#35: You mean, it’s not all dressing up and dancing at FCA?

[Couch Tomato]

I had an Uncle with PP. He would tell you what note your appliances hummed in!

Now there's a skill that will take you places!

[Iseeme]

Good morning. Whoa - great discussions about musical stuff I know NOTHING about! I'm so impressed with the knowledge on this board. I just listen. Know what I like and what I'm not too fond of. The one thing I do really, really always like is the way Clay pronounces any word where the letter L is the second letter in the word. Close, twelve, stuff like that. He has a unique way of wrapping his tongue around the L..... ( I am not smutting, it's too early to smut, isn't it?)

I saw Barbra Streisand in Sacramento at the Civic Auditorium in 1961. She had her hair cut short and wore that sailor blouse thingie that was on the cover of her first album and when she sang People you could hear a pin drop in the audience. I think the ticket cost me all of $8.00. Have always loved her voice. One of my favorite songs is All I Ask Of You from Phantom. Beautiful. And a Barbra/Clay duet................OMG. He could SO keep up with her! I actually have always wanted to hear Clay duet with a diva with a big voice. I think Hannah has a good voice but I don't think it's a great voice. I think she's probably had alot of voice training and I don't think she sings as effortless as Clay does.

As to his breathing, phrasing, breaking words, etc. I think that's just all uniquely Clay. I feel like he just stands up there and sings without thinking about it - it just is as natural to him as breathing is. I'm very glad he didn't have serious vocal training..... Point in fact - Josh Groban. Gorgeous, huge voice. No heart. All planned out and studied. I don't have the right musical words to describe it but it's pure vanilla to me......and lo-cal vanilla.

G-daughter and I are off to take a cruise on Lake Tahoe - 2 1/2 hours on the water with narration of the history of the lake, etc. Should be a beautiful day.

Hope all is well with everyone.....have a nice Tuesday.

[luckiest1]

Hannah was putting some effort into it. The other dude that sang it with Hannah looked like he was trying to give birth. To a great BIG baby. Without anesthesia. Clay looked like he was strolling through the park. The man has MAD talent.

Heh, yeah, watched that on the weekend. That guy was trying WAY to hard.

Cotton, the first two notes are a capella. Clay sings 'It's in' without accompaniment, and then piano and strings come in at 'every'. I imagine that there will probably be some sort of intro if he sings this in concert so that he can come in on the right note. Unless he has perfect pitch!

Maybe he'll use his pitch pipe......

[Gibby]

If Clay doesn't have perfect pitch, he may have relative pitch. It's the ability to pick out a note without having a keyboard or pitchpipe around (as ldyj mentioned) and to hear whether one is singing in tune.

I've developed a little bit of relative pitch over time. Yesterday, to figure out the intervals in Falling, I just listened to them and was able to tell what they were. Vocal training helps with that, because you have to be able to sight-sing intervals without the aid of a keyboard. And when I went to the piano to confirm the key, the first chord I played was F minor. Playing an instrument or singing a lot of music really helps to develop that ability.

In some ways, relative pitch has advantages over perfect pitch. People with perfect pitch sometimes have problems when songs are transposed into another key, and atonality or something that's deliberately a little out of tune drives them up the wall. Relative pitch doesn't have those disadvantages.

[ldyjocelyn]

Cotton, the first two notes are a capella. Clay sings 'It's in' without accompaniment, and then piano and strings come in at 'every'. I imagine that there will probably be some sort of intro if he sings this in concert so that he can come in on the right note. Unless he has perfect pitch!

Maybe he'll use his pitch pipe......

You mean the one he keeps in his pants pocket?

[luckiest1]

That's the one!

[rohdy]

I'm very glad he didn't have serious vocal training..... Point in fact - Josh Groban. Gorgeous, huge voice. No heart. All planned out and studied. I don't have the right musical words to describe it but it's pure vanilla to me......and lo-cal vanilla.

This is the problem I have with Groban as well. All the uniqueness was trained out of him.....wonder what he would have sounded like if left on his own?

What amazingly educational posts this the last 24 hours! Thanks to all who share their musical knowledge....as I have none. :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[ldyjocelyn]

Crap -- forgot to mention...thanks Gibby for the term "relative" pitch. But then, what exactly is "perfect pitch?" I guess that's what I thought I had too, but the way you describe relative pictch, that is really more what I have.

luckiest1 smutted. All is right with the world.

And now, I really DO have to work.

[FromClaygary]

If Clay doesn't have perfect pitch, he may have relative pitch. It's the ability to pick out a note without having a keyboard or pitchpipe around (as ldyj mentioned) and to hear whether one is singing in tune. <snip>

In some ways, relative pitch has advantages over perfect pitch. People with perfect pitch sometimes have problems when songs are transposed into another key, and atonality or something that's deliberately a little out of tune drives them up the wall. Relative pitch doesn't have those disadvantages.

