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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 15, 2009 13:29:52 GMT
We all have our own tastes, of course, but I was wondering what, to you, makes a singer great rather than merely good?
I think we can (mostly) agree whether someone can sing or not, but the things that really wow us as individuals differ greatly.
So - what makes 'great' to you?
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For me, it's about three things, I think: uniqueness, power and heart. Good technical singers may hit every note at the exact right time, but their lack of emotional investment in the songs they sing leave me utterly cold. Music, to me, is communication. Technical excellence is nice, but far secondary to feeling.
A good unique voice is one you can pick out of a thousand other singers and say: "Yes! I know that singer!" Many good singers sound very similar to each other; great singers do not.
If the singer does not just feel the song, but LIVES the song, they have heart. I want a singer to move me, to make me feel what they do. To feel the music flow.
Power is more important than range to me, I think, as odd as that sounds. Range is the icing on the cake, but a singer who can effortlessly reach and sustain even the longest notes impresses me more than one who can't. No singer can sing every type of song, after all.
That said, great range is definitely major icing. Maybe that's four things after all ;D
I have heard many good singers (And not a few who are not really all that gifted but who I like anyway ;D) but very few GREAT singers.
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Thoughts & opinions?
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Post by kitty on Apr 15, 2009 21:18:43 GMT
Being a singer myself, I find that a totally unanswerable question. There are x genres and all need a different way of singing. A great popsinger is probably a joke when singing metal and a great jazzsinger can't sing punk if his life depends on it. I really like Metal so a great metalsinger for me is one that us technically clean, has a schocking range, a nice vibrato and "epicness". A great popsinger for me (I'm one..) can record a song without permanent autotune. My biggest critics is that most popsingers try to be loud when they shouldn't. It's a new-ish trend and I hate it. A great popsinger can sing soft and still be powerful and carry the lyrics on an emotional level. I dispise all Miley Cyruses of this wolrd, I can't stand this screamed wannabe s*it (sorry Eli ) A great classical singer is one that can sing the most known boring arias and make em "wow" through carryig a new balance of expression that wasn't there before. A great countrysinger is someone who can give that home town feel without being cheesy. A great punksinger is edgy. Etc etc etc...For all genres - a great singer overall as the power to express the songidea.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 15, 2009 21:38:27 GMT
I analyse everything to death, Kit. My blessing and my curse, you might say. That includes why I like things.
As for Miley - if she's honest with herself, she'll go Rock or Classical - she has the voice for either. But like you say, she's not really a Pop singer. It's why her best songs have that Rock edge.
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Post by kitty on Apr 16, 2009 0:09:40 GMT
^ or why she sucks completley *coughs* matter of opinion I s'pose.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 16, 2009 2:05:42 GMT
Indeed As a sort of side point, Skye hasn't really got a Pop voice, either...
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Post by kitty on Apr 16, 2009 11:19:58 GMT
^ Wouldn't say that. I think she fits the Pop-Rock wave very well.
It probably depends what we mean when we say "pop". Your Taylor girl for me is plainest prettygirlpop, Skye's pop/rock, then we have "punkpop", emopop, britneyspearspop, dancepop, british accents pop, countrypop, r&bpop...... even metalpop. Pop's such a horribly general term.
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 16, 2009 11:56:12 GMT
Taylor is Country-Pop yeah. She's not actually a terrific singer - she's a terrific songwriter. I really like her voice, don't get me wrong, but I don't make the mistake of thinking that favourite is the same as best.
Skye definitely does Pop-Rock well, but the Rockier the song the better she is. Sooner she goes full on Rock the better I'll like it. I have high hopes for her band project for that reason. Skye is a very good singer with the potential to be great when she finally embraces the sound that works best for her. She certainly isn't a 'straight' Pop singer by any means.
But yeah - 'Pop' IS a horribly general term. I'll agree with you there!
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Post by Ubereil on Apr 16, 2009 13:02:46 GMT
Taylor is Country-Pop yeah. She's not actually a terrific singer - she's a terrific songwriter. Prove it! Übereil
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 16, 2009 13:10:39 GMT
Go listen to her songs, Ube. They're not exactly hard to find, you know ;D As she either writes solo or co-writes every single song, the evidence is plain.
