Vocalist.org archive


To: <vocalist>
Subject: Mariah, Whitney, Sarah, etc.
Date sent: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 15:49:02 -0800
Send reply to: VOCALIST <vocalist>

Dear List,

I just found the time to read through the latest Digests and saw the
discussion on technical abilities of certain Pop Divas. I know the subject
is a little old by now, but I just want to add my own 2 cents.

Sarah McLachlan: she doesn't sing in head voice, but in falsetto. That's why
it doesn't blend with her chest voice. Her technique may not be good, but I
agree that she is a very talented songwriter and she puts a lot of emotion
in her singing. I would like to hear that plus good technique... that would
be amazing!

Mariah and Whitney: I saw their live appearance on the Oprah Show a few
months ago, when they were promoting their duet "When you believe". Whitney
made the first entrance and had pitch problems to start with, as I've seen
her have on several occasions. She continued with either strained chest
voice or falsetto, with flips. Then Mariah came in and her face had "pain"
written all over it, her struggle was hardly unnoticeable. Her voice was
raspy and either strained or whispery as well. Technically speaking they
were both terrible (and this has nothing to do with their styles, that's
merely a question of taste). They both started sucking on lozenges right
after the performance (just one song), and then went on to the interview.
When asked about a rumour of Mariah having vocal trouble right when Whitney
joined her in the recording studio, Whitney answered "A singer can get vocal
trouble easily, because the vocal cords bang together and get red and
swallen. At that point you get a little hoarse and your voice gets lower,
the pitch goes down about two octaves. Her voice was just a little tired.",
to which Mariah nodded agreeinlgy. Then she started to speak as well and
sounded like a chainsaw.

So much for their knowledge of vocal technique, or even of musical terms
such as octave. It just reminds me of the Vocal Tech '99 when
otolaryngologist Dr. Izdebski said "Imagine two uncooked filet mignons
wrapped separately in Saran wrap. Then you bang on the meat until it starts
bleeding underneath the Saran wrap. That's what happens to your vocal cords
when you belt/yell chest."

Best!
Rocio Guitard
Speech Level Singing Instructor