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Singing Vocabulary

October 18, 2017
Music Theory, Tips

Have you heard what kind of terms singers use at their practices? Some singing teachers may use clear adjectives like “louder louder!” but often formal singing vocabulary is used. Singers may perform “licks” or sing “vibrato”. Maybe we should think what they mean. 😯

Let’s learn a few singing terms! Formal singing vocabulary is not usually heard at karaoke parties but maybe you could show off a bit with these anyway. 😉 Also, when you watch some TV programs with a music theme, you can hear these terms. For example coaching in The Voice can include a lot of weird words which need translating. Maybe it’s useful to know these terms:

Terms concerning voice pitch

When the singing teacher is asks the singers to divide into groups, it’s good to know your place. Classic voice categories are defined by the range of singers vocal capability and they are from the highest to lowest: soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass. Other sub-categories can be added when the group has for example especially high-pitched male voices or low female voices. These categories are called falsetto and contralto. More about the most common voice classifications can be read from our Vocal Ranges blog post. Sometimes falsetto is used as describing a head voice of male singer, which means that the voice arises from the singer’s head. It’s easy to imagine Justin Timberlake reaching those high notes! When singers speak about chest voice, they are speaking about singing of the lowest notes. These both voices are called vocal registers, you can learn more about them in this video:

Technique vocabulary

You may have noticed that some singers use different kind of articulation techniques. A glottal can be recognized when the singer creates a clear-cuts detachments of the vowels. Glottal’s opposite is called diphthong and that is heard when singer is singing gentle and gradual vowels. Other essential term is phrasing and with that singers give a bit life to the song by singing with expressions. Without phrasing, the singing sounds monotonous or maybe even robotic. Singers have to remember to breath while singing. It’s important to control breathing techniques, for example sustaining and staggered breathing. With sustaining the singer’s sound stays consistent throughout a phrase. Staggered breathing is for long phrases meaning that singers have to take short breaths for creating an unbroken and long sound.

Other singing words

Have you wondered what’s the term for singing a quick drop from a very high note to low one, like Christina Aguilera? It’s called a run. Another Christina’s cool singing trick is called a lick and it stands for singing a very short solo which is sung during a little break. Talented singers also use vibrato in their performances and maybe you have a hunch of the meaning. Vibrato makes singing more dramatic by changing the pitch of the music. When I’m thinking vibrato, Adele’s singing pops to my mind immediately:

Were these terms familiar to you already? If not, don’t worry! You will manage without any knowledge of singing vocabulary at karaoke. Just choose your song and give it a try! You are not in the music class so don’t worry about phrasing or runs. But if someone tells that your belting sounds amazing, you can now proudly accept those compliments and understand the issue. 😎

Dancing Singers

September 22, 2017
Community, Social Media

Singers. Some of them can dance, some of them can’t. However, dancing is closely related to music and that’s why it would definitely be a good extra talent to master. Let’s bring out few examples of dancing singers! 🕺

Singing is one talent itself and dancing simultaneously can feel like a mission impossible. Okay, not so many can sing and dance at the same time but it’s also hard to mimic a statue when the rhythm tries to take your body. Luckily it’s your chance to give the best moves when the instrumental solo begins. Who are the singers you could imagine on the dance floor? Let’s see! 👀

Michael Jackson

This is a clear case. Michael Jackson is iconic dancer and everybody knows his moonwalk and thriller dance. Almost every move Michael did was dancing! Or it definitely feels like that because it’s so easy to imagine Michael walking around rhythmically. Michael left us too early but luckily he made it easy to remember his unique singing voice, songs and dance moves for the rest of our lives.

 

Janet Jackson

Like her brother, also Janet can has rhythm in her veins! She can be thought as a female version of Michael Jackson having the similar looks and dance moves. It can be noticed that singers like Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Ciara have taken inspiration of Janet’s dance style so maybe we should give her more credit. Look at her robotic dance moves on this music video, amazing choreography!

 

Chris Brown

So many people think that Chris Brown is the best dancer in the world and his style is definitely in right now. Chris has his heart fully with him when he dances and again and Michael Jackson’s impact is clear. His smooth dance moves remind us of Jackson and inspire dancers and singers around the world. 😄 Check out for example this music video:

 

Shakira

Shakira is also a unique singer and the movement of her hips is also very iconic. It’s also said that Shakira can sing and dance at the same time without any problems. She doesn’t use backtrack on her gigs so the performance is a real deal. She is so talented!

So many singers are also dances and here are just some examples of them. I bet that you know even more dancing singers! Can you dance? Maybe these singers can give you some advice. The best karaoke performance has definitely some dance moves in it! Thank you for reading our blog, see you next time! 😊

Singers on YouTube part 4

September 8, 2017
Social Media

In YouTube there are so many special singers that need more attention. Maybe next time when you seek for new music to listen, you find a great cover singer from YouTube? Let’s introduce a few more singers on YouTube. 🎵

In the last part we introduced three YouTube users that have put an effort on recording great singing videos and spreading their talent to the world. First we talked a little about Sam Tsui who has made awesome music videos and songs of his own. It’s easy to find him because he still is one of the most popular singers on YouTube. Jackie Evancho is very talented and it can be heard that she has polished her singing techniques a lot. Being a young professional singer her YouTube channel consist mainly of her live performs and interviews. The third YouTube channel that we introduced was nigahiga. Maybe you have seen his funny music videos or at least his sketch videos.

Conor Maynard 😎

Conor Maynard has 5,7 million subscribers on YouTube and for a reason! His voice is beautiful and he can also accompany himself with a piano. He has made a music of his own and also music producers have noticed his talent. This is how he describes himself on his Facebook Biography: “i basically record covers of the latest big songs, and upload them to youtube, and hope that all you guys love them! 🙂 My brother from another mother Anth (Anthony Melo) collabs with me from time to time, make sure you go check him out!!! SICK RAPPER RIGHT THERE!!”. Conor is actively using social media so go ahead and follow him for example on Instagram. Here you can have a foretaste of his music:

 

Hannah Trigwell 👩

Another YouTube singer with amazingly beautiful voice is Hannah Trigwell. When you want to hear emotional songs performed wholeheartedly, type Hannah Trigwell to YouTube and there you have plenty of beautiful songs for listening to. British Hannah has learnt to sing and write songs by herself. She was noticed after she uploaded videos to YouTube and now she had international tours! If you are living in United Kingdom, you will have several chances to see her performs this Autumn. Go check her website for more information. Luckily she has a lot of material online so that we can listen to her music even though she doesn’t live nearby:

 

Ten Second Songs 🕙

The third YouTube channel for this blog article is called Ten Second Songs. This man, aka Anthony Vincent, is a little bit different cover singer. He imitates different kind of singing styles and sings one song changing a style usually twenty times. His talent has been noticed since his channel has 2,4 million subscribers. Anthony puts a lot of effort to his videos: he has to figure out how to imitate each style with instruments and his voice. It’s needless to say that those need much planning and time. Check out this video and find a new channel to subscribe on YouTube:

And once again, we have introduced some great talents found from YouTube. Do you already follow these stars or would you like to see your favorites on this blog? Feel free to comment below! Thanks for reading and see you next time. 😊

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