Write Away Magazine Dec 2019
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George Mich<br />
In the coaching world, one of the primary things<br />
to get working in a voice quickly is efficiency and<br />
adduction - the proper closing of the vocal folds.<br />
So many other great things become available<br />
when we can do this. So what about all the<br />
breathy songs out there? Are they sung poorly?<br />
Are they bad? Not at all. But if you’re in<br />
training with a pro coach and the ONLY thing<br />
you can ever do after training is sing breathy,<br />
then you’d probably want to be asking some<br />
questions. A car that can go 200Km/hr can<br />
obviously travel at 60 if the driver desires, yet<br />
a car that can only go to 60 can’t go to 200. A<br />
voice that can sing powerfully can obviously pull<br />
back and sing breathy and intimately, but a voice<br />
that can only ever do that, can’t sing with power.<br />
When a singer interprets a song, there are<br />
multiple options available to them. Loud or soft?<br />
Pushing the groove or sitting back on it? Bright<br />
and twangy or dark and mellow? Perfect diction<br />
(that might make a contemporary song suck) or<br />
approximate diction (that would make<br />
traditional singing suck) and breathy or clear.<br />
The ability to instantly go from a huge belt to a<br />
seductive and breathy voice is one of the greatest<br />
hallmarks of George Michael’s sound. He was<br />
truly masterful at it. And he could do it more<br />
than once within the same vocal line.<br />
George Michael had a GREAT tone to his voice.<br />
It always sounded very open, controlled and<br />
accurate. What made his performances shine<br />
was his deliberate (or naturally intuitive)<br />
movement from breathy to belt without<br />
changing his tone. This takes skill and a deep<br />
emotional connection to his voice. Listen to his<br />
performances and you’ll notice him moving in<br />
and out seamlessly.<br />
So when you’re working on your performances<br />
this month, why not take a leaf out of his book<br />
and try singing some phrases differently to<br />
how you usually would. If you have a naturally<br />
breathy voice, try singing a few with a clear tone,<br />
and if you naturally sing very clear and<br />
efficiently, try singing a word or two with some<br />
breath for emphasis. I can’t stress enough what a<br />
10 www.writeawaymagazine.co.uk
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