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Post by stardust on Nov 3, 2013 22:42:34 GMT -5
I think Gaga and Adam sing MTN very well, but I prefer Adam's interpretation! (Who? Me biased?? Maybe a little!!)
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Holst
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Post by Holst on Nov 9, 2013 14:39:02 GMT -5
Pretty good is quite an understatement. Like her or not, she is a fierce and courageous performer. It was meant as an understatement! I really like Gaga, and was blown away by this acoustic version of Marry the Night. (Nationalglampoon: it is a youtube of Gaga singing MTN acoustic live on Alan Carr. I have inserted another version of this vid above, maybe now you can see it?) Wow! Great performance. For me, Gaga at the piano is the best. Her voice is huge and alto-y. I get tired of the pop women who sound like little girls (Bonnie McKee and numerous better knowns). |
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Post by cassie on Dec 1, 2013 0:27:59 GMT -5
Posting this here in the vocal master class for archive purposes. From 11/29/13 daily news thread. Who was the person who had the Glee fantasy that Adam's secret reveal was that he was studying opera, and he sings an aria on Glee? It prompted discussion about whether or not Adam could credibly sing an operatic aria on Glee. Well, I was chatting with our favorite opera singer/voice coach, Angelina Kalahari, this afternoon. I told her the fantasy and asked if she thought Adam could sing opera. Immediately, unequivacably, and adamantly she said "YES!" He definitely has the techniques necessary. Additionally, he is a master at vocal placement, which is all important in opera. He almost always sings within the "mask" in the front of his face, which is very desireable and something most pop singers do not do. (She is referring to that brilliant resonant richness to his tone that we refer to as 3D.) Opera singers also work on emotional delivery, which he has in spades. And on proper articulation, which, again, Adam has down like no other. I said something like, "So, Adam could sing opera right now, with some coaching on style." She said not only "yes" but that he wouldn't need coaching. At most, he would need a bit on Italian pronunciation, but he has the keen ear to pick that up very quickly. (He also told her when they chatted once that he had sung opera during The Three Waiters gig. She commented that he wouldn't have gotten or kept that gig if he couldn't sing opera credibly.) So, there you have it. The definitive (IMHO)answer to "Can Adam legitimately sing opera?" Now, in what universe can we convince him to give it a go, just once? Read more: adamtopia.com/thread/2039/glee-puppet-master-reviews-miami?page=13&scrollTo=455072#ixzz2mCL0ucXU |
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Post by crazyoldgal on Dec 1, 2013 21:33:50 GMT -5
Cassie...
I was listening to Adam's AI8 performances. At the finale Adam started w Beth and then walked up on stage to perform a medley w SLASH. Do you recall this?
What I wanted to know, is the last note that Adam hits, is this the highest note he has sung? Plus he held this note for a few seconds wow.
I think it's higher that the note he hits on Queen's WWTLF. yes no???
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Post by cassie on Dec 1, 2013 22:33:26 GMT -5
Cassie... I was listening to Adam's AI8 performances. At the finale Adam started w Beth and then walked up on stage to perform a medley w SLASH. Do you recall this? What I wanted to know, is the last note that Adam hits, is this the highest note he has sung? Plus he held this note for a few seconds wow. I think it's higher that the note he hits on Queen's WWTLF. yes no??? Adam's Idol performances are thrilling to go back and watch, aren't they? Such a diverse collection. Are you asking about the final note when Adam was singing with KISS (and the guitarist was smashing his guitar)? It is a very impressive Ab5. Four notes higher than the glory note in WWTLF. That note, a D5, is not exceptionally high for Adam. He sings it frequently. It is also the note he holds forever at the end of "Feeling Good." But, the Ab5 is not the highest note we have heard Adam sing. That would be a Bb5, one note higher than the note with KISS. He has sung it several times, but one of the best examples is also from Idol, on Play that Funky Music. It is at approximately 31:47 on this video. |
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Post by crazyoldgal on Dec 3, 2013 20:58:50 GMT -5
Oh Cassie, I meant KISS, watching all these former AI tunes, put my head in a tizzy. Now I'll have to go back to listen to PTFM which is another favorite.
Wow 4 notes higher than WWTLF... unbelievable.
