I won't rant on and on in this installment. Instead, I'll just throw out one word:
MELISMA
This is when pop diva wannabes sing sixty notes for a single syllable - it's octave showboating and a form of auditory abuse. It's on display with basically every American Idol contestant and almost every pop/hip-hop/R&B song on the radio.
Message to young pop stars: Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston have been there and done that. Move on. No more of this nonsense - not on American Idol, not while you're singing the National Anthem, not ever! You are fracturing words into a soulless slur of syllables.
Your vocal gymnastics have become predictable and alienating. A steady note can be transcendent - try it sometime. Your amateur warbling is a trite, self-indulgent form of exhibitionism.
I'll admit, very rarely a song can be enhanced by a dose of melisma. Roberta Flack could pull it off sparingly to great effect. But, most of the time "there isn't any musical justification of what they are doing. Their runs interfere with the flow of the melody, of the lyric, of the harmonies, sometimes of the rhythm itself. It's frequently a very vulgar and ugly display." (quote from NPR)
So quit it.
(BTW: Frank's singing book can actually be found here in its entirety - I'm talkin' to YOU Jennifer Hudson!).
[related post see Reflections on Contemporary Music (and Why It Sucks) Part 1]
MELISMA
This is when pop diva wannabes sing sixty notes for a single syllable - it's octave showboating and a form of auditory abuse. It's on display with basically every American Idol contestant and almost every pop/hip-hop/R&B song on the radio.
Message to young pop stars: Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston have been there and done that. Move on. No more of this nonsense - not on American Idol, not while you're singing the National Anthem, not ever! You are fracturing words into a soulless slur of syllables.Your vocal gymnastics have become predictable and alienating. A steady note can be transcendent - try it sometime. Your amateur warbling is a trite, self-indulgent form of exhibitionism.
I'll admit, very rarely a song can be enhanced by a dose of melisma. Roberta Flack could pull it off sparingly to great effect. But, most of the time "there isn't any musical justification of what they are doing. Their runs interfere with the flow of the melody, of the lyric, of the harmonies, sometimes of the rhythm itself. It's frequently a very vulgar and ugly display." (quote from NPR)
So quit it.
(BTW: Frank's singing book can actually be found here in its entirety - I'm talkin' to YOU Jennifer Hudson!).
[related post see Reflections on Contemporary Music (and Why It Sucks) Part 1]
