Whitney Houston Born into the family of religious singer Cissy Houston. Singer and TV presenter Dionne Warwick was her aunt, and she was baptized by the queen of soul music, Aretha Franklin. Rotation in such an environment greatly contributes to the development of talent, and the singer’s own debut took place when Whitney Houston was 11 years old - at a performance in a Baptist church.
It seemed as if God himself was patronizing her talent: the singer’s first album “ Whitney Houston” (1985) brought the singer her first award - a Grammy in the category “Best Female Pop Vocal”, and the Guinness Book of Records calls Whitney Houston“the most awarded performer.”
World fame and superstar status came to Whitney Houston in 1992 thanks to the film, the song from which “I Will Always Love You” [“I will love you forever”] instantly became famous. The role of the bodyguard in this film was played by Oscar winner actor Kevin Costner. This song spent 14 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts and is still considered the most commercially successful female pop single in history. The album has been certified twice platinum since 2009. Whitney Houston“I Look To You.”
Whitney Houston can safely be called a “plowman” of music - during her more than 30-year career, the artist has released more than 170 million discs, her discography includes 53 singles, 6 studio albums, 5 collections and 3 soundtracks, and her filmography includes 5 films, filming in three TV series, producing 5 films. The singer has traveled the globe six times on a world tour.
It seems that life Whitney Houston- work, work and more work, however, a singer of this magnitude had enough time for her personal life: Whitney Houston She was married to Bobby Brown, singer of the R&B group New Edition. In 1993, the couple had a daughter, Christina Houston-Brown (died in 2015).
Whitney was not only beautiful in face, but also slim: height Houston was 1 m 73 cm, and weight - 64 kg.
The singer's excessive drug use is widely known. What led the owner of a luxurious voice of five octaves to drug use, no one can really know. It is known that the singer had to face such a problem in life as disappointment in a failed marriage. The very same Houston said that “the biggest problem in my life is myself.”
In 2013 Whitney Houston would have celebrated her 50th birthday, but she died on February 11, 2012 in a room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. What happened to her? The owner of the most beautiful soul voice on the planet...mixed alcohol with antidepressants. Biography Whitney Houston counted so many conquered peaks of success, and her life ended so prosaically...
It turns out that God’s gift for a person can turn out to be an unbearable burden?..
One of the most famous hits Whitney Houston- "I Will Always Love You"
At first, her five-octave voice, comparable to the voices of Whitney Houston and Gloria Gaynor, sounded in the evenings only in Odessa restaurants, but soon it thundered throughout the entire Union. The famous “Three White Horses” performed in “The Sorcerers”, the role in the film “We are from Jazz”, the best ever role of the ghost of Mephistopheles in Schnittke’s cantata. She was no less successful on the Russian stage: her “Weather in the House” and “People Can’t Always Be Around” were listened to by the whole country. Today singer Larisa Dolina celebrates her anniversary.
She first appeared on stage at the age of 12, when she spent the summer at a pioneer camp. The performance, which aroused the admiration of her peers and the amazement of adults, sealed her future fate. The head of the musical group immediately invited her to perform together, and a little later, while studying at school during the day, in the evenings she sang herself in restaurants, earning money for the family. Having won victories in various competitions, already in the ninth grade she became an artist of the Odessa Philharmonic, so she had to complete the last class in absentia. Her parents, who gave her the name Larisa exactly 60 years ago, had no idea how justified the name, meaning “seagull” in Latin, would be and what heights their daughter would achieve, accompanied by an ocean of fans.
Larisa was born on September 10, 1955 into a simple Jewish family in Baku. Dad, Alexander Markovich Kudelman, worked as a builder, mother, Galina Izrailevna, was a typist. Having spent the first two and a half years of her life in sunny Baku, she remembered her Baku house with a luxurious garden in which pomegranates, cherries and figs grew for the rest of her life. Then the family moved to Odessa - a city that Dolina considers its second homeland, speaking about Odessa residents: “... these people never cry, even in the most difficult moments of life they try to joke. This is the innate optimism of Odessa.”
