Singers who can't sing live shouldn't sing.

People's Artist Thanh Hoa: If you can't sing live, you shouldn't sing.

Recently, there have been many noisy stories related to the singer's ability to sing live. The climax was the controversy related to the behavior of singer Hoang Thuy Linh at the press conference introducing the live concert in Ho Chi Minh City in September 2023 when asked about her ability to sing live.

Hoang Thuy Linh once "got angry" when asked about her ability to sing live. Photo: TL

It sounds ridiculous because to be a singer, the first and foremost thing is to know how to sing, just like being a painter means knowing how to draw, a poet means knowing how to write poetry, a healer means knowing how to take the pulse and prescribe medicine. However, the harsh reality is that in today's showbiz, not every singer can sing live. In other words, many singers today are too dependent on studio technology, so their voices are very weak and they cannot sing live. Some people don't even know how to sing in tune. That's why people sometimes come across phrases like "disaster voice", " musical disaster", "studio robot"... to refer to a different aspect of today's music market.

Colonel, People's Artist Ha Thuy - former Head of the Vocal Music Department of the Military University of Culture and Arts said that in the 4.0 era, technological achievements have completely impacted and changed social life. Music also keeps pace with modern life, genres such as: Pop, Rock, Electronic Dance Music, R&B gradually dominate other music genres.

Therefore, the music market is also constantly changing, diverse and multi-tonal. The number of young singers pursuing a professional singing career is increasing, including many who have received formal training from professional music schools, but there are also many singers who are amateurs (have not been through any training). Most of the amateur singers have emerged thanks to the effects of technology and media. Their voices have the instinctive and innocent qualities of people who have not been trained in music. But because of that, many singers who leave the studio and step onto the stage cannot sing live or sing very poorly.

"There are many reasons why many people call themselves singers but don't know how to sing live. The first reason is that singers are too dependent on studio technology and don't practice or improve their knowledge and vocal techniques. Many singers are also too confident in themselves so they don't realize their weaknesses. But partly because the public accepts everything too easily. They accept people who can only lip-sync or sing over songs when they go on stage. So how can music develop?", People's Artist Ha Thuy expressed.

People's Artist Thanh Hoa once sang a duet with Hoa Minzy "The train passes through the mountain". Photo: TL

Talking to Dan Viet , People's Artist Thanh Hoa also said that even though she is over 70 years old, when she goes on stage she still sings live because it is a respect for the profession, for herself and for the audience. To her, a singer who does not know how to sing live or cannot sing live should not be called a "singer" because those two words are very prestigious.

"Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned, but for me, singing means letting the audience hear what you're singing. A singer who goes on stage and is out of breath, sings with one voice and another, sings without anyone understanding what he's singing, is a failure. No matter how well he sings in the studio, if he can't sing live on stage, he shouldn't sing. Being a singer is an honor and a value, not a title to sell. Putting on the two words "singer" and letting people criticize your live singing voice is not right. I'm over 70 years old this year, but whenever someone tells me to lip-sync to save energy, I refuse. If I can't sing, I won't accept, but if I can sing, I definitely have to sing live, no matter how difficult the song is," People's Artist Thanh Hoa emphasized.

No matter how good you are at singing live, if you want to go the long way, you must study properly.

The reality is that most singers who cannot sing live have never been trained and do not have good voices. Therefore, they cannot process musical works in their own way and have to rely on others to demonstrate. Or rather, they cannot break the song themselves. That is the reason why they are completely dependent on studio technology and lack confidence when going on stage.

Music researcher Nguyen Quang Long believes that singers who are not formally trained but still succeed are due to their good voices, innate talent, and luck. However, formal education still plays an important role for singers, especially in today's competitive environment.

"Learning helps singers develop their strengths in singing, limit breathing and pronunciation defects. In addition, learning also helps them gain sophistication in handling their works. Music is an art of sophistication and sophistication is not material, not something that has been specifically shaped, each artist can only reach it through feeling.

However, if the perception is incorrect, or at least inaccurate, it will create unsightly results. It is like singing about a mother's love for her young child but expressing it with a writhing or sensual expression as if singing about love between couples. Unfortunately, this is very common in today's musical life. To have a correct perception of aesthetics, to subtly express a musical work, learning is still an important factor for the artist," researcher Nguyen Quang Long commented.

In mid-September 2023, the Vocal Department of the Military University of Culture and Arts held a workshop on "Improving the quality of vocal training in the current period". In his speech, Master, singer Le Xuan Hao raised the issue that professional vocal training in art schools creates a generation of singers capable of conveying valuable vocal works of the world , while creating new values, orienting aesthetics for the public, meeting the healthy entertainment needs of society. In order to train in the right direction and effectively, training institutions must have a better grasp of the reality of professional vocal training and the connection with domestic and foreign performance environments.

"In the new period, training singers for each music genre is a clearly defined goal, in which it is necessary to focus on training top talents, aiming for sustainable development and international integration. With such a goal, professional vocal training needs to have more specific innovations.

Innovating vocal teaching methods is based on inheriting, supplementing, and developing existing methods, eliminating ineffective factors, and adding positive initiatives that attract learners. In reality, the level of student capacity is uneven, with many different types of voices and singing styles, requiring lecturers to closely assess capacity, thereby flexibly applying methods to bring high efficiency.

In addition, it is necessary to innovate the teaching process, coordinate individual and group teaching methods, effectively use demonstration and suggestion methods, flexibly apply vocal techniques, use supplementary textbooks with sample singing, sample music and accompaniment to help students gradually nurture emotions and practice performance skills.

In addition to innovating teaching methods in class, lecturers need to have appropriate methods to guide students to self-study. Self-study and self-research are the most effective ways for students to practice vocal skills," emphasized Master Le Xuan Hao.

 

 

Source: https://danviet.vn/nsnd-thanh-hoa-ca-si-ma-khong-hat-live-duoc-thi-khong-nen-di-hat-20240102102400756.htm