An Interesting Read Abt. Michael's Voice 6/09

[simplyme]

Deleted the link

I'm not posting the whole article.  There's too much junk to weed out of the page.  Sorry, Just the link.  There is also a video to one of my all time favs, Prince... I don't even remember what I was looking for now, when I bumped into this. lol

[TracyK]

Are they saying that MJ was castrated??? That's ridiculous! If this is the case, this is obviously someone who has not seen the gold pants thread. I am too respectful to post pics, but those of you have have seen gold pants pics knows damn good and well he was ALL there!!

[SunShine]

I shall happily post a picture of MJ parts....LOL

[simplyme]

Are they saying that MJ was castrated??? That's ridiculous! If this is the case, this is obviously someone who has not seen the gold pants thread. I am too respectful to post pics, but those of you have have seen gold pants pics knows damn good and well he was ALL there!!

Hi Tracy, NO  I wouldn't have posted the article if it said that unless I wanted everyone to blast the writer - I would have said that -  although that story went around many years ago.  This man wrote this story right aftet 6-25.  He just wondered.  I posted the story for the rest of it's contents and his knowledge about voices [I was in the choir].  Didn't mean to upset you.

[simplyme]

I shall happily post a picture of MJ parts....LOL

Did you read the whole article?  Think I'll delete the link.

[Jude]

I would have liked to have read the artical before you deleted the link, can you put the link up again please?  

[TracyK]

Are they saying that MJ was castrated??? That's ridiculous! If this is the case, this is obviously someone who has not seen the gold pants thread. I am too respectful to post pics, but those of you have have seen gold pants pics knows damn good and well he was ALL there!!

Hi Tracy, NO  I wouldn't have posted the article if it said that unless I wanted everyone to blast the writer - I would have said that -  although that story went around many years ago.  This man wrote this story right aftet 6-25.  He just wondered.  I posted the story for the rest of it's contents and his knowledge about voices [I was in the choir].  Didn't mean to upset you.

OH no!! I wasn't upset like that!! I have heard that before and I guess I took the article wrong. Sorry for the confusion.

[simplyme]

I would have liked to have read the artical before you deleted the link, can you put the link up again please?  

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This is the cache link.  I couldn't find the other link.

[mykidsmum]

I've read a similar article about MJ being a castrato...this is so silly considering he was a TENOR!  MJ said him self (on Bashir...either outtakes or the original, while he was sitting on the stage I think) that little kids would come up to him and they heard from their parents and would ask him...do you take female hormones to make your voice high...LOL...he said that's funny because he is a tenor...He is not a soprano and that is for sure.  I don't think he goes that high in songs...I think his voice is very masculine. (Dirty DIana!)  I think everyone was more freaked out by that phony high speaking voice he put on in the early 80's...LOL!

[wendst6]

here MJs deep voice;-)

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..and no comment ;-)

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[simplyme]

I've read a similar article about MJ being a castrato...this is so silly considering he was a TENOR!  MJ said him self (on Bashir...either outtakes or the original, while he was sitting on the stage I think) that little kids would come up to him and they heard from their parents and would ask him...do you take female hormones to make your voice high...LOL...he said that's funny because he is a tenor...He is not a soprano and that is for sure.  I don't think he goes that high in songs...I think his voice is very masculine. (Dirty DIana!)  I think everyone was more freaked out by that phony high speaking voice he put on in the early 80's...LOL!

He does do soprano.  You just haven't seen it.

[simplyme]

I've read a similar article about MJ being a castrato...this is so silly considering he was a TENOR!  MJ said him self (on Bashir...either outtakes or the original, while he was sitting on the stage I think) that little kids would come up to him and they heard from their parents and would ask him...do you take female hormones to make your voice high...LOL...he said that's funny because he is a tenor...He is not a soprano and that is for sure.  I don't think he goes that high in songs...I think his voice is very masculine. (Dirty DIana!)  I think everyone was more freaked out by that phony high speaking voice he put on in the early 80's...LOL!

I wish I hadn't posted that link now.  The whole thing escaped everyone or it wasn't well written.  Maybe this link will explain it better from another forum or just do some research ----PASTE.

This was originally part of a response to a post by Annie ok entitled, Falsetto Question. In my opinion, Michael Jackson possessed one of the greatest voices of our time. Here I describe just one technical aspect of why his voice was so very exceptional--its expansive range and beauty in its upper register.

