Someone Order Delivery?

Delivery, or What to 'Take Out' of your Act:

"It may not be a song that's bad
It might be the delivery
I'll tell you all you need to know
So come take my advice from me..."

____________

This week we'll talk about style. Now, here I don't mean to go on about fancy clothes and 'bling' of all kinds, I mean to discuss your musical style of Delivery. (definition below)

When a singer is singing a song, if they're any good it's probably because they are doing one (or both) of two key things: they're either doing a great job of imitating the song's original interpreter or singing it 'their way,' with their 'Voice.'  If you cover a song, you have the same two choices - either sing it like you heard it on CD/Radio, etc. or with your own style and interpretation. The Delivery that I'm talking about is akin to your Voice.

Your Voice is what makes you sound like you and only you (or like that famous singer your friends say you sound like). Your Voice is like your Instrument. You can choose it to make sounds in any timbre and material resonance combination you desire (and are physically able to reproduce).

Your Delivery is HOW you use that Vocal Instrument.

When I was a child, my father often pointed out to me the ways in which singers like Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald 'elongated' their words and lingered on vowel sounds (like eee, ooo, ahh!), and that this method of Delivery is what set them apart from other singers in Jazz. He would punctuate this remark by reminding me it was a technique of singing that was shared by many of the best singers out there.  Because of this lesson, I've listened attentively to the Deliveries of many Jazz, Soul, Rock, Folk, and even Opera singers, and come to notice the same thing he was talking about. It's all in the Delivery. Have you ever listened to an 'alternative take' of one of your favourite songs? I'm not talking about a second rendition, but actually of a second version.
For example, sometimes a singer will be presented with a 'studio band' and have to rework the VOCAL PHRASING of a song that might have been composed a capella, or on a single instrument. Where their Voice will navigate through the new studio band arrangement might vary slightly from take to take, until they mysteriously decide on the 'magic' take of that track and move on to releasing it as the, let's say, "album version." Listening to 'alternate' versions of you favourite songs, for me, is always interesting and can often add insight to the song's implied meaning.

Take a listen to two different versions of "Ruby Ann"
by Marty Robbins (most famous for his song "El Paso")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMXEyahRL6c
(Video found on YouTube.com)

You can probably tell the main differences between the two versions are the tempo and saxophone, but for the sake of this ShoeTrou Blog I'd like to point your attention at the vocal performance.

The first is a bit rushed and the syllables don't quite fall correctly on the beat, etc. Don't you think? I'm sure some people may disagree, but anyway, the second version was the one that earned Marty #1 for a week on the Billboard Country charts and a 'cross-over' #18 on the Pop chart. I wonder how far the first version might have taken him? It's hard to say, but it seems likely that the second version better demonstrates Marty Robbins' ability to do "an extraordinary job of swinging with a cool, easygoing command of the groove" (Allmusic.com) and make it his 'good' version.

(between these two, I'd pick the one on the right :)

I suggest you join me in working on vocal Delivery, noticing slight changes of rendition in your recorded attempts, working to be more aware of how the way we sing affects the conveyed meaning of our lyrics, and more.

So order some Delivery and do some tasty active listening. It's good for you!

~The ShoeString Troubadour.

Delivery: De-liv-er-y. 6. a. Utterance or Enunciation. b. The act or manner of speaking or singing. (TheFreeDictionary.com)