Singing and Smiling
One area that most all singers, myself included, need to work on is our expression. So here are a few thoughts on one particular area of expression: smiling. :-) Yep, we all need to do that more. It’s actually a little harder than it seems to do this while singing. You do have to practice – working in front of a mirror can really help and I’m sure you won’t become vain doing so. Try this out on several vowel sounds by adding a slight smile.
Practically, a slight grin will help your tone focus in the mask of your face – more on this in a future blog post. Your pitch will become more accurate as well. One other added benefit is not only for you but also for whoever is watching you - it now seems that you are enjoying singing. Imagine that! I’m sure you do like singing, so now you will just appear that way too. :-)
Smiling is also and instant quick-fix to get an entire choir on pitch. This is remarkable but really works. When I’ve been directing and it seems a choir’s energy level was just down on a particular song, causing the over all pitch to be a bit off, I will simply give a big smile and encourage everyone to do the same. The pitch pops right back up, the overall energy level picks up, and now all the singers seem happier.
Humm, this reminds me of the proverb I read a couple days ago, “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart…”Prov. 15:30 It seems that smiling has other benefits as well! So here are a few singing jokes to get you smiling. Now just carry your joy over into your singing for practice. :-)
Singing funnies:
Q: How many lead singers (or sopranos) does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One. They hold the bulb while the whole world revolves around them.
or there is – Q: How many lead singers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They get the drummer to do it.
Q: How many altos does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They can’t get up that high.
Q: How many tenors does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Six. One to do it, and the other five to say, “It’s too high for me.”
Q: Why are soprano jokes all one-liners?
A: So tenors can understand them.
Tenor story:
There were two old men sitting on a park bench talking to each other when one of them asked, “Can I sing you a song?” The other man replied, “Sure, but only if can you sing tenor?” The first man asked, “What is tenor?” The other man replied, “Ten or eleven miles away!”
The story of the Signing Fish:
Jimmy: “Hey, Mike! How’s your new pet fish doing?”
Mike: “Well, I’m really disappointed in him. The guy who sold him to me said I could teach him to sing like a bird.”
Jimmy: “What? Let me get this straight… You bought a fish because you thought you could teach him to sing like a bird?”
Mike: “Yeah, because he’s a parrot fish.”
Jimmy: “Now listen, Mike, while you might be able to teach a parrot to sing, you’re never going to get anywhere with a parrot FISH.”
Mike: ”That’s what you think! It just so happens this fish CAN sing. The real problem is he’s terribly off-key and it’s driving me crazy. Do you know how hard it is to tuna fish?”
credits – some jokes taken from www.ahajokes.com, www.opera.suite101.com, and www.basicjokes.com
4 Responses 
Leave a Reply 
Hi there, I hope you enjoy the Vocal Blog! Please feel free to ask questions and make comments on the posts. It's my desire to help singers use their voices more effectively and step out in confidence in whatever place (as a soloist or as part of a group) that God has called them to sing. Over the years I have had so many people ask me questions pertaining to singing after classes that I have taught. I thought this might be a better way to communicate so everyone can join in on the discussion. I look forward to hearing from you!Don't see what you are looking for? Have a question you would like addressed? Please email me at:
Kris@SingersResource.net
Thanks Gary!
Cute jokes, Kris. I love your new website. I’ll be checking it out from time to time.
I know some were a bit corny! Hopefully gave a few smiles though.
Love the jokes!!!