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Performing Songs Naturally - Authentic Acting While Singing

I must ask you a very important question. How often, in your regular everyday life, do you point to yourself whenever you say the word "I". I'm willing to bet that most of you don't do that very often. Ask yourself why? Your answers are likely along the lines of, "It would be weird", "It isn't natural", "It seems fake."

And yet - watch a few dozen videos on YouTube of amateur singers, and see how many of them do it. Other common offenders include sweeping one hand (palm up) across the front of your body, and nodding the head emphatically. Why does singing cause some people to use such obviously unnatural gestures?

I think that very often this "fake" singing / acting results from us learning that standing perfectly still is bad. We decide that if being still is bad, then moving must be good, and we perfectly choreograph movements to go with the lyrics. So why doesn't it work?

The issue is not still vs moving but moving vs acting. True acting does not mean that you are choreographing movements to the words, because that is not how we think and move in our "real" lives. True acting comes from emotion, not from words.

So how do we find authentic movement?

Let go of the "make a gesture for each word" mentality.

Speak the words of the song as if it was a monologue - as if you were speaking the words in "real life". Think about how you would naturally move if you were saying these words.

Don't choose to sing songs you cannot identify with. If you don't understand the emotions behind them, how can you possibly hope to communicate them naturally? One key element here is to choose age-appropriate material.

Research the character who sings the song you are performing. This is particularly important in situations where you are performing a single song from a show and not the whole role. Not knowing / understanding enough about the character is a common reason for poor acting.

Finally - if nothing feels natural, then that's what you should do. Nothing. I would rather watch a singer who keeps their hands clasped in front of them than a singer who flails around meaninglessly. Hopefully, you'll find something in between.