During a musical theatre class, one singer arrived with the piece "What's the Buzz" from Jesus Christ Superstar, the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical. He was performing it well, but his whole body was involved with the (very fast) pulse inherent in the song. He was bouncing with every eighth note and was displaying a highly tensioned body which was detracting from his performance, both vocally and as an actor.
In the song, the ensemble sings "what's the buzz, tell me what's a happenin'" repeatedly, with high energy. The singer then has to cut them off, stop their chant and calm them down very quickly. The character needs to silence them with his first three quarter notes (crotchets), starting on a high F. Because he was using the same frenetic pulse as the ensemble, his entry was having little impact, and the feel of his performance was not strong enough. Rather than getting him to sing stronger or higher, I took him through the following exercise for finding a different pulse.
1. This involves using your body, so standing is best. Sing two or three phrases of an up-tempo piece, like "What's the Buzz". Find the fast energy of the piece and move to it, using your foot, leg, body or clicking your fingers. "What's the Buzz" contains four quarter notes in each bar, but for now I'd like you to indicate the eighth notes (quavers). So for example your foot taps on the beat and your fingers click on the offbeat. The important thing is to have some part of your body moving on every eighth note.
2. Now we're going to change the pulse while keeping the "speed" the same. Begin to show only the quarter notes - you are now moving in "half time". Keep the energy high, but move only on the quarter notes. Again, you can either move your body to each quarter note, or divide the quarter notes between foot and hand. The speed of the piece stays the same, but the pulse has now changed to a less frantic one.
3. Now begin to show only the half notes (minims). Once again, maintain the speed of the piece, keeping the energy high. Now you are only marking two pulses per measure instead of the four or eight previously. The speed of the piece has stayed the same, but the feel is now different, with a bigger scope, somehow funkier.
Continue with this exercise, by indicating only one pulse per measure, or even extending to one pulse per two measures.
In the case of the singer in the masterclass, the use of a different pulse was electrifying. Using the different, slow pulse (the halfnote or minim beat) he was able to differentiate himself from the ensemble (who were using the eighth note or quaver beat), and stop their singing in its tracks. This easily marked out his character (Jesus) as a man to be listened to, who did not march to the beat of the people around him. By following this exercise, the singer was able to convey that effortlessly.
I have used this exercise in many different genres of music, including opera arias (O Zittre Nicht, Questa O Quella), German lieder (Gretchen am Spinnrade), music by contemporary singers such as Duffy or Christina Aguilera, and of course musical theatre pieces from West Side Story to Spring Awakening. Try it for yourself!
Jeremy Fisher trains singers and performers to find and maintain their best. He's the author of Successful Singing Auditions, and creator of two sellout training DVDs (featured on the BBC and broadcast to an estimated 44,000,000 people). Sign up for Jeremy's free newsletter containing original interviews, pre-release offers and receive your BONUS free copy of "86 things you never hear a singer say" at http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk
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