Dynamics: Part 1

If a song is performed all at one level of volume, it's easy for the listener to switch off and lose interest. Biizarrely, this is also the case if a singer is consistently loud in a song, as if they were consistently quiet. Somehow, if a song is shouted from start to finish, we stop listening. It's a bit like maybe selective hearing, like when I nag my daughter about her homework, she can zone me out! Loud notes are impressive and often make a song but they do need to be set up so that they land with impact. We can do this by creating a dynamic journey so that we highlight the climaxes and set up the journey to show the peaks and the troughs, the highs and the lows. We often refer to these loud, impactful notes as 'money' notes, but they have no currency if they're not spent well.

I'm often turning people's volume down as singers often miss a really emotional part within their voice because they're too busy trying to project. I say to them,

'Don't underestimate the power of your quiet tones.' 

If somebody talks to us in a loud and overbearing voice, somehow we have this way of stopping listening but if somebody whispers something in a quiet voice then we are intrigued. We think they're telling us something secretive and special that only we are allowed to hear. So, using different dynamic levels can pull the listener in and out and keep their attention throughout a song.

This video guides you through exploring and setting up your own dynamic levels in your singing voice.