15
I think user45266's answer is spot-on - I would just add that singing also typically involves aligning the syllables in time with a musical rhythm.
Loosely, perhaps one could say:
Speaking is the utterance of words with pitch, pitch inflections and timings as expected for normal communication in the language in
question. Typically, variations in pitch and ...
14
I just googled Sprechstimme
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica it's a cross between speaking and singing in which the tone quality of speech is heightened and lowered in pitch along melodic contours indicated in the musical notation.
Its introduction is especially associated with the composer Arnold Schoenberg, who first used it in his Pierrot Lunaire (...
11
If I were pressed to answer, I'd say that singing is vocalising at defined and intentional frequencies. Speaking does not require any conscious effort to control the pitch of one's voice, and it doesn't need to have a clear pitch (whispering, vocal fry).
In some music, of course, the line gets blurred. Often, singers will deliver a line in a spoken way, ...
5
One other note:
Sprechstimme (a style Schoenberg invented, and indicated with the crossed notes) is derived from the older technique of recitativo, a sort of half-singing half-speaking style used for conversations in opera (mostly when the composer didn't want to interrupt the music by switching to actual speaking).
Sprechstimme is somewhat freer, and ...
5
I've heard it said that 'head voice' is 'lighter' than 'chest voice'. As in, when you go up into your head voice, you 'shed' some of the 'weight' that you have in the chest voice, which allows you to go up to higher notes more comfortably, without having to 'lift' the weight of the chest voice.
I'm speculating a bit here, but my guess is she is talking ...
4
Although using science may help to find a particular vocal range, it's probably easier to just use a piano or guitar to determine the lowest note you can comfortably sing and the highest note you can comfortably sing. Then you can choose a key to sing your songs in.
The scenario you describe seems to imply that you have in mind all singers singing in ...
4
You can and (I hope) will sing wherever your range is comfortable. If it's where usual baritone or tenors sing, then so be it. What everyone needs to do is find the key for each particular song you want to sing. The key that suits your voice, for each song. It's not going to be the same key for every song, just because it happens to be D for several!
Most ...
4
Yes, that's about right. Baritone is an 'in-between' range. Not as high as tenor, not as low as bass.
Note that voice categories are not solely about how high or low you CAN go. It's about where the voice sounds best.
4
The best person to ask such questions is always the person who gave you the feedback.
Words like 'heavy' can mean different things to different people.
However, I would probably think that she means that it doesn't sound as effortless when you sing in the lower range. Maybe if you sing in the lower register it feels more tense and you can hear that you ...
3
I'll leave this one to the ineffable Douglas Adams
DETCHANT (n.)
That part of a hymn (usually a few notes at the end of a verse) where the tune goes so high or low that you suddenly have to change octaves to accommodate it.”
― Douglas Adams, The Meaning of Liff
2
You can describe 'Speaking range' as a register if you want to.
You find it easier to sing above it. Personally, I'd define it as the singing range which is easy, minimal effort required! But we're all different.
2
Yes, typically baritone vocal ranges are around a minor third lower than tenor ranges (~A2-A4 vs ~C3–C5). Wikipedia has some handy images depicting where each range usually sits:
Tenor range:
Baritone range:
These images are for the most common ranges (or average ranges) for tenor and baritone voices. There are exceptions to every rule (singers like Chris ...
1
If it's a solo, they get the key changed. If it's ensemble, they cope. Can you GET a Bb? I think most people can, even if it's not their strongest range. Just let others take the strain - you can shine when the higher notes come along.
1
This isn't "science meets music" this is "Fun with Music, by Dr Sheldon Cooper."
Don't try to work it out, just sing it & see if you can.
The human ear maps notes heard to notes sung in the same way as you catch a ball. You do it almost without thinking. Mapping out the trajectories mathematically on paper won't help you catch. Some people are better ...
1
Hmmm. Mathematically, this should work (remember that frequency correlates logarithmically/exponentially with letter names of notes). However, it's not the way that we tend to do it here in the music world. There's an easier way. The process you describe correlates very strongly with what we singers do, but we use letter names instead of frequencies.
First, ...
1
Certainly. 'Female baritone' is almost the standard voice type for mature Broadway actresses!
1
Classical singing is usually referring to the idea of choral works performed in a classical style. We wouldn't consider Bruno Mars to be a classical singer, for example. Not even Elvis. Opera, I believe, is another area of classical singing. Classical singing generally has a strong emphasis on homogenous technique and tone, where modern/contemporary styles ...
1
In my opinion you speak with a 'random' pitch.
You just go with what your body is the most comfortable with and on some words this might me slightly higher and sometimes lower. If you ask a question, you raise the pitch in many languages etc. but you don't go like, when I ask a question I always go up a major third above the pitch I was speaking before:P
So ...
1
That's called a melisma. The most reliable way to learn how to sing melismas is from a teacher who can hear you try it. But googling "how to sing a melisma" offers much advice as well.
1
Depends on the vocalist, really.
That said, in the musical theater world, sopranos typically try to use chest voice up to somewhere between C5-G5 (as I said, it varies by vocalist) before switching to head voice. For soprano voices, it is usually much more comfortable / sustainable for them to use their head voice, and most prefer to use that whenever they ...
1
I'm not a vocal coach, but my understanding is that, if you are 'straining' or trying to force things at all to reach a particular note, then you are probably doing something wrong (and may risk damaging your voice in the longer term). The advice about finding a professional coach is probably a good idea.
In terms of specific advice (from my own experience):...
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