seth riggs on style

[VideoHere]

i just saw this, and since it's as close as anyone will get to seth riggs (i assume big bucks for lessons) here's a cool video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E2fE_eWCpA

[D.Starr]

I laughed when he said white people and black people sing differently.

Like black people sing instantly in riffs and runs and white people sing straight forward.

I'm off black decent, my mother being white and dad being black, I don't sing in runs and riffs that much.

I do really like what he's saying though and it is something to take aboard. Why sing a song straight forward and to each individual note, pitch etc the whole sha-bang?

IMO. style cannot be taught, you have to watch others and implement what you prefer, in a way.

[VideoHere]

I laughed when he said white people and black people sing differently.

Like black people sing instantly in riffs and runs and white people sing straight forward.

I'm off black decent, my mother being white and dad being black, I don't sing in runs and riffs that much.

I do really like what he's saying though and it is something to take aboard. Why sing a song straight forward and to each individual note, pitch etc the whole sha-bang?

IMO. style cannot be taught, you have to watch others and implement what you prefer, in a way.

i agree....it's gotta come from the heart........the audience isn't filled with voice teachers...lol!!!!

or jonpall's (got cha back jonpall)....lol!!!!

[ronws]

i agree....it's gotta come from the heart........the audience isn't filled with voice teachers...lol!!!!

or jonpall's (got cha back jonpall)....lol!!!!

Ouch! I think you said that out loud, brother Bob.

I also giggle at the slight umbrage to notices of racial difference. I had to work with a masonry crew boss that wore a cowboy hat and talked like a hick. I called him a redneck. He took umbrage, initially. Because he was black. He was suffering from the racist attitude that black people can't be rednecks, that it's only a "white" thing. Well, I've met rednecks of mexican descent, too.

Anyway, I get what Seth was saying and thanks for sharing, brother Bob.

Even if you didn't reply to my voicemail or email. That's cool. Just know that I appreciate what you do, here.

[jonpall]

You bastard!

;)

[jonpall]

Of course you realize, this means war.

[Matt]

he expresses himself colloquially, but certainly, theres more encouragement and early exposure to syncopates and stuff in afro-american music than european music, which traditionally was much about marching to.

[VideoHere]

Ouch! I think you said that out loud, brother Bob.

I also giggle at the slight umbrage to notices of racial difference. I had to work with a masonry crew boss that wore a cowboy hat and talked like a hick. I called him a redneck. He took umbrage, initially. Because he was black. He was suffering from the racist attitude that black people can't be rednecks, that it's only a "white" thing. Well, I've met rednecks of mexican descent, too.

Anyway, I get what Seth was saying and thanks for sharing, brother Bob.

Even if you didn't reply to my voicemail or email. That's cool. Just know that I appreciate what you do, here.

brother ron, i got your voicemail (i was closed) but you never left a number to call you back. email? what is your em address? i have a strict spam filter due to the nature of my business "grownups" dvds....i may have deleted it by mistake....

[LydiaN]

I laughed when he said white people and black people sing differently.

Like black people sing instantly in riffs and runs and white people sing straight forward.

I'm off black decent, my mother being white and dad being black, I don't sing in runs and riffs that much.

I do really like what he's saying though and it is something to take aboard. Why sing a song straight forward and to each individual note, pitch etc the whole sha-bang?

IMO. style cannot be taught, you have to watch others and implement what you prefer, in a way.

I find that really interesting because over the years, people have expected me to sing in that style because of my skin color. Fact is that I don't like to use all of those runs that they do in R&B and Hip Hop. My opinion is that some artists, not all, use them too much and for me, it takes away from the song. I'm sure I could do it if I really tried, but I don't want to. I think passion and feeling while singing can be shown without doing all of those runs. I prefer to show my talent as a vocalist by holding notes and using key changes.

BTW--I know what he means by "runs" but what is a "riff"? Is it like a run, but just shorter? If so, then I use those all of the time.

