Soloists Flashcards
Complete this sentence:
Solo artists reflect…
The styles of the time.
This is why soloists that have a career lasting many years will adapt their style to follow current trends.
Describe the distinct vocal features of these soloists:
a) Micheal Jackson
b) Whitney Houston
c) Adele
d) Lana Del Rey
a) High (sometimes falsetto voice). He often used vocal hiccups, and vowel sounds (“ah” and “hee hee”)
b) Impressive vocal range, capable of singing loud. She was famous for using melisma and riffing
c) rich and soulful, capable of a range of timbres. From gentle and raspy to a big and powerful sound
d) sultry, dreamy voice
What are short intakes of breath called?
Vocal hiccups
Give the definitions of
a) Melisma
b) Riffing
And the soloist they relate to
a) multiple notes per syllable.
b)
Whitney Housten
Does the artists’ personality have an affect on their popularity?
Yes, both for their media coverage and for their music
Choose the correct word:
Charismatic soloists can engage with an audience on a (less/ more) personal level than a band
More - because performing alone allows them to show more emotion, such as voice cracking or wavering to show vulnerability
Give an example of an artist known for costumes, which promotes their music.
Lady Gaga
Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Katy Perry all have what in common?
They all use social media to engage with their fans and promote their music
What technology is often used for solo artists?
Samples - extracts from other songs
Overdubbing - a seperate track (often a harmony, like in Someone Like You by Adele) is mixed with the original
Multi-tracking/ layering - each part is recorded on its own track, then they’re all played back together. One person can sing all the parts in a song then
A Vocoder - a type of synthesiser which electronically alters a voice recording to create weird effects. Similar tech has been used to auto-tune some singers
Reverb - adds an echo
When was “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” released by Kylie Minogue? What technology was used to make this?
- MIDI Technology
What do these vocal effects mean?
a) A cappella
b) Falsetto
c) Portamento
d) Scat
e) Vibrato
a) singing as the instrumental backing
b) Mainly when men make their voices go really high (Sam Smith, The Bee Gees, Micheal Jackson)
c) Sliding from one note to another
d) Improvising with syllables like “doo” and “dat”. From jazz music
e) Making your voice quiver up and down slightly in pitch, making the voice warmer and more expressive
Give the opposite of melismatic
Syllabic - one note per syllable
Pitch bends and delays do what?
Pitch bends adjust the pitch of the vocalist
Delay makes a delay
What do backing singers do?
They sing the harmonies
Give the word from these descriptions of ways backing vocalists can sing:
a) all singing different notes
b) singing a higher part in time with the main tune
c) repeating whatever the lead vocalist sings/ answering the lead with another tune
d) all singing the same notes
a) In harmony
b) Descant
c) Call and response
d) In unison