Although not innate, but acquired optimism helped in many ways in life there, the initial conditions of which were very far from ideal. At first it was a semi-basement, where 20 other people lived with them, and then a room in a communal apartment, where, according to her recollections, there were “three gas stoves for 25 people, one tap, one toilet and a bathhouse two blocks from the house.” Larisa's parents, trying to give their daughter a decent start in life, worked day and night. “I was accustomed to the nightly sound of the typewriter: my mother took work home to earn at least a little overtime and survive until the next paycheck,” Dolina said. That’s why she worked part-time in a restaurant, although her mother was categorically against it. True, then Dolina was supported by her father, proving to her mother that extra money would not hurt the family. In general, her father supported her in many ways and was always open to her: it was with him that she shared many secrets.
Mom was a powerful Jewish woman with an iron character. According to Dolina’s recollections, she was afraid of her mother. “...Once I tore my mother’s “ceremonial” nylon stockings. Our family was of average income, and my mother could afford such a luxury as nylon stockings once every few months. In horror, imagining what would happen when she found out about the damaged stockings, I ran to hide with a neighbor. In such cases, my mother spanked me thoroughly and threatened to send me to a boarding school. Believing this sacredly, I stood on my knees and begged her not to do this!..”
Although it was not customary in the family to speak Yiddish, the ignorance of which Dolina still very much regrets, parents often switched to it when they wanted to hide serious conversations from the child. In addition, all Jewish holidays and traditions were sacredly honored in the family. “I am Jewish by nationality and have never hidden it. At school I was sometimes teased as a Jew. Sometimes I even got into fights because of this. Then I read in the dictionary that “Jewish woman” is Jewish in Polish, and I stopped being offended,” she will say in an interview.
As a child, she generally dreamed of becoming a translator and persistently pursued this. At school she shone with her knowledge of English and attended courses. At the same time she studied music. “Mom really wanted all our horrors to remain in the past, so that I could get a good education (they didn’t have one). That's why she took me to a music school in a cello class. But this was enough to not touch the cello again for the rest of my life. So I never received a special music education. But I always loved to sing. Yes, in general, the song helped me endure all the hardships...”
Gradually, having won the love of Odessa, the Valley set out to conquer the all-Union space. She received an invitation from Yerevan to sing in the vocal and instrumental ensemble “Armina”. “When I announced that I was leaving, my mother made a terrible scandal. But I said: “Mom, you go to work, I’ll pack my suitcase and still do it my way. You will have to come to terms with it." Dad supported me. Half of Odessa intervened. The hysterics and tears continued for a week. Friends and girlfriends came home, persuaded my mother, and she gave in.”
Although at first in Yerevan, Dolina often scolded herself for her willfulness and disobedience to her mother. There were no milk rivers here, no jelly banks, which she pictured in her imagination. Sometimes there was not even money for food, and a huge number of men were scurrying around, “who at all costs wanted to seduce the plump blonde. I had to lock all the locks in the hotel and not leave the room. I was almost raped once. It was literally a miracle that saved me..."
She lived in Armenia for four years, then moved to Sochi, where her first official success came. In 1978, the II Competition of Soviet Song Performers was held in Sochi, at which Dolina was one of the participants. She took second place and attracted the attention of the leader of the famous jazz ensemble “Sovremennik” Anatoly Kroll. At his invitation, she left for Moscow, where soon, together with him, she would create an “Anthology of Jazz Music.” Her name will become famous. With the “Anthology” the orchestra traveled all over the country, and everywhere there were constant sell-outs.
