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Why Do Singers Lose Their Accents When Singing?
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Nose' Feliciano
#1 - 2014-07-13 14:01:07 UTC
Little tid-bit I found online.

Quote:
Mick Jagger, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Ed Sheeran, Phil Collins and George Michael all grew up in or near London and have very recognizably British accents. Once on stage, they sing like someone who grew up in New England rather than old. Yet another example is Adele, who has a lovely speaking voice, a very heavy cockney accent, yet her singing pipes do not indicate her dialect. One might argue that Adele’s speaking and singing voices were two different people if listening without visuals. Going beyond the British, we see the same thing with other non-American musicians, such as the Swedish band ABBA, and many others singing in English, yet from various places around the world. It seems like no matter where you’re from, if you’re singing in English, you’re probably singing with an American accent, unless you’re actively trying to retain your native accent, which some groups do.

There are several reasons we notice accents ‘disappearing’ in song, and why those singing accents seem to default to “American”. In a nutshell, it has a lot to do with phonetics, the pace at which they sing and speak, and the air pressure from one’s vocal chords. As far as why “American” and not some other accent, it’s simply because the generic “American” accent is fairly neutral. Even American singers, if they have, for instance, a strong “New Yorker” or perhaps a “Hillbilly” accent, will also tend to lose their specific accent, gravitating more towards neutral English, unless they are actively trying not to, as many Country singers might.

For the specific details, we’ll turn to linguist and author, David Crystal, from Northern Ireland. According to Crystal, a song’s melody cancels out the intonations of speech, followed by the beat of the music cancelling out the rhythm of speech. Once this takes place, singers are forced to stress syllables as they are accented in the music, which forces singers to elongate their vowels. Singers who speak with an accent, but sing it without, aren’t trying to throw their voice to be deceptive or to appeal to a different market; they are simply singing in a way that naturally comes easiest, which happens to be a more neutral way of speaking, which also just so happens to be the core of what many people consider an “American” accent.

To put it in another way, it’s the pace of the music that affects the pace of the singer’s delivery. A person’s accent is easily detectable when they are speaking at normal speed. When singing, the pace is often slower. Words are drawn out and more powerfully pronounced and the accent becomes more neutral.

Another factor is that the air pressure we use to make sounds is much greater when we sing. Those who sing have to learn to breathe correctly to sustain notes for the right amount of time, and singing requires the air passages to expand and become larger. This changes the quality of the sound. As a result, regional accents can disappear because syllables are stretched out and stresses fall differently than in normal speech. So, once again, this all adds up to singing accents becoming more neutral.

So at this point, you might be wondering if the musicians actually know they are losing their accents when they sing. Working in radio, I’ve contemplated how accents seem to disappear over my 20-year career. Keith Urban isn’t British, though fans of the Aussie singer swoon over his speaking voice (many women could listen to him read the dictionary) and have noticed that he sounds more American when he sings. I have spoken to Keith a few times and decided the good-natured Keith wouldn’t mind me posing the question: How is it you sing differently than you talk? (Certainly not wanting to offend Keith, I began with a few genuine compliments admiring his genius guitar skills.) He took it all in stride, laughed, then responded, ‘I don’t know.’ (More like kneh-owww) ‘Good question,’ he said. Though I don’t think I have an accent. I think you do!’ It’s quite reasonable to believe that a Hoosier like me sounds a bit hillbilly to a guy from down under. Keith could not really explain the mystery behind it, and instead went on to explain why he was wearing black toenail polish the last time I chatted him up in person. (His wife, Nicole, has since been his inspiration to stop, he says.) So it would seem, that at least with this sample size of one, the artist in question is not aware of any accent change when he sings. So what about others?

Andy Gibson, a New Zealand researcher at AUT’s University Institute of Culture, Discourse & Communication also believes the change in accent between speaking and singing is not a deliberate one, nor are artists even aware of the change. A 2010 study he conducted of singers with speaking accents showed indeed that they were not aware that they sounded any different; they felt they were singing naturally. Crystal says it is unusual for a singer to hold a regional accent through an entire song, resulting in what he calls ‘mixed accents’ for most.

And then there’s Kate Nash, the anti-norm. The English-singing sensation was an unknown until Lily Allen mentioned her on a MySpace page and now she boasts more than 100,000 followers on twitter. She didn’t know she had talent until she picked up her first guitar two years ago, and the rest is history. Nash has garnered success on the music charts, accent and all, and flat out refuses to even attempt to sing with an American accent. She makes no apologies for her background and even themes her lyrics toward an English audience. She is as English as tea in the afternoon and proud of bucking the trend that so many British artists seem to follow, whether intentionally, or more likely in most cases, not.

