East Meets West(and everything in between!)

Different Ways of Singing Throughout the World

Introduction

• Some Westerners think Chinese singers sound like squeaky brakes on a car.

• Some Chinese think Western singers sound like they’re singing in a box.

• There are real differences; are the differences genetic or cultural? Are they different because of the different languages, or perhaps even because of the weather?

Introduction

Today we’ll learn• the why and how of different styles found in

different parts of the world. • how make some of the sounds we’ll be

hearing.

Looks and age can be deceiving

• Susan Boyle

Tuva Throat Singing

Tibetan Music

Country-Western Music

• Its home is Nashville, Tennessee• Characterized by– A nasal sound– Elongated vowels (time becomes tamm)– Pronunced “r” when singing

Musicals Style

• Lead roles often pay more attention to the character than to the voice

Yodeling (Yodel)

• Common to mountainous areas• Sound carried long distances

Hue’er

• Hue’er, a type of shan'ge, is widely popular in the eight minorities including Hui, Han, Tu, Dongxiang, Bao'an, Sala, Tibetan and Yugu in four provinces – Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang.

• The tune of hua'er is called "ling" (a pattern to which the tune is set).

• It has maintained a good reputation going back to the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty.

Opera – Chinese and Western

• Chinese– Singing style – toward the front of the throat—sharper,

more distinct tone– Traditional music– Performance very stylized

• Western– Singing style – toward the back of the throat—deeper,

richer tone– Original composed music– Varied performance styles

Jazz Singers

• Louis Armstrong (“Satchmo”)– Pioneer in solo jazz performance.– One of the first scat singers (vocalizing using

sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics).• Ella Fitzgerald– “Queen of Jazz;” “First Lady of Song”– Three octave range– Renown scat singer

Entertainer v Musician

• Musician– Susan Boyle

• Entertainers– Britney Spears– Madonna– Justin Bieber

• Musician and Entertainer– Michael Jackson– Beyonce

Discussion

References• Red Cliff: http://www.pekingopera.eu/redcliff/en.html

• Verdi’s opera “Aida”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aida (The picture was found at http://www.gratisonline.com.br/melhores-musicas-de-opera-ouvir/ The site is in Portugese.) For information about Aida in Chinese, seehttp://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%98%BF%E4%BE%9D%E9%81%94

That’s All, Folks!

• Don Rechtman• www.OrfeoMusic.org