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How do bad singers get away with sounding good?

#41
hbarcat said:
How do bad singers get away with sounding good?

With decades of musical experience behind me, I've noticed that there are some well respected singers who aren't technically good singers, but are often credited with having voices that are pleasant. Often, they're described as being "charismatic".

What's the explanation for that?
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Lead Singers (who do covers, some of this doesn’t apply to those that do originals) have some mandatory things and can do some optional things and have a least one characteristic out of their control.

Mandatory;
  • Sing on pitch
  • Follow the melody of the original (mostly)
  • Know the words to the songs

Optional;
  • Have some “charisma” (crowd interaction)
  • Put on a show (physically)

Mostly beyond their control;
  • Have a “quality” voice (genetics)
  • Have a great vocal range (mostly genetics)
  • Be good looking (genetics)
Mick Jagger has the mandatory and optional and one of the items beyond his control (pretty boy back in the day), so he was successful. In his case, songwriting & others in the band contributed to his success also. He excelled in the optional points, too.

Shania Twain had most. A lot of bar band singers have most.

The “bad technically” singers that sound good have at least one point from each category and excel in that point good enough to cover up their shortcomings.
 
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#44
factory presets said:
I've read that audiences tend to find audibly straining to get the note is something they feel affinity with. Tom Petty or Marc Bolan sliding into the note sounds more authentic than nailing it right out the box. Maybe it feels like they are driven to express those emotions, no matter what obstacles are in the way.
Click to expand...

And add Frank Sinatra to the list of major league "Sliders"... Good point.
 
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#47
There are people who were given a great instrument - a voice that naturally is beautiful. Those people have differing levels of experience, - the best know how to take what they have and make it even better. There are also singers who have a decent instrument (nothing special, but not horrid), but have worked long and hard to learn how to put what they have to the best use. Doing FOH for a lot of different singers, I have worked with both of these kinds of singers. I have also worked with singers who...didn't have their voice dialed in.

The person at FOH is also partly responsible for how good the singer is - many singers have a strong formant that really sticks out, and with the right processing, you can often tame that to where it's either a minor issue, or (in some cases) a non-issue. There's one woman who I did FOH for quite a few times, and every once in a while, I'd think "wow, she has a wonderful voice". If it was rehearsal (you don't do this during performance), I'd sometimes turn off the processing I had dialed in, and remember "yeah, I'm definitely adding value here". If you talk with FOH people that work with touring artists, they will tell you about what they have to do to make their singer's voice sound its best.
 
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#48
factory presets said:
I've read that audiences tend to find audibly straining to get the note is something they feel affinity with.
Click to expand...

A lot of singers have a note or two near the top of their range that has that character - they're straining to get it out, it sounds so good somehow, and it connects you to them - their effort is so compelling. Sting has an entire octave in his range that sounds like that. Which is kinda unfair....
 
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#50
For me it’s the song, not the singer. Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, and Mark Knopfler are all favorites of mine because they make me feel something. Plus, they were all part of the soundtrack of my youth. Opera singers are great technicians, but I don’t understand the words, so it’s hard for me to relate. Then there’s the old saying, “a wrong note with feeling is better than the right note without.”
 
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#51
Ostie said:
Opera singers are great technicians, but I don’t understand the words, so it’s hard for me to relate.
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Besides the obvious singing in another language thing, at the top of their range, most opera singers use different vowels - sometimes, only one vowel up there. That makes it easier for them to project, but they are definitely less understandable as a result. Opera singing is about projection and sounding beautiful, the book they give you is so you can understand the story.
 
#52
ebo said:
I think the same could be said for guitarists. Absolute shredders can become boring 10 minutes in, but if you can put feeling behind even simple playing I’m in.
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Exactly - The songs and music that plays in my head are never pyrotechnics for the most part. Shredding has a short shelf life. A well phrased song melody or harmony has no shelf life.
 
#53
Well, I guess the term would be "tone" or "timbre", but someone can have a nice voice without being able to carry a tune...or carry one minimally. I've been told I have a nice voice, but I am not very good at singing...so I just don't, unless I'm in the car :bag:
 
#56
The great thing about music is there’s something for everyone. You can make this same thread about drummers or guitarists or bassists. In 50m sprints there’s a clear and objective best. In music or any art there isn’t.
Dogs Playing Poker paintings are precisely lined, properly proportional and colorfully striking. Certainly there is more effort than Banksy’s Finsbury Park tree. But the dogs don’t do it for me.

Personally I can lose myself in Cat Power’s straining voice in The Moon.
And I’d rather scrub your bathroom than hear 1 minute of Celine Dion’s soulless pre-AI voice. But clearly in any measurable way she’s better trained.

Listen to what you like. You have limitless options. There’s no best music. There’s no right way to sing.
 
#57
hbarcat said:
How do bad singers get away with sounding good?

With decades of musical experience behind me, I've noticed that there are some well respected singers who aren't technically good singers, but are often credited with having voices that are pleasant. Often, they're described as being "charismatic".

What's the explanation for that?
Click to expand...
If an "artist" has a big promotional machine behind him or her, a lot can be accomplished. It's not that hard to make hordes of people think that a mediocre artist is phenomenal. People are gullible like that.

Meanwhile, the emperor has no clothes.

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