Remodeled Crane Concept
Sibyyl
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#2 - 2014-07-13 18:31:25 UTC
I've always thought everyone sounds American when they sing.

Joffy Aulx-Gao for CSM. Fix links and OGB. Ban stabs from plexes. Fulfill karmic justice.
Mudkest
Contagious Goat Labs
#3 - 2014-07-13 20:30:51 UTC
Sibyyl wrote:
I've always thought everyone sounds American when they sing.


funny, I always thought americans sounded like brits singing
Unsuccessful At Everything
The Troll Bridge
#4 - 2014-07-13 21:20:28 UTC
I think we can all agree that when Bjork sings her accent disappears and is replaced by the subtle harmony of a cast iron skillet and a partially frozen howler monkey being thrown in a unmaintained woodchipper.




Since the cessation of their usefulness is imminent, may I appropriate your belongings?
mr ed thehouseofed
Pator Tech School
Minmatar Republic
#5 - 2014-07-13 23:53:59 UTC
posting in nerf microphones thread Big smile

i want a eve pinball machine...  confirming  CCP Cognac is best cognac
Baij
Republic Military School
Minmatar Republic
#6 - 2014-07-13 23:56:22 UTC
Mudkest wrote:
Sibyyl wrote:
I've always thought everyone sounds American when they sing.


funny, I always thought americans sounded like brits singing


Both wrong...everyone sounds Canadian when they sing
Reaver Glitterstim
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#7 - 2014-07-14 05:30:27 UTC
There is a singing accent that is well known to sound better than most street accents in song, and its many minor variations have been taught to singers in voice lessons for hundreds of years in european-influenced post-renaissance cultures. Most mainstream singers use this accent because it was taught to them in their voice lessons. Some singers failed to learn this convention and it shows in their sub-par voice quality.

Now I'm calling this an accent but it's not really a full accent. It's more a set of rules for how you change your voice when singing vs. when talking, and it makes people from different accents sound similar when singing.

It's a lot more common for singers to sing the way they talk when they are using a speech-heavy style with more emphasis on the words than the music. For example: Lily Allen.

Conversely, in a song that has a music-heavy style which focuses on the tonal quality, a singer will often seem to lose their accent as they fit within that style. For example: Sarah Brightman.

Both singers are quite British and have a strong British accent, but Lily Allen sounds Briʔish while Sarah Brightman masks it better. (see what I did there?)

FT Diomedes: "Reaver, sometimes I wonder what you are thinking when you sit down to post."

Frostys Virpio: "We have to give it to him that he does put more effort than the vast majority in his idea but damn does it sometime come out of nowhere."
Astenion
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#8 - 2014-07-14 14:03:59 UTC
It's just elongating the vowels and softening the Rs. Singing must be wide open and enunciation should be a bit exaggerated.
Malaclypse Muscaria
Royal Amarr Institute
Amarr Empire
#9 - 2014-07-14 14:36:38 UTC
I found it interesting how in the case of Papa Emeritus, singing not only does away with his heavy Swedish accent, but also seems to substantially improve his English.
Reaver Glitterstim
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#10 - 2014-07-14 18:35:20 UTC
In high school choir I have sung songs in Latin and a handful of other languages I don't recall at the moment. Pronunciation was not much of an issue as it came naturally when we would form the singing notes. I'm sure we sounded a bit different from native singers, but we and they would have sounded pretty similar if they had had the same lessons we did.

(p.s.: I am aware there are no Latin natives.

FT Diomedes: "Reaver, sometimes I wonder what you are thinking when you sit down to post."

Frostys Virpio: "We have to give it to him that he does put more effort than the vast majority in his idea but damn does it sometime come out of nowhere."
Eurydia Vespasian
Storm Hunters
#11 - 2014-07-15 01:52:16 UTC
david gilmour sounds pretty english when he sings.
Sibyyl
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2014-07-15 02:47:12 UTC
Reaver Glitterstim wrote:
In high school choir I have sung songs in Latin and a handful of other languages I don't recall at the moment. Pronunciation was not much of an issue as it came naturally when we would form the singing notes. I'm sure we sounded a bit different from native singers, but we and they would have sounded pretty similar if they had had the same lessons we did.

(p.s.: I am aware there are no Latin natives.

You mention singing, and I can't help think Reaver looks a bit like this famous fellow.

