What is twang???

[Martin H]

Listen now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tx7vYUUCas

That's TWANG! :)

[Keith]

Excellent!

[Owen Korzec]

Wow. Great twang. And she really lets that "cry" squeak out at the ends of notes and the H's. Very much in line with Phil has been teaching me - apparently that is actually a byproduct of good belting technique. Not that it's mandatory but it can be easily allowed as an effect. And Patti really lets it go. Clearly her technique is healthy though, no history of vocal damage if I'm not mistaken.

[Martin H]

She's in her 60!

But Tina is just as great:

Now we need to hear you guys!! The old ladies have spoken.....can you keep up guys???? Or are they gonna smack your ........! Geran, Jay or who else....??

[Khassera]

Not really fair to compare a lifetime of singing of a 60-year old to that of a twenty-something.

[Keith]

Does this count?

[Danielformica]

2 of my all time favorites patti and Tina!!!!!!

[ronws]

Thanks, Martin, for bringing in Tina, Queen of Rock and Roll. When I would play this song, it was inspired by her version. How fair is it to compare her to a 20-something guy? Well, I think you were making the point that if a 60-something year old woman dancing in high heels and directing the band ala James Brown (those stage moves are cues to the band), then a young guy in regular shoes in the privacy of his room should be able to make a decent pass at it. In theory. Or, she just has the "folds of destiny."

[ronws]

Here's some more twang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzB5hFINC_k&feature=kp

[Owen Korzec]

HOLY #$U#* I had never heard of Yolanda. What an insanely good performance!!!!!!

[ThePowerOfOne]

I just went to church with this thread! Great stuff!

[Owen Korzec]

@Owen

Yolanda is one of my favorite artists. One of my biggest musical influences. She is just insanely good at what she does.

Im totally with you, she certainly earned a spot in my top 5 favorite singers just from that one performance. Literally every aspect of it is noticeably excellent. Melodic and rhythmic improvisation, feel, pitch, tone, stamina, diction, legato, power, range, dynamics, tonal variation (very nice contrastingly dark sound toward the end), vocal effects (that distortion is unreal!!), the way she connects with the audience and the band, her movement...it's all just so dead on AND it has that indescribable magical element too.

[Danielformica]

ok now we are talking lets go listen to Shirley Caesar, Lashun pace, and here we go Daryl Coley, and James moore. You want to hear some serious singing are you up for the challenge?

[Danielformica]

Daryl Coley is gonna blow your mind listen to him young and old!

[Robert Lunte]

Yes, great thread... thanks Martin for posting this... but isn't all great singing characterized by twang? To me, without twang or a measurable amount of compression on the vocal folds, singing really doesn't exist outside of windy vocal effects of some grinding, screamo thing that tires your ears after about 5 minutes...

I like to say to my students, "The galaxy of singing, lives inside the universe of twang".

TWANG IS KING!

[Khassera]

Can we have a video with no twang that isn't a total flop? I mean can you sing without twang?

[ronws]

Can we have a video with no twang that isn't a total flop? I mean can you sing without twang?

Sure, start a thread of singers not using twang. I think this is a thread of singers using lots of twang.

[Owen Korzec]

Can we have a video with no twang that isn't a total flop? I mean can you sing without twang?

Yes but it would be a flop every time.

You need SOME amount of twang when you sing, its part of a balanced foundation. CVT calls this "necessary twang". Means exactly what it sounds it does. But it can be made so subtle. Then they have "distinct twang" which describes what a lot of the folks linked in here do. When the twang is so prominent it often comes across as the most notable sound characteristic. You don't need this much twang. It can be minuscule or augmented by other effects (e.g low larynx) that its inaudible. You just need a certain amount to begin with, then you can do whatever. Without twang you'll just lack high frequency content in your voice and people will say you sound dull or muffled.

This is just my current understanding, please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not a twang expert.

[Khassera]

Sure, start a thread of singers not using twang. I think this is a thread of singers using lots of twang.

Really? I thought it's a "what is twang????" thread implying we're discussing what twang is.

But I guess I'm wrong.

necessary twang

This is something I've always really boggled at and I just can't wrap my head around it.

Without twang you'll just lack high frequency content in your voice and people will say you sound dull or muffled.

Exactly! But what happens in the vocal tract anatomically? Not that it matters too much, but I feel when I know this I'll be able to understand which exercises train twang.

I think I know what twang sounds like, but whenever I describe it it goes wrong. To me it's almost nasal but still not in the nose, an incisive, metallic, pingy tone that when abused can sound like you're imitating a fly or a mosquito. I can watch these videos and listen to the singers but I still can't figure out what twang actually is other than some generic term for a vocal tract setup that produces a manageable singing tone.

If I were to make an NG-sound, and then open it up into an Ah-sound, and if pinching my nose doesn't change the tone would I be twanging? This if the configuration didn't change at all from NG to Ah.

EDIT: And, for example, in Patti's vid it seems twang is impossible to achieve without a good deal of compression.

[Owen Korzec]

yea you've got it. Now if you are interested in learning about the physiology of it you can just search the forum. There is some thread from waaaay long ago where Steven Fraser and some others explained it scientifically.

But yea it's basically that bright buzzy sound. Actually, you don't have to be denasal to have twang. They naturally come together, but they can also be isolated. For most singing we want twang without nasality though.

One thing you may find interesting to start is twang is actually literally produced in the throat, it's a contraction just inches away from the vocal folds. But I don't believe it is supposed to be FELT there.

[Keith]

Twang is the narrowing of the eppiglotic funnel. Creates compression.

[Xamedhi]

Now.. we know twang is helpful to build strength on the middle-low range, where TA and the Interarytenoids(sp?) are dominant. Is twang helpful also to build strength on CT ( and other muscles that may exist but I don't know of from C5 and up ? haha ) or is it more of a crutch to get the illusion that we're more adducted?

Do the Interarytenoids take on the job the TA did before, from C5 and up? How does that chesty coordination work on the upper range where CT is dominant?

I mean, not that it's going to be THAT chesty, but listening to this guy I really wonder.

In 8:41 and 12:33 he does a very particular G#5 and in 20:29 an A5, which are very powerful and chesty, for what can be called chesty that high haha

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoHpxxrtT58

Oh, god.. ron explained the other day how this is supposed to be written, but I cannot remember or find the thread, lol.

[Khassera]

Twang is the narrowing of the eppiglotic funnel. Creates compression.

Thank you, Keith.

EDIT: And thank YOU, Cuno! What a great and thorough explanation. :)

[Owen Korzec]

I think you're overthinking it Xamedhi - if you do the right exercises in the right manner, this all takes care of itself. You don't need to know what muscles are being used.

One simple answer to your complex questions: twang is always helpful. as long as you use a balanced amount of it. i don't believe this balance changes throughout the range.

[Xamedhi]

I know Owen. I am just curious. No need to remind me the "doing instead of thinking" mentality.

I need to learn when to stop doing, haha.