Have you ever sung in an echo-y place?
Yodelers like to sing in mountain canyons where the rock cliffs are steep. Renaissance music specialist like to sing in very old cathedrals. The college kids at BYU like to sing under the overpass bridges to the Marriott Center. The open foyer to my house in Maryland had wonderful acoustics. I loved singing there. On a trip once to Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany, I couldn't help trying out the acoustics in the grand ballroom. There's nothing quite like singing a little something in a room built for performing. (The tour group didn't really mind.)
When the acoustics are just right, the singer feels such a rush soaring on those suspended and naturally amplified tones. However, a wide vibrato can spoil the whole effect. That's why many accapella groups try to sing without vibrato. Too many stray or uncentered pitches muddy the purity of the sounds
That's a problem for amplification with microphones, too. Last night at rehearsal, the sound technicians had trouble mic-ing the soloist who had a very wide vibrato. She had a beautiful voice, but her vibrato was inconsistent. Sometimes it was barely present, then other times she really let loose. It was loud and very wide. Had she been in a Cathedral with no mic amplification, her natural ability to make her voice project would have been appreciated. But in the very large hall where we were, her wild fluctuations in volume and vibrato really gave the technicians trouble.
My vocal coaches and choral conductors really worked with their singers to reign in their vibratos. If we couldn't control our vibratos, we were not allowed to sing with the groups.
Recording equipment can be very touchy, too. Some vibrato gives the voice warmth and expression. But too much or too wide of vibrato makes the machinery go haywire. Professional recording artists learn tips and tricks to safely get the best recordings possible with their own particular voice qualities.
I sure hope the sound techs can help our few soloists sound good in that enormous hall we are performing in tonight. Sound amplification is necessary, even with big voices, because the room swallows up sound so thoroughly. I hope they are magicians.
"Call Upon the Lord" - a song about prayer for this Easter Season.
Yodelers like to sing in mountain canyons where the rock cliffs are steep. Renaissance music specialist like to sing in very old cathedrals. The college kids at BYU like to sing under the overpass bridges to the Marriott Center. The open foyer to my house in Maryland had wonderful acoustics. I loved singing there. On a trip once to Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany, I couldn't help trying out the acoustics in the grand ballroom. There's nothing quite like singing a little something in a room built for performing. (The tour group didn't really mind.)
When the acoustics are just right, the singer feels such a rush soaring on those suspended and naturally amplified tones. However, a wide vibrato can spoil the whole effect. That's why many accapella groups try to sing without vibrato. Too many stray or uncentered pitches muddy the purity of the sounds
That's a problem for amplification with microphones, too. Last night at rehearsal, the sound technicians had trouble mic-ing the soloist who had a very wide vibrato. She had a beautiful voice, but her vibrato was inconsistent. Sometimes it was barely present, then other times she really let loose. It was loud and very wide. Had she been in a Cathedral with no mic amplification, her natural ability to make her voice project would have been appreciated. But in the very large hall where we were, her wild fluctuations in volume and vibrato really gave the technicians trouble.
My vocal coaches and choral conductors really worked with their singers to reign in their vibratos. If we couldn't control our vibratos, we were not allowed to sing with the groups.
Recording equipment can be very touchy, too. Some vibrato gives the voice warmth and expression. But too much or too wide of vibrato makes the machinery go haywire. Professional recording artists learn tips and tricks to safely get the best recordings possible with their own particular voice qualities.
I sure hope the sound techs can help our few soloists sound good in that enormous hall we are performing in tonight. Sound amplification is necessary, even with big voices, because the room swallows up sound so thoroughly. I hope they are magicians.
"Call Upon the Lord" - a song about prayer for this Easter Season.
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