What Makes a Good Singer?
 

I ask because people have their own definition and preferences on what makes a good singer. To the general music listener, a good singer is a singer that is good in "technical" terms meaning:

If a singer can sing on key
Has a passable range
Tone that is some what pleasant to the ears, they are a good singer.

However, I find that most of the good technical singers I would not rather listen to because their pitch and tone does nothing for me. Also, they lack authentic depth.

What makes a good singer is their ability to connect with audiences when they sing which is why I will always call singers like Sly Stone or Prince great singers because while they may not be good "technical" singers, they have distinctive voices and are able to emotionally connect when they sing. They can do alot of creative fancy things with their tones and voices unlike other good technical singers.

Do you think it matters if a singer is good in technical terms or do you think the emotional vulnerability of a singer is important?

A good singer to me -- besides having the pre-requisite pitch and a good sounding voice - is a person that takes "ownership" of a song: someone that makes the song 'theirs".....You can tell on a recording when that vocalist is taking ownership by the little inflections ( the "uhs", "whoos", grunts, etc) that they put into it that gives a melody-line that soulful flavor -

its them telling you "I dont give a damn how this song was written, this is how I'M doing it!"

Music, be it a musician or a singer, is as much about salesmanship as it is talent and art. Its how well a person can sell what they do....when a singer "owns" a song and calls it theirs is one of the best ways for them to sell it

Very well said!!!!:thumb:

A voice is a vessel of emotion and that is all a song is conveying and if a singer does not know how to convey that then they are not a good singer in my opinion.

To me a good singer is Black Francis yelling like a maniac "I GOT A BROKEN FACE!" >_<

I was gonna give an answer in this thread but it basically would've been a variation of this so why bother..

Well said real. :)
i think alike but only with different artists.

yeah i dont think being a "technically good" singer means much to me tbh. I think its pretty rare actually for me to listen to certain bands/artists strictly because of the vocals. Im much more interested in the synergy between all of the sounds and instruments going on. So even if someones got good pipes, everything else has to be good too or it means nothing to me.

Personally, my favorite vocalists tend to be either operatic men or gravelly-voiced women.

You have that completely backwards for me. :soapbox:

Cementing the point. Different strokes for different folks, man.

I have a particular thing about screaming..

i don't usually like refined screaming, for example like Jared leto from 30 seconds to mars i prefer screams that sound unrefined because they feel more honest, when you scream from your gut you don't care about harmonizing it much cause that's not the point the point is to transmit all you bottled inside in a single burst..

screams like that get to me, they feel liberating.
but more refined ones don't really move me they just sound good.

Jared Leto screams like a newborn baby. I feel liberated having said that.

Newborn baby screams is music to my ears and I enjoy it. :band:

Whoooaaa I read what you said to fast....lol

I thought you said baby making screams LOL

You like that nasty grit... I like that to!

To me, a good singer is someone who is able to convey a lot of feeling with their voice and is able to be part of the song rather than trying to sing over it.

It's hard for me to find reason in what vocals I think are good when I like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjKA8f30Fxg

Or this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx-M4dqmgaM (vocals start at 2:10)

Many sane people would describe those voices as ''F*cking ugly'', but I love it. It fits what they're trying to do perfectly, with a lot of aggression and energy.
The lyrics of no cash are pretty stupid for the most part btw. I can see why the creator hates it.

I don't get why a singer can't be recognized as both?

I don't agree with the sentiment that if a singer is technically good they can't show emotion.

Exactly. hate it when people act like that if you're technically good at singing , you suddenly can't be good at the non technical stuff.

Another great summation!

You are right


There are singers who are a natural at both but I come to find most of the really good singers are not good in technical terms and I think they are not good in technical terms because they become one with the song.

I prefer people with raw emotional voices usually more than I'd value technical skill

Efrim Menuck/Isaac Brock/Conor Oberst/Daniel Johnston/Maybe Phil Elverum would be good examples.

