What is the difference between singing piano (dynamics) and how most adults sing softly (with lower volume) when singing eg. lullabies?

Question

Many adults who sing lullabies for children use more of a soft voice with low volume. What I have been told is that playing an instrument or singing in piano (dynamics) isn't that easy. My experience is that this is true.

My understanding is that when you sing in piano you use a very physical technique. When adults (mostly untrained) sing lullabies it is another technique. It is a less physical technique.

What is the difference between singing piano (dynamics) and how most adults sing softly (with lower volume) when singing eg. lullabies?

Answer 1

It's reasonably easy to just not put much into it and thus sing at a low volume. It's much harder to sing with proper depth of tone and good pitch while also doing so quietly. It's even harder to project your voice enough to be heard in a performance with good tone while also having it come across softly (i.e. piano in dynamic).

It also matters what you're trying to sing - e.g. the top end of your vocal range is much harder to sing quietly than the middle.

I suspect that most lullabies or other things that people tend to sing along to quietly are normally in a small section of roughly the middle of a typical voice range, and that the average person who isn't thinking about it is not being too fussy about their tone or consistency of pitch.