[LAU] another song with corin

[tim hall]

Dave Phillips wrote:
> Frank Pirrone wrote:

>> Where her voice naturally falls within the first two tunes, her quick 
>> and quavery vibrato and flattish phrasing keep "Fever" from becoming 
>> an equally strong vehicle for her talents.  She's "crooning" it more 
>> than singing it.
> 
> Yes, that's it exactly. As I wrote previously, she has done it better 
> live, she can connect with her audience pretty well by now.
> 
>> I'd have her syncopate it more.  Slow down the vibrato, or drop it at 
>> points altogether.  That's common enough for jazz singers.  Sing with 
>> a little more edge, and from the throat.  Have her close her eyes and 
>> both visualize the story of the lyrics and the expressive process of 
>> voicing it.  Have her practice some bluesy growl and timing, even to 
>> the extent of visualizing herself as a tube of vocal music, squeezing 
>> it out perfectly with pressure from the diaphragm.  If you sing, show 
>> her.  She'll quickly get the point and emulate the difference.
> 
> These are great suggestions, Frank, thank you, and I will use them. I 
> haven't really approached the use of vocal effects (I'm still trying to 
> master Blind Wilie Johnson's growls myself).
> 
> She has trouble with the vibrato. I think perhaps her classical teacher 
> has failed her there, she didn't realize she had it until I pointed it 
> out. Sometimes it's mitigated by her comfort level, I've noticed that in 
> performance her first songs have more vibrato than the later selections. 
> She's getting more comfortable with the recording process though, and 
> hopefuly she'll learn how to "iron out" the vibrato and to apply it with 
> more control over where & when.

If she's still a teenager she has time to develop her vibrato. Any 
female singer who avoids sounding like Mariah Carey et al. will get my 
approval. You have to /feel/ vibrato - My favourite vibratos are Bob 
Marley and Elizabeth Frazer (Cocteau Twins). It is a technique for 
extending power and note duration without going badly out of tune, so 
part of it is ear-training, to know when your intonation is slipping and 
introduce an appropriate amount according to the feeling of the song.

As I said in my previous post. I like the unaffected style of the 
performance. If she is singing slightly flat, it may be that she simply 
needs a bit of a confidence boost. Pitching is 90% confidence in my 
experience. There is also a greater acceptable pitch margin for lead 
vocals if no-one has to harmonise with them. Some of my favourite 
singers are actually quite slack in this department.

cheers,

tim
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