Vocal Discussion of Yuki's Singers

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cerise
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/me still loves Yuuka's singing, and the yozuca* / Minori Chihara / Savage Genius cover of Nowhere from Animelo Summer Live 2008, and Savage Genius singing Nowhere backstage at Animelo Summer Live 2009 whilst Fiction Junction Yuuka were performing Nowhere on stage.

OK OK, that's off-topic... but it's interesting to hear how different vocalists handle Yuki Kajiura's songs.
 
Oh cool, I didn't know that existed. o.0

Anyway, after listening to it just now, I don't like the Minori Chihara & co cover. Maybe because they only sing Yuuka's part (aka without the background chorus) and avoided the Kajiuran chant almost entirely, but the entire thing sounded pretty hollow to me... Not dynamic enough, anyway.

I can't find the 2009 video, mind linking? :)
 
I think Yuuka and Hikaru's voices have a similar tone, but Yuuka is a lot more nasal than Hikaru and can't sing as low. On the other hand, she also has more control, although Hicchan has improved a lot in this aspect :sohappy:

I love how expressive they both are when singing live, Yuuka's live concert is still one of my favorites even if I'm not a big fan of all of her songs. She has a very special way to convey feelings through her singing.
 
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Cerise said:
@Kawohni: Wow you seem really knowledgeable about singing and stuff...so would you classify Wakana as a mezzo-sop rather than a soprano? And is there a difference between a 'pop' soprano and a 'classical' soprano or is there only one set definition for what a soprano range is? (also, does the soprano-mezzosoprano-contralto classification even still apply to singers not in the classical genre?) :confu:
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Wakana is definitely in the soprano pitch; she doesn't quite reach low enough to count as a mezzo. But her tessitura is in the mid range of soprano, not the high range like Kajiura enjoys pushing her into. Soprano covers a pretty wide range -- for example, Kelly Clarkson is also a soprano, but she is much deeper pitched than Wakana.

Pop soprano vs classical soprano also mostly lies in the tessitura. In opera a soprano is usually used for very high lines or a lot of jumping. Coloratura sopranos, especially lyric ones, are very sought after because of their ability to trill. But in pop music the definition of a soprano is a little more lax, and they can go further down into the register.

The modal registers in general are more lenient in pop music, but there's still a place for their classifications.
 
^ oohh thanks for explaining...could you clarify, I read on wikipedia that tessitura is

the most musically acceptable and comfortable range for a given singer or, less frequently, musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding texture or timbre. This broad definition is often interpreted to refer specifically to the pitch range that most frequently occurs within a given piece, or part, of music.
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but what's the difference between that and 'pitch'? :confu: (The explanation on wiki is somewhat confusing, lol... :desksweat: :XD: )

Also, I reckon Yuuka and Hikaru sound similar too, but Yuuka's voice sounds somewhat younger to me than Hikaru's? Or Hikaru's voice sounds older/more mature...

Yuuka seems to have a higher voice too... :ayashii:
 
Pitch is difficult to explain, but it's a native quality in someone's voice that has to do with frequency. People have high, medium, low pitches, etc and that means the frequency of their voice is high, medium, low... Tessitura is more what a singer's comfortable note range is -- in the case of Wakana, hers is in the mid range of soprano rather than the high range. Tessitura just has to do with what notes someone is most comfortable hitting, rather than what their pitch is.

All it means really is that the frequency of Wakana's voice is high, because soprano is the highest modal register, but she is more comfortable singing the middle notes. The middle of the highest.
:XD:

And I agree about Yuuka -- her voice is higher and less mature. Hikaru has a lot of power to her voice that Yuuka doesn't have, and I find Yuuka to be a little bit more nasally.
 
Also remember that a classical soprano and pop soprano are essentially still sopranos. Opera singers, however, will be far more technically advanced than the average pop singer. Technique/range/tone/volume are all things that Opera singers must have complete control over.
 
Yep -- an operatic soprano needs to have that "opera power", but a pop soprano really just needs to fit in the soprano register.

If only Wakana knew her voice was so discussed. :XD:
 
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Oh, I see now I understand :goodjob: Thanks! :chuu:

Kawohni said:
If only Wakana knew her voice was so discussed. :XD:
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:XD:

If it's not a bother, could you also tell what you think of the other utahime's voices as well? :ayashii: I don't know why but I find this stuff really interesting, especially in professional technical term (and searching up on wikipedia doesn't help with all their huge long words that I can't understand) :desksweat: :XD:
 
It depends on what you want to know :XD: But no it's no bother! I've been in singing/music classes for so long, I might as well ramble about what I know~

I enjoy analyzing Keiko's voice a lot, because it's very unique. The contralto range (which is the lowest female register) isn't super common -- the first ones in that range that I can think of off the top of my head are Amy Winehouse and Adele. But I think Keiko uses her voice in a unique way; she tends to primarily use her chest voice, even when harmonizing, which gives it this deeper and fuller sound. But she's highly versatile, so when she does use head voice and the rare Keiko Falsetto™, it always surprises me. What is somewhat unfortunate, though, is that Keiko lacks the ability to go especially high... and Kajiura loves high notes...
:uh..:
She's really good at belting though. She rocks that.

