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Taehyung’s Vocal Stability & Endurance - a thread
Vocal Stability is the quality of being able to produce sound HEALTHILY on pitch, on the desired duration. Taehyung is such a great example for this quality. +
#뷔 #BTSV #Taehyung #방탄소년단뷔 #태형
Vocal Stability is the quality of being able to produce sound HEALTHILY on pitch, on the desired duration. Taehyung is such a great example for this quality. +
#뷔 #BTSV #Taehyung #방탄소년단뷔 #태형
This is the aspect of singing that barely gets noticed since we focus on sound quality and range. It’s the very foundation as to what makes one a great singer. You heard people compliment Taehyung’s vocal stability but what does it all really mean?
First is a quick note about breathing in singing. Breathing is what will affect your volume, to an extent your tone, pitch, as well as your accessibility to some techniques. We need airflow to produce the vibrations of our vocal folds - this is what produces sound. +
To inhale, our lungs expands and our diaphragm moves down, therefore our abdomen wall and rib (and/or back) expand too and our organs are squished down. +
Then we control the release of the breath - the exhale. We need muscles to coordinating together this sort of “control” on the outward airflow - this is breath control, and this controlled airflow is what “supports” the notes being sung.
You also may have heard the phrase “to sing from the diaphragm” but there’s technically no such thing. The diaphragm is an involuntary muscle as we exhale (again, it is during exhalation when we produce sound/sing), so we cannot control it. +
We use other muscles for controlling such as intercostal, abdominal muscles and our pelvic floor.
We need to have at least a basic grasp on this because it is the foundation of a singer. To be good vocalist, one must have the ability to control and have the quality of support.
We need to have at least a basic grasp on this because it is the foundation of a singer. To be good vocalist, one must have the ability to control and have the quality of support.
Let’s get on with it!
Strengthening the chest voice: A singer without enough chest voice often runs out of breath. This is a big red flag. To be able to sing with stability, our chest voice needs to be strengthened. +
Strengthening the chest voice: A singer without enough chest voice often runs out of breath. This is a big red flag. To be able to sing with stability, our chest voice needs to be strengthened. +
Loose cord closure (the position our cords take when we’re on chest) leaks air out, thus making the sound in the lower range to be very weak, instead of strong which is what chest voice is for. Unless breathiness is a stylistic choice, it can be a sign of poor airflow. +
Breathiness is not immediately bad though! It becomes a problem when the singer can’t turn off the breathiness - this is inhibiting to their versatility. You can't mix if your chest voice is poorly developed. +
For several times we hear Taehyung create warm, solid tone quality with his chest. His singing in Le Temps Des Cathedrales is an example what a traditional chest voice resonance should sound like. Hear how strong and consistent his volume is? Yep.
Now, on a BTS song, where his mixing is often used. Listen to that rich consistent volume of Taehyung’s chest voice and mixing. He sang quite long here too, verse and chorus. Effortless.
In this clip, Taehyung just recovered from being sick and was all ready to warm up for The Truth Untold (he starts singing around 0:29). His chest voice must be very strong to have him already mixing.
Sustaining quality with head voice: Male singers often have difficulties with accessing and sustaining head voice. To train and strengthen the sound of this register and sustain it (meaning without running out of breath or breaking) requires training and good breath management. +
This means being able to control the airflow as this determines also the quality of the tone and duration. Singing high notes up here will require more control and steadiness of the airflow - otherwise we will experience strain and potentially go off pitch.
A good example is with Magic Shop. In the chorus you can hear how Taehyung's slender head voice remains connected and consistent in volume, meaning he is supported. His bridge is sung in an upper mix with more compression.
There’s control of his airflow so he can sustain this tone. Taehyung is free from tension as well and uses a lowered larynx for powered up his tone. I like this as it's obvious how confident he is, which is what we all really need when with such power.
In Stigma, Taehyung shows exemplary support with his belt as he aids the note to a free falsetto that's even doing a tremolo-like vibration. It’s smooth because he sustained the notes well with his airflow!
Now onto some more examples. Taehyung’s upper range in the chorus of Let Go. One of the potential problems he could have encountered here is losing that rich volume since he's using a breathy tone here, but he refills his supply and is all controlled.
