My granddaughter, Lily, loves to sing. She gets out her little mic and mic stand and belts out some rockin’ renditions of her favorite Disney songs. Her latest masterpiece is Let It Go from the movie, Frozen.
She doesn’t care whether she is on pitch or not, she doesn’t care who hears her…she is just in her element. So, I asked her what was important to know about singing and how to sing.
“Sing Ridiculous” (her new favorite word of the moment)
In other words…have fun! Isn’t that really why you joined a karaoke site to begin with? Taking yourself too seriously can actually result in a strained and stilted performance. Let loose and have fun with it. You might surprise yourself!
“Sing Really Loud”
I can attest to the fact that she nails this one every time! It makes sense though. Projection is important. If you tend to not open your mouth properly when you sing the vowels it can come across to the rest of us as mumbling. Open up your chest and your mouth and let us hear you!
“Close Your Eyes”
Lily does this because she sees singers on TV do it. However, watching her, I can see how into it she is. She is in her moment, and she is in the song, and she is having her moment. Have your moment. Every song you sing should be felt. If you don’t feel it, neither will we. Close your eyes if you have to.
“Wear Sparkly Clothes”
While I’m not a big fan of sparkles, dressing the part can give you a boost of confidence. If you feel like a rock god or pop diva, you are going to project that to your audience. While it’s nice occasionally to belt out a song in our jammies on SingSnap, getting into “character” can really help when you are going for a song that you really want to impress with. Even if you do audio only, you are giving yourself an edge by getting into it. It does come through your voice.
“You Have To Dance, Too”
It’s not easy to dance in your chair at your desk, but you can definitely loosen up and feel the beat and move to the groove. Loosen up. Sitting stiffly without moving whether on camera or not, comes across in your vocals. Make your videos more interesting by being somewhat animated, even if it can only be from the shoulders up.
“Um, I Sing Like Lily”
This was in response to my asking her who she sings like. She isn’t trying to emulate anyone. She isn’t trying to sing with the same inflections, the same tones, the same breaths as the original singer. She just sings it…well, like Lily! You be you because unless you are going for a professional celebrity impersonator job, no one is interested in hearing you do the song the same exact way as the original. If they wanted the original, they’d go listen to it on any number of devices or sites. Be who you are and you can’t help but draw people in.
Lily Is Tired of Answering Questions
Lily has run off now, but just to wrap up the article…Lily doesn’t care how she sounds. She doesn’t care if she hits every note perfectly. She sings for the love of singing, and it shows. Personally, I can’t get enough of her, and if you follow her advice…your fans won’t be able to get enough of you either. Have fun with your songs, and we will too. Some of the more popular members on SingSnap aren’t necessarily great vocalists…but they project fun and confidence and they seek to entertain more than to win singing awards.
The Screeching Cat 