Comments on: Vocal Range… What It Is, How Much Of It You Need To Sing Great

By: Jsuyker

Jsuyker — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:05:04 +0000

@Adam.

Your idea of a "five note singer" interested me. However, I believe that the 'artists' who convey more emotion and meaning through their lyrics, those with enough musicality to convey the power of the text are not the "five note singers". They are the chromatic singers, the singers who use millions of notes and chords. John Mayer is a paticular example you used. You called him a "five note singer". This is uninformed. Have a look at the sheet music for St. Patricks day, a song with 29 chords. All of these chords are complex jazz chords. He sings far more than five notes in this song. It is the pop singers who are five note singers. They are the ones who sit in their comfortable tessatura with pentatonic meloides. John Mayer and the other "artists" you mentioned use numerous vocal tones and colours, not five notes.

Thanks

By: Judy

Judy — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:27:41 +0000

Ysmay… So happy that my post inspires you! Don't let 'labels' that people would stick on your voice limit you to the full exploration of what your instrument can do. Thanks so much for your thoughts… J

By: Ysmay

Ysmay — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:42:14 +0000

I find this very thought provoking. I've recently been hounded to learn to sing by my musician friends. (I swear, it's a conspiracy) I've never done this, and so I decided to figure out this whole singing thing.

It turns out I am a female tenor, which explains why I've felt so limited my whole life when it comes to singing. Once I discovered I am a female tenor, I felt let down thinking I am stuck in this range. I find your post inspirational!

Thanks for all the insight!

By: Judy

Judy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:18:40 +0000

Adam; Thanks for your thoughts. I can tell you are passionate about music. That always makes for a good discussion.I would say that the term "artist" is a subjective one. One person's artist is another person's boring singer. It takes all kinds because there are all kinds of listeners and tastes. Heavy metal music lovers usually don't like hip hop, country singers don't usually like jazz singing, alternative singers usually are bored with torch singers, and vice versa. No matter what kind of singer, if one wishes to sing more notes, more volume, more passionately or controlled, communicatively or artful, one must train to do so. Vocal range is one thing a lot of singers wish to have more of. Also, no matter what kind of singing a person does, even if it sounds like swallowing razor blades, it can be done without excessive air pressure on the vocal cords. This is specialized training. You don't "hear" this vocal training in a performance; it sounds authentic and natural.When the singers you have listed feel tired in their throats, they go to professional vocal coaches like me. But you'd never guess because when wisely applied, vocal training just helps an artist do their unique form of musical art, not sound "trained". You might even call it an aural illusion.

By: Adam McInnis

Adam McInnis — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:05:47 +0000

I thought your blog was very interesting, i think a major point which i you did not dwelve into, is the difference between ARTIST and SINGER when it comes to range and vocal workouts. There are pop singers that are required to sing pretty runs and have a nice tone, we all agree on that. Pop singers are like the family on the block that always has their lawn perfect with a white picket fence painted, all of us wish something bad would happen to them so that their life doesn't seem so perfect. But at the same time know thats wrong to think that way and instead we just go on smilling at them and talking about them behind there backs. An ARTIST, on the other hand, is the shack on the other side of the train tracks where white and blacks hardly cross together, but when they do there's tension, vulnerability, and an air of animalistic nature. This kind of artist must be strained he/she must push too hard, this artist must hurt. If your always worried about singing correctly then your definitly not thinking abuot feeling correctly. Some people have "technically amazing voices" but i can't stand to hear them sing.When with others not only is hearing them important but feeling them through that is an experience in itself which you can relive over and over by just pressing rewind. So in short the only people who should be worried about extending there vocal range, are the people that with the 5 notes they are singing, they sing with so much passion and uniqueness that they leave people craving more. Below are five note singers that have grammy's or awards

Tracy Chapman
Jacob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Jack Johnson
John Mayer
Sade

Take the time to carve and chip away at your voice like a piece of coal until a diamond that looks and shines like no other is made. After that worry about high notes.