Jazz voice: Navigating your own unique path
By Charlotte Mclean, JMI Course Coordinator
Like professional singers of any genre, Jazz singers work hard to hone their craft and find their own individual sound. But how does Jazz differ in practice and how does one find their unique Jazz voice?
Just like any other style, a practise session for a professional Jazz vocalist might include:
Technical practice
Technical practice includes but is not limited to working on breathing and support, resonance, registration, alignment, phonation and all facets of having healthy and efficient vocal technique.
But, with Jazz, a heavy emphasis is put on the ability to improvise over complex chord progressions in a rhythmically interesting way. All this while “sounding Jazz” but also having an authentic sound. How might someone “sound Jazz” while also sounding like themselves? It might seem like conflicting advice but let’s have a look at some of the practise strategies used to achieve this:
Ear training or “Audiation”
Audiation was a term researcher Edwin Gordon came up with in the 70s. It is a fancy way of explaining the process necessary to internally hear notes within a certain context. In Jazz music this might include melodies, licks and chord progressions to improvise over. Audiation also includes internalisation of rhythms and rhythmic “feels” or, as Gordon says, Space Audiation (the internalisation of space between notes).
This kind of practice might include singing specific scale degrees of each chord to hear the changes (audiate the chord progressions in order to improvise through repertoire). It can also mean internalising rhythms through body percussion and practising transcribed rhythms and rhythmic patterns.
Jazz language
Language practice is an imperative part of learning to sing Jazz. And by language, I mean licks, melodies and note choices that sound more “Jazz” than any other style. But how do you know if the notes you are choosing when improvising are part of the Jazz language or not? Of course, this can be subjective, but you will have a much better idea the more Jazz you listen to! It is the same as learning a second language; your ear becomes more familiar with the sounds the more you immerse yourself in them.
Practising Jazz language can include transcribing music (by writing it out or more importantly, learning it by ear), practicing licks/melodic passages over different chord progressions, or participating in active listening when listening to an album.
Active listening means thinking objectively and listening to specific parts of the music.
How does the drummer and bassist interact? What colours and effects is the vocalist using? Is the soloist using chromatic approaches in their improvisation or referencing the melody often? What does the band sound like as a whole?
Practising repertoire
As you may already intuitively know, practicing small parts of the puzzle won’t necessarily come into fruition unless you practise the repertoire as a whole. Sometimes it’s good to look at the specifics, but sometimes, it’s important to just improvise!
Repertoire practice might include taking numerous “choruses” (playing through the song’s chord progressions while improvising). This allows for the vocalist to know not only what Jazz sounds like, but how it feels to improvise in real time with mistakes and all!
Finding your unique sound
Having taught many CCM styles including Pop, MT, Rock, Country and Metal, Jazz has always been the genre I call home. I love the freedom of improvisation and the call to shape my voice in my own unique way. Having said that, I find that Jazz students are always the most concerned with how to “find their own unique voice”. It is a common concern of students, and I am frequently asked the question “What should I sound like when I improvise?”. My answer is always this: “What sounds do you like and what feels the best?”.
There is no one answer as Jazz calls for individualism. Lowered larynx? Yes, if that’s the sound you like. Yodels and fry used as an effect? Yes, if that’s how you sing! Belt or no belt? Well that all depends on what you feel like using in the moment! Sarah Vaughan uses the Scat syllables “sha-doo-wa” a lot, should you? If that is what you have practised and it feels right in the moment, yes!
To better illustrate my point, just have a listen to Veronica Swift who is a well-known Jazz Vocalist who has paved the way for many emerging singers. Now have a listen to Kristin Berardi, one of Australia’s best and brightest. The two are phenomenal in their own right but couldn’t be more different in sound! They have found their unique voice with hard work, a variety of musical influences and trusting in their own stylistic choices.
Have fun with listening, internalising sounds and most importantly finding your unique voice. If you have any questions on the above concepts, please don’t hesitate to ask me!