Popular singing, also called natural singing or popular singing, refers to the performance method used to sing popular and popular songs. The following is what I have collected and organized for your reference. I hope it can help friends in need.
Basic characteristics of popular singing:
Popular singing singing techniques include breath singing, falsetto singing, folk singing, Hong Kong and Taiwan singing, European and American singing, black singing and crooning. From the perspective of singing style, it can be roughly divided into three categories: strong singing type, soft singing type and artistic type.
Popular singing is generally based on soft singing, with little use of vocals, no need to open the throat, generally shallow breathing, natural and smooth sound, without much modification, not wide vocal range, vocal cords and larynx The lower muscles exert more force. But he pays attention to emotional expression, tends to emphasize emotion but speaks softly, and his performance is random.
1. The use of breathing:
Don’t pay much attention to the depth of breathing. Most of them use chest breathing. The inhalation position is relatively high. Only a few artistic singers sing soulful songs. Only when breathing is deeper can you use it.
2. Throat position:
Both male and female voices are mainly true voices. The larynx position is generally high, the throat opening is not large, and everything is subject to the needs of the style.
3. Whispering:
Due to the use of microphone amplification, there is no need for powerful singing (except for a few powerful songs). Singing is mainly soft, and real voices are mostly used. There is more humming in the lower part of the body, so the oral cavity is used more often, trying to maintain a natural state, just like reciting or speaking.
4. Sound direction:
The articulating tube is short and the sound is forward, friendly and natural.
5. Vocal range:
Most of the vocal ranges of the works are between ten and twelve degrees. Some folk song adaptations have a slightly wider range, and some powerful songs or dramatic works have a wider range, making it difficult for those with average or untrained voices to perform.
6. Articulation parts:
The articulation method is similar to the mouth shape and national singing style, sometimes more forward, with heavier dental and labial sounds, emphasizing articulation, so the language is clear and emotional. kind.
Summary: The popular singing method pays attention to straightness and flatness, makes the sound natural, advocates colloquialism, and focuses on "emotion" in the sound. The similarity with the folk singing method is that it requires the singer to have a good sense of music and expression. Ability, there are mixed opinions about this singing method, but as a singing style, its approachable performance and strong appeal make it a popular singing method. It is an objective existence and has a large number of people. famous singers and audiences who love it.
What basic skills are needed to learn popular singing?
Specific requirements that must be paid attention to in the practical application of popular singing. Although popular singing is multi-format and multi-level, these requirements are consistent. However, the specific requirements for singers at different levels may differ. If we use the sixteen characters of being able to be high or low, strong or weak, strong or soft, bright or dark as the criteria, the requirements for high levels: all sixteen characters are in place; for the middle level, some of them are in place; for the low level It's not about being in place. This refers to skill requirements. Some singers do not have a first-class sense of music, but their skills are first-class and can still be ranked among the first-class.
1. The sound must make the audience feel a clear "texture". To do this, your voice must be fully forward when singing. This kind of forwarding must also be "highly concentrated." "Texture" is reflected in the form of high "focus". The smaller the idea, the higher the quality.
2. The volume control is not reflected by amplification - reduction, but by the light - dark control of the small focus point mentioned above. The purpose of this technical requirement is to sing Even when the volume is high, the sound quality remains focused and not scattered. When the volume is reduced, the "texture" must not be lost. Even when the breath is sang, the "texture" is still not lost. No matter how brilliant the electronic sound is, it can only change the singer's timbre, but it cannot create the "tone color".
3. The sound quality is produced by the vibration of the vocal cords, and the vibration comes from the tension of the vocal cords - resistance, so the "focus" of pronunciation must be on the vocal cords. There is a vocal term in traditional Western singing called - "Let the vocal cords singing". Pavarotti said: "Sound starts from the vocal cords, and the vocal cords must vibrate immediately." That's what he meant.
4. There is also a vocal terminology in popular singing - "The sound must rest on the vocal cords." It is also of the same nature. If the starting point of the sound is in the mouth, the sound cannot rest on the vocal cords. That is to say, if the tension-resistance of the vocal cords is not in place, the sound effect produced will either be milky or milky, or the sound will not be concentrated. There is currently such a singing method in the Japanese music circle, which is said to be to express the "pure" effect. In comparison, my country's Yang Yuying and He Ying are better than Noriko Sakai and Seiko Matsuda in this aspect. The milky voice is not bad as a performance feature, but if it is completely separated from the basic vibration of the vocal cords and the support of the breath, it becomes "artificial".
