Mean What You Sing - Stereo Stickman

Mean What You Sing

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This could come in the form of a list, but it would never end. It could come in the form of a rant, but it would be somewhat pointless. People should be able to enjoy singing – if you enjoy it, do it. If you make a living from it; fair play. It’s best if this comes in the form of a suggestion, with nothing but opinion as it’s backbone. That way I can really say what I mean.

And this is exactly the point; saying what you mean, singing what you mean; meaning what you sing. So very many people sing whatever they’re given, or whatever sounds melodic and catchy, regardless of the depth, or lack of, within the lyrics. Do what you want, but I’m unlikely to listen to it for longer than a few seconds if you just copied notes with your mouth. Or on guitar, or piano.. just copying.. mindlessly, mathematically. I don’t see the point.

Recently I came across a recording online of a song in which the main vocal was entirely computer generated; we were listening to, essentially, a robot. And it wasn’t even that easy to identify. If you’d played the song among five others on mainstream after-work radio, I’m not sure the robot song would stand out. And it’s exactly there that the problem lies.

Art is art because it makes you feel something. You can feel what the artist is feeling, and you connect to it, on a raw, emotional, meaningful level. It can make you feel elated, or sad, or angry, or inspired.. It can make you FEEL. Something. Anything. That’s the point.

Music without feeling is, if you ask me – nothing but a ringtone. A doorbell. A sound. Usually an irritating one. That song exists purely to make money, or maybe, on some level, to make children more likely to pass the parcel. And that is all. And even that could have been done with feeling. It would’ve made a far more memorable experience at least.

If you’re not the most poetic of songwriters, it can be hard to put exactly how you’re feeling into words. That’s completely understandable, and not everything has to be the leaves falling, clouds blowing, metaphorical version of itself. Like I said before; if you enjoy singing, bloody well do it, and don’t stop doing it. But, at the absolute least, for the sake of a connection with your fellow people – if you don’t always sing quite what you mean, please – I beg of thee – mean what you sing. Just mean it. Sing it with conviction. If you don’t mean it – don’t sing it. Let somebody else sing it. Or let it die with the perhaps pointless or unpleasant idea that bred it. No loss to anyone. No harm done. A small lesson learned, even.

Keep singing with conviction & utilise your creativity at every opportunity – writing, recording, performance, all of it. That’s the good stuff – the stuff people connect with. It’s the essence of artistic expression, and furthermore – it’s REAL.

Rebecca Cullen

Founder & Editor

Founder, Editor, Musician & MA Songwriter

2 responses to “Mean What You Sing

  1. How refreshing to come across this article. For me personally, the intro to a song is like walking on a path that is leading you to a door. When the vocal starts, you’ve arrived at the door . If you like the tones, you want to unlock the door and walk in. But after that, it’s really down to the lyrics. Lyrics are everything: they’re what dress the room. Many songs can share popular chords. But it is the words that truly represent our uniqueness, our personal expression, and hopefully a reaching out of hands for others to come and join the reverie.

    Anyways, My tuppeny’s worth.

    Kathy

    1. What a wonderful way of putting it! Thanks Kathy 🙂 Thanks for stopping by to read and comment.

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