I'd guess you're right about Clay having "relative" pitch; remember the "out of tune piano"?

This is the problem I have with Groban as well. All the uniqueness was trained out of him.....wonder what he would have sounded like if left on his own?

Good point!!...and I have the same problem. Hadn't been really able to identify why he bores me senseless, but I think that is it.

[jmh123]

My father and I just loved Barbra Streisand when she first came on the scene. I think the first time we saw her was on the Ed Sullivan show, which our family watched religiously. We cheered when she refused to get her nose "fixed." We loved her unique voice, her unique interpretations, and her unique looks, and we cheered her on as she became a success. I've definitely compared Clay to her in my own mind from the beginning. Love the conversation today!

[jamar1700]

I'm wondering if much of it IS me -- because so many people seem to think this is a sure-fire radio hit, and I've been totally programmed into really not liking any discussion of "this song is a radio hit." It's hard for me to get past that idea, because it seemed to me that it was drummed into my head, that "HE HAS TO HAVE A SONG ON THE RADIO," when I keep reading Clay saying "not a big deal to me." Would I like to hear Clay on the radio? Of course -- I think it would be fantastically fun. But I'm not the person to pick that song for him to be on the radio, and IMO there's just too many experts out there who think "this" song, or "that" song should be the radio single. It's one of my "hot buttons," and I'm going to have to deal.

Twin!! Also one of my hot buttons. Right up there with upbeat/uptempo*

But....since I don't think anyone posting actually works in today's music industry I can chalk it up to wishful thinking and/or personal preference. I've never been able to take it too seriously. Maybe cuz it started with Todd Venice *shudders* insisting that Touch *shudders* was THAT song!

Which reminds me...has anyone heard the Cheap Trick version of BFM burning up the charts? *g*

Sorry...now I'm just being a brat.

*MTRR ...upbeat is a mood...uptempo is a speed. It's true. You can look it up.

----

But to the discussion at hand...I started out not really caring for Falling (maybe because of the above) ...but it's really grown on me. I disliked the digitized stuff at first...but again...grown on me. The lyrics are another story...no pun intended. I always related it to Clay's journey from regular joe to celebrity. I imagine Clay at some point thinking...WTH just happened to my life? The sadness and/or fear he must have felt at some points knowing that no matter what ... there was no going back. So the song had that pull for me from the beginning.

[muskifest]

Oooh Ooooh! :PickMe-1: I was going to say "relative pitch"! Really! I knew that one, Gibby! And I see him using that talent a lot. On those rare occasions when he doesn't hit a note right on, he self-corrects that sucker so fast I imagine most people aren't even aware that he DID any correcting! This ability makes him an ideal harmonizing partner AND makes his willingness to go for those glory notes all by his lonesome understandable, too, IMO.

I've seen a growth (heh), too, ldyj, in his transitioning between 'voices' over the years. And I agree with whoever it was who said that the songs on this cd are in many ways sophisticated musically. For people used to hearing generic studio-produced (and in some cases, CREATED) voices being basically a background to the same dance beat on radio 'hits', yeah....they just don't 'get it'.

I swear, it seems I wake up every morning with a different OMWH song in my head. This morning was Sacrificial Love...

Is it time for the 'S' songs, yet?

Oh, and I'm not complaining, but could we get a new/different lol emoticon on our "main page" of smilies? I love , but would just love to see some other rolly face losing it over laughter... I'll look around to see if I can find one... :F_05BL17blowkiss:

[jmh123]

I had to go do a search to find the old Merv Griffin quote from Seacrest's show:

So it's like when you come in second, like Clay Aikens is extraoridinary. The underdog, but not only that, it's not only that he's the underdog, but I have real thoughts about singers and stuff. I always like the idea that you can turn on the radio and say "oh that's Clay Aikens, oh that's Barbra Streisand, oh that's Frank Sinatra oh that's Tony Bennet" They're a star. If you can identify them by sound. That kid has his own sound. He's got energy, he's got soul, he's got it all, that voice pours out of him.

[Ansamcw]

Its TUESDAY!!!

means banner change...

Thanks to cindilu for our banner this week...

[muskifest]

He's got energy, he's got soul, he's got it all, that voice pours out of him.

Thread title?

Oooooh! Lookie! Pokey Chest Hair Banner!

Woo hoo!

[keepingfaith]

OMG, you guys are dusting off the cobwebs from my ear training of yesteryear! Absolute pitch, or perfect pitch, is like LdyJ said, you hear a G and you know it's a G. Or someone says, "hit a G" and you do. Relative pitch is hearing a G and being able to identify an E, or hitting any other notes of the scale in relation to the G.

[KAndre]

KAndre looks at KF's explanation and tries something...says "hit a g" aloud.

types a perfectly lovely letter "g" on her keyboard...

g

that perfect pitch thingie is much easier than she thought!

