[2007] Ayu's vibrato thing

[Dustie]

OK.

FIRST:
I'd love to have someone who actually does study singing here. I'm really into the topic, so I'd be great if someone could provide some creditable information.

SECOND:
I always thought the vibrato is like the furthest you can go with your voice skills. Some people easily produce a vibrato by just singing their throats out - they don't move their jaws or anything, their voice just naturally goes into this "ayayayaya" pattern, which I suppose means that such person is almost a born singer.

THIRD:
It seems you can power up the vibrato or maybe even stimulate it by doing the jaw moves, becouse that way you kinda shape the airstream coming out of your mouth (just like you do when you're speaking) to make it have this vibratoish thing.

Why do people do that? Becouse it sounds nicer to go out of a sound by spreading it all over the place by making it go "yayaya", rather than sounding like a vinyl that's about to die under the needle, going high "aaaaaaaa"s and then "aggggrrhhhh" at the end of a line.

I've never heard it's harmful to voice/throat whatsoever, since it sounds more like you're softening the sound when you're ending a high/deep note and thus making it easier on your throat, instead of ripping your vocal cords apart by almost screaming...

FOURTH:
Hamasaki has a really deep vibrato now, and comparing her singing in the early years, where she would just finish every line with a long squeek, she went really, really far... she either has/had a genious vocal teacher, or she was in fact born a singer, if she can sing so well...

[Lumix]

I'd like to add that if you can't do vibrato without your mouth shut, you won't be able do it with your moving jaw either.

For me it's even more difficult to do it with jaw moving because I have to move with it in rhythm, kind of.

As far as I know, headvoice is the skill every singer wants to have.

[~AyUsIcK~]

i only like those little little vibratos she use... for example, forgiveness, the first note of the chorus goes quite long rite? but her vibrato only starts at the very very end of it... not those dramatic voyage vibratos...
but anyway, i'm quite used to it now... so if she suddenly switch back to non-vibrato vocals (kiss'o'kill), i'll find it strange...

[chocopockymaster]

I need to stop quickly glancing at things, because I totally misread "vibrato" at first. And thought it said something else. But I'll leave that to your imaginations.

My mind needs to get out of the gutter, NOW.

Anyway. I hate her vibrato. Bleh. In small doses it's tolerable, but she needs to control it better.

[SKYia]

Originally Posted by Dustie

I always thought the vibrato is like the furthest you can go with your voice skills.

I dunno how about other people but me and some school friends of mine were singing in some school festivals and we often tend to produce that "vibrato thing" during rehearsals when we were tired and wanted to save our voices but out teacher always scolded us for being "vile" to the song.

[Ayu_Jayson]

Huh? U mean using vibrato is kinda like being lazy? I thot it was a song-enhancement technique?

Vibrato can sound good but in Ayu's case, her vibrato can be considered fake because she makes the sound by moving her lips. And I do think it's overdoing it half the time as well.

[ohsixthirty]

Originally Posted by //hikari

Ayumi Hamasaki - Voyayayayayayayayayayayge

haha, funny thing is, i think thats one of her better lives...aside from forgetting her lyrics. i like her vibratto, i know its fake and overdone, but i still like the way it sounds. i actually far prefer her songs that have a lot of vibratto.

[AyUmIXx]

ayu's vibrato is improved a lot..

[explodingbird]

I always thought it was easier to sing with vibrato than without, personally - it just happens naturally, or so I used to think (maybe for some?). I don't often listen for or notice Ayu's, but damn, it was pretty obvious on Voyage.

[Yukitora]

I hate her vibrato now. I much prefer her go back to her I am... vocal style. Compare her JEWEL performances to her M ones and you can easily see how much her voice has deterioated.

[norain]

Meh, I never realized it until now, but I sorta hate it also...but it's a part of growing up...she's almost 30.

[SKYia]

There are many types of vibrato, I dunno if someone here knows Maite Kelly, she was also doing it very often (she was even trying not to do it and now her singing is much better but when live you can still spot it) but her vibrato was like a machine gun, very fast almost spinning, I really hated that.