There is a balance obviously between the technical and the emotional that makes either or work. Not anybody could just pull it off.

I feel the same, although I enjoy both. This song really gets to me.

That's actual Screamo right? I can really hear the post-hardcore roots in it.
Hate it when people call any music with screaming screamo, or when they think that metalcore stuff is post-hardcore.

Yeah it's definitely real screamo with that post-hardcore feel. This tag on last.fm has a lot with that:

Real screamo music - Listen free at Last.fm

And yeah I agree on that. Most people who make that assumption usually aren't into the harder genres as a whole though so I don't bother myself with them.

ah, thanks for the tag, if I ever want to listen to that genre in the future I'll use it. It's a shame Post-hardcore and it's subgenres emo and screamo get lumped together with entirely different things and now have a bad reputation. Just look at LastFM's post-hardcore tag, it's a mess. Practicly 2 genres under the same name.

I think the actual tone of someone's voice and how well it fits with the music is far more important than being technically good. I'll take Kurt Cobain or Neil Young over Christina Aguilera any day.

haha im one of those ppl :p:

It's hard for me to distinguish genres im not used to hearing.

@Overcast

Cool song, im not usually into stuff like that but i liked that song.

But regardless of your stance or your opinion of Jared Leto. You'd have to simply be saying the man can't sing out of spite. Because he can indeed sing pretty well. He may not be your cup of tea. But damn. When will people stop saying everything about a band sucks just because they don't like the band? It's ****ing ridiculous and frankly, the individual looks ignorant or like an ass.

Was this Screamo when Kanye was doing it?

I think he is trying to incorporate Screamo in his live shows.

No I truly believe he can't sing. He indeed can? He plays top 40 radio music in general and does it on an average basis. What is so very technical about his signing? He rarely changes the keys of his songs and sings in ultimately the same range every song, which comes across bland and boring. When he screams it sounds forced and he lacks any balls in his tone when he does scream. He clearly does that to appeal to his core audience, teenagers. I think his band is as average as they come also, and furthermore their videos suck also and lack direction. I think its far more ridiculous to result to name calling because you are offended by someones opinion on a band that generally just appeals to a teenage audience, it makes someone sound childish.

I think you are the one who is ridiculous, ppl are free to share a negative opinion on a band they don't like, it's one thing to attack a band you don't like but it's another thing to attack the ppl who like that band and Fred attacked the band, in fact not even the band just Jared leto but you on the other hand attacked fred.

i don't like 30 second to mars and i think they suck and wrong or right that is MY opinion not a fact of life.

Why were you so defensive over his post? it's clearly an exaggerated joke.

No I was dead serious. He was good in Requiem For A Dream i'll give him that.

I like him in fight club cause they smash his pretty little face to the ground. lol

i actually have nothing personal against Jared i just don't like his band.

You misunderstood who I was directing my comment to. I only quoted you to address a general issue.

For you. I'd say your opinion of Jared Leto is more of the better worded ones. Clearly you just don't find his singing to be appealing, so therefore your opinion is also that he can't sing. I can deal with that. But I wonder if you really know when a singer changes key or tone? You probably do, or have a general understanding or idea of it. But maybe you aren't really listening to his bands music, actually listening. Because as someone that looks for a singer that has versatility and knows how to use their voice. I can tell you that Jared Leto isn't just some guy that wanted to get behind a microphone because he 'thought' he had a clue how to sing. Obviously he does have a clue. He couldn't hit the range he does with his voice if he didn't know how to get that from it. He knows how to use his voice for singing. He's not just an actor that is playing another role in a band.

You will likely say his range isn't impressive, or he has no range. But if you do. That's when I'd begin to question if you have any idea what you're saying to begin with. I'm a guy that always gets pretty puzzled when someone says someone can't sing, yet this person they are speaking of, clearly can. That's like saying Freddie Mercury couldn't sing. But we all know he could.