In 1983, Larisa Dolina appeared in films for the first time. She appears on screens in the role of Clementine Fernandez in the film “We are from Jazz” by Karen Shakhnazarov. After the decree of the USSR Minister of Culture, when all non-resident artists (without registration) were asked to leave Moscow, at the end of 1983 Larisa moved to St. Petersburg. Because of this, the singer did not graduate from the pop department of the Gnessin Moscow Music College. In 1984, Dolina played one of the main roles in Alfred Schnittke's The Story of Doctor Johann Faust. After the performance, the singer was called the best performer of the role of the ghost of Mephistopheles. Since 1985, Dolina has been working independently and staging several concert programs. Dolina's first own group, consisting of six musicians and four dancers, appeared in 1986. In 1991, she discovered France as a singer, performing in front of an audience of 20 thousand in the city of La Rochelle at the Radio Prestige festival, becoming the first foreigner invited as a guest of honor to this festival.
Then, one after another, her more and more new programs will follow, which will be seen by Russia, Israel, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, Europe, Australia, the USA and Madison Square Garden - the most famous concert hall in the world, where 5,600 spectators will give her a standing ovation. There will also be a world tour with Igor Butman’s orchestra in the “Carnival of Jazz” concert program, which confirmed her status as the best jazz singer in the country and the best voice in Russia. There will also be musicals, one of which, “Love and Espionage,” where the singer played several roles at once, was composed especially for her by Maxim Dunaevsky.
By the way, Larisa Dolina speaks five octaves, although some vocalists, assessing her voice, talk about only three. However, even such a range on stage is rare and is comparable to the voices of Whitney Houston and Gloria Gaynor.
Of course, there were difficulties, all kinds of troubles in life, problems in my personal life, but, as a rule, they are not remembered on their birthday. There were also different moments of creativity, determined by time, but she finally settled on jazz. Although, it is possible that jazz chose her. Now she is happy, is in complete understanding with her daughter, and adores her granddaughter. She actively takes part in many television programs and shows, and in one of the projects where artists had to perform songs in the genre of folk music, she, without thinking about the choice, brilliantly performed a Jewish folk song. After all, even despite the change of Kudelman’s surname, which was not entirely sonorous for the singer, she did not come up with anything exotic, taking her mother’s Jewish surname - Dolina.
Alexey Viktorov
This text is the fruit of an unhealthy idea to write some kind of fact for those who do not study vocals, are not interested in exercises and terminology, but love music and are not averse to singing their favorite songs with a guitar. Or evaluate the capabilities of the vocalists of your favorite groups and their place in the vocal hierarchy. Finally, for those who are simply interested in how tenor differs from bass in principle.
Here I will not bore you about such joys as breathing, “support”, “dome” - a lot has already been written about them, and it is impossible to understand anything from what is written until you yourself break off your horns about these things for a couple of years.
I’ll just tell you as clearly as possible about how the singing voice works from the inside and what voices are found in the wild.
In general, I will try to write a text that at one time would have been very useful to me, but for some reason did not catch my eye then.
Let's start with the simplest, most understandable and interesting. Range. What is the general range of singing voices? You will be surprised but, in general, it is quite small. A professional opera singer is supposed to have 2 octaves. Moreover, there are relatively few works that actually use these two octaves entirely. Usually you need about an octave and a half. Well, in pop music, among bards and in the Russian horn, sometimes half an octave is enough.
Is two octaves a lot or a little? For comparison: a classical guitar allows you to extract 3.5 octaves, an electric ~ 4, my Yamaha synthesizer - 5 octaves, a piano ~ 7.3 octaves.
It doesn't seem like much. In fact, here it is necessary to clarify what the “range of a professional singer” is. By this we mean the kind of notes that he would sing when woken up in the middle of the night with a cold and a severe hangover. Those. the kind of notes that are always with him and which he confidently emits when he comes to work day after day. In addition, it goes without saying that there is a beautiful, musical, correct sound of all notes in the range, and also equalized in timbre and dynamics (i.e. volume). And also “flight”, i.e. The voice of a professional opera singer should always be heard by the audience in the last row. No, it's not the same as "loud".
So, getting these two octaves is a serious job that takes years in music. schools and conservatories.
Generally speaking, in addition to the mentioned two “professional” octaves, there may be additional notes in the voice. From below or even from above. But there are few of them, hardly more than a third there or back. These notes are more common in women; they have a slightly larger range. One way or another, modern operatic material will not require these notes (by “modern” I mean the current repertoire of opera houses; in fact, with a number of reservations, we can assume that “modern” opera begins with the composer Verdi).
