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Post by cassie on May 21, 2013 12:46:01 GMT -5
This is probably quite a daft question to be asking, but... when Adam moves the microphone away from his mouth (especially when he starts belting), is it purely to reduce the volume of sound the audience will hear? Or is there some "sound effect" resulting from moving the mic (randomly hypothesizing - more "airiness" or apparent distance from the singing)? Because if it's just for volume, is it possible to just sing less loudly to get the same effect? Was wondering because on watching the Angie and Adam duet, while Angie seemed to keep the mic quite consistently close to her mouth, Adam moved his mic back a couple of times, with the difference being quite obvious on the last note. cassie has said that with Adam's classical vocal training, he'd be easily able to project his voice to the mic if it's held further away than normal... so other than for aesthetics or showmanship, what's the mic-moving for? Random nattering below: Angie's voice - I actually quite like her voice too. It's clear and sometimes piercing without being shrill, which works well for some songs, and I found it nice when she's NOT belting or only doing so for a couple of notes. The closest analogy I can think of is the musical ping sound you can get when tapping a glass - it can sound really nice when it's soft, maybe a loud note or 2 is good for effect, but too many loud notes becomes a tad jarring, for me anyway. (Hubby quite strongly disagrees though.) Duets really do make me appreciate Adam's voice more. When he's singing with someone else, the contrast is pretty stark and makes my toes curl when I hear his voice (rather than the usual "ooh, that's beautiful" reaction  ) And honestly, the contrast usually adds to the listening experience for me. His MW duet with Cyndi Lauper for instance - I found that her breathier-sounding voice provided a certain fragility to her parts, which was a nice foil to Adam's rounder tones. Not daft. A legitimate question. There are times I have seen Adam pull that mic almost down to his waist when belting out a strong, high note. I don't think it is for a "sound effect." It is to keep from too much contast in volume, and to prevent causing distortion from overpowering the mic. In the same way, when Adam is singing very lightly, softly, and low, he pulls the mic in so much that his lips even touch it. If he didn't do these adjustments, you wouldn't be able to clearly hear those soft, intimate vocals, and the powerful belts would blow you out of your seat. When Adam, or any singer for that matter, opts to sing high (above the natural point for register change between chest and head voice) and full voiced, it is not technically possible to produce that sound softly. The force it takes to produce that type of sound translates into volume. If he wants soft and light, he needs to use his head voice, not full voice. As far as avoiding distortion in the sound system, Adam's voice not only can be very powerful in terms of the sound pressure behind it, but, it is also rich in harmonic frequencies. A mic set for his quieter, medium range tone is going to exceed its tolerance levels on the belted note, and cause it to buzz, crackle, feedback or distort. Singing with a microphone is a skill that takes practice. |
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ayleim
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Post by ayleim on May 21, 2013 13:14:11 GMT -5
Thank you for the microphone explanation cassie! Hmmm. From your description, it sounds like the absolute best way to appreciate his voice would be to hear it in person, without a mic. If that ever happens to any of you folks with the vocal know-how, please create a full technical report for us before you keel over in ecstasy, thank you! (The rest of us would not need or know how to include technical details, presumably.  ) I'll be difficult and tack on a couple more questions.... Wouldn't other singers who belt also need to pull back the mic then? Or would their voices generally have fewer harmonic frequencies, so the main consideration would be the volume for the main frequency of the note, they don't have to worry about the rest of the frequencies causing distortion? I guess that means that it's particularly tricky for Adam to use the mic well, not necessarily as tricky for other pop singers. Adam had that fixed mic near his cheek when he sang Is Anybody Listening? in Ten Commandments - is that a different sort of mic? Or might it restrict what he can sing? |
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Post by theosgma on May 21, 2013 14:27:17 GMT -5
I thought I heard small pitch problems at the end of the China Idol Mad World. As I always get ready to cringe when he gets to the end due to the AI live performance I can't tell if I'm just imagining a problem or if it really was pitchy. I thought I heard pitch problems at the end of CI MW too, when I heard it on alidol's soundcloud which she uploaded just after he pre-recorded it last month. But it seemed oddly better on the youtube telecast version when I saw it a few days ago. Maybe my ears need checking. I heard pitch problems as well but he is very good at quickly adjusting |
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Holst
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Post by Holst on May 21, 2013 19:43:05 GMT -5
Even, Adam's latest rendition of China's MW, which I absolutely loved, in particular, the ending, did not give me that pure softness from CBTM that I heard from the beginning of titanium. I thought that quality was lost but happy to hear that pure tone again. oh well, just giving my opinion, but I really feel Adam's quality vocals are truly lost on pop music. I thought I heard small pitch problems at the end of the China Idol Mad World. As I always get ready to cringe when he gets to the end due to the AI live performance I can't tell if I'm just imagining a problem or if it really was pitchy. My ears agree with yours. Not his best, sadly. But still better than most of what is out there. |
