Vocal Discussion of Yuki's Singers

[Kobalos]

^ She said at some point that she sings the alto parts, but I don't think there's ever been any mention of her actual vocal classification, so you might be right in saying she's a lower mezzo-soprano.

 

[Mwhlr]

Re:

Expanding trivia: the operation for the older falsettos that you talked about was to have their testicles removed when they were younger so they could maintain their high falsetto-like voices.

I was actually going to go and look that up... quite glad I didn't.

So do we really know she's a contralto, or is she just a mezzo-soprano with a very good range

It could definitely be possible! Things get a little hazy when singers ranges start to overlap one another. I guess that we don't actually know, for sure, what Keiko's natural singing voice is like. One thing I recall is an interview with Yuki Kajiura, who said that Keiko's range was quite limited. Would be interesting to find out somehow.

 

[ninetales]

^ That's an interesting thing for YK to say, given that Keiko hit high E during Vanity live...then again, aside from that, I haven't heard her sing particularly many high notes for YK, so perhaps it was a fluke.

 

[alarictay]

I'm sure Keiko can hit high, but her head tone voice should probably be very weak, and thus Yuki sama would probably want her to sing in lower regions.
I think in one of the videos, Kizuato Live? Keiko did a really really high note at the Kajiuran part? But it sounded weak...

Otherwise she usually hits lows about the same as I can reach, or a little lower, like her Gs in Symphonia.

Your voice must be sooo nice Niney I love keiko in Symphonia

Kobalos wrote:
Expanding trivia: the operation for the older falsettos that you talked about was to have their testicles removed when they were younger so they could maintain their high falsetto-like voices.


I was actually going to go and look that up... quite glad I didn't.

Thank god i didn't cut mine or else i don't know how high i can hit now lol, i'm already hitting ranges that Itou Eri and Yuri Kasahara can hit
(Mezame, Materialize,A Song of Fire and Storm), i don't wanna go into Whistle Tone
(But my voice is weak when its low...even Keiko can sing lower than me lol... )

 

[Mwhlr]

Re:

^ That's an interesting thing for YK to say, given that Keiko hit high E during Vanity live...then again, aside from that, I haven't heard her sing particularly many high notes for YK, so perhaps it was a fluke.

Here's the part of the interview, if you are interested. It was the one from Kalafina Record.

Kajiura: Of course I also love her [Keiko's] melody and think it is wonderful however what I think is inexcusably unfortunate to her is that to begin with her singing range is quite low so that it doesn’t entirely come out in my melodies that usually have a high tone. When I first had her join Kalafina what I was most worried about was that, so even though from the start I thought she was an amazingly good singer, I was uncertain as to whether or not I could fully utilise her abilities. Wakana’s register was perfect for the melodies that are my speciality however Keiko’s voice was low and didn’t reach. However, now I think Keiko is someone Kalafina cannot do without. Lately the power of her melody has greatly increased and also the amount of songs that I would like to have her sing has also increased.

So, from what I gather, her range has increased, which is to be expected, but she's still pretty rooted in the lower registers.

 

[Kobalos]

I wonder if there will ever be an official source explaining the ranges that the vocalists can hit...

I was actually going to go and look that up... quite glad I didn't.

No knowledge is bad knowledge.

Thank god i didn't cut mine

I don't think you'd have any reason to!

When I say "older falsettos", I'm referring to around the Baroque period. I think the practice has most likely died out now.

 

[Lorde-Kowz]

Are you talking about "castrati"?

 

[Kobalos]

^ I think so! My music teacher didn't tell me the specific term, but from a quick Google search, that sounds about right.

 

[garnetjester]

I think Keiko is a contralto though, she's sung really low notes when harmonizing in the FJ live songs, but I haven't payed close attention so as to know which notes are those exactly. She doesn't seem to be able to go high as easily, and in Houseki she uses her falsetto for singing the final notes of each of the lines in the chorus even though it isn't particularly high. That coupled with what Yuki has said before leads me to think that she's not a mezzosoprano.

 

[Cerise]

I think Keiko said before in interviews that she can and does reach notes in the tenor range... so perhaps she is a contralto with a range that can extend higher, rather than a mezzo-sop with a range that can go lower?

And, yeah, at the beginning of this topic when it was first made I was actually asking if anyone knew the exact note ranges, (e.g. F3 to C6 or something)

(er, just while we're no that, middle C is C4, right? I never learnt the numbering system, I just learnt it as middle C, high C, high high C etc.)

So...does anyone know the offical vocal ranges of the girls? Has it been revealed in any interview/article? Or can anyone venture an estimate?

 

[Lorde-Kowz]

Is vibrato a complex technique? I noticed Wakana and Keiko are rarely capable of ending a long note with vibrato.

 

[Yuki88]

^ if they didn't have proper technique........

 

[Cerise]

Perhaps this article may help?

http://www.voiceteacher.com/vibrato.html

I don't understand half of what it's saying but...apparently a good vibrato isn't all that hard to learn, though it is easy to get it wrong as well...?

