Five-time National Award-winning playback singer Shreya Ghoshal, who recently released the live album of her All Hearts Tour, has opened up about the art of visualisation in singing. In an interview with IANS from overseas while promoting the album, she revealed that she relies heavily on photographic memory and visual references to bring depth to her performances.
The Power of Photographic Memory
Shreya explained that every song becomes a painting in her mind, with distinct colors and imagery. She stated, "Everything for me is photographic memory or photographic references. I use that a lot. For me every song becomes a painting. Every song has a color. I see a face in a certain way. It's a picture. An antara has a color. It has hints of yellow or blue." She even researched whether this phenomenon is common, but for her, it works remarkably well.
Cinematic Visualisation
She elaborated on how visualisation plays a crucial role when singing for films. "I feel everything is cinematic when you're singing for the screen. What happens on screen, what would be the style? There are so many songs which have a lot of expressive words. There is a question, there is an answer if it's a duet. I try to visualize the choreography," she said. Even without knowing the actor, she creates a mental picture that translates into her singing and facial expressions during live performances.
Shreya emphasised that music is a divine craft, capable of branching into various styles, and visualisation helps her connect deeply with the art. Her All Hearts Tour live album, released under Sony Music India, showcases this unique approach.
