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From:  "Caio Rossi" <caiorossi@t...>
Date:  Fri Jan 25, 2002  5:12 am
Subject:  FEMALE VOICES IN POP MUSIC: WAS: Re: pseudo opera, was: Singers and Amplification

Lloyd:

>Why is the natural upper register of the female voice "not considered
appropriate to the pop style"? Could it be that pop music refuses to
recognize the femaleness of the female
voice and chooses, instead, to consider all voices "unisex"?<

Again, that's valid for female ROCK singers only, and mostly Anglo-Saxon
ones. I can't think of a single contemporary female pop singer who doesn't
sing high, except for female rock singers ( it's true that the most
successful of the latter, Alanis Morissette (sp?), sings very high, but she
makes sure to make it sound "rough" enough to avoid sounding like a little,
delicate girl).

I think it has to do with Mike's wife's comments on hard rock. Rock ( mostly
hard rock and heavy metal, as prog metal has more varied elements ) requires
some "noise", some distortion, and the typical female head voice is its very
opposite. It takes an Alanis or a Tina Turner to do it the way it's supposed
to be done. It's gotta be high, but it's still gotta be tough!

On the other hand, I don't know many men who would enjoy listening to those
romantic and dancing pop divas women, and also gay men, are so crazy about.
They all sing very high.


And later:

>It is my impression from listening to male rock singers that they
either do 'quasi' singing in their speaking voice (quasi, because
they do not often attempt to complete the melodic structure of the
song in this range) or they sing in their falsetto voice. I cannot
remember the time I last heard a male rock singer use head voice.<

Then you should listen to Dream Theater, Angra, Helloween, Rhapsody, Gamma
Ray, Stratovarius, ... They're definitely not in falsetto.

Best wishes,

Caio







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