But what about the occasional stories about singers with ranges of 3-4-5 octaves? So be it. Ask how this range was measured. And they measured it, most likely, with the inclusion of all non-singing sounds. That is, from burping to squealing when pressed by a door. Usually such statements are either advertising, or boys and girls on forums compare themselves with each other using virtual instruments.
And there is one more thing that needs to be mentioned right away. So to speak, the third octave from the bushes. Falsetto.
In general, this is the mode of operation of a male voice when it sounds like a female one. Well, has everyone heard Vitas?
Or let's listen to one of the best vocalists in modern rock - Matt Bellamy, who masterfully masters the falsetto and easily switches from it to the main voice, which, together with his tenor, gives 3 octaves.
Everything in this piece is sung in falsetto.
Male academic vocals do not imply the use of falsetto, except perhaps as a characteristic color. In any case, these notes are not included in the range. Although it happens that a man sings everything entirely in falsetto, i.e. in a woman's voice. Such personnel are called counter-tenors; they usually sing the repertoire of soprano or mezzo-soprano and are indistinguishable from them in sound.
In order not to forget about women, it must be said that they have their own “falsetto” - called the whistle register, which is used extremely rarely.
At this point I would like to talk a little more about voice types, since this is such a bad thing. By and large, there are 6 of them: three male (from high to low - tenor, baritone, bass), three female (soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto... contralto). Each male voice is approximately an octave lower than the corresponding female voice. True, one must keep in mind here that each type of voice is divided into at least two more: lyrical (high, light) and dramatic (low, denser and stronger). The maximum number of voices is divided into hundreds of varieties, depending on the geekiness of a particular researcher. The greatest diversity is observed among soprans and basses, which is logical.
Most men are statistically baritones. So, if you are a man, then most likely you are a baritone, unless there is reason to suspect otherwise. If there are reasons, then it is quite possible that it is still a baritone - only a specialist can determine the exact type of voice, and sometimes they miss the mark. That is, if you always speak in a bass voice, this does not mean at all that you are a bass and not a tenor. In addition, the listed voice types are rare in their pure form, usually somewhere between bass and baritone, or tenor and baritone. It also happens that a singer begins his career as a baritone and continues as a tenor. A classic example is Placido Domingo.
Women, for the most part, have a high voice - soprano. Mezzos are much less common, and contraltos are now a completely endangered species; now they are no longer particularly separated from mezzos.
Usually, during the production process, the voice is brought to a sound characteristic of its type, i.e. The tenor yells in a thin voice, and the bass mumbles in a thick voice. Although in principle this is not necessary, you can try to portray a sound that is not your own type, it’s just that each voice has its own optimal timbre.
It is more difficult to distinguish a mezzo from a soprano by sound, and sometimes it is completely impossible.
As for the modern pop music, both rock and pop, it consists almost entirely of tenors or those who pretend to be tenors. Apparently, a high-pitched voice is more in line with the erotic fantasies of the target audience (teenage girls). Although in the Soviet stage, and also in foreign music in the mid-20th century, there were many baritones. Some of them (Gopzon, Leshchenko) are still soldering.
How different are the voices from each other in range? In fact, not so much, for “neighboring” voices by about a third, i.e. by 1.5-2 tones. Let me remind you that there are 12 semitones or 6 tones in an octave. But you need to understand that a third is not much if you take it from the middle of the range, but if you take it from the top note, then every semitone there is like climbing Mount Everest.
Finally, one last thing about voice types. In general, this classification is used in academic music for one reason: parts are written for one or another type of voice, and accordingly, the assignment of a singer to one or another class determines the optimal repertoire for him. On the stage, everything is different, where the material is often written for a given specific performer (often by himself), and here it does not matter at all whether he is a tenor or a coloratura bass - it is possible to choose convenient material for a specific voice, and not for a type. Therefore, it is often problematic to reliably find out what kind of voice a particular performer has. Meanwhile, this is sometimes useful when covering someone else’s material, so to speak, to compare the capabilities of the original performer with your own.
