What do you think makes a good singer ?

[WildRosie]

I would say staying in tune without wobbling or wavering, keeping within your register (whatever that may be), clear enunciation and the ability to project your voice. If you like vocal gymnastics like falsetto and vibrato, having the confidence to use them appropriately.

Placement of the voice to achieve the colour and timbre suitable to the phrase.

Thankyou Spike. That sounds like technical talk to me. How would you put that in layman's terms?

Do you mean a random person, or someone who sings in a choir, or a classical or rock singer? I think that while a certain amount pertains across the board, other bits are quite different, depending on what type of singer you are.

I find it a wee bit hard to explain, but by controlling different muscles in the vocal system a singer can access different resonances that shape how the voice sounds. In my opinion, a good singer chooses the appropriate combination of these to suit the piece (e.g. it would be inappropriate to sing a folk song in an opera style, no matter how beautiful the voice) and also changes them dynamically during a piece to convey meaning to each note or phrase.

So while I would not deny that things like being in tune are really important, I think the star quality in a singer comes from those more subtle choices, as it's those that make singing communication, rather than just notes. Hence, Bob Dylan.

Watching The Voice, and other singing programmes, you get some people are who sing well, but are not good performers. Ie. They’re singing the words, but not actually meaning what they sing. For me, a good singer, as well as hitting note, performs the songs. I don’t mean going all jazz hands, but if they’re singing ‘I’ll love you’, the emotion behind the singing needs to convey this also.

Also, they must have good diction. I hate it when they can sing well, but you can’t understand what they are saying!

Thankyou Spike. I understand a little better now.

Tureen, I mean anyone who sings solo routinely. It strikes me that being part of a choir allows minor deficiencies and mistakes to be masked, providing it's not the whole choir! A solo screwed-up is more likely to be noticed so they need good qualities.

I can't get anywhere near Spike's level of expertise but for me, a good singer is someone who can draw you in and tell a story with their performance.

It doesn't necessarily mean being able to sing eight octaves right up to the whistle. (Although there is clearly talent and skill in that.)

Neil Tennant is a good example of what I mean by this; his voice is limited in terms of his range, so he and Chris Lowe have to write Pet Shop Boys songs around his vocals. I think they have both said previously that it's quite the songwriting challenge. Nonetheless, he's a captivating performer. Those songs draw the listener in, conjure up a mood and a feeling really well. And you always instantly know it's him when you hear him.

Artistry. Loads of people can sing in tune, but not everyone has the talent to perform.

I used to sing solo in auditioning classical choirs at university (Bach, church music), but these days, in non-Covid times, it's mostly Irish trad in a seisiún setting, but another huge love of mine is opera, and they all need different things.

Sean nós singing, for instance, features improvised ornamentation, so you'd not necessarily ever sing the same song the same way twice, it's often unaccompanied, and the rhythms are dictated by speech rhythms, and it's not at all 'sweet' or nice-sounding -- you learn it orally, by listening to other singers, who teach in the spirit of handing on a specific regional tradition.

For opera, obviously, you need to train to have a much bigger voice, as anyone who has ever sung 'Happy Birthday' alongside a bunch of opera singers who are used to singing over a full orchestra will testify. And sometimes extraordinary opera singers sound dreadful singing anything that requires something less ornamented and large-scale opera crossover, or opera singers singing folk or jazz can be an embarrassing mess, though someone like Bryn Terfel just about gets away with it, usually. Someone like Katherine Jenkins sounds perfectly pleasant, but has a very bad vocal technique if you consider her from a pure opera perspective, and almost certainly wouldn't be able to sing an opera without amplification which isn't surprising, as I don't think she completed her training.

I remember a TV ad for an Alexander Armstrong album, and the bits in the ad sounded ridiculous to me because he was singing 'Down by the Salley Gardens' and 'Hushabye Mountain' with vocal technique that was still audibly based on his time as a Cambridge choral scholar -- he has a beautiful voice, and people clearly buy his music, but I couldn't listen to something that mismatched.

But honestly, when it comes to singers who aren't classical singers, or who aren't from a specific folk tradition, for me it comes down to someone who is fully in control of the way their voice and its own unique properties, even if, objectively, that voice isn't particularly 'good'. Some people (say, Sinéad O'Connor) are able to translate that to a recording, others (Camille O'Sullivan) really need to be heard performing life, as the voice isn't great in itself, but functions brilliantly as part of a performance...

