Because I am a singing teacher, people often ask me about whether singer X or Y is “good. Is "good" a matter of taste or are there absolutes? I will venture to say there actually are absolutes, so just because you or I “like” a singer does not make them objectively good/skilled. Does my “expert” status ( *having degrees in voice, having taught the subject in University programs, professional experience) make my opinion more valuable than an average listener? Not really, when it comes my taste, and I do have my preferences, but I can tell you what the criteria are, and most of this criteria I will relate, can be substantiated objectively.
We are all experts on what we like, but that is a completely different issue from knowing what is actually good. You might not like filet mignon, but a well-prepared filet mignon cooked by a skilled chef is a high quality item nonetheless. We can all perceive things at different levels, but just because Stevie Wonder can’t tell how high a Rockette dancer can kick her leg, does not impact whether it is actually important that she kicks her leg as high as the other Rockettes in the line. Tone deaf fans of Florence and the Machine can’t tell that she is singing out of tune, but the pick up orchestra players she hires on her tour still leave her gigs physically ill from hearing her poor intonation all night.
When I determine whether a singer is good or not I am not really factoring my taste into it, however my ability to perceive whether the singing is "in tune" does of course factor in. I try to come from as objective a standpoint as I possibly can, therefore I can determine that a singer of a style that I do not appreciate and who has a vocal instrument that is not my favorite is actually objectively a good singer.
1) The singer sings in tune.
Probably the most important criteria is pitch. Of course a significant and growing proportion of the listening public does not have a good enough ear to perceive whether a singer is in tune of not. I believe that does not matter. Although trained musicians can perceive this and some lay people can’t, being in tune is NOT a matter of opinion. Today we have technology that can prove exactly how precisely any note is in tune or not, so what the expert ears can hear can be shown to anyone, tone deaf or not, when a note is analyzed by a program. Good singers might not be perfect in a live situation; many things come into play, how good monitors are etc. But a good singer should have the ears and technique to be singing solidly in the center of a tone and bending notes between tones in a very skilled and accurate manner when the styles demands it.
2) The singer has a strong voice The best singers should have strong and sizable voices and should be able to sustain notes and phrases as well as sing notes over a wide range. Again, this is not a matter of opinion, the volume of a voice, the length of notes and how high and low can actually be measured. The size of the voice should not be confused with singers choosing to sing as loud as the possibly can, and pushing the voice. The best voices can take a relaxed breath and sing at an impressive volume easily and with beautiful tone without going out of tune. This is what I mean by vocal strength.
3) The singer is expressiveThe singer should sing with appropriate expression for the song’s text as well as stylistic appropriateness for the music being performed. Musical elements such as phrasing and technical elements such as using different colors and effects in the voice come into play here.
4) The singer has a beautiful resonant timbre as well as an identifiable sound
A the best voices should have brilliance and warmth and not be overly breathy or nasal. The most famous and well-loved singers have a sound that listeners can identify. This is probably the most subjective area. Knowledgeable listeners disagree about whether, for example Barbra Streisand has a beautiful tone of an overly nasal tone. But since she objectively undeniable scored high points in her prime on numbers 1, 2 and 3 you can’t deny that she is/was a good singer.
A fair evaluation of these elements should tell listeners that there are a lot of good and great singers around that simply don’t interest them mainly because of stylistic preferences. So just because you don’t like country music does not mean that Patsy Cline was not an incredibly good singer.
How do I explain the success of singers who would not objectively receive high marks in most or all of these areas? I will venture to say that it is usually a factor of skilled public relations and promotion and can be explained in exactly the way we explain the success of all low quality products. It is also somewhat a byproduct of today’s technology that can make an average or poor voice sound acceptable.
My years running a singing telegram business has taught me that most people do respond to the four qualities outlined above. When I sent an expressive singer from my agency with an exceptionally strong, beautiful voice who sang in tune the reaction was always hugely positive. The one or two times I had to send a student level replacement that did not score high points on these qualities I did not get great feedback and one time even had to refund the singer’s fee !. Minus the spin, the auto-tune and amplification the public really can discern the difference!
Hope you will listen to singers with a slightly new perspective!
