The Jazz Vocalist’s Survival Guide

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It seems like no matter where we go, whether it’s a casual jam session or a professional gig, we vocalists are just not taken seriously! There is a stigma attached to vocalists: that we don’t know how to communicate with instrumentalists, that we don’t know the music, and that we aren’t as much a part of the band as everyone else. This stigma exists in every genre, but it’s really prominent in jazz, where vocalists are not entirely necessary to the music a lot of the time. Whether you are the biggest diva or the most humble of singers, you will probably feel this stereotype being projected onto you at some point. On the one hand, it frustrates me always having to prove and double prove myself as not only a vocalist, but as a musician. However, on the other hand, I can see where the stigma comes from and why it’s believed to be the truth of all vocalists. Even at an exceptional school like Berklee, there are a lot of vocalists who feed the stigma, who seemingly consider themselves separate from the rest of the band and may not feel comfortable communicating musically with instrumentalists. I feel the reason behind this problem could be that no one taught them the essentials and fundamentals of what a jazz vocalist should know in order to communicate effectively with their rhythm section.

Often, my friends talk smack about vocalists (the vocalist in their ensemble or the vocalist they had a gig with last night, for example) right in front of me. As good friends would, they were always quick to assure me that they were in no way referring to me; that I’m “different.” And while at first I was flattered and my ego grew a few sizes by their comments, I began to wonder after a while… Why? Why am I different? So I began asking them, and many of the complaints they had happened to be things that I was lucky enough to be taught early, or that I picked up quickly after making a few mistakes. From my past mistakes and experiences, here’s a list of things that I believe to be absolutely necessary for a jazz vocalist to know, and a few tips on how to learn them.