WIll there come a time when Adam or other musicians, won't be able to hit those high notes? Steven Tyler I believe still sings those crazy notes or is he more or less, screaming them. - not sure. But as Adam matures, will the ability to hit those high notes, deteriorate? Why? because the muscles weaken? and if so, usually, around what age, does the voice lose their massive range and quality? on average..just curious
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Post by cassie on Dec 5, 2013 20:11:15 GMT -5
Oh Cassie, I meant KISS, watching all these former AI tunes, put my head in a tizzy. Now I'll have to go back to listen to PTFM which is another favorite. Wow 4 notes higher than WWTLF... unbelievable. WIll there come a time when Adam or other musicians, won't be able to hit those high notes? Steven Tyler I believe still sings those crazy notes or is he more or less, screaming them. - not sure. But as Adam matures, will the ability to hit those high notes, deteriorate? Why? because the muscles weaken? and if so, usually, around what age, does the voice lose their massive range and quality? on average..just curious As a male singer grows older his voice matures and gets "better" until about 35 years old. Their voices, with proper care and technique, remain flexible and strong well into their 50s and even 60s. At least that is with formally trained, classical singers. However, rock singers are another story. Most do not have formal training. The way they power out their voices and hit the high notes causes damage to the vocal cords, which at some point can become irrepairable. (I am speaking in general terms, here. I know there are exceptions.) I found this article by a doctor which addresses the problem simply. It says: "Of all the rock singers I see, very few have ever seen a voice doctor and even fewer have vocal coaches. Rock singers usually don’t perceive a need for these because the hoarseness they have is part of their rock sound. They don’t see it as a problem and aren’t interested in learning how to access a rock sound with good vocal technique to protect their voices. When rock singers do finally come to medical attention, there is usually irreversible damage. Vocal scarring has developed from the singer attempting to add roughness to the vocal tone. This scarring is not reversible. Additionally, these singers may have polyps, nodules or other vocal cord hemorrhages (see images below). At this point, little can be done to return the voice to completely normal. There is still an opportunity to prevent further injury and improve the voice but that requires significant amounts of work. Rock musicians are further plagued by working in vocally unhealthy environments (such as smoky bars), and with challenging music. All these factors combined make it very hard for a rock musician to have a successful career. If they do, their sound at the end of their career is rarely as good as the one they started with." www.ohniww.org/stone-temple-pilots-tour-vocal-cords-scott-weiland/Adam is not like most rock singers. He is classically trained and is a master of vocal techniques which allow him to do amazing things with his voice without causing any damage. He also is acutely aware that his voice is his meal ticket and it is imperative to do everything he can to protect it. The high notes and glory notes that Adam sings do not hurt his vocal cords. I know I keep carping on the fact that Adam is a classically trained singer. What's the big deal about that kind of training? Why do we keep speaking of it as if it is "better" or superior to other ways of singing? It is not just a stylistic choice. These techniques have been developed over hundreds of years for several important purposes. First, in the days before electricity and amplification, a singer had to be able to project their voice to the back of the theater over a full 25 or 50 piece orchestra. Every night with matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Up to eight performances a week. Doing vocal acrobatics. While acting and dancing and moving around the stage. They had to find ways to make their voice resonate with lots of harmonics which would carry across the space. Think of a little apartment upright piano. It sounds kinda dully and plinky. As opposed to a concert grand piano. What's the difference? They have the same equipment. Operate in the same way. But the concert grand has this huge resonant space for the sound to roll around, vibrate in and be amplified. The wood is of a special type and thickness to also add resonance to the vibration. The same with an acoustic guitar vs. an electric one. It is the body of the acoustic, with its air space that amplifies the sound of the strings being plucked. A solid body electric guitar unplugged is very soft and dull. There is no ring or sustain to the tone. Proper vocal training teaches the singer to use his body to become a resonance chamber like an acoustic guitar or a concert grand piano. The sound is rich and vibrant and carries without the singer pushing or straining. Another thing that proper vocal training teaches is how to sing notes low to high with the same richness, fullness, power or subtlety. Again, WITHOUT straining the vocal cords. Additionally, proper training teaches the singer how to establish and maintain strong breath support to hit the notes, sustain long phrases, and shape the tones and emotions. The goal of proper training is to produce a voice that can do its "job" consistently, across different songs, styles and demands, thoughout a long performance, and repeated multiple times a week without doing any damage to the vocal cords. Proper training is highly valued because it has been developed over a long time and is successful in doing its job. Does this mean that Adam is immune to vocal damage? Nope. He can still screw up his voice if he doesn't follow his training, if he doesn't do regular care and maintenance, if he abuses his voice and his body with smoking, drugs, booze, lack of sleep and overuse. Up to this point, however, Adam has demonstrated that he DOES and will take care of his instrument, so, I would not worry about him. We should be able to continue to hear that voice develop and shine for years to come. |
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Post by stardust on Dec 20, 2013 21:35:59 GMT -5
Thanks, cassie! I agree that Adam knows what he is doing and he knows his voice is the "Golden Ticket" to where he wants to go!  |
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Post by cassie on Feb 7, 2014 22:45:58 GMT -5
There has been intermittent discussion about opera, Adam, "good" singing, etc on the daily thread. Trained musicians and especially singers have a different perspective from non-trained singers and listeners. I'm not interested in opening up that can-of-worms debate again. Just wanted to share something I ran across regarding Renee Fleming singing the National Anthem. (Melisma is the classical term for what popular music calls "riffs" or "runs" or "licks.")  From a blog by an opera singer. Harry Connick, Jr also talks about the (excessive) use of runs and how it impresses some folks but leaves him cold. You go, Harry! |
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Post by cassie on Feb 10, 2014 0:15:09 GMT -5
Brought over from the daily thread for archive purposes.
