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To be a singer, one must first have the capability to sing and hold a melody and harmony, in tune. Vocal coaching will teach the singer about their esophagus, vocal chords, mouth, hearing and respiratory system. Training will aid a vocalist in knowing what their range is; how high or low they can sing, as well as how to use their voice to the best of their ability and what the precautionary methods to care for the voice. Identifying what type of vocal range a singer has will help to choose the right type of songs and genre; be it classical, rock, pop, soul, hip-hop or country.
The role of a singer when performing is in the front-line, as in the front of the stage. The singer presents the band to the audience through introduction, conversation and connection to the audience. Connecting and reading an audience is one of the key instruments a singer has. Music is a means of communicating through song; consisting of lyrics, melody and rhyme. The song is a story the singer tells, therefore delivery is vital, as it has to come from a place of truth in order for the audience to believe. By telling the story to the audience this is how the singer connects with them. Dance and movement are part of singing a song. This is the art of performance.
Whilst the singer is performing to the audience, the music is played by gifted artists and transcends through their instruments. In a pop band for instance, musicians play instruments such as guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. Each musician has to learn to play their instrument and practice daily to perfect their skill; whether self-taught or graded musically trained. There are two parts to training; theory and practical based and they work hand-in-hand. Musical theory is also a necessity for singers as when discussing song choice and arrangements they’ll need even the basics of music theory to explain the structure or key of the song.
Music is built on notes in scales and a scale belongs to a key; major - D, minor - D#, plus others like blues and diatonic scales (nearly every culture has their own scale). Another fundamental part of music is rhythm. Music is comprised into a group of notes organized by measure, tempo and time. Therefore, when a musician and singer needs to learn a song, the song will be in a certain key, if the artists know the key, they know what notes to hit whether played or sung. Just as it will be at a certain tempo, when the notes are sung at a specific time, therefore knowing when each note is rhythmically sung or played when.
Practise is a must for the success of a musician. Guitarists, keyboard players and bassists need to have strong but loose fingers to be able to place their fingers on the right notes, as well as to perform fast runs and trills. They also learn how to place pressure to get a different sound and feel; very important when building dynamics into a song. In other words, a love song will be played more gently than a heavy metal song which will be thrashed out. Their fingers will also need to have knowledge and skill in rhythm. Drummers learn everything about musical scales eventhough they don’t play notes, rather they hit beats or create rhythmical groups of beats which set the tempo for the song, as well as the ‘feel’ of the tempo. The ‘feel’ defines music into genres; like jazz, hip-hop, 70s disco and so on.
The role of guitarist, keyboard player, bassist and drummer are part of the backline, they are mainly seen in the background. However, do not be mistaken that they are not as important as the singer. Although the singer may do all the connecting and talking to the audience, through skill and music, so does the guitarist, keyboard player, bassist and drummer speak to the audience. Of course their presence and attitude will need to transcend what they do without a voice but through their instrument; like Slash is known for his phenomenal guitar solos – he has stage presence, he demands attention through his talent, but he demands it by also working for it.
There is a very big difference between a band that just plays the song to a band that performs it. As mentioned before singing or playing a song is telling a story and in order for that story to come to life it needs real characters – each person in the band is responsible in ensuring this is delivered. If one person on stage looks bored the story telling becomes stale.
For live music artists story-telling, singing a song is based on repetition. Bands that are hired to play will have a set-list of songs rehearsed and ready for a show. Therefore the number of times those songs played day in and day out will be frequent. However each audience will be different. It is important for the singers and musicians in the band to keep the music alive and fresh so that their delivery has maximum impact each time. There has to be a wow-factor; be it simple or explosive. The energy driving each person in the band needs to be hungry and positive.
A singer and Musician wanted each have a skill and a role to play within a band; one is the arm, the other is a leg, a torso, a head, and so on. Just as a song is made up of notes, scales, rhyme, lyrics; each part is as vital as the other for it to be one entity. When the each piece is played is at its full potential, music is heard that touches a soul, warms a heart and moves a person to dance, sing and shout. It’s a personal experience between each singer, guitarist, keyboard player, bassist and drummer but as a one, as a band they perform to their audience. Let the music play!
The author is a music band owner which offers its services to a variety of class especially five star hotels in Asia. There are several music bands which performs live shows six days a week. The band offers Musician Jobs and Singer Wanted jobs across the world. |
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