ideas...all practiced and filed away for future use. But she still had to call up just the right ones for the particular song she was singing BEFORE SHE SANG THEM.
Guitar players do the same thing. They practice scales and intricate note combinations, file them in their memory, and then call them up as needed as they pre-think while they are playing. So, how does all this apply to your singing songs? When you are singing a line of a song, be thinking about the next line. If you're already in the middle of a word or phrase it's too late to make changes. Think of the next part coming up. But when you do think ahead "hear" the complete package..the notes, the emotion, the meaning you want to communicate.
As impossible as this sounds, you can do it. You've been doing it all your life as you speak with others. Just apply the same techniques to your singing. The good singer listens critically into what they are singing, and constantly adjusts what they don't like. The great singer is like a gypsy, gazing into a crystal ball and seeing (hearing) the future. The phrase is complete and perfect before the great singer even opens their mouth. Think ahead.
