What is Speech Level Singing?

Speech Level Singing – The SLS Method Explained

If you’ve spent any amount of time on YouTube searching for tips about singing, then you’ve most likely heard the term ‘SLS’ or Speech Level Singing used to describe a certain singing methodology…Today I want to give you a bit of background on SLS and take the opportunity to briefly share my pedagogical approach to teaching contemporary singing.

Did you know that we have learnt more about the human voice in the past fifty years than we had in the previous 500? Voice is the most heavily researched instrument in the world today; and with good reason. It’s wonderfully complex design continues to fascinate voice scientists and singing teachers alike, teasing us with yet-to-understand mystery’s about how it creates the multiplicity of sounds available to it.

One could argue that our knowledge about the voice is often playing catch up with the ever-evolving world of vocal music. With new genres comes the vocal challenge of ‘how do we sing that well, with good technique and health?’ This was almost certainly the question that confronted Seth Riggs during the mid to late twentieth century when he developed a radically new approach to singing contemporary music. Seth Riggs called his method, ‘Speech Level Singing.’