Elocution Pollution NOT The Solution
Articulation Creation Is Ablation
It was this thing of being in the pocket and the best thing, the only thing, I learned from a specific teacher in Las Vegas. I was in a show and, at the same time, I was in an internship for vocal coaching, which only one person bothered to do, from all I could ascertain.
Many teachers were not trained to teach, but instead, were given lessons. There is a filter in the mind of each student and things are often altered once information passes through it. It could be debated as to whether that would enhance or detract from the data needed to sing at one’s best.
Learning to do something and being great at it, doesn’t always give one the ability or knowledge to impart the same to a student.
There are a few famous singers who are undeniably amazing, but they have no clue as to how to teach someone. I’ve seen it and heard it and they should just do what they’re great at and not impart useless or harmful pedagogy to the poor unsuspecting wannabe. I won’t name names.
“Hook Up Your Voice”
Part of my internship was to endure singing lessons from some local teachers. Some were fantastic, in the literal sense and spoke of fantasy, which had no connection to this universe as you and I know it. One had the idea that we connect everything from the pelvis up and that is how we sing. Newsflash! It is already connected in a physical sense, through tissue and cells and the nervous system. An intelligent question might be, what is actually used physically in the process of singing?
Lesson With A Guy
I got to have a lesson with a colleague, as it were, one of the same ilk as my teacher. We actually taught each other a couple of things in that lesson. He was very good and well-trained, from having years of lessons from one of the top gurus of the world. Neither of them were privy to my lessons with Dr. Donald S. Reinhardt of Philadelphia. Neither of them are brass players. I discovered that there are more similarities than differences between singing and playing a trombone. I dare say that I learned more about breath control, lung capacity, and breathing techniques than either of them would need, necessarily, but my knowledge of the subject can and will make anyone a better singer with more control than many.
Older Lady Lesson
So, there I am with an older teacher and she was a huge help with articulation and how it relates to style. There is a pocket, as it were, that exists in each and every style, for articulation in singing.
Big Takeaway
Usually you will not sing Broadway style the same way as R&B, Pop, Alternative, Punk, or Adult Alternative. They all have their own quarks, nuances, and/or idiosyncrasies. The same can be said for classical pieces.
In a classical setting, you won’t sing “Caro Mio Ben” as if you are doing a Willie Nelson or Dolly Parton impression, if you expect respect or applause.
You won’t sing “Jolene” as an operatic piece at The Grand Ole Opry, unless you are a tad askew.
Similarly, you won’t sing any style, other than the one in which a song was originally done unless you have a very good reason and a very understanding audience.
Over-articulation sounds amateur or worse.
Under-articulation sounds lazy or negligent.
Elocution pollution is often the result of bad training or no training or…
Are you sitting? Some singers have the compulsion to be “right”, even when they are wrong. Severe pronunciation or enunciation needs ablation, but the mind behind is the kind that may need a severe reality adjustment.
Some people get extremely upset if you alter lyrics to a song, for that matter. This points out there is an expectation of familiarity in and audience and when you diverge too far out of the pocket, they may dislike or even hate what they here.
How To Win Friends And Influence People, an ancient book by Dale Carnegie may hold some clues as to why people would react negatively to having their realities shaken or stomped on. You don’t have to read it, but you could.
If you overdo enunciation, it is time for ablation. Take some away, but leave enough to be intelligible and nail the style.
You are not committing a crime by not precisely enunciating every letter, as you might in German. Study style. How? Listen! Listen to singers who are professional performers and make mental notes and emulate what they do. I did not say copy. Emulate, but don’t imitate. There is a difference and your dictionary should be large enough to prove that point.
Dive deep. Learn well. Be profound. Superficiality leads to being nothing more or less than just another drop of water in the ocean.
On the other hand, if you’re not a soloist and want to sing in a choir, that’s fine, but if you have something to share with the world as a soloist, the preparation and work require the deep dive and the hard work with attention to detail.