I’ve noticed something on the Reddit singing forum that should come as no surprise, which is that apparently a whole lot of people have some sort of abstract notion of “great singing,” and are unable to recognize that people they think are great singers are in some cases not even good (by any objective standard). How many think Freddie Mercury is one of the greatest? In the recent Amazon commercial featuring him singing, he is singing off pitch (0:18) and singing in a way that is considered outright “ugly” in traditional circles!
Then there are a number of commercials, movies, etc. in which Bob Seger’s very popular song, “Old Time Rock and Roll” is featured, so let’s take a listen to it, studio recording first:
Basically. he’s doing a lot of yelling. Here’s a live performance from his prime:
Hes “talk/singing,” yelling, etc. Not much in the way of any traditional notion of excellent (or even acceptable) singing here, but he has energy and consistency (see my last blog post). Then there are the first two singers of AC/DC, who clearly had energy and consistency, but again, these are “ugly” sounds. I’ve provided many examples in previous posts of bad or mediocre singing that was “cleaned up” with techology, but most people hear the studio recordings and think those are “real.” They then try to sing like that, not realizing it may be humanly impossible, and it doesn’t end well, in my experience, with students who hold or held this notion. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the often terrible live performances, even by the “great pop vocalists” (there’s one of Sinatra singing “Summer Wind,” for example, which is just sad), that abound on Youtube if you have the patience to look for them! But if you watch videos of truly bad singers doing covers in night clubs, you find that the audience doesn’t seem to mind, and often they seem quite happy with the performance.
Why? They are there for entertainment, not a lecture about the origins of Bel Canto! Moreover, when people want an assessment from me, I’m very specific about what I want to hear: a simple song, sung without affectation but with enough energy not to be boring, recorded on a smart phone’s basic recording app, with the phone held off to the side (no music being played either). That is all “steak” and no “sizzle.” Because I now know what to listen for, I can diagnose issues much more easily this way, but most people don’t listen to anyone singing without the fake “sizzle” and will call good singing/vocalizing bad! Let’s take an example of a clip I created (in one take):
If you think there is a problem, what is it? A couple of people said I was a bad singer, but only one was able to be specific. He said I slide around a lot and sometimes have a conversational style. Guess what? I’ve told people that’s what I do, and I’m proud of it! Read a book such as “The Great American Popular Singers” by Henry Pleasants (1985), for example, and note that he lauds such stylistic choices! I also point out that I enjoy bending notes, which is great for my preferred genres (Blues and Blues/Rock), but to some people bending sounds bad; there’s nothing I can do about genre ignorance, though I have provided clips without note bending in some posts. It’s also interesting that when people make such claims they never mention who is a better singer in the Blues or Blues/Rock genres.
They probably are smart enough to realize that I’ll just go find a live performance of that person that is clearly flawed and cite that, directly refuting their claim! No, I definitely do not want to sound like anyone else or be a “cover act,” but if you do, then that’s the standard for you, not me. Also, a lot of beginners don’t take into account whether the music they will be singing with is going to be at high volume or not. Again, they have some sort of abstract notion of “singing in a vacuum.” If you are going to sing with a real drummer and at least a couple guys on electric guitar playing something like the Led Zeppelin songs I prefer to sing, your voice is going to require some kind of piercing quality. Many of the vocalists for these types of bands developed serious vocal cord issues, including Robert Plant, apparently (and it was earl on!), but I can sing for hours with no strain using my technique!
Now let’s turn to some examples of successful pop singers/vocalists and consider good and bad. I don’t think anyone would say Robert Goulet’s “The Impossible Dream” was anything but an example of good singing (would it be considered “Classical Crossover” these days?):
Note how there are conversational elements, but we can’t know what went on in the studio to get this result. Here is a live performance:
He’s not bad but I don’t find it especially compelling (how many people listen to this kind of music on a regular basis, if at all?) and it’s too conversational, IMO. So is he “good” and I’m “bad” because I like to bend notes and slide a lot? is there a “Singing Police Force” that I am unaware of but should fear? Let these people bask in their ignorance, as it only hurts them, nobody else! For those who are at least beginning to understand “how the game is played” in pop music, there is a “secret” to many studio recordings, which is that the singer/vocalist is vocalizing at low volume, and that allows for a lot of nuance. If a beginner tries to do this, though, he/she likely doesn’t have the requisite muscle strength/cord closure to do so, and whispering is not the answer, so it sounds weak and breathy (clearly “bad”).
Now what about a “bad” singer:
Here’s the thing, while he may not be doing much singing in a traditional sense, he’s got consistency and energy (see my last blog post for more about those qualities). Now some seem to think that every “voice coach” who is “qualified” should be ready to sing arias at Lincoln Center – how unrealistic is that? Many of these people are either just yellers, post fake videos of themselves singing, or never show anyone their singing abilities, or lack thereof. Don’t mistake the sizzle for the steak, as they say, meaning the style, the genre, or the technological effects are a different issue from technique. There are plenty of opera singers who would sound “bad” if you isolated a segment of their vocals from the performance as a whole (with music being played), for example. In pop music, you’ve got two major possibilities, a live performance that is not enhanced beyond a minimal amount (such as a bit of echo/reverb) on the one hand, and performances that are significantly enhanced with technology (assuming they aren’t just outright lip synced), so thinking that you have to sound “perfect” in some objective sense when you do an “offhand” recording on your smart phone for demonstration or assessment purposes is a waste of time and might lead to disappointment, frustration, etc.
Don’t listen to the people who are ignorant and can’t even provide any details with their criticism! Know your audience – they are the ones who matter (though I do think it’s a bad idea to strain your vocal cords to placate anyone, since there are so many interesting things you can do without resorting to straining). Bjork is an example of someone who sings “bad” at times, and often uses non-singing vocalizations; one person said she sings the way a bear makes “huffing” type noises, and I can see that (I also wonder if or how much damage she’s done to her vocal cords over the years) – how many of her fans would have preferred her to sing in a straightforward, traditional way instead? And if you just want to sing songs like “Happy birthday to you” without sounding really bad (which has been the case for a few of my students), you should be able to accomplish that by learning the fundamentals, such as breath support. Don’t think you have to be ready to sing arias at Lincoln Center or else you are “no good.”
NOTE: As of this date I am still offering a free first lesson/assessment with absolutely no obligation of any kind. Just email me: nickspinner55@gmail.com. Also, I won’t give your personal information to anyone else. I might reference your singing on some blog posts if you provide me with audio clips, so let me know if you don’t want me to do that, but remember that the idea is to help aspiring singers! If you have publicly posted on sites like Youtube or Soundcloud, I’ll assume it’s okay to link to those in my blog post. I can’t guarantee that there is room for you in my schedule at any given time, and the earliest I can schedule new lessons will be some time in August, 2020, but I should be able to provide you with some advice that might be helpful, after getting a sense of where you’re at.
Learning to sing (with microphones) 