[Mr Bounce]

I think it's important to think carefully about ideas like skin colour, race, culture, socioeconomic status, etc. It is not so simple. For example, Obama is a dark-skinned man whom many say is not "black." If Obama was a singer, would he sing like Marvin Gaye or Rod Stewart? Who knows/cares?

I think what Seth is really talking about is the black communities which use gospel music as part of their worship, and in that sense, he may very well be right that this type of upbringing would foster a lot of freedom and expression in singing.

[D.Starr]

Thing is I'm mixed race and I was brought up and still live with my white side of the family.

I never went to church and am not a Christian, my family also don't really have any traits, artistic, singers, dancers, actors etc, so there's not a lot of influence. I'm really the only one in the family that has good traits. I can dance, I'm a great drawer, I'm a good dancer and ok at acting, but these are things I've learnt.

The only reason black people seem to have a laid back approach... is really... because they are. I'm very laid back and lazy, and so is the black side to my family. If the person goes to a gospel church and listens to a lot of black music then maybe they pick up on these things, I'm not sure.

Everything is stereotypes when it boils down to it, but then again there are a lot of soulful white singers.

[VideoHere]

I wrote my graduate thesis on western and sub-saharan musical traditions and their impact on early american music, and what I gathered from my research is that melisma (riffs and runs) became an integral part of the tradition before black gospel churches were even around. Music in tribes is a community activity - everyone participates, and though there are "written parts" in a certain way, the important thing is the individual's interpretation of the part; the individual expresses themselves as a unique and creative member of the family. In western european music, on the other hand, it's more common for the players to be doing their best to uphold the vision of the composer.

Bear in mind, traditional african music was inseparable from african life; you didn't set aside time to appreciate music in the evening... there's a song for when you're washing clothes, a song for when you're sitting on the can, etc. Some scholars even observed that women would rock their babies in a rhythm coordinated with, but not mimicking, the accents of their lullaby. Rocking in triplets while singing in 4/4, for example, resulted in an early form of the syncopation now referred to as "3 on 2" (like the bo diddley beat or pretty much any snoop dogg song)

interesting.....well the blues orginated from expresssion of heartache and suffering, and we all know about the whole slavery thing and how terrible that was....i love singers who tear at your emotions... like when buddy guy says "damn right i've got the blues," you know he's got the blues. i'd have to say the african american singers are drawing from a "source" rooted in pain.

no? what do you folks think?

[Billy Budapest]

Does anybody think it's odd that Seth's speaking voice and Brett Manning's speaking voice sound terribly raspy?

[Quincy]

I think I read from a few different folks on this board that Seth has a horrible case of acid reflux. Brett, I don't think that is his problem. More likely from strain.

[ronws]

I think Raphael hit the nail on the head (local colloquialism.) The "soul" factor in music from "black" gospel, etc., I think is rooted in the feel for music from the heart that came from Africa. A continent much more in touch with it's roots and soul than Europe was. So, for example, blues grew out of "gospel" music, which was a combination of classically arranged european hymns as sung by people that had more organic feel. Just as the celts that came over to America brough their sensibilities to bear on storytelling music and hymnal music as it was found in America. Out of that grew what many call "country and western." But the real roots of "hillbilly" and "bluegrass" music are quite celtic in nature, with sliding melodies. And excellent movie about it was called "Songcatcher," starring Aidan Quinn, a noted actor of irish descent.

Just the same, just because someone is black doesn't mean they should sing trilling runs in R & B. And just because I'm tall, white, and from Texas, doesn't mean I should sing country and sound like Willie Nelson.

What's great about this site, is that we sing from the heart, regardless of our "ethnic" background or even country of origin. Me. I'm a mongrel, in breeding terms. My maternal grandfather was from Germany. My maternal grandmother was of english descent. My father came from a mix of english, irish, and scottish.

We have a term for that. "Heinz 57," a mix of everything. Although, someone 3 or 4 generations back married a nez perce Apache woman (I make that distinction as there were three branches of Apache,) though I don't think I am descended from her. Even if I was, I don't think that qualifies as enough percentage to register as a native american.