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Lesson 10: Interpretation of Text for Singers
The most obvious and important aspect of vocal performance is communication of the text. In order to be an effective and entertaining singer, you must be able to understand and interpret the text effectively. To begin interpreting the text, ask yourself the following questions, answering with as much detail as possible. I will use On My Own from Les Miserables, since it is a well-known piece and fairly easy to interpret.
Step #1: Identify the characters.
What is the identity of the speaker/narrator? Who is the intended audience?
Ex: The speaker is a teenage girl who has been rejected by the man she loves. The text is written in the style of an internal monologue (she is alone, speaking to herself)
Step #2: Identify the overall point of the piece.
What is the message being communicated by the text?
Ex: She describes her unrequited love.
Step #3: Identify the mood.
What feelings does this message evoke?
Ex: Sadness, heartbreak.
Step #4: Identify transitions.
What changes in message, mood, or character occur over the course of the song?
Ex: The first half of the song describes her fantasy of being with him, then transitions to her realization that it is all in her head, and that the fantasy will never come true.
Step #5: Identify poetic devices.
What metaphor, simile, alliteration, is used? How does the effect how the text is interpreted?
Ex: She describes "trees full of starlight" and "pavement shin[ing] like silver" to provide a setting for the fantasy she describes.
Step #6: Make choices that will allow you to communicate.
Once each of these questions have been answered, ask the most important question of all: How will I communicate this with my singing? You should use what you have learned about dynamics and phrasing.
Ex: The singing style will vary before and after the transition. The first part of the song will have a dreamy, lyrical quality, with long soft phrases. The second half will steadily increase in power towards the end of the song, which climaxes with the line "the world is full of happiness that I have never known" - this is the height of the heartbreak. The last few lines will be sung quietly to communicate that the character has now given up on ever being loved.
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