Why do modern singers have such different sounding voices than earlier singers?
I know it's not just the recording technology. I don't have enough musical knowledge to really explain what I'm hearing, but I'll try. there's a beautiful quality to the timbres of earlier singer's voices that is nonexistent today. To name a few: Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, Mildred Bailey, Roy Orbison, Judy Garland, Kate Smith. And not just famous singers, but lesser known ones too. all have a beautiful quality to the timbre of the voice that has been nonexistent for decades. I'm mostly thinking of singers from the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s. And it's not just the arrangements, phrasing,or the fact that earlier singers had a more respectful and approach to the song's melody. I mean, Beyoncé is a technically gifted singer but I don't find the sound of her voice innately beautiful. same goes for Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J, and others who are known for their virtuosic vocals. And, no, I'm not talking about melisma. just the vocal timbre. could anyone attempt to explain what I'm hearing? I've seriously wondered about this for years
Do you know great French singer-songwriters?
France have great songwritters. I give you some in different genres :French songSerge Gainsbourg : ‘L’homme à la tête de chou’. its a concept album about a tragic love story.Jacques Dutronc : ‘Il est 5 heures Paris s’éveille’, ‘Les cactus’,Hard rockTrust : ‘Repression’ ‘Marche ou crêve’. Full LpEngaged/politicsYou can find english versions LP.AlternativeNoir Désir : ‘Nous avons fait que fuir’. Concept albumTostaky : LpAux sombres héros de l’amerCes gens la : Jaques Brel’s cover (rock version)PopMylene Farmer : ‘Ainsi soit je..’L’horloge : Charles’s Baudelaire lyrics (poetry)Sans logiqueLibertineTristana…….
Who are some good modern French singers, that young people in France or Quebec or any French speaking country listen to?
(Stromae is from Belgium, but never mind:))One of the trendiest french singer for kids is Kendji Girac, 19, who won the 3rd Season of the talent show The Voice last year in France. His inspirations are from Andalousia, gitano music. Not my type of music but kids love it. Rap and Hip Hop are also very big in France, one of the most loved singers for kids is Black M, formerly in the controversial rap/dance band "Sexion d'assault". I have to admit that his hit single "sur ma route/on my road" is quite catchy. He will be under the spotlight a lot this coming weeks because one of his songs is on the soundtrack of the french movie "Le prince Aladin" with very popular and funny young french actor Kev Adams.But to highlight artists that have a talent comparable to Stromae I would rather recommend you to listen to someone like Julien Doré. He won the talent show Nouvelle Star in 2007 and is now a respected artist with poetic and ironic lyrics.
Some concepts in singing which I don't quite understand..help?
Your singing voice should really be different to your talking voice, unless you are only going to sing comedy songs, for which pitched speech works fine. However, to make your singing voice stronger than your speaking voice, you have to get both the breath into your larynx and the sound out of it right. It doesn't come naturally to most people, but all serious singers get the breath pressure by drawing their diaphragm (the sheet of muscle between the lungs and stomach) upwards into their chest to drive the air out of the lungs from underneath. you'll probably have to practice quite hard at first, but it does come, and you will have so much more power and control once you have got it. Then, the other thing is to make sure that the sound can get out of your mouth. Depending on what accent you have grown up with, you may be used to talking with the back of your tongue partly blocking your throat, or through barely parted teeth. That blocks the sound of your singing. Open your mouth wide, and keep your tongue low and forward in your mouth, when not actually forming a consonant with it. your voice may sound a bit whinier than you are used to, but you will suddenly have power. Singing little exercises up to the pitch where you start to strain until they come easier, and then doing them up a note, and again until the next note never gets easier will increase your high range over a few months without much chance of damage.
Are there any famous singers who use little or no profanity in their songs?
One singer who springs to mind is Elvis Costello. Now, it’s entirely possible that I’ve missed or forgotten instances of swearing in Costello songs, but for the most part his lyrics rely on puns, witticisms and generally erudite writing. One-liners and jokes (“I said I’m so happy I could die / she said ‘drop dead’ and left with another guy”) provide any shock value needed. Delivery and careful word choice display his aggression (I want to chop off your head and watch it roll into a basket / And if you should drop dead tonight then they won't have to ask me twice)*.The only instance I can think of where Costello used any strong or prominent profanity is his brilliant ‘How to be Dumb’, from Mighty Like a Rose. The lines in question:And beautiful people stampede to the doorwayOf the funniest fucker in the world.This brutally delivered couplet evokes anger - the song is about his former bassist, Bruce Thomas, and the ‘tell-all’ book he wrote about his time in the Attractions - by doing something mostly out of character for the singer and writer: cursing loudly and boldly.Elvis Costello - How To Be Dumb*These lyrics may or may not be right - they’re off the top of my head, but they’re close enough.
Some famous singers don't really have a good voice. How did they originally decide to become singers?
