Tag Archives: mariah carey

The “Mariah Carey” Voice

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Mariah is a fabulous singer! She can do acrobatics with her voice! She has managed to sing strong and consistently for over two decades while enduring the typical stressful life indicative of a top-selling recording artist in the 21st century.

Even a balanced voice like Mariah Carey’s can run the risk of vocal damage such as nodes and calluses when over-used. No “one” voice is perfect all the time, and no “one” singer will exhibit the same limitations of what can be done with their voice at any given time. Every instrument is unique and different, and will change daily with the conditions that are present at that time.

Does that mean a singer shouldn’t sing or talk when they are not at their absolute best? Well, yes, I suppose it does. But how is that possible? If singing is your living then you have a job to do. How can you possibly stop talking and singing when you feel the slightest problem arising in your voice? You must do your job and that means using your voice.

Bottom line is a singer needs to know their instrument, and how to keep it healthy and working when it needs to. Planning ahead and scheduling time off for recouperating is imperative in this music business. Keeping the body healthy and getting enough sleep is a must. Knowing how to vocalize daily is crucial. Singing is tough business.

That being said, we can’t expect famous singing voices to never show a sign of wear & tear.

And what about the fact that the music business actually puts voices that have a “wear & tear” sound on a pedestal! What is a singer to do?

Self-awareness is key. That is why I teach about the middle voice with special attention to bridging (mixing) at the first passagio. When singers learn how to control their breath, master their natural tone and resonance, and establish their baseline volume, they can avoid many problems that come with over-singing.

 

How do they do it?

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That’s always the question? How do they do it?

The masters of rock and pop singing? Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. Steven Tyler, and more, how do they do it?

They are masters, indeed! Some may say it’s genetics, but vocal experts will say that there are a few key issues going on here.

First, the cry. This is a essential. A primal sound that is key to helping everyone sing better. It is more apparent in some styles, but it is a basic concept in helping the vocal cords come together and stay together for a duration in the higher voice.

Second, the twang. This is essential as well, in every form of singing. It is more apparent in some styles than others, but it is there. In Speech Level Singing, we experience this with “nay, nay, nay”. As I understand it, this, and the cry, will tilt the larynx, and change the vocal tract, and allow you “to mix” your lower chest tones with your higher tones”. If done without constriction for external factors (such as throat constriction, or false cord constriction) then the voice can resonate well and exhibit a loud, strong mix quality to the voice.
Do you have questions about the “cry” and “twang” of the voice? Please let me know. Susie Q.

Learning how to “belt” sing

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There is much debate over what is “belting” in pop music and Broadway, let alone how to actually do it. I am a self-taught belter, and in fact never had any singing lessons until I was in my late 20’s, at which time I had already been singing with a band professionally for a number of years.

If you are classically trained, then belting may not be easy. You may need to undo some of the things you have been taught. If you have no training, then hopefully I can take away some of the mystery as to why you don’t sound as good as your favourite “belter”.

I would describe belting as singing above your first bridge (break, passagio) with thinning cords that are slightly stiffened with very little breath passing through, and a stable, tilted larynx to provide adequate twang. This gives the illusion of a strong chest voice `in the mix“. The belt I’m describing is the sound of Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Freddie Mercury or Adam Lambert. You know, the “big note” sounds in popular music. This is not the musical theatre belt sound.

The bridge is the area in your voice that differentiates your chest register from your head register. For women this is around A flat (above middle C) to B flat or even B, and for men it is around E flat above middle C to F or even G flat.

These are important areas of the voice. These are also very difficult areas of the voice for most singers. The way a singer handles this area will determine if (s)he can learn to belt safely or not. A singer must be able to maintain cord closure while ascending from the chest register into the head register. In order to main closure, the larynx must tilt and allow the cords to stretch and thin. This is called your mixed voice.  Belting requires extreme control of your mixed voice.

As you ascend in pitch keep that connection but allow the transition to mixed voicing. You will almost start to sound like a cartoon character. (This is the ability to add a cry to your voice to keep the cords thinning and touching on the edges). You do not carry the `heaviness`of the low notes with you as you ascend through the first bridge. You do not need to get louder. It may sound like your favourite singer is singing `heavy“ as (s)he goes higher, but in fact, belters are naturally zipping up their vocal cords as they ascend in pitch. It`s the ability to sing with very little air  that makes these belters sound so good to our ears. It may appear they are “loud” but they are actually not singing any louder than their medium speaking voice.

If you are untrained, and you find you are shouting and cannot decrease or increase the volume of a note above your first bridge, then you are not in a controllable good mix. This can mean a number of things, but in my experience it is commonly a problem with lack of ability to thin out  the vocal cords, while tilting the larynx. If you are a trained singer, and you are shouting as you go over your first bridge and cannot control the volume, then your larynx is possibly not tilting enough to get the cords to stretch and thin. There is a good chance you are sending too much air through the cords to try and get the sound you want.

Belting is not something you should learn on your own without a proper specialized teacher. However, hopefully I have shed some light on some possible habits or obstacles that might be in the way to accomplishing this difficult sound.

