How to Sing with Emotion

Everyone wants to sing with emotion. It is something that you can hear when you listen to a song, even if you are miles away from the performer. As they say, love conquers all, and this is especially true in singing. Even if someone doesn’t have the best voice, if they connect with the audience then they will be loved even more than the person with a better voice than themselves.

So let’s learn how to sing with emotion and really captivate people!

What are the different steps that you need to go through in order to sing with emotion?

You’re going to get 12 tips that will improve not only your ability to sing with emotion but tips that will give you a better singing voice that you’ll be proud of.

Learn the Song

The first thing that you need to know is of course the song itself. Now here I’m talking about every single aspect of the song. This includes the lyrics, the notes, and what you think the artist is trying to do with it.

First of all make sure that you know the lyrics. Every single word is important, and you need to know every one of them. This is true is whatever language you are singing. When I first started singing in Italian, I didn’t speak the language at all. However, my teacher made me learn it and understand the meaning behind the words. The reason for this was in order for me to be able to put myself into the song, to really sing it.

After this you must learn the music of the song. Every single note is important. For the moment thought, if there are riffs, runs and other bits and pieces, just ignore them for the time being. These can and will be added later.

The final thing you need to do is to add the emotion that you think the artist is trying to portray. There can obviously be different parts of the song that pull you in different directions.

Jot them all down though so you get a really good picture of what is going on in the song.

Let the Music in and Dance to Your Own Tune

Another important tip to remember is that you have to let the music embrace you. Music isn’t just a conversation; it’s a way of life and it is all encompassing. What this means is that you have to feel the feelings the artists put into the song, understand the lyrics and let your whole being be engulfed by it.

When you do this then you can dance in your own special way. There is a well-known therapy where you are asked to dance on your own whilst listening to the music. You let the music move you, not the other way round. There are no special dance moves here at all. The correct dance moves vary from person to person and they are all correct!

If you can tap into that then you will be able to express yourself fully and when you come to sing you will be able to put all the emotion that you want into it.

Choose the Right Song for You and Your Voice

It’s important to sing the song that reflects you as a person. Personally, I can be quite hot-headed. Sometimes I want to listen to some crazy rock and roll music and that reflects my mood. However, there are sometimes when I feel that I want to be more sophisticated (for want of a better word) and I want to sing an operatic area.

Aside from some slow ballads though, I just don’t really connect with any pop music. That’s not to say I don’t listen to it, it’s my job to know the lot. However, my repertoire won’t include most pop songs because I just can’t put myself into that frame of mind. I dance to my own tune and my music reflects that.

And you have to do the same thing. Select a song that resonates with you. Learn it. Feel it. And then you will be able to sing it and your audience will be able to connect with you on a much deeper level.

How Can You Choose a Good Song for You?

In order to select the song that you feel, you have to feel. Take a look at the following comments questions and see what your answers are:

Write down all the words and then take a look at them.
Read them aloud and see what you think of it.
What color does the music have?
What emotion is being portrayed?
Do you actually like the song?
Do the words fit it with what you feel?
Do you feel happy or sad with the music?
Do you think you could have written that?

If the answer to any of the questions is something that you’re not really happy with, then don’t sing that song. There are an almost infinite number of songs out there and just by deselecting one you aren’t limiting yourself.

Enunciation – Making Sure You Are Heard

Another important point to note when learning how to sing with emotion centers not on you so much but on the audience. I remember once as a school kid that someone was performing some song about wishing their mother would be their on their wedding day. But that was it. I couldn’t make out any of the other words. I could sort of feel that he was trying to put across that he was very sad. But I had no idea what the background story was, the message of the song was completely lost on me. And sadly, the song just lost the entire point because no one knew what the other words were.

You must make sure that you sing the words super clearly. There are sometimes when you actually have to sort of mess up the words to ensure they are clear.

How to Make Sure You Are Clear with the Words

This method I have found invaluable over the years although it is a bit hard we can split it into two parts:

Part 1 – Speak the words clearly

Get the words of the song and just speak them out loud into the mirror. Ensure that they are completely clear. Now record yourself just saying the words. When you are listening to it back, are the words completely clear? If they are then you are ready to start trying to sing them.

Part 2 – Speak them in time with the music

If you have the music score it’s a good idea to speak the words in time with the music. Put on your metronome and just say the words along with it. I have found this method to be extremely useful over the years and I hope you do so too. If you don’t understand what I’m talking about don’t worry, it’s a more musicy term that people who play musical instruments will know. If you don’t though just try and think of it like this.

Music is a rhythm. It’s always in a rhythm and if it’s not then it’s just a random series of notes. You can normally tap your foot or clap your hands in time with the music. So what I want you to do here is to speak the words, not sing them, in time with the rhythm.