With the exception of classically trained singers, in opera or chorales, most singers that we remember before 1950 called themselves ‘entertainers’. Growing up in vaudeville or acting onstage in musicals, they sang, danced, acted, did impressions, told jokes - whatever the job required. Louis Armstrong, Fred Astaire, Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante weren’t singers in the Bing Crosby - Frank Sinatra vein, but they could deliver a song with heart and personality.after 1950, the advent of rock n roll brought different performers. Teen idols like Bobby Rydell and Frankie Avalon, singer-songwriters Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan and Carole King weren’t well-trained singers, but they presented their songs effectively for the task at hand - be it the beach movies and pop records, or the song-plugging demos, to have their songs recorded by ‘stars’.The youth counter-culture of the 1960s distrusted any performer who appeared too polished, believing ‘trained’ meant ‘sellout’ so, the rawer, the better. Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart or Van Morrison might not have been successful 30 years earlier. They presented music for the audiences of their time, when what they were singing (or what we thought they were singing) was more important than how they sang.Today, it continues. Technology changes the way a performance is perceived. In 1930, a concert was sitting in a theater or hall, listening to a singer sing, backed by an orchestra or a small group.Now, at a singer’s concert, there’ll be laser lights, smoke machines, giant video screens, several dancers, a couple costume changes, surround sound and spotlights on the singer and the audience. With all that spectacle, all that bombardment of audio-visual input, all that computer-generated energy, do we really know whether the singer can sing?Do we really care?
Who are the most underrated singers in India? Why?
Piyush MishraNow a renowned film and theatre actor, I was first amazed by his singing skills when I listened to his songs in 2009. Aarambh hai prachand Duniya from movie Gulaal and Jab Sheher Humara Sota hai, again from Gulaal Now, if you analyse these three songs, all three have been sung with completely different emotions and style. While Aarambh.. is quite a motivational song, Duniya indeed brings out the tragic ending. Jab Sheher.. has the folk touch as well has pain in it.His best cam out wit Husna (Coke Studio, Season 2) in 2012, where the song is a letter from one ‘Javed’ who was separated from his lover ‘Husna’ during the partition of India in 1947 that drew an "artificial" border dividing the Punjab, dividing millions and causing the slaughter of a million. Ofcourse, then came Gangs of Wasseypur where he sang Ik Bagal and AabrooHis other songs:Bargat Ke Pedo Pe Shakhe Purani (Jalpari: The Desert Mermaid – 2012)Tom Dick and Harry (The Dewarists) together with AkalaO Re Manvaa (My Heart) (2012)Bas Chal Kapat (Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster Returns – 2013)Ghar (Coke Studio (India) Season 3 – 2013)Reunion (advertisement) Song - 2013 (Google India Google Search Advertisement)Source for list: Piyush Mishra
Why aren't there more Asian-American singers?
Really? Christopher VanLang's answer to why you don't "hear" about Asian-American musicians is great. Let me add some more musicians of Asian origin who have achieved mainstream success and critical acclaim. Maybe you just didn't realize or look carefully enough...Norah Jones is the daughter of Indian sitar virtuoso Ravi ShankarMike Shinoda of Linkin Park and Fort Minor is Japanese-AmericanNicole Scherzinger -- originally of the Pussycat Dolls -- has a Filipino dadDon't forget apl.de.ap from Black Eyed Peas. His mum's Filipino. Doug Robb, the lead singer of Hoobastank, is half Japanese Last but not least, Tony Kanal from No Doubt - yep, he's Indian. So maybe he's not a "singer" in the conventional sense, but he was a bassist and songwriter for a major band.These are just off the top of my head. There are plenty of awesome and successful Asian-American musicians and singers around!(And these are just the Asian-Americans. There are lots of non-American musicians of Asian origin who have been successful in the American market: Dougy Mandagi of The Temper Trap is Indonesian; Zayn Malik from One Direction is Pakistani; Charli XCX (who sings the chorus on Iggy Azalea's Fancy) is half-Indian; the immortal Freddie Mercury of Queen was Indian Parsi, etc. The Far East Movement -- responsible for the 2012 summer hit Like a G6 -- is definitely Asian and probably American too. The list really does go on...).Freddie MercuryCharli XCXDougy Mandagi
Are there any famous singers who don’t/can’t play any instruments?
It’s true that the voice is the instrument for a singer, and I’m sure it would make song writing easier if the singer knew an instrument. However, it’s not essential as a ‘good’ singer can belt out the tune and the musician will be able to figure out what notes you are singing and craft their part of the song accordingly.Whether you sing in a band or are a solo artist, it’s kind of up to the band to do THEIR part of the job and work with the singer to forge out a strong song. Everyone in the band has a role, and they, SHOULD be good at what they do. When that chemistry is right, there are no bounds to how successful an act can be.I imagine over time a singer will gain enough knowledge about music to perhaps pick up an instrument in its most basic form, or at the very least, be able to recognise notes and learn a little about the theory of music.I remember when I was in high school and our music teacher was supposed to be teaching us ‘theory’ but couldn’t be bothered, so we just jammed every music class and it was awesome.We used to do original school productions (written by the music teacher), and he would write songs for them. He would give me a song to sing, and I would ask him what the tune was, and he would play me a very basic rendition of what he had in his head, and I would run with it from there. As far as he was concerned it was MY song, he gave me the skeleton, but I (and the band), had to add the muscle, veins, tendons and skin, and the band would go with me on that journey. It was truly wonderful to have that kind of artistic freedom at such a young age.When it came to test time he would leave the room and all of the ‘trained musicians” would give us singers the answers to the theory questions.He didn’t care whether we cheated or not, because for him, it was all about cultivating and producing good music and the next generation of singers and musicians. In his eyes? He was there to support and cultivate interest in music, for him, if you wanted to get ‘formal’ music training, do it outside of the school classroom LOL!For him, music wasn’t about formal training, it was about instinct, passion and creativity. You don’t have to play an instrument to have that kind of motivation.