Classical VS Contemporary Singing: What’s the difference?
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I was a trained classical singer. The thing was, I didn’t want to only sing classical music. I wanted to sing Pop, Blues, Folk, Jazz, Musical Theater, and all kinds of contemporary music. So, I started singing Sarah McLauchlin, Tori Amos, Alannis Morrisette, and Fiona Apple. Yup, it was the 90’s.
As hard as I tried, I couldn’t seem to sound like them with their strong, warm lower voices and their belty middle voices. In fact, my voice would crack quite a lot, I strained on the middle-high notes, and I had NO IDEA how to fix any of it.
But, I didn’t give up. I found the right training, and I reconditioned my voice.
Turns out, now, I help a lot of singers who had classical training. Whether they started in choir, majored in classical voice, or legit musical theater.
If this is you, you can do it. You can learn how to sing in other styles. You can uncover your natural, authentic voice.
Start by learning both the mechanical and stylistic differences.
Classical vs Contemporary: Mechanical and Stylistic Differences
CHEST VOICE
In classical singing, it’s considered garish to use a heavy chest voice in the lower range. This is especially true for sopranos.
This avoidance of being too heavy can lead classical singers to have a tendency to be too light in their chest voice. In other words, they bring too much head voice down into the bottom of their range.
The production of chest voice in contemporary singing is more balanced. It doesn't have too much head voice in it, and it's very much like the speaking voice.
Tip: Try speaking the words first, and then speaking them on the pitch. This will help you find a natural sound that isn’t too different from your speaking voice.
Check out my VoiceTalk blog on chest voice to learn more on how chest voice works.
HEAD VOICE
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
I often see classical singers reject their head voice when they begin learning to belt. They think that using their head voice is bad because it doesn't sound strong enough. Head voice is NOT bad. If you have a developed head voice, you’re already halfway there.
We need both chest voice and head voice to blend together to produce MIX voice! Check out my blog on Mix Voice HERE!
VIBRATO
Think of vibrato like a texture. It occurs when the voice is in balance.
Classical singers use vibrato on almost every note. In musical theatre, you’ll hear it used in a variety of ways depending on the style and era of the musical. In musical theatre, a sustained note often starts out on a straight tone and then the vibrato comes in at the end of the note.
Pop and contemporary singers use a lot less vibrato than classical styles.
If you use a lot of vibrato, experiment with using no vibrato at all and then add it back sparingly. Listen to other pop and contemporary singers. Notice how much vibrato they are using to give you some inspiration.
ONSETS
The onset is how the vocal cords come together at the initiation of the sound.
Contemporary styles tend to have more edgy onsets. You might hear a pop singer use vocal fry as they begin a note or use a bit more attack at the beginning of the notes.
Classical onsets are very balanced.
A balanced onset is when there is a balance of airflow and muscle when the sound begins. Try saying UH-OH with a very easy spoken way, and see if you can do it with a balanced onset.
A soft onset is when the vocal cords do not have complete closure at the beginning of the onset. This results in a breathy sound like hhhhhhhheeeeeee.
A hard onset (or glottal onset) is when there is when there is an over-compressing of the vocal cords as the sound is initiated. When there is too much muscle and not enough airflow this can cause a pressed phonation. There are varying degrees of this. If the onset is very hard and there is too much attack, over time this can be damaging to the delicate vocal cord tissue.
RESONANCE STRATEGies: CONVERGENT VS DIVERGENT
The vocal tract (the space from the vocal folds to the tip of the lips) is a resonating tube. It refines, shapes, and reinforces the sound wave produced by the vibrating vocal cords.
The vocal tract can have a convergent or divergent shape. This shape is primarily influenced by the way you form your vowels.
Convergent is when there is more space at the back of the throat and less at the opening of the mouth. A classical sound resonates more in the back of the throat versus in the mouth. When that space is bigger, it will boost more of the lower frequencies and less of the upper ones. This gives us that warm round classical sound.
Divergent is when there is less space at the back of the throat and more at the opening of the mouth. A pop or contemporary sound uses a divergent shaped vocal tract. This boosts more of the higher frequencies, producing a more bright, “in your face” kind of sound.
THE LARYNX
The larynx is where the vocal folds reside. If you put your hand on the front of your throat where you feel a small lump, sometimes called the Adam’s Apple. If you swallow, you’ll feel it go up and then back down. If you yawn, you’ll feel it go down.
We want the position of the larynx to be free and neutral so we have a natural sound. We don’t want to purposely depress it or allow it to raise up too much, especially when singing high notes.
The larynx will naturally move up and down depending on where we are in our range and how intensely we are singing.
The larynx usually sits lower in classical singing than it does in contemporary.
Some classical singers overly depress the larynx which darkens the sound. This can make their voice sound manipulated when they go to sing contemporary.
In contemporary styles, you’ll notice the larynx is more neutral or even slightly raised. A raised larynx will shorten the back of the vocal tract. This gives it a more divergent shape and boosts the upper frequencies.
THE SOFT PALATE
The soft palate is the muscular part of the roof of your mouth, behind the hard palate, between the top back teeth. When you yawn, you’ll feel it lift.
Classical singers might lift the soft palate as a resonant strategy to create more space in the back. This gives the vocal tract that more convergent vocal tract shape.
When the soft palate is in an optimal position, it keeps the sound from going nasal. Raising it a lot can move you towards sounding like an opera singer. The shape of your vowels will affect how much the palate raises!
Whichever style you prefer, remember that the end goal is the same for whatever style you choose to sing.
WE WANT:
Communication of emotion and story
Style that feels appropriate for the song
Even tone throughout the range
Healthy technique that allows for vocal longevity
Aaand that’s all for now! Watch me demonstrate these techniques with one of my students, Lisa, an opera singer for 20 years. Check it out here!
Did you learn something new? Let me know in the comments!