Sticking with Kalafina, Hikaru probably has the most versatile voice and widest range. Mezzo-soprano is the most common female voice, but Hikaru really uses it well. Her voice is nasally, but powerful when she wants it to be. It seems like her tessitura is actually in the lower range of mezzo, though, but actually her tessitura is utilized more than Keiko's -- so she's probably a very comfortable singer. I have to admit that at first I did not quite enjoy Hikaru's head voice, but it's grown on me quite a lot. She does struggle with the higher end of her register, though, and often comes out shouty. But that really seems to be something she's working on, as she has gotten significantly better in recent performances. I think once she masters climbing into her higher octave range, she'll be even more amazing than she is now.

I don't listen to FJ as often as Kalafina so I haven't had the chance to analyze them much. ;n; But I will say that my personal favorite of that group is Yuriko.
 
^When did Keiko ever use falsetto (in FJ or Kala songs)? I know people say she used it Houseki, but I always thought it was just her head voice.
 
She used it in Houseki, yes, and sometimes she uses it near the end of Oblivious when she has interchanging lines with Wakana. She also used it briefly in Hikari Furu. Those are the most prominent, but she does sometimes also use it during harmony to match Wakana's notes better than a lower voice would.

In all honesty, her head voice is pretty deep too, but her falsetto can reach some relatively high notes. They do sound similar though; but I've found that her natural head voice is actually more breathy than her falsetto. She uses head voice a lot in Kaze no Machi e, for example.
 
joining this discussion :bow:

@Kawohni

If it's not too much to ask, can you cite a specific timing where Keiko uses falsetto in any song? :plz: I want to understand their voices better. Its actually really hard to recognize head voice to falsetto. :desksweat:

And can you tell us about the differences in Hikaru's and Wakana's way of singing? I'm not really sure but Hikaru's singing seem to be a lot breathy compared to Wakana's? Does this affect their performance in high notes?
 
Any thoughts about Kaori voice? I mean, range... tessitura... falsetto examples... You guys are so pro talking about their voices XD

I love all their voices, they are so unique! But sometimes I confuse them too XD
 
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Kowz said:
and sometimes she uses it near the end of Oblivious when she has interchanging lines with Wakana.
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And the kajiurago at the end.

I think she also used falsetto in Lotus E.G.O. live.
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I just wanna point out about Keiko using her falsetto in E.G.O live, right after Wakana takes her first solo line. Keiko's falsetto there is pretty high to the point if she didn't use her trademark voice after, I'd mistaken her as Yuriko.
 
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^ I've never actually heard E.G.O. live, but it sounds really interesting so I should check it out! Does anyone have a link? Like I said Keiko always surprises me with her falsetto, given that her voice is quite deep.


tabete.mio said:
joining this discussion :bow:

@Kawohni

If it's not too much to ask, can you cite a specific timing where Keiko uses falsetto in any song? :plz: I want to understand their voices better. Its actually really hard to recognize head voice to falsetto. :desksweat:

And can you tell us about the differences in Hikaru's and Wakana's way of singing? I'm not really sure but Hikaru's singing seem to be a lot breathy compared to Wakana's? Does this affect their performance in high notes?
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The most prominent example I can think of is, like I cited before, in Oblivious live. Look at this one here for an example, at about 5:11, she uses a falsetto. Compare that to her head voice-dominant singing in Kaze no Machi e.

The best way to tell falsetto apart from head voice is that falsetto will often sound "fake", because it's not in the modal register. Whereas head voice is just an elevated, breathy kind of voice.

As for the differences in Hikaru and Wakana's singing, Hikaru uses her throat a bit more -- which is what it sounds like Wakana is trying to do lately. It provides more stamina and lets you continue to sing longer. However this is also why Hikaru sometimes can't control the volume of her higher notes and comes off shouty, she'd be better of using a head voice or even falsetto for that

(or moving the mic further away from her mouth :ohoho: )



Yukito said:
Any thoughts about Kaori voice? I mean, range... tessitura... falsetto examples... You guys are so pro talking about their voices XD

I love all their voices, they are so unique! But sometimes I confuse them too XD
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Kaori is a mezzo-soprano, but she has an impressively wide range. This isn't written by Kajiura, but it's Kaori singing, but I think this song shows how versatile her voice is. To me it sounds like her tessitura is in the mid range of mezzo, but she never seems to have any true problems reaching higher or lower. She's got a lot of talent.
:shy:
If you listen to that song you can hear some of her falsetto as well. She uses all of her voices -- chest, head, and falsetto.
 
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