Phrase Like Smarties

PHRASE LIKE SMARTIES

A lot of singers sing note-to-note, giving each note a beginning / middle / end. That is to say, each word or even syllable is delivered as its own separate entity. This causes a choppy sound, undermines syllable stress, and robs the phrase of a connected line. 

One could visualize this type of singing by imagining several individually-wrapped candies in a a row. You know, like those Starlight Peppermints? Lay out 10 or 12 of those in a row so that they touch only at the edges of the twisted cellophane that represent consonants and/or the pulsing of airflow (different singers create different issues this way). Seems like there’s about as much cellophane as there is candy!

Choir Bites Interactive Slides can enhance online/hybrid lesson plans or be used as supplemental assignments. Your singers’ awareness will rise as they engage with these simple, “sticky” concepts! Click here to learn more! 

Now picture a pack of Smarties. If you’ve never had Smarties, then (a) I feel sorry for you (b) they are fun for kids to drop into Coke to make little fizz-bombs, and (c) as you can see in the picture of this post - they are little candy discs. They come wrapped in cellophane just like a Starlight Peppermint, but there are many Smarties in a row. This packaging creates a solid TUBE of candy.

This is how I like to visualize a phrase:
-The cellophane twist at the beginning = the breath/attack, 
Smarties = vowels/tones
-The minuscule spaces between the Smarties = consonants
-The cellophane twist at the end = cutoff
-The cellophane “tube” that holds it all together = constant, spinning breath

The candy factory made a plan to keep all the Smarties together in one line, and you singers can do the same with their phrases. Your singers can be SMART if they PHRASE LIKE SMARTIES (see what I did there?)