Taehyung's quality control on this very slender head voice/falsetto in the "chorus" with his acoustic session with Nive is just... slick. Don't even get me started with the slides. Really smooth transitions of his vocal tones too. https://twitter.com/bts_twt/status/1254828284308668421?s=21
Singing with more staccato: staccato singing is to sing each note disconnected from each other. This means airflow must keep going and is readily available to sing the next note. To maintain consistent dynamics on staccato, breath management is needed.+
And it’s also still important to keep the sound smooth together!
Taehyung’s verse in Stay Gold is sung in staccato rhythm, with some slurs. He’s on his mix here and you can hear the consistency of the tone without going too thin.
Taehyung’s verse in Stay Gold is sung in staccato rhythm, with some slurs. He’s on his mix here and you can hear the consistency of the tone without going too thin.
His control in Stigma’s punchy notes. A more staccato rhythm is usually found in jazz songs and fusions, then often adds some slurs. His airflow must keep on going and should be easily available to proceed to the next note. Taehyung still sounds even! https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1267466991134142464?s=21
Singing accentuated and textured phrases require good breath control as well. The movement of the airflow supports and stabilizes the voice - and this is important with the steady movement of the notes.
Taehyung’s chorus in Love Myself showcases his good breath management. +
Taehyung’s chorus in Love Myself showcases his good breath management. +
Being able to inhale quickly before the second long phrase shows his mastery of this mechanism: Taehyung will need that breath for the second line. The flexibility required to execute that smooth transition +
from his mix to falsetto in one breathstream is really commendable.
Taehyung’s first verse in Friends is one smooth phrase, with formants being played around: https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1272245605591429121?s=21
Taehyung’s first verse in Friends is one smooth phrase, with formants being played around: https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1272245605591429121?s=21
In Taehyung ’s cover of Someone Like You, when he sings “...noooow...I heard that your dreams came true” is a long phrase given the grace notes on vowels. He was already so damn flexible too.
He also always delivers for this slightly fast verse on this very thin head voice from Boy with Luv. That’s all in one, supported breath.
Taehyung's long phrase in Lights is another great example as the vowels require brightness but the line progresses fast. See how quick he is to refill air in after the belt? Then covers to the vowels at the end of the verse. Beautiful dynamics.
Scenery’s first verse is sung in legato, this means the note movements that he sings should remain connected. This isn’t easy as Taehyung imitates the intense breathiness in the recording:
And then we have this mid-tempo verse from Singularity - sung very fluidly with tasteful use of vibrato and cadence.
We also talked about agility sometime ago with a few of Taehyung’s riffs and runs. Longevity on a breathstream is important to sustain the flows of riffs and runs. Runs are on legato and need steady support so the notes flow smoothly. https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1262661218134667264?s=21
Taehyung’s runs in the bridge (0:35) and the final one (1:24) are some of the recent examples. Nice right? https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1272247390615945217?s=21
And his vocal run in Just One Day for BBCon, which is actually an ad lib. I was told by my music teacher years ago to only do ad libs if they work. Otherwise you're just going to mess with the melody. I always love Taehyung's adlibs, they're tasteful 
Presence of vibrato, which you can find all over Taehyung’s singing, is said to also be a sign of healthy technique. I didn't compile his vibratos, they're easily found, but apart from being a sign of health, the frequencies of his vibratos are often self-adjusted to the music.
Now what's a thread about stability without even mentioning his transitions? We have a special sub-thread dedicated to this! Simply, these refer to the parts of our registers where we’re supposed to “transition”. All of us have two. + https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1267495802789740559?s=21
Being able to navigate that break is what aids the consistency of singing across the vocal range. I'll go on assuming readers will read or have read that thread above. It's important to Taehyung's singing.
Now let me just add some more examples about this. +
Now let me just add some more examples about this. +
Taehyung’s performance in Without a Heart shows how he smoothly navigates up & down his 2nd passage (the melody is shaped that way). He starts singing 1:10. Smooth breaks that you can’t even hear, the tone quality on his mix (yes it’s on mix
) very stable
) very stable
And recently, his live performances in Spring Day and Stay Gold + https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1269993721300258816?s=20
A clip for Stay Gold:
https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1275064171369885703?s=20
https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1275064171369885703?s=20
Stamina & Endurance
Since Taehyung not only performs vocally but also through dance, his stability is directly affected by his movements. +
Since Taehyung not only performs vocally but also through dance, his stability is directly affected by his movements. +
Even before, Taehyung’s able to keep his voice on pitch while dancing to Butterfly’s choreo. Sudden movements can risk breaking with weak muscle memory but just hear how comfortable he is.
