Stop singing AT me!

I notice that a lot of inexperienced songwriters and performers have the same problem- they expect their creation to simply speak for itself and don’t do enough to communicate a message to the audience.

The song certainly has a life of its own, but it can’t be detached from the artist who performs it. The performance is the conduit that shares the meaning of a song with the audience who receives it. Without a meaningful performance, the audience isn’t likely to understand or relate with the song. Meaningful doesn’t necessarily mean technically perfect or expertly performed, it means that the performance is effective in its goal to communicate something.

Beginners forget to slow down and really FEEL sounds that they are emitting. They get focused on remembering chords and lyrics, and putting everything in it’s proper sequence- which often causes them to totally neglect any emotional nuance in their performance. The audience doesn’t need to hear every chord change, they need to understand what the song is about. A sweet song needs to have an aura of sweetness to the whole performance, and an aggressive song is the opposite. When you shout your sweet song at me, I can’t understand it. When you timidly present your angry song, I can’t understand it. Audiences love an artist who they find relatable, and they relate with emotional content and feel much quicker than they relate with musical sounds.

When you’re ready to share you song, remember that you’re offering the listener an invitation. Lots of artists shout their words at me or start hammering away at a guitar or drumset, excited to have their moment under the lights with loud sonic reinforcement. This exhausts me. It’s not my duty to be pummeled by your creation until you decide you’re finished, it’s your duty as the artist to lure me into your story. What is your song about? What am I supposed to feel? What mood have you created musically to help me get there? Are you trying to tell me anything, or are you just making loud noises? Don’t assume that words and chords and melodies will communicate anything without help.

In regular conversation, enormous amounts of emotional content and context go unspoken. I don’t think most people use carefully chosen words to communicate their messages, they are more likely to rely on dynamics, inflection, and body language to create a more specific meaning. Most people just walk by the crazy man shouting in the street- they don’t assume he actually has anything important to say, because he hasn’t has done nothing to make his message clear or palatable. Music works the same way. It’s not just the order of notes that makes your song have a meaning- it’s the meaning that you instill into the performance. Don’t just play the song because it is what it is, assume I’m going to listen carefully and tell me the story!

So artists- keep bringing me your tunes, but stop playing AT me! Play FOR me instead! Play like you want me to understand you. Be vulnerable enough to take the chance to truly communicate. Learn your song well enough so that when it comes time to present, you can put yourself in the headspace of its message rather than its structure. Don’t expect me to guess, don’t hide in the comfortable realm of vague metaphors, give me a chance to connect myself to your story.

And of course, don’t let me tell you what to do. After all, you’re the artist, and what do I know? Just because I don’t understand doesn’t mean there aren’t many others who will. If you read this post and the advice feels wrong, don’t take it- trust your own vision- I’ll still listen to what you create. If you read this post and it rings true, I’m excited to hear your story!