IVACON 2026 Song Analysis Class (Year 2/3)
This webpage will be available for the next year so that you can revisit the class videos and notes if you like. Please do not reproduce any of the materials posted on this page.
In BOLD are lyrics where you may hear articulation choices that result in acoustic outcomes or shifts, as well as changes in energy or dynamics. We will discuss what those choices and shifts mean, and how they may have influenced (or been influenced by) the singer’s vocal function.
Before you begin, an important request:
Many of the artists featured in today’s class are releasing new music or performing in their local communities. Please consider supporting them by following them on social media, subscribing to their channels on your preferred streaming platforms, and following their new music releases and performances. Let’s build up and support our global community of human artists.
Thank you!
Questions to ask:
What tendency/tendencies do I hear?
How are the functional tendencies influencing the acoustic output? Describe this in terms of aesthetic attributes (e.g. dark/bright, edgy/soft, fuzzy/clear, etc.)
How is vocal function supporting or detracting from style?
What tools are being used (vowels, consonants, unfinished sounds, dynamics), and how is it shaping the sound? What’s helping? What’s hindering?
Time Marker: (1:32-2:58)
Verse 2:
I was raised apart and somewhere in between
On a different wave, a stranger frequency
But it all starts making sense when you dissect it piece by piece
Oh, like I could feel it speak to me
Funny how you crave for things you leave behind
Assess the message and replace the grand design
Til you’re pulse to pavement searching for the trapdoor in your mind
Oh, if I could feel it one last time
Chorus:
I collected chance encounters and found meaning in them all
Trapped in amber, public transport, dodging glances and missed calls
And I turned the street lights on and off because I had such energy
In my technicolor dreams, you weren’t raised like me
Questions to ask:
What tendency/tendencies do I hear?
How are the functional tendencies influencing the acoustic output?
What sounds intentional? What sounds like a default?
What tools are being used (vowels, consonants, unfinished sounds, dynamics), and how is it shaping the sound? What’s helping? What’s hindering?
Time Marker: (start at 0:20)
Verse 2:
On my own
Would I wander through this wonderland alone
Never knowing my right foot from my left
My hat from my glove
I'm too misty, and too much in love
Too misty and too much in love
Want to hear what she sounds like in a different song/using a different strategy? Check out her cover of “For Good” (Wicked).
Questions to ask:
What tendency/tendencies do I hear?
What are the differences between the overall vowel colors and shapes between song # 1 and song # 2?
How is the language difference playing a role in the articulation, registration, and acoustics?
How is the genre difference influencing the singer’s resonance strategies?
SONG 1: Sing Naadu (Shabir)
Time Marker: (start at 1:58-2:46)
Vaanathai Etti Pittithu
Saathanai Seiya Vaa
Ulagam Thirakkume,
Vazhigal Pirakkume Vaa Vaa
Desam Azhaikkirathu
Vaagai Sooda Vaa
Nam Kodi Parakkuthu
Inbam Pirakkuthu Vaa Vaa
Pala Inangal Sera,
Orumai Kondaade
En Veedu Enthan Thaai
Naadu Endru Sollu
SONG 2: “No Air” (Chris Brown/Jordyn Sparks)
Time Marker: 1:32-2:41
[JAYESH]
I walked, I ran, I jumped, I flew
Right off the ground to float to you
There's no gravity to hold me down for real
[ELSA]
But somehow I'm still alive inside
You took my breath, but I survived
I don't know how, but I don't even care
[BOTH]
So how do you expect me
to live alone with just me
‘Cause my world revolves around you
It's so hard for me to breathe
[AD LIB]
SINGER # 4: JOOMIN HWANG
Follow links: Instagram | Currently in “The Outsiders” on Broadway
Questions to ask:
What tendency/tendencies do I hear in each version?
What are the musical differences between the two performances? (e.g. vocal arrangement, key signature, instrumentation, etc.)
What are the contextual differences between the two performances? (e.g. environment, performance setting, live vs. pre-recorded, etc.)
How did these differences impact the singer’s performances between the two clips?
Waving Through a Window (Dear Evan Hansen)
CLIP # 1: Korean cover - Arts for Immigrants
CLIP # 2: Live at 54 Below
Time Marker: (start at 3:02)
Romanized lyrics:
Jeogi bakkeseo hangsang bwaodeon naega
Eonjenganeun deo naajilkka changeul tuk tuk tuk tuk chyeobone
Na soneul heundeureobwa o na
Yaegihaedo amudo deureul su eopseo gidarimyeo haedabeul chajabwa
Saramdeul huk huk huk jinagane na soneul heundeureobwa o
Nae moseup boina han myeongirado soneul heundeuna
Han myeongirado soneul
Amudo amudo
Hangul lyrics:
저기 밖에서 항상 봐오던 내가
언젠가는 더 나아질까 창을 툭툭툭툭 쳐보네
나 손을 흔들어봐 오 나
얘기해도 아무도 들을 수 없어 기다리며 해답을 찾아봐
사람들 훅훅훅 지나가네 나 손을 흔들어봐 오
내 모습 보이나 한명이라도 손을 흔드나
한명이라도 손을
아무도 아무도
Want more?
Try these extras.
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SOUVENIRS IN TRASHBAGS is an original release by Joachim and Benedict Nordensson.
Can you tell their voices apart? And can you hear their distinct vocal tendencies and attributes?
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TIMELOOP is an original by singer-songwriter Rhaun. What qualities do you hear in his voice that sound different from the typical tenor voice? And what qualities do you think can be attributed to his voice type (fach) versus his vocal tendencies?
Want to hear him sing a different genre? Listen to this cover of DIE WITH A SMILE.
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HELEN is a highly accomplished professional and has no plans to quit her high-level corporate position, but she’s been a committed amateur singer for years! She’s proof that singers can keep growing as long as they keep showing up and putting in the work. Listen to her singing a snippet of “Heat Wave” and observe the vowel choices she’s making to navigate her vocal tendency through the first passage.