Repertoire & Performance
Choose material that helps people see who you are, not just what you can do.
Choosing repertoire is about more than finding a song you like or one that shows off your biggest notes.Â
The right material should suit your voice, your age,
your style and the kind of performer you are —
whilst still giving you something
meaningful to communicate.
Choosing Your Material
The right song should fit you — not fight you.
Does it suit
your voice?
Does it suit you?
Does it tell us something?
Choose songs that sit well in your voice and allows you to sing with freedom, colour and control. A song doesn't become more impressive simply because it is difficult.
Think about age, character, style and whether the song feels believable coming from you. You don't need to be exactly like the character, but you need to understand and connect with what
you're singing about.
Good repertoire gives you something to say. Look for material that allows you to make choices, tell a story and show something about who you are as a performer — rather than simply demonstrating range or volume.
The best choice is not always the biggest song in the folder.
Preparing Your Material
Know what you're singing, not just how it goes.
Start with the words
Let the music help you
Make the technique work for you
Before worrying about vocal choices,
make sure you understand what you're actually saying.
Who are you speaking to?
What has just happened?
What do you want from them?
The clearer the thought, the easier it becomes to make the song feel alive rather than simply well sung.
Look at phrasing, dynamics, rhythm
and the shape of the music.Â
These things are not separate from the storytelling —
they help you communicate it.
Make musical choices because they
serve the story, not simply because
they sound impressive.
Breath, support, resonance, placement and all the other technical
work matter enormously —
but they are there to give you freedom. The aim is not to spend the performance thinking about technique.Â
Prepare it well enough that the technique supports what you want to say.
Why are you singing these words, to this person, right now?
Making It Yours
Learn from the original — then stop trying to become it.
Don't copy the recording
Find your own
way in
Let your voice be
your voice
Cast recordings and professional performances can be useful references, but they should't become a template you have to reproduce. Notice the musical choices, the storytelling and the style — then give yourself permission to make different ones.
Ask what the lyrics mean to you, what you want from the person you are singing to, and where the important
shifts happen in the song.Â
Your choices don't need to be
dramatic to be interesting;
they just need to be clear and believable.Â
You don't need to imitate somebody else's tone, accent, riffs or vocal colour to make a song work. Use the qualities that are naturally yours and make choices that sit honestly in your own voice.
Inspiration is useful. Imitation is limiting.
Performance, Not Demonstration
The technique matters — but it ins't the performance.
Tell the story
Don't perform the difficulty
Let technique give you freedom
Your first job is to communicate.Â
Know what you want, who to sing it to and what changes as the song unfolds.Â
The audience should be drawn into the moment, not left admiring the mechanics of how you produced it.
A high note, long phrase or complicated riff doesn't need announcing in advance. Trust the preparation you've done and let the difficult moments sit naturally within the song. We shouldn't see you bracing for them from several bars away.
Good technique should help you make choices, respond in the moment and stay connected to the material.Â
It isn't there to make every sound
identical or remove everything individual from your voice.
Technique supports the story. It should never interrupt it.
A performance can be technically secure
and still leave us feeling very little.Â
Equally, connection doen't mean abandoning technique and
hoping emotion will carry you through.Â
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The real work is bringing the two together,
so the voice is free enough to communicate what the song needs.
When Something Isn't Working
Stop forcing it long enough to work out what the problem actually is.
Is it technical?
Is it the material?
Does it need
more time?
If a phrase, note or section feels consistently difficult, look at what the voice is being asked to do,Â
It may need a different vowel shape, breath placement, coordination or simply more technical preparation.
Not every song will suit every voice. The key may be unhelpful, the style may not sit naturally, or the song may not show you at your best. Sometimes the wisest choice is to change the song.
Some songs take longer to settle.Â
If you understand the song and the technique is developing, it may need simple repetition, rest and space before it begins to feel natural.
Struggling with a song does't always mean you need to work harder.Â
Sometimes you just need to work smarter.
Take It Into the Room
Prepare thoroughly — then leave yourself enough room to perform.
Do the detailed work beforehand. Know the words, understand the story, make clear choices and prepare your voice for what the song needs.
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But when it is time to perform, allow yourself to respond to the moment.Â
You don't need to reproduce every practice session exactly or control every sound before it happens. Trust the work you have done and stay connected to the story you are telling.
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Preparation should give you something solid to stand on —
not take away the freedon to let the performance breathe.