That's it, I'm tired for today. In the second part I will try to write about the structure of the voice and the concept of tessitura, as well as draw a number of practical conclusions.
I hope for a heated discussion of the text; a little asshole in the comments would also not hurt.
Finally, I suggest listening to good performers.
Sergey Lemeshev, lyric tenor.
Muslim Magomayev, baritone.
Fyodor Chaliapin, high bass.
Anna Netrebko, soprano.
Elena Obraztsova, mezzo-soprano.
I’ll answer the question on Twitter: “Music “experts” claim that Houston has a range of 5 octaves, Anokhin has 3.5, and Domogarov has 2).”
First, a little about the terms. The basic, natural, natural voice of a person is called the chest voice. The chest voice is characterized by timbre and overtones. Strictly speaking, the vocal range is considered to be the range of the chest voice. There is also the so-called falsetto - the voice of the upper head register, it is like an artificial voice, which is obtained by special tension of the vocal cords. It is believed that falsetto is a voice for men, but for women this voice is called differently. How? Sometimes a woman's falsetto is called a subtone. But since subtone is still a broader concept, and for some reason there is no unambiguous term for female falsetto, I will simply call it falsetto. There is also the so-called mixed - a mix between registers, transitional notes to another register, and sometimes the notes themselves in the head register, skillfully colored with a chest timbre.
So - to the essence of the question. Only those who have seen musical instruments from afar can claim a range of five octaves). We read on the Internet, maybe someone expressed it metaphorically, maybe someone registered records, again using all the techniques (including falsetto), which have a very conditional relation to singing - in a good way, it is unrealistic to reproduce five octaves with a working range. For example, Sergei Penkin boasts that he plays almost four octaves. But he just takes it and tries to sing. But this is no longer singing, but some kind of setting range records, and he is trying to break records not with his voice, but with wheezing (like I can do low) and with falsetto (like I can do high). He has no time for songs - he just shows how he can, how much he can. It would be better not to do this). Well, as they say - to each his own). In principle, any vocalist can squeak in falsetto like Penkin after a little training... who is not ashamed to squeak). But these are not working notes. Penkin just has such athletic singing. Or Vitas. He also has a small natural vocal range. But they came up with a trick for him with “ultrasound”) - also falsetto. If we count the range from his working notes to this “ultrasound”, then we can also say that Vitas has a wide range, and Penkin has an even larger one, but this is not so. Houston knew how to use falsetto in such a way that you couldn’t tell where the chest voice was and where the falsetto. She knew how to color the falsetto with timbre, it seemed to become working, so falsetto can also be considered Houston’s range. But Vitas and Penkin have a short falsetto, without timbre - they simply boast of high notes, hoping to impress ignorant listeners. Which, however, they often succeed).
As a rule, the working range of vocalists is about two octaves (chest voice). Plus or minus two or three tones, depending on how you feel and the condition of the ligaments. Whitney Houston skillfully used falsetto, it was rich and thick, so we can say that Houston has a working range of 2.5 to 3 octaves. Leps, for example, also makes good use of his falsetto and mixed voice; it is also overtone. Therefore, Leps’s falsetto can also be considered his working range - this is approximately 2.5-3 working octaves. That's a lot. Valery Anokhin? Well, I don’t know... I still need to listen to it, but he’s a strong vocalist.
Alexander Domogarov does not sing in falsetto (and thank God), he has a beautiful working timbre. But its range is only about one and a half octaves (on a good day). Due to its small range, we had problems choosing the key when recording duets. I also wanted to sing where it was convenient for me, I’m not Leps either). But priority in the choice had to be given to him. I'll somehow... adjust. I decided so - and everything worked out).
