Singing Guide: Gwen Verdon
Vocal technique, exercises, tips and relevant resources
Gwen Verdon was an American dancer and actress who had a successful career in Broadway shows. She is famous for her unique style of singing and dancing, which combined jazz and musical theatre techniques, creating a memorable blend that stood out. In this article, we will explore Gwen Verdon's unique vocal technique and how to learn it, including practical advice and Singing Carrots resources.
Verdon's singing style is characterized by her ability to mix jazz and musical theatre singing techniques. She had a unique tone and vocal range, which allowed her to traverse different genres and styles. Her voice was flexible and expressive, with an unmistakable vibrato that added a lot of character to her performances.
To learn singing like Gwen Verdon, the first step is to understand your voice and singing range. Singing Carrots offers a vocal range test that can help you determine your vocal range, which can inform you of what songs and techniques from Verdon's repertoire might suit you best. Additionally, Singing Carrots has a pitch accuracy test that can help you develop a correct pitch when singing.
Verdon's unique vocal technique was characterized by her ability to open her mouth and throat while singing. To learn more about this technique, read the "Open Mouth and Throat While Singing" article from Singing Carrots' blog. Additionally, learning about breathing, breath support, and resonance in singing may help you in adopting this technique. Check out "Breathing Basics," "Breath Support," and "Resonance in Singing" articles on Singing Carrots' blog.
Verdon's musical theater performances often included belting, a singing technique that requires the singer to have a strong and supported voice to reach high notes. "Contemporary Vocal Techniques: Heavy Modal, Twang, Belting" is a Singing Carrots blog article that explains this technique in detail, and Singing Carrots' pitch training module can help you develop the strength and range to belt effectively.
"Articulation" is a Singing Carrots blog article that outlines different techniques you can use to articulate clearly when singing, which is a crucial part of Verdon's vocal style. The article suggests exercises to develop speech clarity, which can help achieve Verdon's singing style.
Finally, Singing Carrots' educational singing course contains 21 lessons that cover singing theory and practical tips that can help you in developing your vocal skills and learning how to sing in a more expressive way. Additionally, Singing Carrots' search tool can help you find songs that match your vocal range, difficulty level, and genre preference. You can use this tool to find songs that showcase Verdon's unique style and practice them with the other Singing Carrots resources.
In conclusion, learning how to sing like Gwen Verdon requires a combination of vocal techniques, including jazz and musical theater singing styles, articulation, belting, and opening your mouth and throat while singing. By incorporating the practical advice and Singing Carrots resources provided in this article and above, you can develop the skills required to perform Gwen Verdon's music with authenticity and precision.