The five words "let the vocal cords sing" can have three contents at the same time: sound awareness should not take the "mouth" as the starting point, but should take the vocal cords as the starting point. This is a kind of consciousness, (because the sound actually always comes out through the mouth) ) should always take the vocal cords as the "starting point"; the second one is from a physiological point of view. When letting the vocal cords sing, "both sides of the soft palate must be lowered", as if hanging all the way to the bottom of the neck. This is a very important thing when singing. An important condition because it is the key to solving tight vocal cords and loose throat. The arch of the palate is loosened, the tongue is free, and the jaw is relaxed, so that the throat can be opened. On the contrary, as soon as the palate arch tightens, the base of the tongue immediately presses down, causing the vocal tract to be blocked, and everything is over; the third type refers to "the sound relies on the breath" (traditional singing has this requirement, and European and American popular singing also has this characteristic) because The essence of the singing method is the breath - the resistance of the glottis. Without positive glottal tension, how can the resistance create resistance with the breath? The adjustment of the vocal cords is the core of all scientific singing methods, and popular singing is of course no exception, as well as European and American singing methods. It is one of the signs that distinguishes it from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. The advantage of this method is that the sound has strong "texture" and distinctive voice characteristics. It is worth learning from the Chinese music scene.
5. Another manifestation that the voice must be fully sung is articulation. Although the articulation of popular singing is based on natural speech, there are still differences in degree. It should be said that the articulation when singing is much more exaggerated than speaking, just like the articulation when reciting lines in a play is more exaggerated than when speaking normally. The articulation of popular singing requires the tongue to be tightened horizontally from left to right when speaking. The purpose of this emphasis is to make the sound more forward and clearer. The tongue seems to be always in the position of "get", "let" and "like" in English. superior. The articulation of popular singing is not as particular as the "spout" and "bite" in Chinese national singing. It is also unlike traditional Western vocalizations, which require the mouth to be opened like a yawning position to pronounce words. It should always be that the back of the mouth is not larger than the front of the mouth. Therefore, when singing, you must not consciously open the back of the mouth, and do not lift the soft palate. The popular singing method does not require opening the mouth wide, as long as the front of the mouth is "trumpet-shaped", which does not affect the forward sound. (The shape of a cat’s mouth when meowing vividly illustrates the mouth shape requirements of singing).
There has been a situation like this: a female singer usually sings with a very soft voice, but the volume is very loud when performing; another female singer usually has a very loud volume, but the volume is very low when performing on stage. Why? It turns out that although the former has a small volume, it has "quality" and the sound is very forward; the latter has a large volume but is not concentrated, resulting in a blurred texture. And because of "rearward" - the back of the mouth is larger than the front; although the sound is loud, it cannot come out, which means it is not loud. So is it true that popular singing cannot use "backward" consciousness? The answer is that in most cases, popular singing should be forward in both consciousness and effect. Temporary "backward" expedients are only allowed under certain conditions. This means that some singers habitually protrude their chin forward when singing, causing obstruction of the vocal tract. In order to correct the position of the chin, the voice is allowed to "retract" temporarily. The purpose is to encourage the chin to retreat. If this can indeed help correct the problem of protruding chin, but once the error is corrected, you still need to sing according to the "forward" requirements of popular singing. The famous Bulgarian vocal teacher Brembanov once asserted that the secret of singing is "leaning forward, and leaning forward again." Why is there such an emphasis on leaning forward? In the traditional Western vocal music world, there has been a long-term debate between "leaning forward" and "leaning back". The reason is that the content of "*** sound" often causes people to misunderstand - letting their ears hear vibrations. This instinctive habit will make the singer unconsciously place the sound in the back of the mouth - —The place closest to the eardrum, causing the sound to be perceived as loud but not heard by others. This may also happen in popular singing. Most singers ignore the objective reality that the singer's self-perception and the listener's actual feeling are two different things. The self-perception on high notes is even completely opposite to the actual effect. If a singer cannot establish such a concept - never forget to listen to his own voice with his own ears at all times - that is, if he clearly knows the actual effect of his own voice in the ears of the audience, he will definitely not be able to sing well. Some singers feel very good about themselves, but in reality they are completely the opposite. Some singers sing very well, but they always feel inferior and think that they cannot sing well. In this case, this issue will be discussed in the "Misunderstandings in Singing" below. "Sing out" is the original meaning of "leaning in", but the sound effects of leaning forward in traditional vocal music and leaning forward in popular singing are completely different. Popular singing is the "white voice" in traditional Western singing. It can even be said that The "whiter" the requirements are, the better.
6. Sense of Qi: Sense of Qi is not only a kind of awareness, but also an "effect". Using the upper and lower abdomen to fight against each other in the above breathing is a means to build support. This does not mean that when singing, The two ribs can maintain an open posture even if there is breath support. "Qi Sense" is precisely the evaluation of this method. Take the church bell as an example: if you strike the bell before it is hung up, the sound will be short and unpleasant; if you strike it playfully after it is hung up, the sound will produce an echoing sound that can be transmitted ten miles away. The sense of breath can make the singing always have a reverberating "reverberation", and the auditory effect is obviously different. The singer's self-perception is that he clearly feels an "echo" in his chest.