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Post by cassie on May 21, 2013 20:14:19 GMT -5
Thank you for the microphone explanation cassie! Hmmm. From your description, it sounds like the absolute best way to appreciate his voice would be to hear it in person, without a mic. If that ever happens to any of you folks with the vocal know-how, please create a full technical report for us before you keel over in ecstasy, thank you! (The rest of us would not need or know how to include technical details, presumably. ) I'll be difficult and tack on a couple more questions.... Wouldn't other singers who belt also need to pull back the mic then? Or would their voices generally have fewer harmonic frequencies, so the main consideration would be the volume for the main frequency of the note, they don't have to worry about the rest of the frequencies causing distortion? I guess that means that it's particularly tricky for Adam to use the mic well, not necessarily as tricky for other pop singers. Adam had that fixed mic near his cheek when he sang Is Anybody Listening? in Ten Commandments - is that a different sort of mic? Or might it restrict what he can sing? I think that most singers who have any dynamic range in their performances learn to work a mic. I am NO Adam, NO professional singer, but I have sung with a mic enough to learn. Of course, I don't have the power and resonance to have to move the mic two feet away from my mouth to prevent blowing it out! Probably the same for others. And yes, those Adam fans who sing all fantasize what it would be like to just be in a room with him and hear him sing without a mic. We get a taste of it in the radio gigs, but, we all know that those mics on the cameras do not capture even half of the harmonic resonances that Adam produces live. As to the head mics worn in the Ten Commandments, and worn by many performers who sing, dance and move around the stage, I have never used them. (Of course, for some pop singers, they aren't actually using them either... they are lip syncing or the mic is turned down/off.) So, I am only guessing how they work. They may not be as sensitive as a hand held mic. They may have sound limiters that cut back if the sound is too intense. Or they may have a person whose job it is to control the mic's amplification backstage and dial it up or down as necessary. Does anyone else know? Lifeguard would, but I haven't seen much of him lately. |
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Post by bridgeymah on May 24, 2013 0:51:31 GMT -5
I have posted a few videos of young singer on Oz The Voice who has a very nice tone and interpretation when he sings (very different voice to Adam and not as proficient technically but hardly anyone is)... Please scroll if not interested but here he is singing Can't help Falling in Love - his name is Harrison Craig and he's just 18 (and will be shocked if he doesn't win): www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIurVX83QdI |
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Holst
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Post by Holst on May 25, 2013 8:53:56 GMT -5
I have posted a few videos of young singer on Oz The Voice who has a very nice tone and interpretation when he sings (very different voice to Adam and not as proficient technically but hardly anyone is)... Please scroll if not interested but here he is singing Can't help Falling in Love - his name is Harrison Craig and he's just 18 (and will be shocked if he doesn't win): www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIurVX83QdIVery nice. I didn't expect that deep voice from such a baby-face kid. Surprising. It's kind of nice to hear a competitor just sing quietly with no belting or acrobatics. Good luck to him. |
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2013 9:22:11 GMT -5
Love Wins Over Glamour is such a good vocal!! I just love the runs and phrasing choices! Also some strong low harmonies that are more prominent than usual |
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Post by rihannsu on May 26, 2013 15:50:16 GMT -5
Love Wins Over Glamour is such a good vocal!! I just love the runs and phrasing choices! Also some strong low harmonies that are more prominent than usual I love the lyrics. I don't find them at the typical cheesy charity song type. That line "I got my jewels I got a rocket" if you watch him his hand gesture goes to his crotch kind of like he did with the kaleidescope lyric in DTRH and I cracked up. Great innuendo there. It had a great message without being overly preachy. |
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Post by Deleted on May 26, 2013 16:11:24 GMT -5
Love Wins Over Glamour is such a good vocal!! I just love the runs and phrasing choices! Also some strong low harmonies that are more prominent than usual I love the lyrics. I don't find them at the typical cheesy charity song type. That line "I got my jewels I got a rocket" if you watch him his hand gesture goes to his crotch kind of like he did with the kaleidescope lyric in DTRH and I cracked up. Great innuendo there. It had a great message without being overly preachy. Yeah it delivers the message with sass ![]() |
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) And honestly, the contrast usually adds to the listening experience for me. His MW duet with Cyndi Lauper for instance - I found that her breathier-sounding voice provided a certain fragility to her parts, which was a nice foil to Adam's rounder tones. 
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