Just to satisfy my curious mind. Have you heard anything from 30 Seconds To Mars S/T album?

@Black Francis

I'm not at all offended. I'm a literal person. So if his post was meant as a joke, it was lost on me. I've nothing against Fred Hale. This is just a discussion and if anyone starts get their **** twisted over it. Well. Don't post. By the way. Fight Club is a favorite movie of mine.

Reading through the posts here, some of you don't understand that there is a difference between a "singer" and a "vocalist"............ all singers are vocalists but not all vocalists are singers

People are entitled to their opinion, period. Everyone is not required to like the kind of things you like. If you want to go on message boards then you need to be prepared for people to disagree with you. Its not ridiculous, this post is ridiculous. You dont have to call names just because someone disagrees with you, its immature.

I carefully constructed my response to include the fact I think HE CAN'T SING. I think I detailed pretty well his shortcomings. I certainly do know when a key changes. I think tone encompasses alot of things. Timbre and intensity are some of the biggest factors and are key to why I feel he lacks ability. When he screams which involves the intensity he loses pitch. His timbre doesn't change much which I find unimpressive. How else would one listen to music? I think thats exactly it, he had taken voice lessons at one point because thats what all actors do. They do it for voice over reasons or the fact they may venture into musicals or shows involving music. Everyone has a range vocally, you basically learn this at a young age when someone taps keys on a piano and takes you up a scale its not brain surgery. I already said he lacks range, one other thing i'd like to mention is his bands awful lyrics. I would never use Freddie Mercury to describe Jared Leto, they are polar opposites vocally. The only songs on the self titled i've heard are Capricorn and Edge Of The Earth. I've also heard Kings and Queens plenty of times before i had the ability to flip the channel. I've been sent their records in the past from friends and listened to them completely to form a valid opinion of their music. We are no longer friends as a result. <---- joking

Also wanted to edit to explain i've heard all of their music, but can only remember the popular songs due to excess playage. I know how boards work and this will only lead to more blood shed. LOL

lol well, I will digress. I don't mean to imply you don't know what you're talking about. It is clear that we have a few different opinions on what a good singer or vocalist is. I think Jared Leto isn't half bad at what he does. You think he sounds worse than a cat getting screwed. That's cool. Not that it matters. But the majority of 30 Seconds To Mars s/t is better than anything they've put out after it.

And to clarify. I wasn't comparing Freddie Mercury to Jared Leto. I'd be crazy to do that. I was attempting to make a point. A point that failed, clearly.

And to everyone else. Stop thinking I'm not prepared for people to disagree with me. This is called debating, or a discussion. Unless someone says something completely stupid. Don't expect me to piss all over someone or their opinion. If you think what I've said to Hale was extreme or ridiculous. That's cool on you. But I went in to this with a calm temper and retain it still. All is good here. There's no bent ego.

EDIT:

Hale, sometimes bloodshed is good my friend. So let it flow! The popular songs are always what you will hear. The bands good material from their s/t just became a platinum record recently so, that says something about peoples taste. What the band writes now is to appeal to the specific audience, like you pointed out. They are capable of putting out better material. I don't say that to sway your opinion of the band by the way. It's just a general statement.

Yea comparing Freddie with Jared is one big ass stretch :laughing:

Freddie's range and talent is apparent as soon as you hear Queen and so it's Jared's when you hear him in 30 seconds to mars.

You're telling me!

But I wasn't comparing them as singers. Just saying that if someone tried saying Freddie Mercury couldn't sing. That person may as well just put a tattoo on their forehead that says "I don't know squat'...

I am going to listen to Jared Leto, Jared Leto the actor? I have never heard him sing but will be back with my judgement.

Haha, I'm curious to know what you will decide upon hearing him. I recommend listening to one song from each album; s/t, then A Beautiful Lie, followed by This Is War, and then their most recent Love Lust Faith & Dreams.

And if it isn't already obvious. I am a fan of 30 Seconds To Mars. ****ing crucify me haha.