Joffy Aulx-Gao for CSM. Fix links and OGB. Ban stabs from plexes. Fulfill karmic justice.
Xenuria
#13 - 2014-07-15 02:58:48 UTC
Nobody ever "losses" their accent. There is no such thing as a person with no accent.
Accent are a composition of the sociolinguistic adjustment.
Spoken language can only be learned from other people.


Maybe if a person only ever talked or learned from robot that used TTS, then they too would talk that way. They would still have an accent due to physiological factors.

/thread

CSM 12 Candidate
Xercodo
Cruor Angelicus
#14 - 2014-07-15 08:44:32 UTC
I found it funny that most people think Jay Kay of Jamiroquai is a black woman, but is actually a British white guy with a high range.

The Drake is a Lie
Reaver Glitterstim
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#15 - 2014-07-15 08:46:36 UTC  |  Edited by: Reaver Glitterstim
Sibyyl wrote:
You mention singing, and I can't help think Reaver looks a bit like this famous fellow.
Really? You flatter me Smile

But I always felt Reaver looks like this singer: Jacques Brel

He's well-known for this hit: Le Moribond about a dying man saying his farewells and revealing negative aspects he has known about people close to him and never talked about before, including his wife's infidelity. He blesses his best friend and asks him to continue taking care of his wife as he has been doing for some years now.

You may be familiar with this song, which uses the same melody: Seasons in the Sun

Xenuria wrote:
Nobody ever "losses" their accent. There is no such thing as a person with no accent.
All forms of speech are accented. Unaccented speech is no speech at all. Whatever way you speak is your accent. Just because it may be standard or common doesn't make it not an accent. Even if all speakers of a given language speak it with exactly the same accent, that is still an accent.

Xercodo wrote:
I found it funny that most people think Jay Kay of Jamiroquai is a black woman, but is actually a British white guy with a high range.
I thought for years that Quindon Tarver was a woman. (don't tell him I said that)

FT Diomedes: "Reaver, sometimes I wonder what you are thinking when you sit down to post."

Frostys Virpio: "We have to give it to him that he does put more effort than the vast majority in his idea but damn does it sometime come out of nowhere."
Brujo Loco
Brujeria Teologica
#16 - 2014-07-15 21:39:46 UTC  |  Edited by: Brujo Loco
Sibyyl wrote:
I've always thought everyone sounds American when they sing.



I dont think he sounds "American" to meBig smile

Perhaps in English, but fact is, many of our traditional singers actually have thick accents you can recognize right away during performances, and you can get several of the accents just by listening.

From the Coast we have this type of music heavily influenced by African Slaves and their drums

Viva Venezuela - Un Solo Pueblo The Accents of the coast are represented here


From the Middle Regions of our country we have this:

La Pulga y el Piojo - Serenata Guayanesa

From the Southern Plains we have this type of music and accents


Alma Llanera And Others - Reynaldo Armas

And for the Mountain Regions we have this, were I am from

Typical Venezuelan Andes Music

Fact is, any Venezuelan that doesn´t recognize tonal inflections and accents in music placing the region right away is not really a Venezuelan, even when mixing styles.

Also to be a bit of a troll, I think Auto-Tune melody synching is destroying music, there, I said it

Cheers! o/

PD: I miss my country Cry

Edit: As a side bonus I want , for those interested, to know about a wonderful Dominican Republic Singer that , during the Age of Dictators in latinamerica, was forced to live several years in Venezuela on fear of being Incarcerated on his return to Dominican Republic, kept his music career alive in Venezuela, and when our dictator was overthrown was almost expelled from our country only for people to realize he was practically a Venezuelan if not by birth, in soul.

Billo Frometa

He is, for all purposes a huge chunk of our traditional 1950´s and 1960´s music style figurehead.

To place it in foreigner terms, If you want to picture a Third World Banana Republic Ball in "El Presidente" Palace , this is the music that was actually being played in the background as people danced. , in Venezuela at least.

Billo´s Caracas Boys band, was so huge back then, that even I have a distant family member that risked getting caught by the Secret Police and be incarcerated or worse just for trying to smuggle himself in to get into one of these Balls/Dances so he could dance with the young High Society ladies and enjoy the music live (plus food and drink) XD

Inner Sayings of BrujoLoco: http://eve-files.com/sig/brujoloco
Reaver Glitterstim
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#17 - 2014-07-16 01:19:15 UTC
Brujo Loco, I notice in that video (and some of the others you linked), there are some fascinating outfits that I've never seen anyone wear to any sort of event anywhere I've been. I'm interested in the sort of outfits that people wear in your country when they want to show off or have fun!