What Ayu does is definately on higher level and doesn't strike that much but I still think she recently overuses it.

[Dustie]

Originally Posted by devilayu

Vibrato can sound good but in Ayu's case, her vibrato can be considered fake because she makes the sound by moving her lips. And I do think it's overdoing it half the time as well.

I thought she moves the lips becouse she does the vibrato in the first place, not that she moves the lips in order to create vibrato...

[Yukitora]

The thing is, your lips shouldn't move anyway. The vibrato is generated from the opening or closing of your vocal cords, or the muscles from your abdomen (i'm not expert, so this is comming from a website). But it shouldn't cause your jaw to move up and down...

[asuna]

it works for powerful voices, and ayu's voice has been pretty powerful recently... though sometimes i feel its better not to do it than overdo it =x

IMO its fine as an ending to an emotional song, like she does on Heaven etc. gives a punch to it and sounds really sad if she does it right (as in sad, not sad)

[Hamasaki_Vaan]

Vibrato is pretty common amoung enka singers and japanese singers as well. I think is some of ayu´s particularities coz she does it in a very emotional way, but sometimes it doesn´t suit to the song and the moment, so she destroyes the song, specially ballads. For instance, in the AT06 the uses vibrato quite often. In some songs it´s ok, but I think she completely spoiled the end of HEAVEN after a brilliand vocal interpretation.

I´ve noticed that in her last performances she is using it too much and I personally prefer her sweet and light voice more than the loud and dark one she´s using in her performances >_<

[Dustie]

Originally Posted by Yukitora

The thing is, your lips shouldn't move anyway. The vibrato is generated from the opening or closing of your vocal cords, or the muscles from your abdomen (i'm not expert, so this is comming from a website). But it shouldn't cause your jaw to move up and down...

I meant that she's doing it becouse she feels like doing it when she gets a vibrato - not that jaws movements is coused by a vibrato... like that she doesn't do it on purpose, but does it instinctively...

Originally Posted by Dustie

OK.

FIRST:
I'd love to have someone who actually does study singing here. I'm really into the topic, so I'd be great if someone could provide some creditable information.

SECOND:
I always thought the vibrato is like the furthest you can go with your voice skills. Some people easily produce a vibrato by just singing their throats out - they don't move their jaws or anything, their voice just naturally goes into this "ayayayaya" pattern, which I suppose means that such person is almost a born singer.

THIRD:
It seems you can power up the vibrato or maybe even stimulate it by doing the jaw moves, becouse that way you kinda shape the airstream coming out of your mouth (just like you do when you're speaking) to make it have this vibratoish thing.

Why do people do that? Becouse it sounds nicer to go out of a sound by spreading it all over the place by making it go "yayaya", rather than sounding like a vinyl that's about to die under the needle, going high "aaaaaaaa"s and then "aggggrrhhhh" at the end of a line.

I've never heard it's harmful to voice/throat whatsoever, since it sounds more like you're softening the sound when you're ending a high/deep note and thus making it easier on your throat, instead of ripping your vocal cords apart by almost screaming...

FOURTH:
Hamasaki has a really deep vibrato now, and comparing her singing in the early years, where she would just finish every line with a long squeek, she went really, really far... she either has/had a genious vocal teacher, or she was in fact born a singer, if she can sing so well...

That was the longest fart anyone has ever produced. u zo amazin bb.

Through your comments its quite noticable that you, yourself, have not studied singing.

The way Ms. Hamasaki sings with vibrato tends to go off key and turn into a yell. Definitely a skill every singer wants.

