Being able to sing in tune is one of the fundamental skills required of a singer.
Yet one of the questions I am most often asked is:
"Could I one day sing like...?" and the comparisons are theirs, the iconic voices of music history, almost always, all with an extremely distinctive timbre that immediately makes you realise that this might be the element that makes them loved, perhaps more than the ability to sing in tune.
In the history of music, some of the most recognisable voices come to mind: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin; followed by Michael Jackson, Freddy Mercury, Dimash, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars and many, many more... (tell the truth: when you read their names, their most iconic songs popped into your mind, didn't they?)
In tune, of course, and technically proficient, but each of these incredible voices has a unique and unrepeatable timbre determined by a series of PHYSICAL characteristics that cannot be replicated.
In a recent interview, Damiano of Maneskin said, "My vocal fords are peculiar, shaped like two arms of a pair of spectacles; I have a hole in the middle. That's why my voice is like this, there's air in the middle." A voice that has allowed him to go far, with a dirty, scratchy, sometimes poignant timbre. A "congenital defect" that becomes a hallmark and driving force behind the singer's success.
Some copycat imitators manage to replicate his voice, but certainly not for the entire duration of a hypothetical concert.
A little tip. Study the technique, and only when you begin to master it will you find your own style!
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