ICMP PART TIME COURSE

INTERMEDIATE
VOCAL PERFORMANCE

Week 2
 Pop Performance
Price Tag - Jessie J

Elements to remember:

- Your posture – make sure your shoulders are

relaxed, you are not putting any tension on your
neck and your chest is not raising when you breathe
in.

- The microphone – how to get the best out of your

dynamic cardioid microphone during a live
performance

- Awareness of the structure: plan where to breathe,

where you will need to sustain vowels, to put more
support and to add embellishments

- Stage presence: make sure the stage is at your own

service, move whatever is in your way, check your
mic stand and make sure you are able to move the
microphone and yourself easily

- Engagement with the audience – this is a live

performance, make sure you get your audience
involved and have fun!
Essential information on vocal microphones

1. Where is the sound captured from?

Cardioid – front section

Supercardioid – smaller front section (higher

resistance to feedback, ideal for louder environments)

Shotgun – narrower pickup than supercardioid, good

for overhead recordings or choirs

Omnidirectional – all angles, great for live

environments and multiple instruments, not ideal to
cancel noise

Figure 8 – front and back, no sides, good for stereo

recordings or two instruments

2. What are the two main microphones used for

singers?

Dynamic – the diaphragm (which responds to the

sound waves) is magnetic and it moves, perfect for
high pressure levels as it’s a very sturdy instrument

Condenser – the diaphragm is very thin and its

positions lets it capture sounds very precisely. It uses
capacitance to turn the waves into a sound instead of a
coil, therefore it requires power. Due to the thin
diaphragm this is not a good microphone for loud
environments.
Sustaining Vowels

Exercise: Vowel change on Meee-eh-ah-oh-ooh

Exercise: 1-5-1 on each vowel in one breath

Exercise: 1 octave jump and scale down, sustain final

note

Exercise: On and On
 STYLES: SOUL

Main elements:

- Sustaining notes

- Short structure

- Use of coordinated attack

- Groove

- Freedom of phrasing

- Emotional element

- Main embellishments: great attention to dynamics,

use of vibrato over long notes, use of call and
response with bvs, use of blues/pentatonic scales
ascending and descending.
A CHANGE IS GONNA COME – SAM COOKE

I was born by the river in a little tent

Oh and just like the river I've been running ev'r since
It's been a long time, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living, but I'm afraid to die

'Cause I don't know what's up there, beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

I go to the movie and I go downtown

Somebody keep tellin' me don't hang around
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change gonna come, oh yes it will

Then I go to my brother
And I say brother help me please
But he winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees, oh

There have been times that I thought I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able to carry on
It's been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will