Vibrato: "The steady pulsation of the voice that is heard of a sustained note. The pulsation is caused by a slight fluctuation in pitch above and below the tonal center of the note." (Oscar Kosarin, The Singing Actor). It's important to stress "slight fluctuation." One singer who uses a great deal of vibrato, with mixed results, is Erin Neville. Some singers produce vibrato naturally, others have to be taught. Although some singers and teachers consider vibrato to be ugly and perhaps even harmful, correct vibrato is not only an attractive sound, but will not harm the voice. The best singers have full control over their vibrato and use it to accent certain words or phrases for dramatic or emotional effect. Vibrato should not be confused with a warble, which is a large fluctuation in pitch, which is usually the result of bad singing technique.

If you want to know what she is actually doing. Its called a Warble or Wobble:

Some people use the word "warble" as a synonym for "vibrato," the two
are not the same. Vibrato refers to the natural pulses and *slight*
changes in pitch that occur when a person is singing in a healthy,
natural manner.

On the other hand, a warble is an unnatural and dramatic change in
pitch when a singer holds a note. Warbling is the result of unhealthy
singing; more specifically, it's the result of excess tension in the
throat.

A singer who sings with a "wobble" is using throat muscles that cause vocal deterioration over a period of time.

In my 25 year history of teaching, the problem of the "vocal wobble" has come up repeatedly in singers of all ages. In this article, I have chosen to break down the causes and then get to the solutions. In most cases, there is one missing link in vocal coordination that creates the root of this particular problem.
Causes: (1) Lack of focus in vocal tone. (2) Singing without proper closure of the vocal cords. (3) Inconsistent "resistance" in the body to control the outward flow of air (some call this "support"). (4) Singing with too much "thick vocal cord mass". (5) Dragging too much "chest voice" or "heavy mechanism" (see William Vennard's book) too high. (6) A shaking diaphragm.

How can I learn to sing with vibrato? If you try to "make" vibrato, it will end up being an ugly warble--if not right away, then eventually. Vibrato is the natural product of singing without undue tension. Every part of your body, including your throat, neck, jaw, forehead, and shoulders should feel tension-free when you sing. (The exception is your diaphragm and perhaps your behind muscles.) This will give you a long-lasting, and more beautiful, voice.

All from random sites giving advice about singing.

Ayumi Hamasaki tenses up her jaw when she does your 'eye candy'. She tenses up all over her throat. Most people would think you shouldn't sing out of your throat.

Stop whining when people put your God down. She by far is not the best vocalist but she could use a little advice to help her voice from dying.

Her songs haven't been powerful btw bb. They've been over produced with heavy backing vocals .. maybe Ayumi can't handle the solo scene anymore.

[Dustie]

Originally Posted by //hikari

That was the longest fart anyone has ever produced. u zo amazin bb.

Through your comments its quite noticable that you, yourself, have not studied singing.

The way Ms. Hamasaki sings with vibrato tends to go off key and turn into a yell. Definitely a skill every singer wants.

Vibrato: "The steady pulsation of the voice that is heard of a sustained note. The pulsation is caused by a slight fluctuation in pitch above and below the tonal center of the note." (Oscar Kosarin, The Singing Actor). It's important to stress "slight fluctuation." One singer who uses a great deal of vibrato, with mixed results, is Erin Neville. Some singers produce vibrato naturally, others have to be taught. Although some singers and teachers consider vibrato to be ugly and perhaps even harmful, correct vibrato is not only an attractive sound, but will not harm the voice. The best singers have full control over their vibrato and use it to accent certain words or phrases for dramatic or emotional effect. Vibrato should not be confused with a warble, which is a large fluctuation in pitch, which is usually the result of bad singing technique.

If you want to know what she is actually doing. Its called a Warble or Wobble:









All from random sites giving advice about singing.

Ayumi Hamasaki tenses up her jaw when she does your 'eye candy'. She tenses up all over her throat. Most people would think you shouldn't sing out of your throat.

Stop whining when people put your God down. She by far is not the best vocalist but she could use a little advice to help her voice from dying.

Her songs haven't been powerful btw bb. They've been over produced with heavy backing vocals .. maybe Ayumi can't handle the solo scene anymore.

lol.

Just relax