FT Diomedes: "Reaver, sometimes I wonder what you are thinking when you sit down to post."

Frostys Virpio: "We have to give it to him that he does put more effort than the vast majority in his idea but damn does it sometime come out of nowhere."
Brujo Loco
Brujeria Teologica
#18 - 2014-07-16 05:07:51 UTC  |  Edited by: Brujo Loco
Reaver Glitterstim wrote:
Brujo Loco, I notice in that video (and some of the others you linked), there are some fascinating outfits that I've never seen anyone wear to any sort of event anywhere I've been. I'm interested in the sort of outfits that people wear in your country when they want to show off or have fun!


Happy to oblige:

The traditional trappings of our country are, as you have noticed, quite varied but there´s common ground in the Liqui-Liqui, which for lack of a better term is a loose Mao Style formal dress used by men

We also pair them with Alpargatas and a plethora of hats that are too varied to link and tend to focus on the region where you are from.

In one of the videos you can see the color and fabric of this attire is highly personal and nonetheless is considered "formal".

It is included in funerary customs as well as less somber ones, such as formal acts, marriages and any other kind of social events.

It´s use denotes the wearer as a "traditionalist" and depending on the setting it can be seen as colorful or completely out of place, since Venezuelan customs are, like most cultures, quite varied regarding dress codes.

People wear them too to make a statement, both social or political or to show your patriotism or adherence to folklore, bold women tailor them to their bodies to show power and confidence , but is not common, usually worn by women that are representing their country or folkloric music, again a statement.

For Joropo Dancing men can wear a loose style "Guayabera" that promotes freedom of movement with matching pants.

Men also are known to use suits that are typical of their region.

For instance, I own a Ruana, a common trapping in the Andes Region where I am from, and the material from which it is made usually denotes status. When mixed with a bag/linen pants it can turn into a Folkloric Dress


Women clothing is extremely varied, due to the fact that besides traditional Joropo dancing dresses women mix them up with local Aboriginal tribes colors which can lead to highly varied dresses, further customized by local colors.

I used to live in the Zulia Region, where all local events enforcing local customs had women using Female Wayuu tribe dresses, like these

In Venezuela we have a rich tapestry of Aboriginal tribes that further add to the Venezuelan canvas of color in folkloric clothing, and yep, we love colors!

We have so many tribes down here, that we have to classify them under languages , specifically the Arawakan, Carib and Chibcha speaking Clans/Tribes/Communes. And a lot of them don´t understand each other, so as you can see, we have a LOT of clothing types and forms.

We have several highly localized customs that use very specific attires, like The Dancing Devils of Yare or the Naiguatá Devils to name a few.

We also have the highly ritual attires for the Maria Lionza worshipers that are very specific, both in attire and ritual symbols on the flesh(which are hardly if ever taped/recorded due to ... reasons), and even if to foreigners it might seem like Vodoun/Santería , it´s a completely Venezuelan national religion that might have some points in common with other Caribbean Religions, but the attires are quite different.

And phew! I could endlessly talk about this, but I think that will suffice to quell your curiosity.

o/

Inner Sayings of BrujoLoco: http://eve-files.com/sig/brujoloco
Reaver Glitterstim
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#19 - 2014-07-17 01:31:37 UTC
That's really neat! I especially like the dancing devils, they have some really colorful outfits! Seems like the women dress more colorfully than the men but I still see men dressing more colorfully than here in the USA.

Brujo Loco wrote:
We also have the highly ritual attires for the Maria Lionza worshipers that are very specific, both in attire and ritual symbols on the flesh(which are hardly if ever taped/recorded due to ... reasons)
What reasons? What?

FT Diomedes: "Reaver, sometimes I wonder what you are thinking when you sit down to post."

Frostys Virpio: "We have to give it to him that he does put more effort than the vast majority in his idea but damn does it sometime come out of nowhere."
Slade Trillgon
Brutor Force Federated
#20 - 2014-07-17 10:48:30 UTC
I always felt a big influence, due to a massive assumption, that non native English speakers, that were targeting the American audience with the music they produced, listened to heavily and emulated that style. Their ears were accustomed to the sound of American pop, which is very simple for a very good reason as it appeals to the most Amurican ears, therefore what and how they sang came out that way. I do know that there are greater forces at play that influences this, as many have pointed out above.
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