Do you know good singing when you hear it?

11 Comments

I don't think I'm unmusical, but I'm not sure about that. When I hear someone sing, I'll know if he/she hit's the notes and can hold them and if the emotions fit the lyrics. But now and then I hear people talking about how some famous singer is so terrible and some other is so amazing, I simply don't hear it? What makes him/her a bad singer? Hits the notes, speaks clearly and seems to know what the song is about... What's wrong? And the singing is never just "okay" - It's either the best or the worst. I feel like singing is a lot more about taste, then people are willing to admit. But maybe I just have bad hearing.

It's a matter of taste. 13
It's a matter of marketing. 1
It's a matter of looks. 0
You just don't know - I'll tell you what makes a good singer... 0
You wouldn't understand. 0
Sorry, I'm tone deaf. 2
other... 5
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Comments ( 11 )
  • Justsomejerk
    11 years ago

    I know poor singing.

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  • Koda
    11 years ago

    I think the main factor you're missing is "timbre". It's the quality of the tone apart from timing and pitch. A "timbre" can be any quality from the "age" of the voice, to the "gender" of the voice, to more specific things like roughness/rasp, smoothness, tenderness, hoarseness. Croaky, nasal, stuffed up, and weak voices tend not to appeal to most people. Maybe you're just one of those people that has a very wide preference for vocal timbres? Which is fine ^.^ A singer can hit every note, and still be disliked by the masses for timbre. Timbre isn't technical, it's more subjective. Though most of it can be explained with "formant". There are still other stylistic/technique factors such as attack/vibrato/modality that can affect a voice too. Some people, such as I, believe voices vary greater than faces do among humans. For example, I think somebody looks like someone else far more often than I say somebody sounds like someone else. (:

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      11 years ago

      Wow, that was very interessting and informative. Thank you. Are you a musician yourself?

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      • Koda
        11 years ago

        Sure am! Well, as a hobby, but it's definitely a passion of mine. And, you're welcome! (:

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  • MysterionFrance
    11 years ago

    it is about manipulation of the original tone and marketing
    All the really good singers are outside of the pop market. That kind of stuff is made by pitch changing software. Not much power in their voices either

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  • ucipher8
    11 years ago

    theres a job for you on x factor

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      11 years ago

      Not quite sure what you mean by that. Is it an insult? Please forgive my slowness.

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  • Avant-Garde
    11 years ago

    I know both poor and good singing. I think poor singing gets magnified more with the use of auto tune. Auto tune can even ruin that of a good voice.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVOuP6HOqV0
    ^^ This woman has a fantastic voice.

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  • dappled
    11 years ago

    I don't think I'm brilliant at it. I can tell if people are flat but it has to be pretty bad before I notice.

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  • diaperwolf21
    11 years ago

    I can tell good singing when that first note is sung. If it sounds perfect then the rest fells like a heavens arrow.

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  • thinkingaboutit
    11 years ago

    Some people just have more or less trained ears; the musically inclined I guess. I'm one of those. I can't stand that Rihanna song "diamonds" not just because it's a shitty song, but because she uses voice inflections that are typical of Katy Perry. Everyone's like "ITS HER BEST SOUND EVER" and I -_- because Katy Perry has basically sang it 17000 times.

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