Brian Wilsons Voice

[chuy67]

I was wondering what type of vocal techniques he used to produce his voice? A perfect example is this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MqEORoH4pM . He claims it was falsetto, but i doubt it was. I can get a tone similar to his, but it sounds a bit weaker. If I know what techniques he used, I could get a better idea of how to make it stronger. Thanks a lot for the help. :cool:

[joshuakeel]

I hear several things in this clip. First of all, that's not what people generally think of when they think of falsetto. It's what I would call a light mix. But I also hear that some of his vowels are quite wide and his larynx is pretty high a lot. Also it sounds like he needs to keep a little more chest/core in his sound and get a little better compression. If he got just a little more compression and was able to get his larynx/vowels (which are related) in line, he'd be set.

A great singer, of course, but not without his issues.

Josh

[VideoHere]

I hear several things in this clip. First of all, that's not what people generally think of when they think of falsetto. It's what I would call a light mix. But I also hear that some of his vowels are quite wide and his larynx is pretty high a lot. Also it sounds like he needs to keep a little more chest/core in his sound and get a little better compression. If he got just a little more compression and was able to get his larynx/vowels (which are related) in line, he'd be set.

A great singer, of course, but not without his issues.

Josh

josh, technique or no technique...cmon' guy...he was great...

[chuy67]

Anyone who writes pet sounds, is simply amazing. Anymore input on his voice?

[Steven Fraser]

Anyone who writes pet sounds, is simply amazing. Anymore input on his voice?

chuy67: I love Brian's voice at that stage of his career. For this song, his transitions from middle voice to high voice are done very easily, almost casually, which supports that laid-back, ballad feel.

To my ear, the adduction in the top voice is on the light side, giving a closed quotient that I would estimate at 40-45%... just firm enough so that the tone is clear (not breathy), and registration is commensurately light. While I hear pop-ballad-style vowels, and a little vocal ring, I don't get bigtime twang or singing formant from this voice. Rather, I hear some brightness added in an EQ boost (for the whole group) in the 2800 to 3200 Hz range.

As to registration balance, when he goes into his middle voice, the pronunciation of the vowels is well-tuned to his harmonics in that range, so the tone quality stands out as having some contrast when compared with his upper voice. If there is anything I would have liked to hear him do, it would be to even out those transitions a bit more. However, the tone quality differences are minor, and do not detract from the overall effect of the piece... which is a love song.