Singers Voices

‘Great art is about character.’

When a person sings, their body, their mouth, their eyes, their words, their voice says all these unspeakable things that you really can’t explain. People are completely transformed when they sing.’ Buckley

Listen to some of the greatest recorded singers – singers that use the magnetism, the tones, and the soft and harder edged subtleties of voice...Billie Holliday, Sinatra, Otis Redding, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, Dylan, Buckley, Lennon – and one thing is clear, great art is about character.


I grew up with music and started piano when I was 7. I was fortunate to have an inspiring and artistic teacher. He taught me to listen and good technique and gave me musicals to play so I could sing with my piano playing – Rogers and Hammerstein, Gilbert and Sullivan, Scottish and Irish songs. My dad sang, and music was the most positive thing in my life, apart from art when I started to draw all the time.

I’ve been a music fan for years and not many voices catch my attention. I enjoy an excellent voice simply backed with either guitar or piano, and the way the two can interweave. Producer Rick Rubin stripped away all the unnecessary extras when he recorded Cash’s later albums to make his voice centre stage.
‘In the live performance the voice and guitar were always heavily entwined, reciprocal, responding - to create a rich, full textured sound’ (Grace by D Brooks)

The voice is one of the best instruments when used well, while beautiful songs matter too….
Mostly I love the voices of singer songwriters and the passion and edge in singers like Otis Redding or Dylan. It is not simply about perfect technique of voice. Some use inspired phrasing and subtle tones and interpretations of the song. A hypnotic voice means you can be lost in the moment. Some voices simply grab our attention with a magnetism of voice – check out Irish singer Cara Dillon, soul singer Otis Redding and gentle moving tenor of David Sneddon. They make it all seem effortless yet full of passions, moving edge and depth.

QUOTES Jeff Buckley -
‘Music comes from a primal place…

I’ve always felt that the quality of the voice is where the real content of a song lies. Words only suggest an experience, but the voice is that experience.’