Sunday, February 19, 2012
Singing Femme
So, I've been doing some singing. I had worked out a song called "Woe" that has some clever lines and a couple of nice chord changes and therefore some nice melodic movement. I'm trying to find a feminine voice, and this song as I've arranged it is a nice frame to hang the best that I can currently do from. I next learned an รก capella song from Judy Collins's singing -- "The Hills of Shiloh" which also has a cool quirky melody and with that beautiful voice to model after, I feel like I might eventually come to something that will please my ear.
Then a friend suggested a song that I am now trying to learn. You'd think it would be simple, it's a two minute country pop song from the early seventies as familiar as an old sweater: "Jolene" by Dolly Parton. This is no easy song to sing, and it is showing me my limitations in a bunch of different ways. The signature line in the chorus, where you sing "Jolene" four times in ascending pitch is the first killer. In the space of four words, you sing every note in the scale going up a full octave. The tendency is to build in intensity, and that just doesn't work. You need to keep the volume and force of your voice steady and let the pitch do the work, which is also a feminine strategy for speaking. This runs counter to my instincts (or maybe habits is a better word) and I end up straining on that high note in the last rep of "Jolene." It's right at the top of my range. I'm afraid to transpose the song another step down, because at the beginning of that line, I am afraid of sounding masculine, which I do anyway, but am working on. I don't need any help from the lower pitch.
Another problem with singing the song is that the beautiful lyrics Dolly wrote go by so quickly, you really have to be on your game with annunciation. I've ended up slowing down the tempo significantly to be able to get some expression and to try to give myself room to gentle down on the consonants. and that last "Jolene" in the coda that has the highest note in the song? Fuhgeddaboudit!
I am full of admiration for Dolly as a songwriter and singer and I am just on the verge of shelving this song for now because it's advanced stuff for a "beginner" like me. I sang this song maybe three times a few hours earlier today, and my throat is feeling the strain right now. That's a sign I'm doing something I shouldn't.
Still, that song is ultimately feminine to me and I hope someday to be able to do it justice!
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5 comments:
Where's the "like" button? :)
I have been thinking about this. I don't think very fast but wanted to post right away, after i'd read it.
A few things came to my mind. Firstly, I know you're a singer and far more aware of so much more music than I am... but have you ever been in a chorus? In high school, a lot of people who were in bands and singers would not take chorus, it was too dorky for them. But I was in my high school chorus and I developed comfort with my own style and voice, despite the fact that my teacher (and i really loved him, he was a sweet man) would sometimes chide me for being too "breathy." When i sang my solo, something we were all required to do and were graded on, despite being the recluse that no one really talked to, I was heartily applauded by everyone and he gave me an A and explained to everyone why my solo was so good. I don't remember why it was, my heart was beating so fast and i was still taking it all in. I'll never forget that day. But i found in my singing voice what was good and i stopped trying to sing like Pat Benatar. I would love to have a strong voice like that but i don't. I loved Olivia Newton-John because she showed me that i can sing in my natural voice and it can still be acceptable and sound pretty. I have a friend named Ramona, she is about ten years older than me, and i'd kill for a voice like hers. She's not a singer, it's just her voice. It's very low and sexy, and i think more womanly. I still sound like a little girl when i talk. Sometimes i answer the phone and people ask for my mom. I can sound more grown-up if i speak with an Italian accent but for some reason don't know how to transfer that weight over to a Californian one.
I think what I am trying to say is that there are many, many ways of being and sounding feminine. I believe you will find your natural woman's voice. And I hope i don't sound weird or annoying. Trust me, i know what a hurdle a voice can be to someone, i experience self-loathing upon hearing myself speak... I am just rooting for you so much and thought better to talk about it even if my words don't resonate than not say anything and risk missing saying something.
Love, slumbering
From a strictly musical point of view you've discovered that 'Jolene' as sung by Dolly is actually a very difficult thing to do. She was great back then.
Anonymous -- I haven't heard her most recent stuff, but I heard both of her straight-up bluegrass CDs which aren't from so very long ago, and I think they are both brilliant. In short -- she's still got it!
hunh
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