Country Singing (This is the Life by Amy Mcdonald)

I feel that country is genre that I struggled with, not naturally having that country twang/accent and going against what I have trained my body to do (creating a smaller space in my mouth and throat rather than a large space) was something I found very difficult. I also feel that with struggling to embody the twang of country it made the song sound quite dull and not as happy and upbeat like it is supposed to be. Although there were some positives, one of which was my articulation, something I usually struggle with when singing as I slur my words together, but by choosing a faster song I had to pronunciate each word more precisely. I think to improve in the future I would need to record harmonies to give the song more depth as well as spending more time trying to embody the country twang, I also think singing along to more than just a guitar would also help me to sound more upbeat and less dull.

Country

This week I am looking at Country music. Originating in the south of the United States in the 1920s, the roots of Country music come from ballads and folk songs. "Singers create the song from their speaking voice — they think of singing as an extension of speaking" (Philips, 2011) this means unlike classical singing you don't need to create a wide, open space in your mouth and throat. And of course you must have to add a twang to your vocals to really create a country feel to your singing. To achieve this many country singers sing through their nasal voice, you can determine the difference from nasal and non-nasal singing by simply pinching your nose whilst singing. The proper way to sing country is to use an accent, which makes country music very unique, although you should not force the accent.

"Have you ever noticed country singers like Dolly Parton are utilizing a very heavy accent? on the other hand, some of them are using a very slight hint of an accent such as Martina McBride, but the sound they create is very natural." (Become Singers.com, 2015)

Because I do not naturally posses the southern country accent needed to perform country music, I will not be able to sing with a very heavy accent like Dolly Parton and will be more influence by Martina McBride who sings with a much more subtle twang.