Following on from my previous question - what makes a BAD singer?

Question

(following on from "what makes a good singer?)

Again, rather than just say "lack of talent" try to explain what you mean (if you can) like "can't stay in tune", "poor range", "bad technique" "nasal sound" etc

For anyone who's interested I'm an amateur singer with several years experience and have considered maybe one day giving lessons (when I feel I have the confidence) but was just interested to hear people's opnions - its so common to hear people say "she is a fantastic singer" or "he's awful" without really going into WHY and I'm interested to know if faults can be corrected.

Answer 1

I think you've answered your own question with the examples you've given.

Streisand can sing a lot better than some of the (c)rap nowadays!!

Answer 2

i agree, there's nothing worse than criticism for the sake of criticism. i always prefer constructive criticism.

there are many types of bad singers,
the ones who think they can sing and wont take advice on improving
the ones who want to sing but have not the confidence to project their voice [if they have one]
and worst of all are the ones who project their voice but cant carry a tune in a bucket, not even a very large bucket
whether bad technique can be corrected depends on the individual and on the coach and of course if the student recognizes his "fault" i have said several times tonight already but the first step to improvement is to make a "good" recording,listening to it objectively, find where the weakness is and working it out.
all i can do is wish you luck in becoming a voice coach, i know i couldn't do it, i'd probably end up killing the above. hope you fall lucky and find some talent that you can develop

Answer 3

Its normally pretty obvious to most when a singer is really bad, ie. karaoke, and one of the most obvious elements is the tuning - even if you can't tell whether it's sharp or flat, you can still tell it's that it's bad. IF you can sing perfectly in tune without trying too much, other things you can 'get away with' or can even add character to your voice. And a not so good singer can still have a very listenable voice. Some things certainly don't help a good singing voice ie. bad breathing/posture.

Answer 4

Being able to carry a tune is pretty important, but sometimes singers with not-so-great voices are actually great singers. It can be due to their phrasing, or the material they choose being well suited to their voice, etc...

Personally, I find singers who are obnoxiously over the top to be the worst singers, and these are the ones who generally have the most powerful voices. Problem is they are too intent on showing off their voices instead of conveying the sentiment or mood that's right for the song.

Answer 5

there are so many factors to it, as a singer myself maybe I can help you.

1. A bad singer does not have the acual ability to "sing" meaning stay on key, in tune, tone quality, or make any semblance of a song or note come out of their mouth.

2. A bad singer does not study their audience to see that whatever style they sing, they have to adapt to connect, and song selection is key.

3. To be unable to connect to an audience is also attributed to "bad singing." You have to feel whatever it is you are singing about and be enthusiastic or emotional about it.

4. Range has nothing to do with bad singing, but style does...going back to knowing your audience. Don't sing gospel at a gothic convention. Don't sing country for an alternative audience. You got it.

Answer 6

A bad singer, to me, is first of all, someone who can't carry a tune and has no recognition of pitch and tempo, but a bad singer is also someone who doesn't have any emotion added to their song. If you sing a song you can't feel, it makes the listener not able to feel it either. But if you sing a song as if you've lived it, if you actually pour your emotions into the song, the listener will feel it and enjoy it all the more.

Answer 7

if u don't have the right voice for it that's what makes a bad singer but if u believe in yourself and hit them high notes right u could be a great singer that's all it takes u really don't need to know how to sing to make it a lot of people are singer and don't know how to sing so if u look at it there really isn't a bad singer

Answer 8

Inability to carry a tune, cannot meet the beat, overextending the range (trying to hit a note beyond their ability to do so) lack of familiarity with the material, so the emotional connection is missed, style collision (someone trying to be breathy and coming off as out of breath).

Most of the flaws can be corrected with instruction (how to breathe, how to project, how to properly use one's voice)

Answer 9

think of that's the comparable for women and men persons. eye-catching rather everyone seems to be greater approachable. I had terrible self-worth issues whilst i became skinny and preppy. Now I even have very intense self-worth in basic terms with the aid of fact I have been given over the anorexia subject. that's all approximately visual charm. human beings say that approximately self belief so others don't sense like sh*t.

Answer 10

I'd say being tone deaf and hitting notes as flat as a pancake are a pretty good start to being awful. I'd say that whilst some faults can be improved upon others like being ugly are more difficult to correct.

Answer 11

You seem to already know. To add on to your list though:

- Lack of emotion, either in the voice or in expression (if performing live)
- The song is not well interpreted (ie, an angry song sung "happily")
- Lack of audience engagement, such as eye contact (if performing live)
- Voices that hurt the ears: too high pitched, too nasaly, etc.

These things are rather hard to pinpoint, aren't they? Good luck with your list. ^_^