Experimenting with the Words

Even though it’s important and imperative to sing with emotion in your own voice, there are methods that will enhance this. It’s a fact that some people, even when they are emotional, just don’t sound it. That’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact. An easy way to see how you sound is to listen to yourself.

A good method of adding some emotion to your words is to play with them. Let’s take the word “invigorate” as an example.

Try to say IIIIIIn vigorate
Now say innnn vigorate
Now invvvv igorate
And so on, I’m sure you get the idea.

Record each of these tries and see which one to you sounds most invigorating. This is what you can try to do with each of your words and see how they sound. It may sound a bit silly in the beginning but just by changing a few things here and there you will really increase the emotion that you are trying to show.

Another way to try is to see how different accents sound to you and what they do to the song. I love country music, but I can’t really sing the songs simply because I can’t put out that slow, American drawl that they do. But maybe you can. Try a song with a variety of different accents and you may be surprised by the different emotions that you can put into it.

Is It Too Loud? Singing with Dynamics

Being able to be loud and soft is a discussion in and of itself that you can find out more about in that post. However, for our purposes here it’s an important point. Do you want to be soft and gentle or hard? Try and sing a song like Titanic in your quietest voice. It just doesn’t have the same effect as it does when sung quietly first and then building it up to a crescendo. How to sing with emotion is all about controlling them as well. There are almost always many parts to a song. Some of them should be sung quietly and others should be belted. But never should they all be sung at the same level. You have to learn how to sing quietly and how to sing loudly in order to get the emotion out.

Embellishing the Music

Once you have worked out the song, the words, what the song is trying to do and the dynamics and volume of it, you need to think about adding some embellishments. What I mean by this is that you can often improve the song by adding riffs, runs, coming in a fraction early or late and other things besides.

It’s important to remember that whilst you should learn a song straight, without anything extra, once you have it down pat it’s a good idea to make it your own.

You can try starting your entry point into the song a fraction early or late.
Add a riff.
Maybe take away a riff.
Try sliding from one note to the next.

A word of caution with all of these things though. It’s important to make the song your own, However, it’s also important not to kill it and if you take it too far away from what it’s intended to be then you aren’t actually singing the song.

Controlling the Emotion

This is something that I do struggle with, especially in a crowd. I get nervous and I also can go over the top when singing. This can happen to such an extent that I can’t get the words out I’m so choked up. Whilst this is OK in rehearsal, your audience want to hear the best version of you and crying on stage and not being able to get the words out isn’t what they have paid to come for.

However, the emotion is very important, and you have to embrace the challenge of being in a vulnerable space in order to bring out what you actually want to show. You must show that vulnerability on stage but at the same time, not let it get the better of you.

It’s a good idea to get your body moving to let the emotion out. Jump about, sway, move your arms around and try anything external to let the emotion come out.

This also applies to your face. Try practicing with some fake tears, even real tears if you can. Try with a choked-up voice, a happy voice, a sorrowful voice. Try it all and you’ll be able to internalize what you are trying to feel in the song. Even if you think it sounds a little strange, don’t worry about it. You’ll get there in the end.

Breath Control

It’s annoying to have to keep on talking about it for some people but the truth is that we can’t ever ignore it. Breathe deeply, support the voice and if you want to know anything more than this check out the post I’ve written about it.

Engage with Your Audience

Whether you are just recording a song in the comfort of your own home studio, or you are singing in front of thousands, you have to connect with them. You are taking them on a journey through the means of song. You are telling them a story. So tell them one. There is an art to being a voice over artist and the same is true for your song.

If you are singing live, then you can really connect to the audience. Get eye contact with as many of them as you can. Through the eyes, you really connect deeply with a person. You don’t need to physically touch someone to get them to feel something. This is what you need to tap into in order to sing with emotion.

Using the Different Registers of Your Voice

As we know, there are different registers of the voice. If you want to know more about them, feel free to check out the post I’ve written about them. It’s a good idea to experiment with them when you are singing and see if something will sound better in head voice or chest voice. There is a big crossover that you can take advantage of to sign with more emotion. Some good examples of this switching are Josh Groban and John Legend. They often switches up to his falsetto/ head voice at the beginning of a song and then as he builds up he stays in his chest voice. It gives a great effect and really adds something to the song.

In Summary

You can do it. Singing with emotion is something that is in your power to control. Have the confidence in your ability to tell a story, connect with the audience and allow yourself to be vulnerable. As well as this, try some of the other methods in order to add something extra to your performance. I hope you have enjoyed this post. As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below. ‘Till next time!