1. Learn the music through and through. Before you bring a tune to your band, try and learn everything you can about it. What is the form? Is it AABA? ABAC? Who is the composer? Is it from a musical? Which one? Obviously as a vocalist it’s a different experience learning the chord changes. We can’t actualize the chords by playing them, but you should focus on hearing them going by.
2. Learn the melody as written. Make sure that you learn the written melody, not just Ella Fitzgerald’s version of the melody. Many times vocalists will alter the melody to their personal taste, which is something you absolutely should do to make the tune your own, but you shouldn’t build on until you know the written melody.
3. Listen to as many versions of the tune you are learning as possible. Go on YouTube and listen to every vocalist you can possibly find singing the tune, and study their approaches to the phrasing, dynamics, and improvisation. Some of your best teachers will always be Ella, Frank, Kurt, Billie, Sarah, and Anita, among others, and they can give you inspiration for your own arrangements.
4. Know your key. This one’s pretty simple - know the key that you sing every tune in your repertoire in by memory. This will come up time after time. Whether you’re at a jam or you just forget your charts, you can just call Honeysuckle Rose in Bb and not have to waste time handing out charts or be embarrassed for forgetting. When the instrumentalists you are playing with reach a certain level, they will know many standards and will be able to transpose them on the spot.
5. Learn to write your own lead sheets. This is a huge one for vocalists, and I know that when I entered Berklee pretty much every vocalist I knew had no idea how to go about writing a chart. It is an absolute necessity as many times the tune you want to sing will often not be in your key. You can never assume that the rhythm section knows your tune, and you should always come prepared with a neatly written and easy-to-read chart in your key. The main problem some vocalists have is transposition, so that is the first concept you have to master, and after that it’s pretty much just copying out of the Real Book.
6. Buy a Real Book. For those of you who don’t know, a Real Book (or Fake Book) is a bound book full of jazz standards. They are always missing a few, but they have most of the standards in them. There are a zillion different editions, but you are pretty safe buying a vocal real book for high voice, medium voice, or low voice, depending on your range. They aren’t very expensive, and they are invaluable! You will use it as a template to copy and transpose your charts into your key, and you’ll want it for jams as well. You can find them at any music store that sells sheet music.
7. Never pin your mistakes on the instrumentalists, but never let them pin theirs on you. I have seen many singers get lost in the form of a tune and sort of look around angrily as if to blame the players for a mistake that they never made. Often, this reaction stems from embarrassment, and getting defensive is understandable, but definitely not the best way to gain respect. If you get lost, just admit that you were lost, ask for clarification, apologize, and try it again. On the other hand, if a mistake is made by one of the instrumentalists and it is not your fault, make sure you know the music well enough to articulate what happened and where. Of course, treat the other musicians the way you want them to treat you; don’t get upset or harsh over little things. Nobody’s perfect!
8. Learn an instrument. A big part of the reason I can interact and communicate with instrumentalists comfortably is because I am an instrumentalist as well as a vocalist. I do consider myself to be a vocalist first and foremost, but I am dual-principal at Berklee, meaning I take lessons and ensembles on both voice and guitar, and I do consider myself to be a proficient guitar player. Although I certainly do not believe it is necessary for vocalists to be able to take on another instrument as seriously as I took on the guitar, I do believe it is important to at least know the basics of a chordal instrument. I recommend a chordal instrument because the nature of vocalists and horns and other “one note” or melody instruments is to hear melodically, and not necessarily harmonically. Many of the vocalists I know have the most trouble hearing the changes under the melody, and if asked have a hard time transcribing chords. Harmonic transcription is a necessary skill as you progress further and further into jazz, and I guarantee that having basic skills on piano or guitar will help. So whether you opt to take a few lessons on the guitar and learn some basic scales, chords, and how the neck is laid out, or you learn the keyboard - which many musicians believe to be a necessity for not only vocalists, but all instrumentalists as well - your musicality and communication skills with your fellow musicians can only be improved.
9. Take lessons on other instruments. This can actually be really fun, and it ties in nicely with the last tip. Now, I know all of these lessons can get very expensive (I asked my mom to pay for drum lessons and upright bass lessons in high school on top of my guitar and voice lessons (which she promptly said no to), but there is another way to gain a basic understanding of all of the instruments in your rhythm section. It can be really fun to join your friends in one or a few of their lessons and just observe. Of course, you have to ask your friend and their teacher if it is okay, but rarely will they say no to a vocalist taking interest in something other than their voice. Accompany your bass playing friend to his/her lesson and listen to the topics discussed. How hard do they pull the strings? How does that affect the sound? Are they playing around with resonance on different parts of the instrument? What are the main things the teacher is focusing on? Just watch, listen, learn, and don’t interrupt the process. After the lesson is over, if you have questions, just ask your friend or their teacher, if they are willing! Do this for every instrument you possibly can, and even after one lesson on each, you will have a way better understanding of how those instruments work and exactly what it takes to make sound come out!
10. Know how to count off a band. It’s a simple thing, but it scares a lot of vocalists. It can seem like a nerve-wracking thing to set the tempo for the tune. What if I count it too fast or too slow and I ruin the tune? It used to make me nervous too, but the key is taking a minute, closing your eyes if necessary, and hearing the tune in your head. Listen to a few measures in your head and use that tempo. You may be temped to rush and count right away, but the players won’t mind waiting five or ten seconds for you to find your tempo. Give a few snaps to give the players a good feel, and then depending on the nature of the tune, give either a two-bar or one-bar count off.
11. Understand different styles and their characteristics. It’s important to know what style your tune is written in. Is it a Bossa Nova? Is it a jazz ballad? Does it swing? Is it straight? Knowing these things will aid you in your count off as well as how you interpret the tune. If you don’t know the characteristics of a style well, listen to tunes that are written in that style, and you will start to hear what makes a Bossa a Bossa and the difference between something that swings and something that doesn’t.
12. Learn your standards! Last summer, I set out to learn a new standard every day. I failed miserably, because really, who has time to spend 3 hours a day with their nose in a Real Book? But I did learn at least a few per week, and it is really valuable to learn as many as you can. Standards will keep coming up for the rest of your career if you choose to play jazz, and at a certain level it is expected of musicians to know most of the charts in the Real Book. Remember, learning is not simply being able to sing along with the track, but utilizing rules 1, 2, 3, and 4 from above.
13. Always bring a mic and a cable to gigs. Whenever you have a rehearsal or a gig, never rely on the venue to supply your amplification. Most of the time they will, but sometimes they won’t, or their mics will have terrible sound and you will feel like you’re singing into a tunnel for the whole night. If you don’t have a mic of your own, get one! Most of the vocalists I know, including myself, have a Shure SM58. They are nice sounding mics that are virtually indestructible (mine has been dropped about a million times) and are fairly inexpensive. A cable is also a good idea to bring (one with quite a bit of length), but lugging around a stand isn’t really necessary.
14. Learn how to use audio equipment. Just like you shouldn’t expect the venue to supply a mic, you shouldn’t expect them to handle your sound for you either. If you’re playing a small venue like a coffee shop or a dive-y club, you may have to plug yourself in and do your own sound check. Most sound systems are pretty similar to each other, so learn where to plug your mic in, where the volume is, and turn it on! Adjust your mids, highs, and lows based on your voice and the sound you’re going for, and do a real sound check, not just a “check check check.” Speak or sing as quietly and as loudly as you think you will be into your mic and make sure you’re not blasting people’s eardrums or going to be hidden by the rest of the band.

So there you go, guys! There are certainly a million more things vocalists, as well as any musician, can do to improve and be more knowledgeable about the music that they are performing, but those are the main points that I feel very strongly about and that I see being overlooked often. So practice these things and get the respect you deserve! Your instrument is just as important, valid, and complicated as any other instrument, but yours just happens to be inside of your body. And remember, you are not just a singer; you are a musician!