For me a good singer is someone who can keep me engaged and enjoy the song throughout - iykwim. For instance Fred Schneider from the B52’s wouldn’t be described as a “good singer” but the songs wouldn’t be the same without his quirky voice ie Loveshack.
I said this on another thread but I think “Valerie” by Amy winehouse was such a big hit when she did it and not so much when the Zutons did -because she had the chutzpah to make it sound really good although live she was very hit and miss. She just owned it.
Same as I always think Christina Aguilara is a great vocalist but not so much Britney (I know these two are often compared from their Disney days) but I just find Britney boring and insipid. I think the ability to “emote” what you’re singing makes a good singer, to make people feel something, whatever that may be.

Mariah is an amazing vocalist,same as Arianne but they leave me cold.

I just cant warm to them.

Madonna is my favourite singer,she just sings like she means it.Her voice to me is very emotive.

For me it’s always the energy the person conveys whilst they sing, so how it makes you feel when you listen to them and feel their energy.

You can have the most vocally talented and musically correct person that’s just not very pleasant to listen to because they don’t radiate a nice feeling energy.

Pain. I know that sounds weird but I can't really fall in love with a singer unless they are baring a part of their soul. Layne Stanley is an excellent example of this. He sang off key in many songs but I put him among the top vocalists in the world.

Thankyou all. Clearly much thought has gone into your opinions. I've watched Glenn Close do a live version of a song from Sunset Boulevard and I remember she both sung the song and acted the part simultaneously - it was quite a tour de force.

I suppose there is a difference between a singer and a vocalist.

I don't generally like the style of Arianna Grande but caught part of her post-Manchester concert where she was dueting with Miley Cyrus and the more natural pared down style showed her voice off beautifully. For a contemporary singer, I quite like the more earthy tones of Miley in a twiddly world of over-production. I love the natural style of Chrissy Hind and Stevie Nicks, and while I don't know enough about the technicalities of music/ singing, they express a song beautifully.

That classic cover version of The Sound of Silence is mindblowing because of the depth and richness of Draiman's (Disturbed) voice. I was feeling adventurous when I bought the album rather than a single, but through the rest of the tracks, I appreciate their more typical growling and roaring style all the more for having heard his amazing voice resonating through a more conventional song. Simon and Garfunkle, and Disturbed are both brilliany pieces of story telling through song despite their different styles.

I also love the simplicity of Neil Diamond's voice. I've no idea about how technically good he is, but his voice delivers a song with beautiful honesty. I love Pretty Amazing Grace for that.

The comments about Neil Tennant were interesting. The PSBs are so underrated, but so influential. His style is so distinctive and the number of times you can identify him in the backing on a collaboration.

Singer-songwriters often hold an advantage by writing to their strengths, and feeling their song.

Two voices I can't warm to are Sam Smith's mono-wailings over just about everything, and Sia's total lack of diction.

Authenticity

Variety of things depending on voice and context. I'm a trained singer with Grade 8 in voice. Certainly tune, consistent tone, control are pretty good for everyone. But you get some amazing rock vocalists who can't 'sing' brilliantly, but are amazing.

I sing in a choir and while there is some truth to minor deficiencies and mistakes by individuals being covered by the whole, it is also important to work on blending the voices together harmoniously - different voice parts must work together, no individual voice should poke out unless they are singing a solo, and those with more resonant voices (usually those with naturally deeper singing voices) need to be careful to rein it in so they don't dominate. Whichever voice part has the melody must be heard. You also have to plan where to breathe, especially in long phrases, so there are no audible gaps in the sound which distract. It's challenging, but so rewarding - you know when you've done a good job of singing a song.

The Voice is really interesting - you can tell who has had some training by their vocal placement, particularly when hitting certain notes. There was a battle last week which really showed the difference between singing and meaning what you're singing. The older guy with the flat cap won and he really made the song his own in a way that was engaging and moving. The opera singer Nadia and Stephanee were another interesting pairing. Nadia has an amazing range and power. I'm not sure I would recognise it was her singing if I heard her on the radio. Stephanee has a lovely clear tone and is the potential winner because she is also distinctive and sings with authentic emotion.

Sorry to bang on - some great singers don't have the strongest voices, but they are distinctive and there's something about them, e.g. Diana Ross.

I think it’s a combination of:

Having an original timbre of voice, a sound that has something unique to it. All the greats have this.

And making it believable, emotionally. That speaks through to the listener and they connect to it.

Sam Smiths diction is beyond terrible.All the words just run in to each other.

I would rather hear someone hit a bum note but be believeable while singing the song.
Than a pitch perfect rendition of a song with no soul.

I like a unique and instantly recognisable voice. I also like a performer rather than just a singer.

Sam Smith is not alone in this: Ariana Grande slurs her words together and I can't understand much of what Sia is singing.

I think good singers are born not made. They are born performers and love entertaining and singing even as children.