Shower singing has long been considered a
humor-worthy activity. It conjures up the image of a hairy, barrel-chested man
singing into a piece of Soap-on-a-Rope, head thrown back and accompanied by the
family Bassett Hound howling outside the shower curtain. (Did I get this
straight from Norman Rockwell?) What possible use could shower singing be to a
professional singer or singer-in-training?
Actually it’s an activity I recommend to all my
singers. It’s good for us; the steam plumps up the mucus membranes of the nose
and throat. It’s fun; who knew you could sound this great? The shower reverb
and echo cover a multitude of mistakes. It’s a terrific training device; novice
singers feel empowered by the flattering acoustics and respond by reaching out
to sing more boldly.
Our comfort-driven modern habitats are
artificially heat and cold regulated; both have a drying effect on our tender
respiratory tissues. When you’re in the shower singing, steam produces a moist
environment which permeates the mucus membrane of the nose, sinus cavities,
throat and vocal cords, and help keep a singer’s tone and resonance healthy and
fresh.
Also, you have to admit that singing in the
shower is just plain fun. It turns an otherwise mundane grooming activity into
an opportunity to be self-entertained, creative, and amused. Even if it only
sounds good to the dog, it’s the one place we all feel comfortable about
cutting loose and letting go with our voice.
The acoustics in the standard North American
shower are second only to Carnegie Hall. (Some suggest they’re even better!)
The shower construction creates an acoustically rich environment that returns a
flattering reverb to the singer’s ear.
Fusion bass player Mark Tallent talked with me
about expanding his musical skills by learning to sing. During the course of
our conversation I advised him to record his efforts with very little or no
reverb effects so he would have a realistic idea of how he was progressing.
Well, he did a complete reversal on me and
recorded all his practices with his voice so awash with reverb and special
effects that you could barely distinguish the vocal line.
But, here’s where he was right and I was wrong.
His bare "un-reverbed" vocals returned the sound of a beginning
singer’s vocals to his ears. They sounded pretty raw and unruly. But whenever
he put all those fancy Euro effects on his voice, it sounded wonderful to his
ears. The sound was so good that it gave him the confidence to keep trying.
It took months of his equivalent version of
singing in the shower before he had the courage to turn off the effects, but
when he did, he found his bare vocals had evolved into the sound he truly
wanted to hear.
Lesson to be learned about shower singing? It is
confidence-building for singers to be rewarded with a sound that encourages
reaching out to lead with the voice. If you want to feel good about your
singing, forget the fancy sound effects and head home for some shower singing
with the dog.
Nashville vocal coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets that have already helped hundreds of aspiring singers become celebrities: Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Miley Cyrus, Huey Lewis, Kenny Chesney, Faith Hill, Jason Aldean, Christina Aguilera...
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