Thread by @taefolio, Taehyung’s Vocals in 「Inner Child」- Revised AnalysisThe manner of how Taehyung sings [...]

Taehyung’s Vocals in 「Inner Child」- Revised Analysis

The manner of how Taehyung sings in Inner Child is similar to how a person articulates in a conversation. +

#뷔 #BTSV #Taehyung #방탄소년단뷔 #태형

When Inner Child came out, plenty of people were a bit shocked by how Taehyung sounded as it was a deviation from the dark vocal tone that he is usually associated with. I will always wonder why this is the case when he has sung with his head voice before, and with brighter +

and lighter resonance. Nevertheless, Inner Child is a fresh, unique addition to Taehyung's repertoire, now adding this electro-rock/pop-rock song that not only shows off his polished upper range but also another facet of his storytelling through vocals. +

Most of Inner Child remains on Taehyung's mixed-and-upper registers with quick, sloping slurs to his lower register. We also witness again his proficient use of vocal dynamics with the phrasing like in Singularity. In Inner Child though, these happen in subtleties and very +

controlled doses for effective storytelling. Taehyung already sets the "soundscape" to be emotional and full of ~tears~. In fact, he lays it thick already on the first verse:

He uses soft and bright, thinner quality on his upper mixed voice, probably just a pitch or two away from thinning out towards his head voice. I like the tone he uses because it has a strong hint of tenderness and vulnerability, and his cadence (his flow when singing the words)+

here (the slightly broken, utterance per word instead of singing the phrase in legato) is as if he's telling a story, like how we take our time to articulate our words as we talk to someone.

He uses vocal dynamics to texture his cadence: especially when he dips down on notes+

and diminuendos (to go softer with volume) briefly to his chest voice with "neomuna" and "-jeo haneurul', before ascending again. It sounds very nice and comfortable, but oh-so controlled and crafted since Taehyung does some slides, jumps too (listen: "Neomuna" to "meon", +

and "jeo haneurui" to "byeol", both starting on his chest). And they occur very quickly that they can be unnoticeable if you don't pay attention. +

The second part of the first verse follows the melodic shape of the first part, and yet there's already a change of his tone here as he uses more chest quality on his mix, again with some jumps and slides (just imagine the scale for a sec: an emotional rollercoaster

), +

before he diminuendos with "eunsaek galaxy". This is what I love about Taehyung. His conscientious approach with his resonance. The introduction of a darker, more amplified quality of his voice here already adds a nuance of what he knows is about to come +

- the recalling of powerful, long-lasting memories and emotions etched in him. +

And yet he starts the refrain by switching back to softer and brighter quality. He sings about the painful and difficult memories. Again, if you're not clued in by now, Taehyung is putting us in an emotional rollercoaster through doses of contrast in his vocal tones present.+

Although there is layering present in his vocals to create that crystal-like sound effect, the chorus has Taehyung take it up further and show his incredible progress with his upper register. He sings on falsetto-and-head voice as the speed of his phrasing quickens +

(in music, this is called an “allegro”) and he steps down to his mix when he ends per phrase. This seems to indicate too how fast this memory comes into his mind. It is vivid and very much still affects him as he sings on the emotional heights of his upper range. +

Taehyung's tone on his upper range here sounds between flutey (soft, light, and romantic) and half-metallic (in seconds he sounds bright and less thin due to a narrow cord closure). I checked some reactions only mentioning his use of falsetto here but I think there's more to it+

- I think he uses his head voice too. He sounds very connected on the ends of his phrase. If you're acquainted with his voice, there are the nuances when he transitions from the flutey quality to half-metallic like when he slides from B4 to E4 in the first line of this chorus+

but this display of agility from him is so quick that they're very easy to overlook for untrained ears. I believe he was in head voice because of how smoothly he descends to his mix for the next phrase. +

LOVE the phrasing he does for "Sumeul masigo..." to contrast the first two lines of the chorus. This part has a steadier melodic contour. Steadies and stabilises after putting us into a whirlwind of emotions only to buckle us up for the booming repetition of "we gon' change"

It's so deliberate how Taehyung wants to draw out these emotions from us with the grace notes of the ""eɪ" vowel in "change" for emphasis. And this phrase repeats over and over with his vocals being layered even more. +

The sloping pattern of this song - vocal jumps and leaps with the notes - continues on the 2nd verse. Taehyung uses his mix with more head tone again for the 1st line, 1st part of the second verse, with more vowel shaping on his higher notes to emphasise his brightness, +

then diminuendos in the end. You can catch this with how he phrases in "gwaechaneul geo(ya), oneuri nae(ga), gwanechaneunikka". I enclosed those syllables that he brightened with "()".

