A song is basically a monologue set to music. Singers fall into the trap of focusing so much on the musical preparation that a nuanced connection to the text and story is an afterthought. A well-known singer-actor colleague of mine devised a worksheet to help singers connect to their characters and the lyrics of the song. I am sharing excerpts of it here with you in an effort to give you some tools to help your performance gain more depth.
A. Treat your song as if it were a monologue put to music. Read your lyrics out loud without music or tempo. Notice how the words speak to you and what they mean. Be specific when writing out the answers to the following questions:
1. Who are you talking to?
2. Who or what are you singing about? How do you feel about that person or thing?
3. Where are you when you are singing this song?
4. Why must your character sing this particular song and these specific words?
5. Why is it that your character must communicate this right now?
B. Create a dialogue in your own words with whomever you are talking to in the song.
1. What was said right before the song that compels you to speak the words in the song? Write out that dialogue.
2. Often metaphors and imagery are used in song lyrics to carry the song’s intention. Look through your song for these kinds of devices and understand their meaning.
C. Act out all your lyrics as if they were a monologue. Feel the meaning of each image and clarify your connection to the words and emotions.
D. Subtext: Uncover a story that you relate to for your song.
1. Write or type out all of your lyrics double or triple-spaced with plenty of room before the next line of lyrics. In the space provided below each line of lyrics, write your own personal line of subtext. Subtext is something personal that you can recall which brings out the same emotional response as the lyric.
For example:
Lyric: There are bells on a hill but I never heard them ringing till there was you.
Your subtext: My lunch never tasted so good as the day I found out I got the big role in the movie.
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