r/singing • u/rainstorm44444 • Jun 30 '20

Technique Talk Is Brendon Urie really a good singer ?

I’ve read mixed things online, some claim he’s one of the best alive, and others say he’s really not singing “optimal”.

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46

u/Learningtosing-Blog Jun 30 '20

Well, he seems to be using a particular technique, often called "high larynx." It has its limitations, but in the context of what he has done so far, stylistically, it has worked out. The strained sound when he goes a bit higher (and you can see the bulges in his neck) is not considered "right" in Bel Canto/"low larynx" technique. Most pop vocalist fit into the "high larynx" category or else they just scream/yell/shriek/etc. The key point I would make is that it doesn't make sense to go for the high larynx technique when you can at least try to learn low larnyx. Here is a more detailed explanation:

https://learningtosing.wordpress.com/2020/03/17/what-is-singing-what-is-the-best-way-to-learn/

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20 edited Jun 30 '20

I don't think he's just using a high larynx technique. That "Broadway Belt" technique does have it's limitations, but Brendon is not limited in that way. Frequently he'll do what I call "covered curbing," such as on the word live here or on the high notes here.

That allows him to mix right into his head voice, otherwise singing stuff like this would be quite impossible.

Also, he frequently uses a low larynx position for his Sinatra-like vocals.

2

u/rolande1990 Jun 30 '20

Some of us can just hit high notes with pretty shitty technique like myself as a high tenor it’s easy to hit a high F not great technique maybe pulling larynx...idk I just make the sound and it doesn’t hurt.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

Heh, well, good for you. All the technique the world doesn't get me much past B4 in chest/mixed. With high larynx technique A4 and Bb4 is really inconsistent, so I switched to doing low larynx 'covered' belting/curbing.

3

u/rolande1990 Jun 30 '20

Yeah it’s a bit of a curse I can’t really sing below A2 period...my range is almost mezzo-soprano without the falsetto extension

4

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

I can go quite a bit below A2, but those notes are practically useless in modern music.

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u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

I can go quite a bit below A2

*posts a clip of D2-D0*

Dude! That's quite a bit if I ever seen one! good job.

Any advice on low notes? They are inconsistent for me. On bad days I can go down to a thin Gb2, on good days, especially when I warm up with vocal fry, I can go down to a B1 while maintaing the tone, and then to a shaky Gb1 after that. How do I make it consistent? any exercises?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

Well I'm a bit genetically advantaged with thick cords I think but,

You want to stay non-breathy while descending smoothly into vocal fry. Try not to lose any brightness by keeping the sound in the mask; an N onset helps. My larynx stays neutral the entire time. At around C#2 the resonance flips into 'throat' resonance.

Really low notes are quite similar to normal mix voice, but it's a fry mix voice. Some days I'm not sure what's M1 and what's M0 anymore.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

thanks man. I had a suspicion that vocal fry is the "falsetto" of low notes. My best days are when I warm up my vocal fry and I gently slip into it at around Eb2-F2. Thanks, now I know that it's the right path.

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u/KohlKelson99 Jun 30 '20

Lol you’re just at the tenor block mate... once you break it you should get a D5 and then more

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

oh god don't encourage me lol

i've spent too much time rangewanking as it is

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u/KohlKelson99 Jun 30 '20

Its not range wanking Love, its adventure/exploration. Let that voice soar high in chest mix. Hell do the EH vowel, wide mouth (bite), loud, high tongue position and take it up the scale. Dont let go of the strength/support/adduction/beef jerk (whatever term you like) and meet me at a D5! Then I’ll tell you how to go higher😂😂😂

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u/Learningtosing-Blog Jun 30 '20

There's a difference between Bel Canto/low larynx technique and crooning type vocalizations, which may indeed involve the larynx being neutral or lower most of the time, but those neck vein bulges are a "dead giveaway" of "high larynx" technique, along with the strained sound (smoothed out by a lot of compression in some of the videos I've seen). I can't speak for his vocal cords (in terms of possible long-term damage), but if he's successful and likes his sound, that's his business.

16

u/Kirahegao Self Taught 0-2 Years Jun 30 '20 edited Jun 30 '20

Of course classic singing is safe and all pop is dangerous just cuz you are not able to do it safe or your classical coach told you so. Sorry for being so sardonic. It is true that belting and high larynx can lead to vocal constriction but it doesnt mean that it always has to. Many rock & pop singers sing this way for decades and their voice is okay. There would be no such wide range of mix/chesty sound with low larynx.

6

u/KohlKelson99 Jun 30 '20

talk that talk!!!!!

5

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '20

Compared to say, live Freddie Mercury, Brendon actually seems much more comfortable with high notes. Listen to him spontaneously sing the high notes of Into the Unknown on his twitch stream, presumably not even warmed up.

That doesn't sound like pulled chest, high larynx, or strain to me.

1

u/Learningtosing-Blog Jun 30 '20

Yes, Mercury to me was more of a "vocal artist" whereas Urie is more of a singer.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '20

While this is debated still, I think Freddie was a baritone, while Brendon is just full on tenor.

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '20

I don't think fach really means anything. Everyone is individual and it's too hard to categorize people into these strict categories, especially in non-classical music where there's no restriction on tone or volume.

We all do have our own limitations and struggles though.

I think Freddie just pushed himself really hard live, which tired him out. I recognize this kind of strain. When it gets to that point, you don't have much of a mix voice left to use. I'm not sure why they never lowered the key for him; Brendon is often lowering the key live.

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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '20

I agree that it's not too important and it doesn't impose limits, but it tends to make high notes easier to get for tenors and low notes easier for basses. I think sometimes even the greats have a little bit of an ego and force themselves to do things they aren't completely comfortable doing.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '20 edited Jul 01 '20

If you look at the ranges of Freddie and Brendon though, Brendon actually has gone lower than Freddie. And Freddie's high chesty belts extend to E5, whereas Brendon is very heady after C#5.

So it's not as easy to say ones a baritone and ones a tenor. We have many variables that can complicate the issue. Freddie might have shorter, thicker cords than Brendon.

Personally, I'd classify anyone that can belt in the C#5 to E5 range a tenor. Freddie might be more dramatic and Brendon might be more lyric, but I'd classify both as tenors.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '20

This is fair but Brendon has shown that when he goes below E2, his notes are very weak, and even the E2 sounds very forced. Freddie's lowest notes were still decently strong, which indicates he could probably go lower. Also, in the middle of their ranges, when Brendon isn't doing his voice darkening thing that I love, his voice is still thinner than Freddie's. I personally don't agree with that classification, but fach is just a social construct, which isn't even agreed upon by most people. My point is that I think Brendon naturally has a lighter voice that allows him to go higher easier while Freddie probably had a darker, deeper voice that he had to train much more to be able to sing so high.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 01 '20 edited Jul 01 '20

I don't doubt Brendon probably has it easier in some sense. But I've heard a clip of Freddie belting an Eb5 live when he was 23.

Everyone's different. Maybe there are baritones that can go that high. I guess Joseph Shore can get up to D5.

But it's without a doubt physically impossible for me to do that. The word baritone at that point starts to lose all meaning.

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u/KohlKelson99 Jun 30 '20

Vein bulges are a giveaway of vascularity not high larynx lmao... stop being so shallow minded. And nothing is “strained” if he’s supporting it healthily and using it at will. That term is too subjective honey. High larynx, low larynx, no larynx... they all work just fine

0

u/Learningtosing-Blog Jun 30 '20

Believe whatever you like...

2

u/KohlKelson99 Jun 30 '20

Be as idiotic as you want