Crooner

What it means

Crooners are singers who sing with a soft, unforced voice directly into the microphone. The style arose when electric amplification became generally available: whoever no longer has to compete with an orchestra can sing very quietly, stay close to the speaking voice, and make the finest shadings audible — breathy sounds, delays, small bends of pitch. The microphone is here not an aid but part of the technique.

Musical use

The style shaped the popular music of the twentieth century, especially the repertoire of American songs with big-band or orchestral accompaniment. Musically it has a reciprocal effect on the shaping: because volume no longer has to be worked for, the treatment of the text moves into the foreground, and the phrasing may depart far from the notated rhythm. Compared with classical singing, which carries without amplification and therefore depends on resonance and volume, closeness is in the foreground here — the impression that someone is speaking directly to the listener.

Most closely associated with the style are Bing Crosby and later Frank Sinatra, although both rejected the label “crooner” for themselves.

Performance practice

Work deliberately with the distance from the microphone: closer gives more warmth and depth, farther more space; large jumps in volume are balanced by drawing back. Watch for sibilants and plosives and sing slightly off-axis to soften them. Support the breath despite the low volume, otherwise the tone becomes powerless and the intonation uncertain. Practise the phrasing against a stable tempo so that the delaying seems shaped and not accidental. Settle the settings with the sound engineer beforehand, because the style depends directly on the reproduction.