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From:  Tako Oda <toda@m...>
Tako Oda <toda@m...>
Date:  Tue Oct 3, 2000  7:02 pm
Subject:  Good Unhealthy Singing WAS:sls and opera, was breath supp. etc


On Tue, 3 Oct 2000 RALUCOB@a... wrote:
> oddly enough, steve tyler appears on the list of sls clients on dave
> stroud's website. if tyler is lifting his larynx on the high stuff (and i
> think he is), he would be going against what both preach (but not against
> what estill preaches). however, this may be his choice as this may be the
> only way he can get that sound so far (or maybe he just thinks it's fun).
> he has been doing it a long time.

There are always people out there who can get away with using "bad" vocal
techniques for years. My teacher calls Placido Domingo "cords of steel"
because of the amount of abuse his larynx seems able to take :-)

When people CAN do funky stuff without hurting themselves, it's actually
kind of nice for the world at large. They may be a bad example for young
singers, but they do often make electric sounds that really tingle your
spine. If you really have something special, it might even be worth
trashing your voice and having a short career, because it enriches the
musical world.

For instance, Domingo, Callas, Sting, Oberlin, Steven Tyler have (or had)
singular voices. Sting's voice may be shot now, but I don't think the
world is sorry (and he may not be either), because he recorded timeless
songs like "Walking in your Footsteps", which wouldn't have had the same
impact sung "healthily". Sometimes the demands of the music are greater
than the artist. Not a rule to live by, but something to keep in mind...

I am NOT saying we should throw technique out the window! Just asking
people to keep an open mind and listen to the music, not the singer.

Tako


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