The Foolproof Formula for Emotional Song Introductions
We love singing songs we feel passionately about, songs that hold meaning for us.
Sometimes, we get to share that meaning with our audience by introducing the song before we sing, which lets the song land even more powerfully.
How do we put together an emotional song introduction that has impact without revealing too much? How do we structure it, what do we mention, what do we leave out? How do we make it both personal and universal?
Well, we have a formula that always works!
Here it is:
[ Universal life theme ] + [ what it means to me ] + [ why it matters right now] = a great emotional song intro
Like in math, the addition is commutative: You can switch the order and it still works.
The universal life theme element gives everyone something to connect to. We all share human experiences of loss, success, unrequited love, disappointment, excitement, career struggle, fear, frustration, hope, and more.
The what it means to me part describes how YOU are experiencing the universal life theme, in a way that gives the audience something concrete to connect to. It also opens the door for them to know you better.
The why it matters right now part is the extra punch. The theme may matter right now because of something that happened to you this morning, a thought you had on the way to the gig, a movement that’s going on in the world right now, a local event that means something to you and the audience, or anything else that is timely and relevant.
We’re going to look at a few examples, but first, a few quick additional pointers:
- Don’t start the intro with the song title. That’s like starting a joke with the punchline.
- Extra credit if you can end the intro with the song title.
- Make the intro as short as possible, while still hitting all the bullet points. No rambling, no rabbit holes, no detours.
- Practice in advance based on your bullet points, but don’t memorize word for word.
- Talk s-l-o-w-l-y and loudly right on the mic, and leave pauses. Remember, the mic is set to the level of your singing voice, which is usually louder than your talking voice. The single biggest reason good intros don’t land is because the audience can’t hear them.
Now, let’s look at an example of a great song intro. This is a real example from my studio. This 22-year-old singer was performing in front of an audience for the very first time, and here was her song introduction:
“Have any of you seen the musical Waitress? Well, I took my mom to see it a few months ago. If you don’t know it, it’s about a woman who gets pregnant really young, and has to deal with the loss of herself and the dreams of her youth [universal life theme] because of that. It hit us both really hard because my mom had me when she was seventeen. [what it means to me] Anyway, I’m going to sing a song from that musical called “She Used to Be Mine.” I’d like to dedicate it to my mom, who’s sitting right there in the front row. [why it matters today]. This is for you, mom.”
Her introduction was so powerful that by the end of the song, everyone was tearing up or literally sobbing… including the backing musicians!
Let’s look at one more example… plus two more bad examples, just to compare.
Another example of a great song intro
This is an introduction for the song “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac.
“We’ve been to this venue a lot and we love it, but every time we come here, I feel a little different, because I’ve been going through a lot of change lately. [what it means to me] I know that’s true for you, too. A lot of you have been through some kind of change or even struggle since the last time we were here. But you know, that’s just what life is. It’s constant change. [universal life theme]. And today, this song is helping me get through it all, because I lost someone I loved this week. [why it matters today] So hold on to what you love, for as long as you can… until a landslide brings it down.”
This intro uses all the elements of the formula, and as a bonus, positions the song title at the very end.
Not-So-Great Song Intro #1:
“This next song was written right here in Colorado – in Aspen, in fact. Stevie Nicks wrote it because she and Lindsay Buckingham had been dropped from Polydor Records, and it seemed like nothing was going to work out. She looked out the window of the apartment they were living in, and what she saw represented the loss she was feeling – she saw a landslide.”
This intro does hint at one element of the formula – the universal life experience of loss – but it does so without any emotional engagement from the artist, and it’s also a little too “on the nose.”
Not-So-Great Song Intro #2:
“This song is called Landslide. It’s meaningful to me because it reminds me how life always keeps changing. I hope you enjoy it.”
This intro makes the mistake of leading with the song title, and uses only one of the three elements (the universal life theme) without tying it in to the other two elements, rendering the universal life theme too abstract to have any emotional impact. It also does not tell the audience why the song is actually important to the performer.
If you’d like help on your show, Performance High Voice and Music Studio is your resource! We offer artist development, recording, online and in-person classes, and many other resources for teen and adult musicians to make the leap into (or take a leap up in) their music scenes. Adrienne Osborn and her partner Justin Long, the artist development coach at the studio, are working on a book about stage performance called A Show with a Capital S: How to Play Shows that Make Diehard Fans.
