The Power of Listening
- Hannah Faye Huizing & Joshua Huizing
- Mar 21, 2018
- 5 min read
Nearly ten years ago, during my first week of college, I picked up a document from my primary vocal instructor, Damian Savarino (now, Dr. Savarino). It was his voice studio policy, which laid out his expectations of his students, what we could expect of him, and various assignments. One of these expectations was to complete six listening assignments during each semester. He had a list of recommended classical singers from which we could choose, and we were instructed to listen to an album of theirs and assess the singer and the album. At 18 years old, I didn't really see the point. I thought it was just another assignment. It wasn't until I took Voice Class the next year, which was an entrée to Vocal Pedagogy, that I realized what he was doing. Not only was he exposing me to different artists, songs, and larger works, but these assignments were helping to build a tonal model for myself.
There are many ways to explain what a tonal model is - the ideal sound, the combination of desired tones, etc. - but the best way to define it is to ask yourself, "What or who do I want to sound like?" This, however, takes self-awareness. You can listen to singers that span across all musical genres, but there are few whose qualities you should aspire to acquire. Your favorite artist may have vocal faults that could actually harm your voice if you try to emulate their sound!
We often think that singing begins with the voice, but it really starts in the mind. We consider the pitch we're about to sing, the vowel, the shape of the mouth, and (hopefully) the amount of breath it takes to produce sound from our bodies. These considerations happen very quickly - almost simultaneously - so it can seem overwhelming and even pointless to ponder each step. But if we don't, we can absorb and develop habits without even realizing it! If a middle school student is listening to a lot of Sia, she will easily end up singing like Sia, quirks and all. Her mind is automatically imagining Sia's singing style. The imagination may be the most important factor in our singing, so we must feed it recordings of good singers!
1. Listen to You, Sing Like You
I started to take singing seriously when I was twelve, often providing "special music" selections at church. I really enjoyed a singer named Natalie Grant and decided that I would sing one of her songs. I didn't do a great job. My voice was not ready, and trying to sound like Natalie Grant was not a healthy choice for me.
Listen to artists with vocal qualities similar to yours. If you need help, ask a family member, your choir teacher, or - especially - your voice teacher! What you hear in your head is different from what everyone else hears, so asking someone else will point you in the right direction.
2. Listen to Set Goals
When you start listening, setting goals about your sound will help you to focus, perhaps on a desirable quality you want to attain or a bad habit you want to break. For instance, if you're hoping to better navigate the "break" between your chest voice and head voice (this is called your passagio), it is smart to listen to a singer who has a really good "mix" and whose voice does not crack. This is a stepping stone to training your imagination and, in turn, your voice.
You can also set goals to expand your repertoire. If you want to grow you selection of audition songs, beef up your recital content, or find other examples of good singing, a trusted music or voice teacher can point you in the right direction. You can also do a quick search of your favorite singers, albums, or musicals on any streaming platform. Peruse the "related artists" to explore genres, theatrical works, and voice types.
3. Listen to Discern
In our time of excessive auto-tuning, it's important to listen "on purpose." It's natural to subconsciously latch on to a performer's way of singing, especially when you saturate yourself with their music. However, the way an artist sounds on a studio recording is often different from the way they sound in real life. This is especially true for musical theater and pop singers. Eventually you will learn to hear how fake the voices sound. (For example, perfect, quick vibrato on a long note is a dead giveaway that you can hear on soundtracks to a lot of recent movie soundtracks!) Listening to live performances - true live performances with no lip-syncing - will help you find the real quality of an artist's voice and will, in turn, help you determine which traits are desirable and which are not.
Discern what sounds good and healthy, and question the singing that sounds unhealthy. Good vocal quality and stamina depend on the health of a singer's voice and technique.
4. Listen to Learn
I always encourage my students to listen to recordings of the songs they are preparing to perform - find videos, stream them, find one of those ancient CDs, etc. - so they can become familiar with them. As a voice teacher, I know when a student hasn't taken the time to really listen to a song that's been assigned to them. When they come in for lessons, I can hear whether I need to re-teach a melody and rhythms or, if we need to start again from scratch. Listening to a song once or twice doesn't cut it. Multiple listens helps improve your mental image of the song. Our singing depends on our brains sending the right signals to our voices, so listening helps to provide a roadmap for our minds. Having the sheet music in front of you while listening will add to your success!
One of the best ways to learn a piece of music is to sit with the sheet music in front of you with a pencil or highlighter, play the song in your headphones or earbuds, and mark breaths, dynamics, pronunciation questions, etc. This is called "Silent Practicing." Or, if you tend to overload your schedule like I do, and you're able to multitask, play the music while you're doing other things.
5. Journey to the Past! (this one's written by Josh!)
You can easily avoid the fake-ness of recent recordings and open your tonal model imagination by searching out the great classical singers of the last century. While opera can be an acquired taste, make it a goal to become acquainted with music that has stood the test of time instead of disappearing in less than six months. Classical composers wrote their pieces to be truly beautiful, not merely catchy, so choose wine instead of lemonade mix, good steak instead of a Slim Jim. YouTube or any streaming service will have more classical pieces sung by more talented and trained singers than you can count, so ask your teacher for suggestions. Ultimately, the goal of lessons is to allow your voice complete freedom to sound like it should, and listening to classical singing helps us to avoid having the pinched and constrained tonal model we ingest from most pop singers.
Because I believe in the power of listening, I've modified versions of my professor's listening assignment template that best suits musical theater and classical singing. You can find and download them here!
Listening to music is fun and inspiring, but listening for our singing needs to be intentional. We can end up singing like our favorite artists because we simply love their music! We need to be mindful of what we're listening to so that we can pick up great vocal habits, grow and expand our repertoire and musical exposure, and build a solid tonal model for ourselves.
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