What Makes a Good Singer?

[Alex]

So I was listening to Alice In Chains and my mum was saying how the singer (Layne Stayley) didn't sound that good and the music was trying to cover for him. I felt he could sing and sing well and had a good vocal range. Another one was a review of a Joy Division CD I read, the guy says while he what Joy Division did for music he felt Ian Curtis couldn't sing, again I feel Curtis could sing and had a unique voice. Some people will say the two people mentioned can't sing as well as others (some people on the forum feel Kurt Cobain couldn't sing)

So what does make a good singer, is it the perception of the audience of a good singer or is it something to do with the style of singing they do???

 

[Tim]

It's your own opinion. If you like how someone sees, and they're in your opinion a good singer, then for you they are a good singer. Some people won't like that person's singing, and think he's not a good singer. Take for example someone like Kurt Cobain. Some people have told me he's a great singer. Sure, I like Nirvana's music, but Kurt was never a good singer. He got the message across, and he used his own vocal style, but he wasn't a good singer IMO.

Another example is Claudio Sanchez from Coheed and Cambria. A lot of people say he's a crap singer because he sings too high, but IMO I think this makes him a great singer. He has a great range, and his voice is unique and interesting. But other people say that he sucks and his voice is crap. It's all just opinionated, so basically you must make up your own mind on whether someone is a good singer.

 

[santinoistight44]

i agree with Tim on this. all of this is just opinion. although some things that i think make a good singer are: uniqueness (in a good way), and if the singer can make you feel emotions in their songs, they are good singers, because they can really make you feel what they feel. i also feel that pitch sometimes matters. if singers can sing low songs, and switch to a higher pitch in the same song, i think it shows talent.

And then there are other singers that just sing their song the way they sing every other song. For example: ACDC. i am no fan of them, because in my opinion, the singer is terribble. it's the same sound in all of his songs, and it does get boring after a while.

All in all, singers aren't exactly good or bad, it is mainly just opinion.

 

[Arkham Noir]

Music preference is such a personal thing that it is really impossible to say whose good and whose bad. Alot of singers have voices that are deemed "good" never attract my attention, wait, let me re-phrase that; I'm not attracted to someone singing just because I think they are a good singer.The message being conveyed, mixed with a voice suitable for that message is really the mix that makes a good singer.

For example; Chris Martin's voice sounds great when he is playing with coldplay's style.But if we were to put his voice with , say, the instumentals to Disturbed, than his voice really wouldn't sound all that great. A voice sounding good involves placing it within the right element.

So to answer your original question; what makes a good singer is completly subjective.I think Benjamin Burnley is a great singer because how his voice compliments what he is singing and how he is singing it.I also think LIGHTS is great because of what she is singing and how she chooses to sing it. They are both completly different, but great in their own right.

 

[Richard]

In the end, anything regarding what makes anything good in music is subjective but I think what generally helps a singer become good is the ability to be versatile, be able to sing a vast variety of notes and have a strong consistency with live performances.

Singing in a genre which matches your singing style also helps as well. I can't imagine someone like Lady Gaga belting out Underoath though.

 

[.]

I have a friend who believes that his musical opinion is better than everyone elses and is a gigantic condescending douche about it. Basically he likes Radiohead & Muse and any band that has a sound similar to them(if you look in my graphics thread the muse guitar hero thing i made was for him). Sure Thom Yorke & Matt Bellamy have above great voices but they don't do anything for me and i prefer singers such as M. Shadows,Shaun Morgan, Brent Smith,Raine Maida & Josey Scott and the music they play and sing.
I understand how i find my opinion differant to his as it is all about perciption.

 

[The Jabroni]

I think emotion is what makes a good singer. If you have a 5-octave range and gorgeous vibrato but no emotion, then you're not a good singer. Singers have to seem like they're singing about something that matters to them. An artist without emotion is no artist at all. That's one of the many reasons that the Beatles were so successful. Not only were they innovative and extremely talented, they could also put incredible amounts of emotion into a simple set of lyrics. Other singers that are/were able to do this include Jacques Brel, Conor Oberst, Elvis Presley, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, George Michael and Kevin Devine. Some singers (such as Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel) were even able to overcome a lack of singing ability by displaying a great amount of emotion. Emotion makes music.

However, there are exceptions. Bands like MGMT (who I adore) have used emotionless and sedate performances to get their point across. This works for them, but in many cases, you have to feeling to be a good singer.