We can surmise from ON that Taehyung further improved his stamina with the CB and last stages. These movements are no joke. This requires some balanced core strength to support the air this fast. The choreo also compromises his airflow as he bends over -
- can easily lose sound in the process. You can actually hear his airflow throb a bit here (it’s inevitable while dancing!) but it’s so minimal. You’ll also hear a bit of his hard consonants, obviously Tae trying to get as much vocal power on his singing. Great job Taehyung!
You may already know that the dance for Black swan requires body tensions as the choreo emphasizes a lot on sharp and tight accents. Look at him go! The next clip is more awesome....
Are you all hearing and seeing this??? See how his volume is so consistent and singing on pitch even when he's moving?? I don't know what else to say to you all 
Looks like a piece of cake & also cute with how Taehyung does those movements in I Like It, but honestly these movements can easily quaver your airflow. And yet he remains on pitch with a steady sound quality
If you remember the choreo in I’m Fine, then you know the movements are fast, sharp and require more energy. The movements use a lot of the dimensions of their performance space. Not only does Taehyung remain stable even in a supine position and throughout his verse, +
but also the fact that he has to close the song. at this point he’s expended a lot of breath and energy with the dance. Taehyung consistently shows good fitness and endurance.
Singularity not only shows his endurance but also wise coordination. The second half of the second chorus requires Taehyung to speedily move with the choreo along with harsh, controlled steps, also compromising his posture. +
Creating tension with the body also requires the vocal folds to tighten. It’s very easy to lose volume like this, but Taehyung keeps the volume on his mix be consistent. The trick? Juxtaposing his vocal dynamics from his dance dynamics! Let me explain in the next tweets.
To not pressure his vocals while dancing sharp and quick movements, Taehyung uses a softer dynamic: https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1258053001962352641?s=21
Taehyung crescendos (to go louder) when his posture’s more or less upright or when on rest; then diminuendo (to go softer, decrease in loudness & intensity) when he has to switch back with the choreo emphasis. https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1258052828485939203?s=21
The polarization of the dynamics between the vocals and dance is daunting for the average performer as this requires extreme focus on one’s breathing and tempering vocal strength. Singularity is a very rhythmically textural performance that only Kim Taehyung himself can perfect.
By now I think all of us consider Singularity not as merely a solo performance; it’s synonymous to a theatrical-musical number, props and acting part of the Singularity routine. +
Stamina among performers is also known as having “gig” fitness. We must also note that Singularity comes just a few minutes after BTS’ medley with their sharp songs like IDOL, Fire being performed. +
He also has to use other techniques like growling or adding fry to his voice prior to Singularity which can easily strain his voice if not done properly, although thankfully it’s never the case. +
The point is his performance for his solo is not free from unwanted compromise. The amount of preparation Taehyung has is minimal, and he could easily get fatigued. It’s crazier because after Singularity he has to perform Fake Love as well.
Without a doubt we can all agree that Taehyung's just an exceptional vocalist, and performer. Professional too who always seeks improvement. We've seen it over the years and with our clips. As always I used more recent performances to make a point about his growth & maturity.
OK that's about it for now. I'll add more if I encounter something interesting and helpful for this thread. I am just very glad to have put this out there and give a reference to this aspect of Taehyung's vocals and his growth. +
So please keep supporting him and his hard work, he is worth all our efforts.
Ciao for now
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/v-union/sets/vunion-for-taehyung
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6lFpCUt5UWQVT7UTO6gPOo?si=kxEAoxD0Svar0Ta0OJxbTw
Ciao for now
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/v-union/sets/vunion-for-taehyung
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6lFpCUt5UWQVT7UTO6gPOo?si=kxEAoxD0Svar0Ta0OJxbTw
+1: Just crossed my mind that I didn't mention or add clips about Taehyung being able to hold his breath for a long time: While that is indeed a physical advantage and shows his potential, vocal stability is more about being good at managing/controlling your breath while singing+
being on pitch with healthy technique. The physical ability of holding the breath does help, possibly advantageous, but it's not really a prerequisite to become good and stable at singing 
