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 and
helps the audience feel more connected to us.
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? How
long should it be? How do we keep from rambling?
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’re 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 that you feel passionate about, a local event that means
something to you and the audience, or anything else that is timely and
emotionally relevant to you.
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; it happened a few months ago. The singer was performing in
front of an audience for the very first time. Her introduction was so powerful
that by the end of the song, everyone was tearing up or outright sobbing –
including the backing musicians who had rehearsed with her!
Example of a Great Song Intro:
“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.”
Let’s look at one more example… plus two more bad (fictional, but familiar)
examples, just to compare.
Another Example of a Great Song Intro:
“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 (“Landslide”) at the very end.
Bad 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 hints at one element of the formula (the universal life experience of
loss), but without the other two elements, it doesn’t unite the performer and
the audience in the universal experience of loss and change, nor does it
open the door to knowing the performer better.
Bad 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 doesn’t even really let the audience know why the song
is 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 and her partner
Justin, 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.