Almost everyone has vibrato, the natural wave sound in the voice. Both males and females have vibrato, although I once had a very unusual voice coach that had none and was a lousy singer as a consequence. Depending on the style of music, you can supress the vibrato and produce what is called a straight tone--no wave. But this more or less a continuum of sound. Popular music usually goes for the straight end of the spectrum, opera goes for the wavey end.

In contrast, a falsetto voice is a type of sound that is only produced by a male voice.* It is a high voice that occurs after an upper register break in a male voice. Male singers, whether tenor, baritone, or bass can produce this falsetto sound. That is why it is called falsetto (root word false)--it means a false voice--a false high. (If you ever listened to Jackie Jackson's lead on 2300 Jackson Street, for example, that is a falsetto sound). I think this has to do something with physical anatomy of the voice box which differs in males and females. Gifted instrument of nature that he was, Michael could produce true high notes without having to access this false voice. He had extraordinary range that naturally included high notes, and then he had access to falsetto on top of that. No enhanced technology needed. This type of male singing voice is usually called counter tenor. Among counter tenors, Michael was the best in my opinion. If you listen to classical music, especially from the baroque period, you will usually find that the solos written for counter tenors can also be sung by a female alto or mezzo-soprano. The range is identical. In present day classical music, females often sing these roles because true counter tenors are a relatively rare find.
Michael Jackson's voice was certainly a rare, one of a kind gift. We are blessed to have heard it.

*Since I originally wrote this, Planet Jackson has informed me that scientists have recently discovered and documented the existence of female falsetto.

**Falsetto examples in Michael Jackson's work - "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," "Butterflies," "Smooth Criminal" (used selectively on "Butterflies" and "Smooth Criminal, but not for the entire song in either case).
***Other artists using falsetto - Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind, and Fire), "Reasons"
Prince, "I Want To Be Your Lover" (The entire song is done in falsetto
voice. Compare that to his natural vocal range on "Purple Rain".)

"Michael's vocal tick occurring on the in breath before phrasing a lyric is indicative of deep emotion. His voice, a clear tenor, vocal timbre: Spinto, Countertenor, Baritone. Highest note: B5; Lowest note : E2 Vocal range: 3.6+ octaves-- E2-B5; 44 notes by the middle of 1980s according to Seth Riggs, vocal consultant. In the 1990s, Riggs said the range expanded to 4 octaves.
"Four octaves gives Michael Jackson a range that few can match."


Of course the medical things were of interest in relation.

[RK]

think I've read that Phillip Bailey had a 4 octive voice as well.

[mykidsmum]

I've read a similar article about MJ being a castrato...this is so silly considering he was a TENOR!  MJ said him self (on Bashir...either outtakes or the original, while he was sitting on the stage I think) that little kids would come up to him and they heard from their parents and would ask him...do you take female hormones to make your voice high...LOL...he said that's funny because he is a tenor...He is not a soprano and that is for sure.  I don't think he goes that high in songs...I think his voice is very masculine. (Dirty DIana!)  I think everyone was more freaked out by that phony high speaking voice he put on in the early 80's...LOL!

He does do soprano.  You just haven't seen it.

his high voice is called a falsetto, his voice is called tenor and he will NEVER be a saprano, even when he was a child, he was not a sapraono....  He said so himself that he is a Tenor.  He can not be a saprano because a saprano is a woman.

His voice, a clear tenor

Soprano
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the voice type. For other uses, see Soprano (disambiguation).
Voice type
Female voices
Soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Contralto
Male voices

Countertenor
Tenor
Baritone
Bass

 
Maria Callas during her final tour in Amsterdam in 1973.A soprano is a singing voice with a vocal range (using scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4) from approximately middle C (C4) to "high A" (A5) in choral music, or to "soprano C" (C6, two octaves above middle C) or higher in operatic music. In four part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part which usually encompasses the melody.[1] For other styles of singing see Voice classification in non-classical music.

Typically, the term "soprano" refers to female singers but at times the term male soprano has been used by men who sing in the soprano vocal range using falsetto vocal production instead of the modal voice. This practice is most commonly found in the context of choral music in England. However, these men are more commonly referred to as countertenors or sopranists. The practice of referring to countertenors as "male sopranos" is somewhat controversial within vocal pedagogical circles as these men do not produce sound in the same physiological way that female sopranos do.[2] The singer Michael Maniaci is the only known man who can refer to himself as a true male soprano because he is able to sing in the soprano vocal range using the modal voice as a woman would. He is able to do this because his larynx never fully developed during puberty.[3]

In choral music, the term soprano refers to a vocal part or line and not a voice type. Male singers whose voices have not yet changed and are singing the soprano line are technically known as "trebles". The term "boy soprano" is often used as well, but this is just a colloquialism and not the correct term.

