IN rock music, intentional abuse of the voice has become an art form. Classical singers, in developing the voice, strive to remove what are called “noise elements” from the voice. These are sounds in addition to the pure sine wave/with vibrato produced by a healthy, normally functioning set of vocal apparatus. Think of a balloon blown up, then without tying the neck, allowing the air to escape slowly while stretching the neck tightly. It will produce a high pitched, thin whistle. That is actually a VERY close approximation to what your vocal cords are doing when speaking or singing. By tightening or loosening the stretched rubber, you can make the pitch go up and down (on the balloon), just like your vocal apparatus. The throat, larynx, pharynx, mouth and nasal cavities then create a resonating chamber that lowers and amplifies the sound into the sound we hear when we speak or sing.
Noise elements are created when the two sides of the vocal cords don’t vibrate together smoothly, or damaged or less than perfectly formed cords try to vibrate together. Imagine the balloon metaphor again - if you blow it up with excess saliva escaping into the balloon, then as the spit escapes the neck while “singing”, it will make the pure sound turn a little spluttery or raspy. Or, if a portion of the neck that your stretching has a flaw, from a tear or “thick spot” or hole, then it also won’t vibrate smoothly. In your vocal cords, things that can cause these noise elements are:
*less than perfectly formed cords genetically (most of us!)
*Damaged cords with either small tears, scar tissue, or callouses from misuse.
*Odd relationships between the vibrating cords and the accompanying resonating chambers (again due to genetics)
*Excess saliva
*too LITTLE moisture
Many folks make fun of classical singers on TV or in recordings because it sounds so different from their own voices or from the music they listen to. In fact, if you aver get to hear a REALLY good singer in person, or better yet up close in a “normal” environment, you’ll be amazed at the beauty of theri voice. The rare singer, such as a Domingo or Pavarotti, has these things going for them which all came together in one individual, against very high odds -
*Beautifully formed cords with no anomolies or problems
*Paired with perfectly matched resonating chambers which augment and amplify perfectly the full audio spectrum being created by those particular cords.
- An early lifestyle which did not damage the apparatus
*a good set of lungs to “power” the vocal apparatus
*A gift in musical expression an understanding
*Gifted training to develop the voice
*The perserverance to take the God-given apparatus to its fullest extent through practice, practice, practice…
So you see why truly great singers are indeed quite rare.
In the case of rock singers, we are talking a whole different ballgame. In Rock musis, noise elements are quite often desirable. That high, loud, raspy “scream” of passion and energy is what drives many rock tunes. Some singers who specialized in this are
*The lead singer for AC/DC (Angus somebody)
- Robert PLant with Led Zep
- The guy who sings “Pretty Fly For a White Guy” (name escapes me.
- David Lee Roth sometimes, with his patented “two pitch” scream
- Geddy Lee from Rush
- Journey (Forget his name)
*IN fact, Almost every 70’s/80’s Big-Hair rock band
Where rock singers get criticized by classical singers is when this style of singing is used to cover up the fact that they really don’t have much of a voice. To be honest, with a little coaching, almost anybody who can match pitch can be taught to really tighten up their throat, squeeze through a lot of air, and once they’ve lost their inhibitions and are encouraged to go for it, viola! A rock singer is born.
HOWEVER…there are many rock singers who utilize that impassioned, pained and angry style when called for, but can also actually sing in other styles as well, when appropriate. A perfect example is Led Zep’s “Stairway to Heaven”, where Robert plant begins and ends the song with a beautiful, clear tenor voice which is both gentle, mysterious, and expressive, yet in the hard driving middle section, pure chain-saw buzz!
Freddie Mercury is also one of those gifted few. In addition, the tessitura, or mean pitch of his voice (the most comfortable range of the voice) was unusually high, with a particularly strong a piercing “laser beam” quality. This, coupled with his VERY musical and unique styings and interpretations, the brilliant music by Brian May tailored for Mercuries unique voice, and a world which was ready to accept their unique offerings all served to elevate their music to the heights it reached in the 70’s.
Does Mercury have as good a voice as Domingo? In a word, no. Physically, Domingo could sing circles around him. Is Mercury as good a singer and musician as Domingo? Absolutely! Its not always about how good an instrument you have, its what you do with it.
Joe Cocker has a voice ravaged by scar tissue and damage, sinus occlusion which causes him to always sound stuffy - the list of what’s “wrong” with his voice goes on and on.
Yet, when I’m by myself, or sitting with my wife and I hear a good recording of 'You Are so Beautiful to Me", I never fail to begin weeping. The profoundly simple lyrics and music, the love that POURS from his voice, the attempt to share a beautifully pure message of unconditional love through such a broken and battered instrument (his voice), which finally fails him at the very end, is one of the most moving moments in pop music, and is an entire opera in one 2 minute and 30 second song.
Does Joe Cocker have a great voice? No.
Is he a GREAT singer? :~)