2/9/14
Someone commented that there were many posts about Adam's hair and beard but very little about his performance of Mad World last night. I guess that is true. But, after you say it is gorgeous (which is nothing new for Adam. We have had five years of "gorgeous" vocals at this point), what is there to say? I did have some thoughts on the voice after listening a couple more times. So, to balance things out, here goes.
Just like hair styles and facial fuzz or lack there of, people's preferences for singing styles and voice sounds is individual and influenced by their own life experiences. Truth in Advertising disclaimer: As y'all know, my experience growing up is classical music with a smattering of musical theater, choral music, and jazz. I have formal training in piano, violin and voice. That's my "bias."
Adam's voice is beautiful to me for many reasons that have nothing to do with the way he looks, moves, dresses, or talks. First and foremost is the tone, the textures of his voice. It is bright, pure, clear, ringing, with a richness and fullness to it. It underlies all of his different sounds. He can add roughness or gravel when he chooses, sing heavy metal or musical theater, but that tone is still there. It is one of the main things that differentiates him from most other pop singers of today. And, it comes from his years of formal, classical training. An individual does not roll out of bed sounding like that. It is not "natural."
An untrained singer sings with the same voice, the same "technique" as they talk. Lots of chest, and, when reaching for high notes and/or singing loudly, lots of push and brute force. You hear that push in the big belting divas. You hear it in Bruno's voice especially when he goes for the high notes (as he once said, he wrote a song in the key of "what the fuck"). It is a sound many people are very familiar with and enjoy; even covet in their pop stars.
When one studies voice in the more classical style, one learns to focus, to "aim" the sound toward certain resonators in the body and head. These resonators naturally amplify the sound and add layers of harmonics to it which makes it sound fuller, and richer, with that "ring" I love in Adam's voice. A student of voice also learns how to adjust muscles and air flow to smoothly hit low notes and high notes that are often beyond what an untrained singer is able to hit. The student learns to move up and down their range without these adjustments altering the tone or sound of their voice, so that the voice character is consistent from low to high. A goal is to make the singing sound effortless, free and floating no matter what note and no matter what volume.
Another emphasis in voice training is overall consistency and control. The singer aims to be able to sing any note in their range pianissimo (very softly) to fortissimo (very loudly) at will. The accomplished, trained singer's sound is not controlled by the song, the melody line or the range. He or she CHOOSES how to sing the note or phrase dependent on interpretation of the melody and lyrics. These singers can also sing musical and lyrical phrases of various lengths, breathing where it makes sense for the interpretation rather than where they run out of breath. They actually plan the phrasing and breathing for maxium effect. As an example, in Mad World, Adam frequently sings, "Look right through me (breath). Look right through me AND I find it kind of funny (breath)," extending the musical phrase to build impact, rather than to take a breath after the second "look right thru me" where most singers break the phrase. If you listen to untrained singers, you will notice that they sometimes (or often) break up lyrical and musical phrases to take a breath, sometimes even breathing between the syllables of a word. (As in illustration, listen to the Fun singer's performance of Somebody to Love as opposed to Adam's.)
A trained singer's performance is also consistent from note to note, phrase to phrase because their voice is totally under their control. Untrained singers often sound strong and full on some notes, wimpy or wispy or gravelly on others, strained on others, and truncate still others, cutting them off rather than sustaining them (because they cannot).
There are many other techniques and characteristics of a formally, classically trained voice, but I will stop here for now. My point is that Adam's voice demonstrates these characteristics in every song he sings. They were beautifully used in his performance last night. No matter how loud or soft he is singing, his voice never sounds strained or pushed. He doesn't sound like he is reaching for a note. He never sounds like he is working hard to produce the note or the volume. He totally chooses when to power out a phrase and when to caress it delicately. This is one reason Adam's voice FEELS so good to me. It FEELS effortless. It FEELS totally within his control and comfort. From start to finish, I know that Adam's "got this" and I can chill out and enjoy.
I sometimes take for granted Adam's sound and technique. I even get a bit lulled into thinking that is "normal." Then something I hear will smack me upside the head and I will again be blown away with his voice. Most recently, I listened to Renee Fleming sing the National Anthem at the Superbowl. Some folks HATED her rendition. It sounded too different, too "opera-y", too "posh" or something. To me, it was a breath of fresh air. Such pure, resonant tone. Such effortless delivery. So totally in her control, her wheel-house. I listened, right after, to Whitney's quintessential rendition of the NA at the Superbowl in 1992?, and, with my bias, her voice sounded pushed, strained, heavy-handed. I acknowledge that as a pop diva rendition, it sets the gold standard. With my bias, I enjoyed Renee's much more. It FELT better.
And, just for fun, here is Adam.
With Renee's example of tone, resonance, control and effortlessness, I went back and listened to Adam sing Queen. Two very different performers, two very different sets of material, but the same mastery of vocal performance and technique.
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