What's more important in singing: style or ability?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Joshua277456, Dec 19, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. scotto

    scotto Senior Member

    I'll take style/originality/feeling over technical ability any day, a sentiment best summed up by Pres in my sig line below:
     
    PHILLYQ likes this.
  2. I have to admit I was never enamoured enough of Whitney Houston that I ever listened to her music beyond what was blasted out via radio and t.v. back in those 'neo-soul halcyon days' . I went and listened to 'Exhale ' again. It's a pretty ditty, but since it's not really saying too much other than 'you need to chill out sometimes' 'cos relationships can be tough' (fair enough), I don't really see where restraint comes into play. It's hard to get worked up anyway when half the song consists of 'shoop, shoops' .
    Whitney can sing relaxed no doubt, but I just don't get where she is doing anything too profound. The song itself is dull and not very memorable. (Funny that whereas a Marvin Gaye could make some asinine lyric and a drum machine sound magical, nothing at all sparkles here.) Like you I'm not swayed just by technical mastery, perfect pitch or vocal range, and since Whitney scores high in those areas, I have to ask myself what else does she bring to the party? The only conclusion I can come to is that Whitney Houston could have been a truly great singer but unfortunately too often she let her voice get in the way. One thing I can't blame her for though, she made quite a few godawful and uninspiring songs sound a lot better than they deserved to.
     
  3. BluesOvertookMe

    BluesOvertookMe Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, TX, USA
    The ability to convey emotion to the listener by making the listener believe what you are singing.
     
    PHILLYQ likes this.
  4. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Neither. Interpretive skill, creativity, connection to the lyric - those are my prime criteria. If a vocalist has nothing interesting or original to say, I don't care how pretty their voice is.
     
    BluesOvertookMe likes this.
  5. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Style trumps ability. Great to have both but there's simply too many singers I enjoy where they have that "something" you can't put your finger on.
     
    Joshua277456 likes this.
  6. For me both are important, but if I had to choose just one it would be ability. Less ability is fine if a singer stays within his or her limits (Lou Reed, Mark Knopfler), but sadly a lot of them don't.
     
    zen likes this.
  7. zen

    zen Senior Member

    The complete package.
     
  8. dino77

    dino77 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Personality and the ability convey a story so there's nothing between you and the singer. I'd take Lou Reed over millions of vocal gymnasts.
     
  9. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    hey! it happens...if you are not familiar with current TV shows you would have no idea who he was...it's a great show by the way.
     
    Joshua277456 likes this.
  10. PHILLYQ

    PHILLYQ Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn NY
    here's someone who has both, the incomparable Betty Carter:
     
    AnalogJ and Cracklebarrel like this.
  11. duggan

    duggan Senior Member

    Location:
    sydney
    Come on guys.

    If ability was our main criterion then we would be on classical music forums.

    Almost by definition we appreciate a mixture of style and ability with a leaning towards style.
     
    bumbletort and Joshua277456 like this.
  12. bumbletort

    bumbletort Senior Member

    Location:
    Baltimore, Md, USA
    Perfect.
     
    Joshua277456 likes this.
  13. Aftermath

    Aftermath Senior Member

    Style for me.
     
    Joshua277456 likes this.
  14. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Which, then, doesn't explain Diana Krall.:hide:
     
  15. nbakid2000

    nbakid2000 On Indie's Cutting Edge

    Location:
    Springfield, MO
    People don't care about ability, they care about style. If people cared about ability, Bob Dylan would be a no-name.
     
    AnalogJ likes this.
  16. Joshua277456

    Joshua277456 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Not true...Bob Dylan never had a very good singing voice, but he is still a musical genius when it comes to songwriting. I'm personally not a big fan of Dylan but I still have loads of respect for him because of his songwriting.
     
  17. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    Style, for me. I can handle a song with no singing. Style can emphasize the music being played, and ability can make help the style. Which leads me back to melody trumping all. :)
     
  18. Joshua277456

    Joshua277456 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Rhythm>Melody>Harmony :D

    "It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't Got that Swing)
     
  19. duggan

    duggan Senior Member

    Location:
    sydney
    I'm not sure that I understand your question, please elucidate.

    Maybe you are referencing Diana Krall because she has both ability and style, I agree that she does.
     
  20. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    No, the opposite. She has chops as a player, but is not particularly original or innovative. As a singer, she sings in the spare style of Shirley Horn, but without the organic understanding of the lyric that Shirley Horn had which allowed her to infuse those spaces in her phrasing with meaning. Horn was a true original. Krall, to me, a poseur.
     
    duggan likes this.
  21. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    Dylan, it can be argued, is a great singer. He has far from a beautiful voice, but he knows how to interpret a song. And he can sure command a stage with just a guitar and singing voice. I don't know many who can do that the way he can. The first time I saw him live in person was on tour in the '80s with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Dylan's 3 song solo acoustic set was as riveting and "electric" as anything in the show. It was then that I really got his power as a singer and performer. I was sitting far back and there were no video screens to magnify his playing visually. His performance was really astonishing.

    I know he can get sloppy, but when he's on, he really knows how to deliver a lyric.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2014
    Joshua277456 likes this.
  22. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I'll add Louis Armstrong to the list of vocalists who didn't have beautiful tone but was a wonderful singer. He actually phrased vocally much how he phrased as an instrumentalist. Or in some ways, I mean the opposite, in that his phrasing as a trumpet player was very much in the style of a vocalist. He was economical, and very conversational instrumentally. To me, he was really a giant as a player, vocalist, arranger, and performer.
     
    fastskillfulinjured likes this.
  23. Phase1

    Phase1 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Resonance & originality for me.
     
  24. rockledge

    rockledge Forum Resident

    Location:
    right here
    You are granted 3 wishes. You may spend one of them on a differ if you desire.
    Personally, I would spend it on something more substantial.
     
  25. rockledge

    rockledge Forum Resident

    Location:
    right here
    I don't agree. There are plenty of musicians outside of classical music who are quite musically gifted. Many singers in pop music who are and rock music who were naturally gifted of which some who are still alive and singing, others who are technically trained as singers, and a combination of all things in between.
     
    AnalogJ likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine