Let’s create a space that makes your vocals delicious!

SONG 9 of the 10 Songs In 10 Weeks Challenge is about constructing a rich, auditory environment in your song, with your voice as the central element.

Today’s exercise is called…

Build a Musical World Around Your Voice

This exercise is great to:

• Understand the details of how your voice functions
• Hook your audience with your voice

The timbre of your voice is mostly limited to your physical body. Yes, your voice can change with singing lessons and effects but the resonance and character of your voice probably won’t budge a whole lot. In any case, you are more likely to create an engaging sound if you start with your vocals.

Start Here:

Vocal Melody and Lyrics

• Craft a melody and lyrics that embody your unique voice.
• If you need a harmonic instrument to bounce off to do this, it’s ok, but ideally, you’re doing this a capella.

Is the Key Right?

• Once you’ve recorded a melody and lyric, record again, this time up a tone or two. And then record it down a couple of tones. You might also like to try it up and down a 5th.
• Now, listen back to the vocal recordings without any harmonic accompaniment. Listen to the timbre and emotion of your voice and decide on a version that connects with you the most.

Harmonic Wingman

• Add a single harmonic part to complement your melody. It should act like a shadow to your voice, supporting it subtly. It should be felt more than heard, enhancing rather than overpowering.
• Try different octaves as well as different voicings. A lower or high-voiced harmonic element may be the difference between magic and dust.
• The timbre of the instrument may also have an effect. Maybe a Rhodes brings out the emotion in your voice. Or maybe a grand piano is what brings it alive.
• Spend
• Time
• On
• This

Craft Your Space

Reverb is not just an effect, it’s a storytelling tool.

• Decide whether your voice echoes in a grand hall or whispers in a close room.
• Where is your story happening? Your reverb is like a canvas; each space tells a different story.

Expand the World

• Build an arrangement around your voice
• Each instrument or sound should add depth, creating a landscape without causing clutter
• Think of this as surrounding your voice with a landscape
• Every time you add something new, mute it and check that your voice is sounding better with the new element in

Break the Rules

• Introduce an unexpected element or a dramatic shift in reverb at one point in your song. This could be a digital sound in an analog track, a sudden moment of silence, a deep echo etc. It’s almost impossible to be over-dramatic in a musical arrangement.
• Keep your audience engaged with well-placed twists. Remember that you are in the experience business.

Finish your song!

Have fun! 🤗

The foundation for this challenge

The book I’m basing this challenge on is Ra Wilson’s book, Write 47 Songs. If you haven’t heard of it yet, I highly recommend you get it. As the name says, the book gives you 47 exercises that serve as a practical roadmap for your artist development through implementation and self-exploration. So it’s a highly practical guide for artists who are just starting out in their songwriting journey, and it’s packed with exercises that are designed to help you put in the practice and level up in all the ways I mentioned before – from your lyric writing to your musical understanding, to developing yourself as an artist in terms of your sound and your artistic voice. All of that through implementation. Because it’s what you DO that counts. When you learn to play an instrument for example, you go to lessons and you spend most of the time DOING. Songwriting should be no different.

Are you new to this challenge? Watch the intro video here!

Wanna join alongside a group of artists?

If you’ve ever made a purchase with us (like joined any of our bootcamps, or got Ra’s book) you also get access to our free WhatsApp community where our artists hang out and support each other. There you can share what you make within a safe space and listen to what others share as well. This will make it way more fun and really help you with accountability.

If you decide to get the book (or you’ve already joined a bootcamp with us), be sure to send me an email so I can give you access to the community! My email address is sonj@artistspringboard.com

I hope you enjoy connecting to your lovely voice! 🤗❤️

I’ll see you next week for our last one: SONG 10!

Sonj