I received a question in my inbox today from a new member of the Worship Singers Facebook community.
It was from christian songwriter John Grummitt (check out his website here), who watched a video I posted, giving a tutorial for 'Who you say I am', and sent me the question you'll read below. I started to type a response and soon realised that it wasn't a quick answer...so with John's permission I'm posting this particular Q&A for you to get involved in this discussion. Here it is!
(Pssst - Jump to the end of this blog or click here to see the video John was referring to!)
Q - Hi Amy... just arrived here and the very first video I watched was the one which you introduce by saying "those pesky songs that jump an octave." I'm curious about your take on this as a vocal coach. Should us songwriters be writing/recording octave jumps into our songs for gathered worship?
A - That’s a really interesting question John! I wanted to take the time to write a comprehensive response because there’s a few considerations to make and really the answer depends.
First I’ll explain why the octave jump is great to include in your songwriting, and then talk about why it might be problematic.
Each note that we sing has a particular structure in terms of acoustics and sound frequency. Some notes, at the higher end of chest voice and moving up towards head voice (the ‘mix’) provide a boost of a particular harmonic which creates a sound high in acoustic energy that is exciting for the listeners ear. It grabs their attention; it’s a powerful sound; it ‘rings’.
For our worship this can be incredibly powerful - it’s a way of softly reflecting on Gods greatness, power, love, whatever the lyric is focused on, and then the octave jump turns up the sound energy and gives a powerful, declaration, anthem sort of feel. It’s a wonderful way to add dynamic to our worship songs and I can see why a lot of contemporary songs use it.
The ‘pesky’ part I was referring to relates to the singer and their ability to execute this octave jump with healthy and balanced vocal technique. Yes, there are some voices which can make this leap with no issues…but the reality (and the thing to consider when songwriting) is that a vast majority of people trying to lead these songs don’t have the technical skill yet to safely sing this octave jump with both the healthy technique I mentioned AND the power they desire for the song.
I’m going to start by suggesting a couple of options for the worship singer, then finish with some considerations for songwriters creating new material and considering the octave jumps for their songs.
A worship singer approaching an octave jump has a couple of options.
- As per the video you referred to - they can transpose the song to a lower key to help them reach the jump more easily. They can then work to relax the voice into those lower notes to make those easier to sing.
- They could also transpose the key higher so that it skips past the ‘mix voice’ entirely and moves from chest voice (lower octave) right into head voice (higher octave). This is a way to sing the song with less technical difficulty, but it may not give the harmonic boost, or ‘buzz’ in the sound that the songwriter was looking for. It can also make some singers feel self conscious about having ‘2 different voices’ if they haven’t worked on balancing their registers to create an even and similar tone in their chest and head voice.
- Lastly, the singer can work on developing their mixed voice with strategic vocal exercises, dedication to practise and help from a vocal coach (it’s what I do!). This would give them the extended range needed to reach both octaves PLUS the powerful ringing sound you get from the mixed voice area without pushing or straining or hurting the voice. (Of course this option requires an investment in time and finance and it isn’t a quick fix - but it IS the most reliable and long-lasting)
Now let’s look at a couple of considerations for songwriters. Here’s a couple of things to think about when considering the octave jump in your song:
- Where are the lyrics for the song moving you to sing vocally? Are you adding an octave jump because it’s a cool contemporary trend…or is it a significant part of the lyric which you believe needs to lift in order to add something; declaration, hightened praise, breakthrough, increased focus on Jesus, something else?
- Who are you intending the song to be sung by? Our songs are always written for the Lord, but consider who might be singing your song after you’ve released it. Is it a contemporary artist or band with the technical skill to execute the octave jump and lead a congregation to follow confidently? Or is it for small groups or local churches who may not have the vocal skill yet to carry it out as you intended? (Consider also the 3 options for worship singers - writing songs for the local church shouldn’t necessarily rule out the octave jump).
If the songs we've written are intended for congregational worship we do need to consider some of these points. Octave jumps are a wonderful musical tool to add to our songs to lift the praises of God’s people, so I’m fully behind using them. But l believe we should also consider that not everybody will have the skill to sing such songs, and make sure we’re also adding songs to our repertoire which are more accessible to the wider congregation.