Mastering the Voice as a Songwriter (Copy)

Because songwriters envision a world in which they are not performing on stage, many of them believe they do not need to curate that part of their artistry. This could not be farther from the truth. Counterintuitively, mastering your voice can help inform the type of songs you write and your ability to communicate your vision on a demo. 

Let’s take Caroline Polacheck as an example. Polacheck has had a long storied career as an artist. Her studies of Baroque classical musical inform her instrument which has a lyrical operatic quality. She exhibits masterful control over the flipping of her instrument between vocal registers; her flipping is not unlike yodeling. Her melismas are defined and fluent. Overall, Polacheck has developed a unique instrument and employs her vocal tricks in her own work. 

This has allowed her to garner cuts outside of her own work. Most notably, in 2013 she co-wrote and co-produced “No Angel” for Beyoncé’s self-title record, which went on to garner a grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Submitted as a half finished demo, No Angel originally featured Polacheck’s vocals. This is the version that Beyoncé heard before deciding to cut and release the song. For a sparse production like “No Angel,” the vocals definitely made a difference. 

Charli XCX, one of Polacheck’s contemporaries, exhibits less technical control over her voice than Polacheck. What she lacks in melismas, she makes up for in hooky song craft. She prioritizes shouty/chanty vocal aesthetics mixed with hard autotune. Her “voice,” especially on record, has a signature sound that she has refined. 

You can hear this vocal style throughout her songwriting cuts. “Same Old Love” by Selena Gomez is dominated by a very small vocal range. XCX, anticipating Gomez’s vocal limits, is able to create songs that work with the artist’s range. On Icona Pop’s “I Love It” you can hear XCX’s shouting vocal styles emulated by the lead artists. One can easily imagine how XCX’s demo might have informed these final cuts. 

Truth be told, it is difficult to develop mastery and style. It is something that takes experimentation and time. But, when you gain a better understanding of your voice you’ll be able to write songs that feel more unique and sing over demos that are compelling to the artists you know and love.