[keepingfaith]

Another difference is that relative pitch can be acquired with ear training. Absolute pitch is something you either have it or you don't. Looks like you definitely have it -- what a beautiful, clear G, KAndre. I'm enjoying that one.

[KAndre]

Dang, I'm good!

Heh!

[PermaSwooned]

Yum!!! Pokey chest hair banner!! Can't wait to go to work where my screen resolution is BIGGER!!!

When I was a kid I had perfect pitch according to the man who taught orchestra in our school system. That was how I ended up playing the violin instead of the flute. Yuck. It kind of faded over time, but I still have good relative pitch. I can always harmonize with others easily. People often ask how come Clay keeps ending up singing the harmony when he does duets. Well, because he can "hear" it easily, and many solo singers cannot. Just another of his many talents.

I had to go do a search to find the old Merv Griffin quote from Seacrest's show:

So it's like when you come in second, like Clay Aikens is extraoridinary. The underdog, but not only that, it's not only that he's the underdog, but I have real thoughts about singers and stuff. I always like the idea that you can turn on the radio and say "oh that's Clay Aikens, oh that's Barbra Streisand, oh that's Frank Sinatra oh that's Tony Bennet" They're a star. If you can identify them by sound. That kid has his own sound. He's got energy, he's got soul, he's got it all, that voice pours out of him.

I LOVED this statement when Merv made it, because it was exactly what I had been browbeating anyone who would listen about Clay.

I have a favorite montage on my Archos of a montage made by one of the deluded ones (HF) that starts with that video clip of Merv.

There isn't any YouTube of it, but it's at Clack Unlimited. It's to Barry Manilow's "One Voice" and has some really yummy old pics and clips:

http://www.clackunlimited.com/clack/Montag...lcon/One_Voice/

Off to work.

[spikesmom]

Nice Banner!! Thanks to everyone who takes the time to make them for our enjoyment!

It's very interesting to read all the music lingo... I don't know nothin' 'bout nothin' when it comes to music other than I know what I find pleasing and like to listen to... but I enjoy reading all the technical jargon... I might even remember some of it... so I appreciate the education... :F_05BL17blowkiss:

I only find one song that I occasionally skip and it just depends on my mood and I only skip it if I'm in the car... I am really enjoying the whole cd... as I listen to each of the songs, I do find myself wondering if it's one that Clay relates to for this reason or that reason... I have found several that really speak to me and that makes them much higher on my list of favorites... but overall, I love what Clay did with this cd and it makes me happy to listen to it!

I can't say I would know perfect pitch if it hit me in the face, but I sure do know when someone misses a note! Probably because it sounds like me singing!

[keepingfaith]

Back in the "I think I can" car ....

From All Access:

#27 CLAY AIKEN On My Way Here

Spins this week 112

Spins last week 98

Spincrease +14

Audience in millions: 0.243

He's just four spins behind REO Speedwagon -- which is declining daily. #26 is at hand.

OMWH is #18 overall in spincreases.

There are 24 monitored stations playing OMWH.

The leaders are:

KMGA Albuquerque with 11 spins

KUMU Honolulu with 10 spins

WRAL Raleigh with 8 spins

KBEZ Tulsa with 7 spins

This week's starters are:

KMGA Albuquerque with 11 spins (when they got started they got with it!) and

WCDV Baton Rouge with 6 spins

[djs111]

Last week I read something about a breathing technique that some singers use - it involved breathing in through the nose while singing and something about the cheeks. Pretty sure facial cheeks :-) - it was supposed to get around that big gasps of air thing that bugs me - Kelly does that, for instance, I can't stand to listen to her..... Clay used to take in air through the side of his mouth, have not noticed that lately.

Anyways, I tried it and almost passed out, I guess it takes practice. I will try and remember where I saw it.

So, looks like Clay was right when he said the radio thing would be slow but steady and to have faith and support the first single. What a concept!

To me, OMWH is a quite effective earworm. Perfect first single, keeps the name of the CD front and center. Plus I do luv it.

I can't say I would know perfect pitch if it hit me in the face, but I sure do know when someone misses a note! Probably because it sounds like me singing!

Me too - I can't sing, but I know when a note is off.

[Lotus]

Cotton Remember the radio interview where he was challenged to start Invisible? And he nailed it! Matched the beginning exactly with the recorded version?

And then there was DF Star Search where David Foster asked Clay 3 times to sing that note from UM. I still get amazed at how Clay does that.

Iseeme I'm very glad he didn't have serious vocal training.

I agree except that any serious vocal training stresses the importance of warming up the voice especially if there are going to be those "power notes".

Now I don't know if Clay means it when he say he doesn't warm up his voice before a performance but one of my fears has been that he will damage his voice over time by not doing so.

[muskifest]

Hee! Look at this cute YouTube of a baby 'singing' along with Clay's song, "Ashes"...