54 replies to this topic

[Mr Hathaway]

I don't really know much about singing, but sometimes I think Amy may have sang in a way that was damaging to her vocal chords, does anyone with some sort of knowledge of singing know anything about this?

One of the videos that made me think this Cupid performance (especially after 2:08):


I've seen her sing this way in a few other videos, though she doesn't really belt that often.. her voice sounded fantastic here (as it always did), and had more power than usual, any idea as to why didn't it have this much power in the B2B concerts previous to this one?

[jcable06]

the thing i thinked damaged the quality of her voice was from the years of smoking and drugs in the past. that contributed the most i think.......

[antceleb12]

I study music and voice in college right now, plus I sing jazz and classical, so I am constantly having to think about these things.

Aside from Amy's drinking and drugs, there is a LOT that goes into proper singing technique - even with pop music. Her singing was wonderful, but not technically correct in many ways. Especially when she does a lot of the high passages and runs (especially in "Cupid") in her belt - that is not particularly healthy. The vocal chords are thinner than paper and are very small. I can guarantee that combined with her lack of technique, as well as her drinking and drug usage, she probably had vocal nodules (small blisters and markings that are damaging to the voice).

Another part of it is her posture and how she supports with the breath. She often bent and breathed in ways natural to her, but not healthy. Her posture often doesn't allow her breath to flow properly, causing a lack of support. The proper way to breath is from the diaphragm (located right below the rib-cage), not the shoulders. And a healthy way of supporting your voice is to breath from the diaphragm and keep the air "spinning" (keeping a steady stream of air flowing). Also, constriction in the throat (when it gets tight due to lack of support or uncomfortable ranges) could have also been a problem.

It is hard to tell what exactly about her technique was good and what wasn't without close observation of her, but generally speaking, she did not have (as most pop and musical theatre singers do not) the best musical technique. But, I bet that good technique might have limited her vocal creativity.

However, I do not think her technique was terrible. As a matter of fact, Whitney Houston's technique was AWFUL. Whenever her jaw shook, it was a sign of jaw tension and poor support. Her belting was not healthy and ruined her voice. I think that had she not done drugs, her voice would have still rapidly declined. During her "Bodyguard" tour, she was instructed to cancel her tour because of vocal nodules, but didn't. She got surgery, but that does not fix the problem entirely. Aretha Franklin also has poor technique, which is why her voice has drastically declined over the years. However, look at Patti LaBelle. She belts like crazy just like Aretha, but she can still do it today like she could do 40 years ago - because of good technique.

I can tell you that Mariah Carey's voice is going downhill fast. In general, when women belt, it is NOT healthy. There is healthy belting, but few women know how to do it properly. Mariah belts improperly and her whistle register is suffering, too.

Comparatively to some of these ladies, Amy's technique was not that bad. Part of it was she didn't try to belt as much as these other ladies did.

[amylove]

[MENTION=742]antceleb12[/MENTION] This is interesting because I've always seen Amy as being effortless in many of her performances especially when she sat and sang acoustically. It seemed to come naturally to her, like she didn't have to try and I find her lower range beautiful (and comfortable for her)... but of course I'm not a student of music!

What do you think of Adele and what makes Amy great to you?

[antceleb12]

[MENTION=742]antceleb12[/MENTION] This is interesting because I've always seen Amy as being effortless in many of her performances especially when she sat and sang acoustically. It seemed to come naturally to her, like she didn't have to try and I find her lower range beautiful (and comfortable for her)... but of course I'm not a student of music!

What do you think of Adele and what makes Amy great to you?

I agree. Amy's performances always seemed natural and easy. What I don't like about Adele is the exact opposite reason. Her voice always sounds a little strained, and it makes me uncomfortable a little, haha. Of course, she did have some pretty intesne vocal health issues just recently, and I think that (as well as smoking) were major contributors to the problem.

[Amy Jenna Harper]

antceleb12 : Thanks for the explanation,that's really interesting.
I agree with allisost ,its obviously that,everything came naturally to her

[Cecilia]

[MENTION=742]antceleb12[/MENTION] - excellent post, and I agree with you completely. Proper breathing/singing technique and regular vocal/warm up exercises can help prevent damage to the vocal chords. But like you say, Amy's vocal creativity would have been limited had her technique been more conventional. And that intuitive creativity she had is part of what really makes her stand out.

[MandyP]

Off the subject.....

This performance is amazing. She is so into this song. It made me really miss her.

[amylove]

I love this one:


please hear my cry...... ugh.

[Miss Mermaid]

thanks for the post.

i also think that age plays a factor aswell as lifetstyle.

not sure if you saw the queens jubliee concert this year - but paul mccartney, elton john and stevie wonder sounded awful.

they are all getting on now.

[JackofHearts]

[MENTION=742]antceleb12[/MENTION] Thanks for the great explanation. You seem really knowledgeable about the subject. After watching the video in the original post I see what you mean when you said she stood that made her breathing more difficult. She often looks down and bends her neck when singing.

And I couldn't agree more with what you said about Whitney Houston. I think she was a great singer, but singing the way she did day in and day out while on tour could not have been healthy.

[tselekoglu]

Sometimes I feel so lucky I'm a member of the forum. And this time I feel lucky :-)

---------- Post added at 06:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:08 PM ----------

And I didn't know singing is that hard and has so many rules. Man when I sing, I just sing. Naturally! lol

[AnnaAnna]

Thx, antceleb12, very interesting!

I always found, that Amy sounds much more easier as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.....and better;-)

[LucyGoose]

@antceleb - completely unrelated - since you are a vocal student, can you tell me how Mariah Carey does those dog-whistle notes? This doesn't seem like a normal vocal ability! Does she force that?

[amylove]

[MENTION=2060]LucyGoose[/MENTION] Minnie Riperton was a whistler(?) too. Singing kind of blows my mind in general... I can't imagine making my voice doing anything other than speak so everything would be forced for me