valevanni wrote:
Male pop singers generally sing higher than male opera singers.
Female pop singers generally sing lower than female opera singers.
This because female pop singers use head voice less than opera ones,
while male pop singers use it more than opera ones. In many pop
genres, the difference between male and female tessituras is about
1/2 octave. I don't know much opera, but it seems to me that this
difference is bigger.
This has hit the nail on the head!!
Female opera singers do sing much higher because of their use of head tone.
Usually the climax notes for a pop diva are between D5 and G5, which is high
for a classical alto, but in the high-middle of a sopranos range.
While male rock singers may have some higher notes than male opera singers,
they are usually forced out, due to the fact that the songs are written
largely by the singers themselves for their voices.
The voices aren't supported and brilliant in sound, but more forced, and
that sound of stuggle is a stylistic part of rock. Listen to kid rock- the
guy cannot sing to save his life, but does this distorted wail in some of
his choruses, which sits up really high- this is not any technique however-
he can *do it* as often as he *can't*, and he escapes to his lower style of
vocal - operatic voices don't *escape* like their rock counterparts- they
don't need to, because of their technique.
The actual tessitura for male rock singers is usually much lower (thought
the choruses are usually high spots)
Listen to enrique iglesias (oh, what a tosser), his tessitura is quite high
on climaxes, but he'll escape to very low verses, in order to do his breathy
thing.
These guys would *die* if they sang a tenor aria from mozart (which may sit
around your usual rock chorus tessitura- the whole bloody aria). They
*reach* for high notes, instead of singing the tessitura. There are some
exceptions, such as Thom Yorke.
I know all about rock singers bad habits, because I sang rock for years with
no technique whatsoever (apart from: here's a high bit, ok, reach now!).
The tessitura, when high, is kind of deceptive- its usually low verses,
with high notes that are *reached* for in the chorus, and when the tessitura
is actually a high one all the way through (Jane's addiction, soundgarden),
the voice is altered and thinned, and strained.
When I first sang classical, I found it really hard, not being used to using
a big tone, and relying on support. I found the tessitura unforgiving, as I
was used to rock tessitura, and had not support. Mozart almost killed me.
These days, I have a sound technique, and look back at my rock days in
horror.
Mirko
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