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Post by Ubereil on Apr 16, 2009 13:12:16 GMT
...or I can send you, who knows which the best songs are, to youtube and find me a link or three... ;D
Übereil
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 16, 2009 13:56:13 GMT
Well, it's one of the marks of Taylor's ability that it really doesn't matter which of her songs you listen to. She does not have a single bad song. Of course, you COULD always go look through that giant thread marked 'Taylor Swift' that will be pretty close to the top of this section...
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Post by Ubereil on Apr 16, 2009 16:28:25 GMT
Elliot, I am yet to hear a good Taylor Swift song... Übereil
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 16, 2009 16:42:03 GMT
Might I suggest washing your ears out, Ube? ;D Seriously - whether you like a song or not has little to do with how well it is written. Taylor is breaking some very serious records with her music and the reason for that is not her voice, pleasant as it is, nor the fact that she plays guitar well. If you want to know how good Taylor is, check out almost any song by Kellie Pickler, then the one Taylor wrote for co-wrote with her, Best Days Of Your Life. The quality difference is beyond striking.
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Post by Ubereil on Apr 16, 2009 19:11:11 GMT
Seriously - whether you like a song or not has little to do with how well it is written. Taylor is breaking some very serious records with her music and the reason for that is not her voice, pleasant as it is, nor the fact that she plays guitar well. That doesn't mean she's a good songwriter, that means she's good at writing songs pepole like. Which I consider to be something entirely different. I personally think she's about as original as wearing a black suit at a funeral. Good quality? Maybe. It's still extremely uninteresting music, and uninteresting music is bad music. At least in my book. This is all highly subjective by the way. Übereil
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 16, 2009 20:09:20 GMT
Well, of course Writing a catchy melody is harder than you may think, though. Look at all the many people who can't...
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Post by Ubereil on Apr 16, 2009 20:45:39 GMT
*Looks at Taylor Swift* ;D
Übereil
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 16, 2009 20:54:52 GMT
Never mind, Ube, eh? ;D
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Post by Flix on Apr 17, 2009 3:43:09 GMT
I have to admit EK I'm often horrified at the vast amounts of what I consider young female "pop" singers that you are a fan of. I'm sure you're appreciating talent in some way or another, but what completely turns me off from their ilk is 1) the lyrical content and 2) the genre of music they sing in. Talent be damned, I couldn't give a rip about the up and downs of being a young girl, relationships, and all that jazz. Not to mention, THEY might have talent, but why is the music they choose to engage in so bland and weak? To put it in a non-insulting way, I can't relate to the lyrics or the emotions the music itself is trying to convey. In fact my focus on the music over the vocals is what allows me to listen to so much of metal, where often the vocals aren't singing at all, but harsh screaming or growling. Still, there's a talent to doing "death" vocals. The ability to do these kinds of vocals and make them distinct and understandable is rare and huge plus. To properly do this you need to utilize the "false" vocal chords. Amon Amarth - Viking Metal!See what I mean - OpethThat's not to say it's all harsh, angry, and without melody (there is actually tons of good metal that is not this way) This is actually the same band - Opeth.It's the versatility I love, the unholy power in Mikael Akerfeldt's harsh vocals and the fragility of his clean singing. So, to try to answer your question, the things that make a good singer to me are the tone of their voice and the quality of what they have to say. Non-metal exemplary singers: Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree Ignore the stupid little intro. Anneke van Giersbergen from The GatheringVincent Cavanagh from Anathema
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Post by Elliot Kane on Apr 17, 2009 4:12:15 GMT
Flix... I'm very much more singer-centred rather than music-centred, with very few exceptions. It's the voice that will move me or not, so it's that I pay most attention to. Twisted Sister, for example, are all terrific musicians but it's Dee Snider's unbelievably powerful voice that is the real draw, for me. While I can certainly appreciate good musicianship, it takes something like Mozart's Requiem - where you can almost feel his yearning to live and his love for life and sorrow at his impending death in every line - to make me not care if there's no singer. And the world produces very few Mozarts It doesn't bother me listening to music that I am not a young girl or an angry punk or whatever - because to me it's very interesting to hear what it's like to be all those things I'm not. Everyone is people and on that level I can relate to them all Music is communication. They're communicating
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Post by Ubereil on Apr 17, 2009 4:31:44 GMT
I'm very much more singer-centred rather than music-centred, with very few exceptions. It's the voice that will move me or not, so it's that I pay most attention to. Twisted Sister, for example, are all terrific musicians but it's Dee Snider's unbelievably powerful voice that is the real draw, for me. Pretty much the opposite of me, then... ;D Übereil
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