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From:  "Mirko Ruckels" <mirkoruckels@o...>
Date:  Sat Sep 30, 2000  3:35 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist-temporary] Digest Number 289


Tako wrote-
>I'd say 80% of male pop voices are tenors, 15% countertenor, 5% baritone -
>hardly a natural distribution!


While 80% of male pop voices may *sing* into the tenor range, i'd bet most
of them aren't real tenors. It's easier to sustain a high pop tessitura
than a high classical tessitura, because you can do it *anyway you like*-
some like to shout, some scream, some whine, few sing. 95% of the larynxes
are raised, throats are closed etc.

Voices that are bass or baritone are usually expected to sing lighter and
higher than opera, as the writing isn't by voice experts such as verdi, but
by songwriters who often don't even think about vocal ranges. Also a young
high and light sound is often preffered, as the audience is much younger
than the classical crowd. Furthermore, the microphone lets many singers
mimic vocal types that they couldn't normally do without a microphone.
Imagine the guy from Savage garden singing without a microphone- he'd
probably collapse after half a song. he sings 'off' his voice and can
sustain a higher (albeit light and quiet) tessitura than he could without a
mic. But i'm sure he's perfectly happy with his voice.

A real pop tenor for example like jeff buckley could sing in that range
properly, same with thom yorke.
You can hear when these guys sing, they have the option of going into a full
voice, even though they don't always do so.

I've seen many, many baritones and basses singing pop in a tenorish range,
that's why you get so many strained sounding voices in pop. It's not about
vocal perfection, it's about emotion, atmosphere, or just pure energy.
Off the top of my head, i can think of quite a few pop baritones (remember
they might not sound baritonish, because they usually aren't trained, but
they sing in a baritonish range- when they get up above an E4, they strain-
the sign of a lower passagio)- beck, john lennon, eddie vedder (pearl jam)
marilyn manson (if you can call him a singer), billy corgan, the guy from
bush, neil diamond, barry white, james taylor, kurt cobain (possibly), the
guy from korn, trent reznor, i could go on and on-
It seems that most of the boy bands are tenors, as they are usually
auditioned, and often trained, even though Ronan Keating (from boyzone?) is
definitely a baritone.

I'd say this- there are many more baritones than you think singing pop, but
they don't stay in the comfortable baritone tessitura (~C3 to D4) because
they don't even know what a vocal type is. Most musicians are suprised when
I tell them about vocal types- "I'm a..what?"

Mirko



  Replies Name/Email Yahoo! ID Date Size
4832 Re: Digest Number 289 RALUCOB@a...   Sat  9/30/2000   3 KB
4834 Re: Digest Number 289 Caio Rossi   Sat  9/30/2000   2 KB
4858 Re: Digest Number 289 Tako Oda   Sat  9/30/2000   2 KB
4849 Re: Digest Number 289 Caio Rossi   Sat  9/30/2000   5 KB
4865 Re: Digest Number 289 Caio Rossi   Sat  9/30/2000   2 KB

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