EDIT:

Guys i dont want to blame Wakana for being off pitch, and i consulted my friend who majors in Opera, and let her listen to Wakana's performances over the years and she came to a possible conclusion... Vocal Nodules

Its not possible for someone to "lose their pitching sense" all of a sudden and Wakana's been off pitch for A LONG TIME, and using the Flu excuse is kinda outdated...so the only conclusion that it could be Vocal Nodules

Symptoms of Vocal Nodules:

Hoarseness
Vocal fatigue
Unreliable voice
Delayed voice initiation
Low, gravelly voice
Low pitch
Voice breaks in first
passages of sentences
Airy or breathy voice
Inability to sing in high, soft voice
"Hiss" sound
Increased effort to speak or sing
Frequent throat clearing
Extra force needed for loud voice
Voice "hard to find"
Shooting pain from ear to ear

There we go...i hope what me and my friend hypothesize isn't true...well if it is its true, I hope Wakana goes for a check up...

Lol, that possibility was mentioned a while back in this thread I was also wondering about other possibilities:

http://www.voiceteacher.com/vocal_weight.html

Also, this, which was posted with regards to AFA Malaysia:

http://www.voiceteacher.com/dramatic_soprano.html

But yeah, back when vocal nodules were first brought up, I got majorly freaked when I read on wiki:

Treatment, or voice rehabilitation, usually involves vocal training, speech therapy, and, occasionally, vocal rest. In rare cases, surgery may be required. Removal of vocal cord nodules is a relatively safe and minor surgery. However, those who sing professionally or otherwise should take serious consideration before having surgery as it can affect the ability to sustain notes, as well as alter the vocal range. Examples of this are José José and Julie Andrews, who lost much of their singing ability after undergoing vocal nodule surgery.

 

[tabete.mio]

^

Wakana needs time to fix herself and SONY will allow it

 

[Mwhlr]

I really don't know anything about nodules, but thought that they started to affect singers when they got a bit older? Julie Andrews was 61 when she got the operation - how long had it been affecting her beforehand? And is it obvious to the singer when they are present?

Could Wakana have damaged her voice THAT MUCH in such a short career and space of time? She sounded great in 2010 - Only 2 years ago.

We can only hope that if something really is wrong, that Wakana herself and the people around her are smarter than a fan forum (:P) and have picked up on it themselves.

 

[tabete.mio]

^ actually, from what i've read here http://www.voicemedicine.com/nodules.htm

It is a fact that nodules are found almost exclusively in young women and pre-adolescent boys

 

[Mwhlr]

Re:

It is a fact that nodules are found almost exclusively in young women and pre-adolescent boys

Blergh, that's not so good. D:

Well... once again, we can only hope that, if anything is wrong, she's aware of it herself. Just hypothetically, if she DID have something that seriously wrong, do you think she'd be allowed to take a break? I'm sure Yuki Kajiura has some power over Sony, considering how much money she must make them.

It's such a difficult topic to discuss - Like the creation of the universe. We can talk about it as much as we like and throw all sorts of theories and fact at it... but we will never get any closer to finding out the truth and probably never will.

 

[Kobalos]

I'm not sure about that. The record label pretty infamously owns the artists regardless of how much money they make them, though if they're more famous then they get more freedom of course.

I doubt Kusony would let Wakana take a few months off for the surgery/recovery because of the hit their popularity will take when they let up on pushing them, even if it's the better option in the long run. Not to mention Wakana might not want to take time off herself because she might feel she's pulling the group down or something, like how Jurina didn't rest in SKE48 and ended up in the hospital.

I think it was Ninetales who said to me that they might even end up working Wakana to the point where her nodules actually make her lose her voice completely and they have to do damage control and replace her.

Really hoping it doesn't come to that.

 

[Ophelia Arcana]

Re:

I'm not sure about that. The record label pretty infamously owns the artists regardless of how much money they make them, though if they're more famous then they get more freedom of course.

I doubt Kusony would let Wakana take a few months off for the surgery/recovery because of the hit their popularity will take when they let up on pushing them, even if it's the better option in the long run. Not to mention Wakana might not want to take time off herself because she might feel she's pulling the group down or something, like how Jurina didn't rest in SKE48 and ended up in the hospital.

I think it was Ninetales who said to me that they might even end up working Wakana to the point where her nodules actually make her lose her voice completely and they have to do damage control and replace her.

Really hoping it doesn't come to that.

Then SME lose their cash cow. And we lose our inspiration...

 

[aero.senpai]

I think that there is no way Wakana is not aware of what is happening. We, the ones who are watching, can not only perceive the difference in her voice, but we can even see she straining to sing. I think that she is trying ot ignore it for the sake of not holding Kalafina back - which I already said here that is just stupid, once it's her health on the line, and it would be obviously better to take some time off now to find out what's wrong and hopefully fix it all then to just keep pushing it like it is now until the point where she just loses her singing and brings Kalafina to an end.

About Sony, they probably don't give a damn about it. While she can appear on stage and sing something, they'll be making their money and that's what they want. All their live releases are studio magixed, so even if she goes bad at a concert, the official material will show her in a better shape and will hide it from most of the fans, I suppose - but to me, she is soundind bad even in studio recordings, like After Eden, moonfesta, AE Live, etc. Thousands of pages ago, we were talking about writing a note to someone about it - Space Craft, Sony, Kajiura, Yasunori Mori - explaining that we've been noticing Wakana's crescent struggle to sing and blablabla and that we are worried about her. If you guys are up to it, count me in.