But! The level of a vocalist is not only the number of octaves or the volume of the voice, as many people believe. I have already written more than once that the most important thing is timbre, as well as purity of intonation, manner and intonation, artistry, charisma in the end. Many singers have a wide range and a loud voice, but you don’t want to listen to them... But, for example, Bernes, Vertinsky, Utesov, Chris Rea had small ranges, quiet voices, they did not use falsetto, however, this did not prevent them from becoming favorite performers. Like that.
Range is the main property of the human voice. There are octaves in a range: the more there are, the better the range. Ranges can be measured; if it doesn’t work out in your favor, you can argue that your range is working. If it turns out that your range is 2-3 octaves or more, you should definitely brag.
I will also share my knowledge about this subject.
So, some ranges:
1 octave. Used as a swear word.
1.5 octaves. This is the average range of the unproduced voice. It happens less.
The same range is enough to perform many pop and shit songs. After all, those who sing them usually have no more themselves.
2 octaves. Considered the standard for pros.
We need to be clear here. Two octaves in the understanding of academicians is very, very strong. The implication is that the bottom note is heard in the theater in the last rows, through the orchestra, without the singer choking. The top note should also sound - without pitching, without tremulation, hoarseness, in a natural timbre. And - the most important thing - to express something, to convey some kind of mood.
These two octaves are enough for almost everything. Even, I note, to show off your range.
In jazz it is measured differently, and it turns out much more - take the same Mariah Carey.
An analogy can be drawn with watts. For example, a Soviet radio (2x3.5W) and a foreign one (380W) - the sound strength is almost the same.
3 octaves. Either a lot (if a worker), or a little (if there is a falsetto at the top and a whisper at the bottom).
Oh, before I forget. Small dictionary.
_Falsetto_, or three-phase oscillation - the mode of operation of the larynx. There are chest/falsetto and voice/falsetto. NOT INCLUDED in the men's range.
Female, countertenor and other voices sing in this way ALMOST THE ENTIRE range, so it makes no sense to talk about falsetto here.
Pop, folk, and jazz singers sing with a two-phase oscillation (that is, with the chest) to the re-fa of the second octave. Then there really is a falsetto.
_Mixed_ - a) dense, supported falsetto; b) METHOD OF SINGING, in which the “chest” is lightened for a smooth transition to falsetto.
_Head_ - a) head resonance. Necessary on the ENTIRE range for all voices. b) upper case, usually for women.
This is what I remembered about re2; anyway. Let's go further.
3.5 octaves. Alexander Gradsky is an example of how not to measure the range. If he has three and a half, so do I. Yes Yes! major C-sharp - second salt. I can take more!
4 octaves. Sergey Penkin, Diamanda Galas. Ima Sumac. Jozek. Another sacramental number is in the mass consciousness synonymous with the concept of “unique voice,” which is why all beginners (including myself) are looking for four octaves.
5 octaves Mariah Carey.
7 1/4 octaves, A subcontra - C5. THIS was actually in the Guinness book. Marita Gunther, student of Alfred Wolfson.
One more touch. Confusion with octaves.
The point is... The point is laziness. It’s too lazy, for example, to write two clefs for a guitar, treble and bass, so all guitar notes are written an octave higher.
It's the same with a man's voice - if you record notes in real sound, you get a lot of additional lines. Therefore, vocal notes (especially tenor ones) are also written an octave higher.
In short, remember. The second octave in the treble clef = the first in real sound. Tuning fork: A second/A first. First string: E second/E first. Do you remember?
Well, since you remember, I’ll now write what the full range is.
Full range, friends, is when an (academic) singer has all the notes his voice needs. There are usually two octaves of such notes, hence the sacramental number.
Tenor: to small - to second. Tenor altino - E second.
Baritone: A-flat big - A-flat first. Baritone Martin - all first.
Bass cantante: F-F# big - F-F# first.
Bass profundo: re-mi big - mi first.
Bass octavist: the lower the better. The F counter octave is just right.
Women's voices are almost the same an octave higher.
Coloratura sopranos - F third,
countertenors sing in the mezzo-soprano range.
Castrati covered every female range. Farinelli had three and a half octaves; Moreschi, at the end of his career, took third.