It's how he gives a strong, powerful, and optimistic tone but his diminuendo indicates +

either how he wants to be kind and comforting, or how the present-him that's talking to his inner child is still delicate.+

Oh how Taehyung sings through this part is just so tender and gives Inner Child that very conversational flow! Taehyung sings this line "eojeui neo ijen da boyeo", in an abruptly accented phrasing. A high pitch accidental (the E♭) and a lower note to end -- because in this line+

he does come down to a realisation that "The you of yesterday, now I see it all". The echo effect emphasises the strength of this realisation in his mind.

Then he uses his mix with more chest tone as he even goes down below his first vocal break. +

Breathy chest tone for the somber comfort when he sings "Umteudeon jangmi sok maneun gasi, anajugo sipeo/The many thorns within the budding rose, I want to give it a hug". +

Then we come back to the similar melody of the first refrain, switching again to a brighter tone and sings on his upper range. This time Taehyung means it when he uses this resonance-he is genuinely happy as he sings to his inner child:"when I see you like that, I keep smiling"+

Again, Taehyung uses the diminuendo at the end of the refrain to contrast this brightness, creating a gentle, vulnerable, and comforting tone. +

Listening to the chorus again just gives us chills because of the story progression and how Taehyung's vocal tone here just fits. He revisits the memory of that summer. The emotions are still strong, stirring when he sings high and fast on his upper register. +

The memories that leave lasting impressions on us will always make us feel something. And again, the fast tempo, flow, and bright tone of Taehyung's vocals suggest the intensity of how he feels towards his memory/ies. +

And for all the emotional build-up Taehyung gives us, we are given a respite from these feelings on the bridge, cradles us on his airy mix with a slowed tempo. +

It's almost empty in this part of the soundscape, just Taehyung's voice, the astral oscillation sound effects, and the muted reverb. There's so much space. He welcomes us into the silver galaxy and here, Taehyung is gently talking/singing directly to his inner child. +

Diminuendo on the first part (around "naega neoga doel teni) then crescendo on "neon naui" and from here he readies us for another emotional build-up when he reaches "naui sesangeul nege julge". +

The build-up is intense because there's little to no rest in this part -- Taehyung drags the "ge" syllable from "julge" and connects it to the next line in one breath "Neoui nuneul bichun bit-". +

I will look out for this part when Taehyung sings this song live because this is an almost 10-second long phrase in legato (meaning the sound is done in one breath), with the pitch ascending. It's a really difficult bridge, honestly! +

Even though there's the short rest between "bit" and "deureun", Taehyung is required to sing on his upper range, around his 2nd passagio. If you've read any of our threads, this is the zone where you'd normally occur the dreaded 'break'. I also want to point out the pitched +

backing vocals harmonising behind him to suggest the presence of another character/entity, in this case, Taehyung's inner child. There are some pretty high notes here. The high notes and ad-libs (0:31, 0:36), I am manifesting he'll sing these as the crowd chants "we gon' change"+

It's premature to say anything but god if he actually sings this part over the melody

There's also the crescendo on the very last syllable on "nanikka". Taehyung doesn't belt the "ka", it's on his mix. And if you listen closely, that elongated "ka" connects right away with +

the line "you're my boy". Taehyung repeats "you're my boy" over and over and over on static, booming melody on his chest. The flatter contour of this melody depicts his resolve with his inner child.

Oh boy. +

Are you still with me? I hope you are. You're probably wondering why I'm talking about these and how these details and techniques relate at all to Inner Child's theme. If you take a look at the lyrics for the bridge, Taehyung and his inner child are becoming one. +

Their settlement with each other is progressing and this reflects on his vocals: the ascending pitch and long phrasings. The character growth is happening here and now. Taehyung's coming-of-age comes to a conclusion. +

So yes, apart from how this is extremely impressive it's the climax of Inner Child's story and it makes me excited to see how Taehyung will perform this

What's next? Taehyung no longer sings about that summer day. Instead, he chants "we gon' change" softly amidst the layers. The line becomes anthemic not only to Tae but also to us. In the final chorus we accept the future that promises an endless cycle of metamorphoses. +

I apologise that this thread could not strictly focus on the vocals, but the more we learn about Taehyung as an artist, we keep uncovering the way he utilises his voice as if it's an instrument, complimenting and harmonising along with his words and music. +

Because at the end of the day that's what truly matters in singing. There is no singer with a perfected technique. The emotions and story one conveys is what makes singing an art, a craft. And Taehyung does both technique and art amazingly with his vocals.+

Moving on, more about how the lyrics, music, and of course his voice will be written in the Medium article as a songwriting analysis and I hope I will be able to expand more about Inner Child as a song there. +

Lastly, there are many many names who contributed to this beautiful song, but I believe Taehyung was not just part of the team, he is the spearhead for Inner Child. There are so many Taehyung-things here. I hope that these details show everyone how

Last last note: Taehyung's mixing is incredible. When we sing with head, this often always sounds light and bright. With chest, it sounds dark. I just am really fond of how he is able to control these two and find balances, mix up the percentages of his bright & dark tones

I love singers who sing on the grayscale.

Here's more about that here! https://twitter.com/taefolio/status/1262654425086058496?s=20