I was listening to kpop (don’t judge) and I was wondering what specifically made the singer’s voice sound so pleasant, even though they were singing in a language I don’t understand. Is it something you can practice or is it simply something that you are born with?
In: Biology
I think it’s personal preference of the listener. Some people are really into the high pitched type thing that k pop does, but others find really gravelly low metal singing awesome.
If you’re asking how you can sound like a kpop singer, it’s possible it just might take a lot of practice especially if you’re a dude because your voice will already be lower.
To the strict technical point of view: high pitched and nasal voices are annoying, low pitched voices are pleasant.
The singers are generally good in their own right, but anytime you listen to a studio recorded song you can guarantee that the voice has been enhanced in some way shape or form, and that its been cut together to get the absolute best takes possible.
What do I mean by enhanced? Well there’s many different ways to improve vocal quality from an audio engineers end. We use a technique called compression which basically smooths out the differences between the louder and softer singing to give a more consistent level through the whole track, or there are many sorts of effects that can be used to enhance vocals such as harmonizers and chorus effects as well the one that you would more commonly have heard of; ‘Auto-Tune’. Effects like reverb and delay are used to try and emulate a room such as a large hall or stadium.
The singers do multiple takes of the same songs and the audio engineer in consultation with the producer cuts the best takes together to give the best version of the song.
All in all, the music has been enhanced to provide the best aural experience possible, and the Koreans and Japanese seem to have the formula right for producing music that is pleasant to listen to, even if the listener can’t understand the song.
EDIT: So I noticed a few people pointing out that they’ve heard live performances that are just as good or better than any studio album, and I have experienced this to. This very much comes down to the style of music, the talent of the singer, and the creative decisions that wrap it together. Country music for example tends to sound very similar live and in the studio.
I can’t tell whether it’s true for music but generally, I enjoy very calm and rather deep voices as I find them soothing and they sound understanding.
There are 12 notes in the classical musical scale A-G with all having a sharp # (I.E A#) except B and E. Between every notes there are degrees of closeness called “cents”. Think one of those small plastic protractors we used to have for telling the degrees in an angle in maths class with the note A at 0 degrees and B at 180 degrees. The closer you are to the full note the better it sounds the farther away it is the worse it sounds. This is known as “timbre” pronounced tam-Ber. People who sing or sound flawless or pleaseny hit those notes exactly. Those who do not are a slight few degrees away from that note or if they really suck they are wildly off from those notes.
It seems like you’re confusing two different things here, so I’ll try to clarify each of them:
Singing is something you can learn and practice. Like playing an instrument. The whole idea that you’re just born with a good singing voice is a complete myth.
The “pleasantness” of a voice can’t be changed however. Regardless of whether you are speaking or singing. Some people just have voices that sound more pleasant to listen to, though this also depends on your taste and what kind of sounds you find pleasing. Some people like smoother voices, while others prefer more rough and raspy voices.
Some people can make their voices sound different. Voice actors, for example, often change their voice when playing a character. For example [Billy West](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V-xKq64aRY), who played several characters on Futurama. But this still doesn’t affect their natural voice that they use when speaking normally.
Pleasant speaking voice, especially for females: a lower register, a parent tone, and not assuming I’m an idiot/there to lie to you/won’t do my job.
Bitches be tripping yo. That high, whiney, entitled, voice coupled with not listening to information given and instead asking repetitive off topic questions.
Same for a guy but aggression, demanding.
Had a guy the other day, who I could have helped him fix his issue in 5 minutes, demand to be transferred bc “why should I have to do that?” Um, bc it’s in your best interests and also the most efficient way to resolve the issue you are having?
He’ll be back lol
Asking this question is very similar to asking “what makes that person unattractive?” It could be a short torso, long arms, weird legs, skin blotches, asymmetrical face, etc. It can also be something they artificially enhanced like a bad botox job or a bad breast enhancement.
Similarly in music, things can range from natural characteristics such as an unusual larynx issue, bad teeth, weird mouth shape or size, nerve damage in the lips or jaw, etc. all these issues can cause bad resonance, lisps, or unusually nasal voices, amongst other unwanted characteristics. Equally, you can damage your voice by smoking or drinking (depending on the style it can make your voice more or less attractive).
Additionally, you can artificially enhance (or destroy) a voice with digital processing techniques. Over/under compression, EQ, reverb & delay are common processing applied to voice and instruments.
K pop tends to be overproduced, but very demanding in the talent department so I would put my money on the over-processing of the voice (digitally) is what puts you off.
Hearing your own voice.
That’s generally considered unpleasant unless your ego is particularly large.
People refer to that as “timbre” and can describe several different specific qualities of a voice. It can be smooth, rough, thin, full, etc. It is extremely subjective as to whether you like a singer’s tonal qualities.
For example I really can’t stand Carrie Underwood’s voice as I think it has a shrill quality that I can’t quite describe, but millions of other people absolutely love her voice which is totally fine. For a kpop example my favorite vocalist is probably Wendy from RV, she has an extremely smooth and slightly smoky, powerful voice but I would totally understand if someone else didn’t really like her so much.
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