Analysis of Female Belters and the Star-Spangled Banner

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Recently Christine Aguilera performed the Star-Spangled Banner at the Superbowl. This poor performance was more than just forgetting the words. In this post I hope to provide valuable information to female singers worldwide about the importance of key choices and style choices of songs they sing. I will compare famous pop singers who belt and link to their Star-Spangled Banner performance.

First, you will need to know the first female passagio is around A above middle C (middle C is C4). This “bridge” is the transition between your lower voice (chest) and your high voice (head). It is more than just one note, it is a “passage” of usually 2-3 notes…anywhere from A flat to B flat. Do you notice that when you sing in this area, it feels different? This is where your voice needs to “mix” well so you can transition well into your higher register.

Watch Christine Aguilera’s performance here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpCFpYLPw74
Her key choice is F major. The “big note” on the words red glare and the last line free is C above middle (C5). A good belter has no problem hitting this note. Unfortunately, Christine was not well prepared for this performance. She started very shouty and never got “in the mix”. She basically got stuck in her chest voice and had to flip for the big note at the end. I think the reason she forgot the words is because she realized straight away that she was not mixing well, and was in trouble for the big finish. She knew her energy and focus was off, and it reflected not only in the lyrics, but also in her voice.

Watch Jennifer Hudson’s performance here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-7YqwZZ4o
Jennifer’s key choice is A major. This performance is spectacular. She is one of the best “mixing” chest belters in the business right now. What the listener may not realize is that Jennifer is belting C#5 in the second line on the word proudly and this is already a higher note than Christine’s “big note” of C5. Listen to how Jennifer can slip easily into her dynamic range of loud and soft within any given phrase. This ability means she is definitely mixing well. Christine’s voice on the other hand would not have been able to decrease in volume without “flipping” into a heady sound.

Watch Mariah Carey here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-Hw-0_JOys
Mariah’s key choice is E major. This is a semi-tone lower than Christine’s. Mariah is a fabulous “mixer”. Listen to her delicate weaving back and forth in the mix at the beginning of the song. I am disappointed that she picked such a low key. Her “big note” is only a B4…..however…..I guess that’s not really true…because on the words free she shows us her fabulous super head voice which I believe is a B6. This will be why she picked the Key of E major so she could fit this note in. I would have preferred a higher key and have her leave the super high note out.

Watch Beyonce here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWgZ_MSMHgw
Beyonce’s key choice is G major. Love this key and performance. She saves the belt for the appropriate spots in the song. She has a beautiful mix throughout.

Watch Whitney Houston here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqqL_LRWyJs
Whitney’s key choice is A flat major. This is, of course, when Whitney was belting and mixing superbly. This performance is A+. Whitney’s decline in vocal ability over the last few years is a prime example of not taking care of your instrument. Her choice of lifestyle has all but destroyed her voice…..very sad to say the least.

Watch Faith Hill here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJI_rlar68M
Faith’s key choice is G major. This is a good performance for Faith. She is mixing well. You can hear her carefulness at the beginning of the song, to be sure to include her head resonance in the low notes. This is important so that as she ascends she can stay well in her mix. Indeed, there is a beautiful balance in her belting notes of B4, C5 and D5.

Watch Kelly Clarkson here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMuaXm0Ps2E
Kelly’s key choice is E major. A very low key choice in my opinion for Kelly. This was I suppose a safe choice, but she can definitely belt higher in her mix. The “big note” is only a B4. Also, I feel she is rushing through the song. It could have been a touch slower with more emotion.

Watch Celine Dion here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z53EROEjCsA
Celine’s key choice is G major. This really is the optimum key choice for this song. I would have preferred to hear her start a little more subtle in dynamics. But, nonetheless, Celine is one of the best chest belters in the business, and this performance only proves that. Her big notes are B4, C5 and D5. This key allows the biggest part of the song to stay just under the next passagio which starts around D#5. Perfect key choice for chest belters.

Watch Carrie Underwood here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePMrIe5SBqw
Carrie’s key choice is F#. Good performance for Carrie. She is mixing well and her belt is strong from A#5 through C#5.

Watch Taylor Swift here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbvMDTkdoKE&feature=related
Taylor’s key choice is E major. This is about the only key she could safely pick without having trouble at her bridge. Taylor is not a good mixer. Her big notes are G#4, A#4 and B4.

Well, there you have it. For anyone wanting to practise their chest belting I suggest you “copy” Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce. Get the feel of their gentle, relaxed mixed voice, which then leads into a beautiful mixed belt at the climax of the song. Work your belting this way, and you will get stronger the correct way. The reverse is true for copying singers who belt in their low range. You run the risk of not being in a good mix, and therefore you will get stuck. This kind of voice can rarely sing well above a B flat or high C. And, while I admire Christine Aguilera’s talent, I highly suggest you never ever try to copy her voice. You are only asking for trouble.

I appreciate your comments or questions. Why not drop me a line.