Sunday Times 2
Want the voice of a popstar? Just practise
Why can’t we all sing as well as Taylor Swift or Michael Bublé?
While most believe you’re born with – or without – the talent, research suggests being a good vocalist is simply a matter of ‘practice makes perfect’.
Experts say that we all have the ability to sing well and, just like how going to the gym improves everyone’s physique, a person’s singing skills can be trained to a reasonably high level.
'The voice can be trained in just about everyone,' she quotes Justin Stoney of the New York Vocal Coaching in New York City as saying. Pictured is singer Taylor Swift (AFP)
Dana Dovey writing for Medical Daily found that there were less obstacles than thought in getting a good singing voice.
‘The voice can be trained in just about everyone,’ said Justin Stoney of the New York Vocal Coaching in New York City as saying.
‘The evidence that we have says that if you really apply good technique, just about anyone can sing well.’
Dovey cites a 2012 study by the University of Montreal that found 35 per cent of people struggled with pitch – while others have different ‘musical deficiencies’.
Some people are also physically better built to sing, with structure of the vocal chords and larynx, in addition to the size of their skull, determining how a person sounds.
For these people, they will find it quicker and easier to become better singers.
Indeed a study by the Journal of Medical Genetics found as much as half of musical talent may come from nature rather than nurture.
But the environment a person is brought up in also plays a part, says Mr Stoney; being exposed to music or playing instruments from a young age can help a person learn to sing well.
Earlier this year a study aimed to find which singer had the greatest vocal range.
Website concerthotels.com plotted the vocal range of singers widely considered to be the best, alongside contemporary artists nominated for last weekend’s Billboard Music Awards.
The list features the likes of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin but the singer who topped the chart was Guns N’Roses frontman Axl Rose, followed closely by Mariah Carey. According to the chart, Rose covers five octaves ranging from F1 on There Was A Time, from the 2008 album Chinese Democracy, up to Bb6 on Ain’t It Fun from the 1991 album ‘The Spaghetti Incident?’.
Although Mariah Carey has the highest note of the group, hitting G7 in 1991 hit Emotions, she is in second place to Rose’s range.
© Daily Mail, London