Vocal Consulting for Composers

Why hire a vocal consultant?

As a professional singer and voice teacher with a strong choral background (and a fellow composer), I have strong insight into what makes a vocal composition “sing.” If you’re nervous about writing for voice due to lack of singing experience or have questions about setting texts, I can supply the expertise you’re missing.

Gain understanding of the voice

If you’ve gotten feedback that “your vocal lines are not singable” or “the singer you wrote this for doesn’t exist,” I can show you where the issues are and offer suggestions on how to overcome them while still preserving the spirit of your composition. By crafting musical lines that let them sound their best, singers will be excited to perform your compositions.

Whether you’re writing for a single voice with accompaniment, an a cappella trio, or an 80-person choir with multiple soloists, I can help you balance multiple parts and guide you in determining whether your piece is more appropriate for beginner or advanced musicians.

Make the most of your lyrics

Go beyond simply making your text understood and keeping the accent on the right syllable. By providing insight into the rhetoric of the text, I can give you the understanding you need to set individual words, phrases, and sentences for maximum expression and music-text synergy.

If you’re looking at setting a text in a language unfamiliar to you, I can guide you with that (depending on the language), or refer you to someone in my rolodex of language experts.

Decide what goes on the page

Do you want to specify every breath, phrase, and articulation, or leave the nitty-gritty up to the individual singer? How much of their own artistry do you want the performers to bring to your piece? I can help you make decisions about what markings should be on the page and determine if additional instructions or performance notes would enhance your final or published version.

If you’re looking at making a vocal score for a large, complex piece, I can provide insight into what instrumental cues would be the most helpful to include for your vocalists.

Need to hear something before making your final version?

As a professional singer with a home recording setup, I can offer vocals for demos of your songs or a “quick ‘n’ dirty” rough recording to give you the gist of what the piece will sound like sung.

Contact me to talk about your needs and how I can guide you in your vocal music writing! I offer a 30 min free consult to new clients.