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What is a vocalist and what is a singer?

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous [BG]' started by sears, Jun 10, 2019.

  1. Jun 10, 2019 #1
    sears

    sears Supporting Member

    Aug 7, 2005
    ec, md
    I read a definition here, today, which was different from what I looked up from the experts at Quora, and also different from my own rule of thumb (which is admittedly eccentric).

    The wizards of Quora say a singer is someone who sings, but a vocalist is a really good singer. That anyone can be a singer but a vocalist is another level entirely. I think that maybe there ought to be more of an unarguable difference than that.
     
  2. Jun 10, 2019 #2
    LBS-bass

    LBS-bass Guest

    Nov 22, 2017
    They are synonyms. Both words mean the same thing.
     
    gln1955, sears and Wisebass like this.
  3. Jun 10, 2019 #3
    DirtDog

    DirtDog

    Jun 7, 2002
    The Deep North
    I always considered a vocalist was someone who could sing AND scat!
     
  4. Jun 10, 2019 #4
    Nashrakh

    Nashrakh

    Aug 16, 2008
    Hamburg, Germany
    A singer sings, a vocalist can also grunt, scream, gargle, do the cookie monster thing.
     
  5. Jun 11, 2019 #5
    Wisebass

    Wisebass

    Jan 12, 2017
    Lost in Space
    Hi sears :)




    Etymology[edit]
    Borrowed from Old French vocal, borrowed from Latin vōcālis. Doublet of vowel.

    (source: Wiktionary)


    A vocalist is a singer who had French (or Latin) at school! :laugh:


    greetings

    Wise(b)ass
     
    sears likes this.
  6. Jun 11, 2019 #6
    sears

    sears Supporting Member

    Aug 7, 2005
    ec, md
    I am totally fine with them being synonymous.

    The distinction I made in my mind was that a vocalist is a singer + microphone. I was thinking, wouldn't it be nice to repurpose "vocalist" to mean, someone who plays the microphone? Bing was more of a vocalist; guys like Van Morrison and Springsteen are more singers. Singers can fill a hall without amplification by using proper singing technique. I doubt Justin Timberlake can -- not to take anything away from his artistry. You can be both singer and vocalist. Someone like Whitney Houston comes to mind. Anyway, enough raving.
     
  7. Jun 13, 2019 #7
    Nephilymbass

    Nephilymbass

    Feb 7, 2011
    Fayetteville/ Ft Bragg, NC
    I consider vocalist to be a more generic term. For example I consider someone doing Cookie Monster vocals in a metal band to be a vocalist but not a singer. It’s not something I’m super picky about though. It’s not like people calling a kick drum a bass drum for example (they are two completely different instruments that aren’t even played with the same limbs lol)
     
  8. Jun 13, 2019 #8
    alembicguy

    alembicguy I roam the earth and I know things Gold Supporting Member

    Jan 28, 2007
    Minnesota
    Both are a special breed that need much attention. They usually have a sore throat for several months of the year and can be incredibly deaf and require more monitor than any normal human can tolerate. Both are one in the same.
     
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  9. Jun 13, 2019 #9
    Flashback Bass

    Flashback Bass

    May 31, 2005
    Central Jersey where Pork Roll is King!
    Beware the frog!
     
  10. Jun 13, 2019 #10
    Mata Leao

    Mata Leao

    Dec 21, 2017
    Various levels of pretenciousness. Same as the difference between a bassist and bass player.
     
    sears likes this.