Tenor
Main article: Tenor
Tenor range: The tenor is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C (C3) to the C one octave above "Middle C" (C5). The low extreme for tenors is roughly B-flat 2 (the second b-flat below middle C). At the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to the second F above "Middle C" (F5).[6] Tenor tessitura: The tessitura of the tenor voice lies above the baritone voice and below the countertenor voice. The Leggiero tenor has the highest tessitura of all the tenor sub-types.[3]

Tenor sub-types: Tenors are often divided into different sub-categories based on range, vocal color or timbre, the weight of the voice, and dexterity of the voice. These sub-categories include: Leggiero tenor, Lyric tenor, Spinto tenor, Dramatic tenor, and Heldentenor.[3]

[mykidsmum]

I've read a similar article about MJ being a castrato...this is so silly considering he was a TENOR!  MJ said him self (on Bashir...either outtakes or the original, while he was sitting on the stage I think) that little kids would come up to him and they heard from their parents and would ask him...do you take female hormones to make your voice high...LOL...he said that's funny because he is a tenor...He is not a soprano and that is for sure.  I don't think he goes that high in songs...I think his voice is very masculine. (Dirty DIana!)  I think everyone was more freaked out by that phony high speaking voice he put on in the early 80's...LOL!

I wish I hadn't posted that link now.  The whole thing escaped everyone or it wasn't well written.  Maybe this link will explain it better from another forum or just do some research ----PASTE.

This was originally part of a response to a post by Annie ok entitled, Falsetto Question. In my opinion, Michael Jackson possessed one of the greatest voices of our time. Here I describe just one technical aspect of why his voice was so very exceptional--its expansive range and beauty in its upper register.

Almost everyone has vibrato, the natural wave sound in the voice. Both males and females have vibrato, although I once had a very unusual voice coach that had none and was a lousy singer as a consequence. Depending on the style of music, you can supress the vibrato and produce what is called a straight tone--no wave. But this more or less a continuum of sound. Popular music usually goes for the straight end of the spectrum, opera goes for the wavey end.

In contrast, a falsetto voice is a type of sound that is only produced by a male voice.* It is a high voice that occurs after an upper register break in a male voice. Male singers, whether tenor, baritone, or bass can produce this falsetto sound. That is why it is called falsetto (root word false)--it means a false voice--a false high. (If you ever listened to Jackie Jackson's lead on 2300 Jackson Street, for example, that is a falsetto sound). I think this has to do something with physical anatomy of the voice box which differs in males and females. Gifted instrument of nature that he was, Michael could produce true high notes without having to access this false voice. He had extraordinary range that naturally included high notes, and then he had access to falsetto on top of that. No enhanced technology needed. This type of male singing voice is usually called counter tenor. Among counter tenors, Michael was the best in my opinion. If you listen to classical music, especially from the baroque period, you will usually find that the solos written for counter tenors can also be sung by a female alto or mezzo-soprano. The range is identical. In present day classical music, females often sing these roles because true counter tenors are a relatively rare find.
Michael Jackson's voice was certainly a rare, one of a kind gift. We are blessed to have heard it.

*Since I originally wrote this, Planet Jackson has informed me that scientists have recently discovered and documented the existence of female falsetto.

**Falsetto examples in Michael Jackson's work - "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," "Butterflies," "Smooth Criminal" (used selectively on "Butterflies" and "Smooth Criminal, but not for the entire song in either case).
***Other artists using falsetto - Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind, and Fire), "Reasons"
Prince, "I Want To Be Your Lover" (The entire song is done in falsetto
voice. Compare that to his natural vocal range on "Purple Rain".)

"Michael's vocal tick occurring on the in breath before phrasing a lyric is indicative of deep emotion. His voice, a clear tenor, vocal timbre: Spinto, Countertenor, Baritone. Highest note: B5; Lowest note : E2 Vocal range: 3.6+ octaves-- E2-B5; 44 notes by the middle of 1980s according to Seth Riggs, vocal consultant. In the 1990s, Riggs said the range expanded to 4 octaves.
"Four octaves gives Michael Jackson a range that few can match."


Of course the medical things were of interest in relation.

LOL!  I assumed it was that castrati article I read...LOL...  Nice article!  Loved it!  Wish I saw it before:)