The Art and Craft of Singing a Song: Tell Me a Story! Sing Me a Song!

Posted by: Sing Books with Emily on: September 11, 2010

In: Art of Singing a Song | Cabaret | Expert Info - First Hand | Heartfelt Musings | SBWE in Person | Sing Books with Emily Sing-Along Materials | Songs We Sang
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Tell me a story! Sing me a song!

I believe that each person is an ARTIST and that each person’s LIFE is his or her own WORK OF ART. I know that some people have a gift for beautifully and meaningfully communicating life experiences through song, but I also know that EVERYONE has a valid and valuable story to tell.

Within the Art of Cabaret (where I have focused my artistic efforts), I define CABARET as the art of telling stories through song.

Over the years I’ve taken many classes that could all fit under the umbrella of “The Art of Singing a Song,” and I have compiled a method for working on the songs I sing.

I was talking to my friend Michael recently about our processes for crafting a song for performance and he’s inspired me to share what I’ve come up with. Sharing is the right thing to do since most steps written in the process were gifts from my many Master Teachers.

Use what works for you and throw out the rest. Discovering your own process will enhance your enjoyment and the quality of your efforts in sharing the joys of song and Singable Picture Books. It is great fun to sing but the experience is all the more enhanced by knowing about what you are singing, why you are singing, and why it matters.

The basic outline of this process is:

Answer the Questions:
Sit down and fill in the blanks so that the answers fill up both your conscious and unconscious mind with knowledge and understanding.
For Emily’s Song Craft Worksheet, click here:
Emily’s Song Craft Worksheet
Do What You’re Told:
Stand up and do the exercises so that the experience of even just going through the motions (although it really is better to put your heart and soul into it) will give you a feeling of achievement and “I’ve done this before.”
Hush Up and Sing:
This is the hardest part. Let it all go and fly free. You do the work and trust that it is there, engaging your subconscious and flowing through you and over you like a river over a water fall.

Emily’s Song Craft Worksheet

This worksheet is also found on my SING ALONG AND PRINT MATERIALS page:
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/sing-along-materials/

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On Miyazaki Cabaret Update: DC and Beyond
A very sweet blog post and comments from his readers about my “Song Craft” post from Michael Miyazaki and his wonderful cabaret blog,
Miyazaki Cabaret Update: DC and Beyond, read his post and reader comments, here:
http://cabaretdc.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/thank-you-emily/#comments

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Mapping the Colosseum’s Underworld and the Benefits of Pencil and Paper for Creating Art
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/mapping-the-colosseums-underworld-and-the-benefits-of-pencil-and-paper-for-creating-art/

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INFO AND THINKING ABOUT SINGABLE PICTURE BOOKS
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