Full Version: Composing For Voice
Hi! I've decided that I am going to do a composition for voice but don't really know where to start. It's for voice and piano. Does anyone have any general tips for writing voice parts..I've never done one before!
First identify your voice.
It doesn't need to be a specific person (although that sometimes helps).
But you need to know what sort of range you are writing for. Male or female? high or low voice?
Don't forget the singer needs to breathe now and again.
It doesn't need to be a specific person (although that sometimes helps).
But you need to know what sort of range you are writing for. Male or female? high or low voice?
Don't forget the singer needs to breathe now and again.
Hmm, I am unsure which voice to use. Grr..this is going to be harder than it looks lol
QUOTE(ben_walker446 @ Sep 22 2008, 07:36 PM) 
Hmm, i unsure which voice to use. grr..this is going to be harder than it looks lol
A lot of this will depend on the text you set and the mood you want to create.
Whilst you decide on text and voice type, unless your name is Bach, there are some things to consider for the voice:
1) The singer needs to tune to the accompaniment (eg: most singers can't just produce, say, a Bb on demand)
2) Long phrases that rise towards the end are difficult
3) The singer needs time to breathe
4) Depending on the singer if you have a long unaccompanied section, when the accompaniment comes back in they might not be in tune
1) The singer needs to tune to the accompaniment (eg: most singers can't just produce, say, a Bb on demand)
2) Long phrases that rise towards the end are difficult
3) The singer needs time to breathe
4) Depending on the singer if you have a long unaccompanied section, when the accompaniment comes back in they might not be in tune
QUOTE(vectistim @ Sep 23 2008, 04:23 PM)
Whilst you decide on text and voice type, unless your name is Bach, there are some things to consider for the voice:
1) The singer needs to tune to the accompaniment (eg: most singers can't just produce, say, a Bb on demand)
2) Long phrases that rise towards the end are difficult
3) The singer needs time to breathe
4) Depending on the singer if you have a long unaccompanied section, when the accompaniment comes back in they might not be in tune
HAaaaaaaahahaaa! Reminds me of 'Laudamus Te' at university with three of us singing it and the breathing sounding like we were being strangled. The CD skipped along nice and quick and then our head of vocal studies said it was cheating and got the pianist to play it slower!
Other things singers can find difficult: big jumps (eg octave or more) between notes, or very small gaps - chromatics. A range of more than two octaves within a single song will try untrained voices too.
Dcmbarton made a very good point about the text influencing what you write. Do you have a piece of text that you want to set?
It's a good challenge to set yourself - keep us posted about what you do!
Dcmbarton made a very good point about the text influencing what you write. Do you have a piece of text that you want to set?
It's a good challenge to set yourself - keep us posted about what you do!
QUOTE(thouston @ Sep 23 2008, 08:37 PM)
Other things singers can find difficult: big jumps (eg octave or more) between notes, or very small gaps - chromatics.
I've found that quite a lot of singers find it nearly impossible to sing microtones. These days I stay away from them entirely in vocal parts, unless the context is very clear.
Though on the other hand most singers i've spoken to or worked with love doing crazy stuff with the voice so don't be afraid to write extended techniques!
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