Who are some of the best vocalists in prog?

BaldFriede wrote: I call ANY vocal perfomance accompanied by vocal "singing";

Floor Jansen

rogerthat wrote: Snow Dog wrote:     He shouts. he shouts in tune. But he shouts. No such thing as that, shouting in tune (which is not what he does, once again) is still singing, I am not going to call it anything else and also the claim that a singer who belts all the time cannot be technically the best is off base.  Once again, what your opinion of Bruce is and what you choose to call him is not my concern, but the conclusions you have drawn are inaccurate.

For once I have to agree with Snow Dog: Shouting IS singing. Take for example the opera singer Marlis Petersen, she is a trained opera singer, and she just has been voted singer of the year in Germany for the second time (first time in 2004). She grunts, she shouts, she croaks, whatever is necessary for the role; she definitely is not always singing beautifully.  She received high international praise for the role of Violetta in Verdi's "La Traviata" BECAUSE of this kind of singing. Her comment on that role was: "I can't sing beautifully when I am supposed to suffer from tuberculosis, so I croak. if necessary". In December 2001 she filled in for Natalie Dessay in the role of Zerbinetta for a production of "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Royal Opera House in London, with tremendous success. She recently had a tremendous success at the Metropolitan opera for her role of Ophélie in "Hamlet" by Ambroise Thomas.
Marlis Petersen is proof that shouting IS singing.

Snow Dog wrote:  I'm not saying he has no technical ability.

Snow Dog wrote:   And I insist that my description is wholly accurate.

rogerthat wrote: Snow Dog wrote:     He shouts. he shouts in tune. But he shouts. No such thing as that, shouting in tune (which is not what he does, once again) is still singing, I am not going to call it anything else and also the claim that a singer who belts all the time cannot be technically the best is off base.  Once again, what your opinion of Bruce is and what you choose to call him is not my concern, but the conclusions you have drawn are inaccurate.

StrengthandWisdom wrote: I want singers who've had at least some degree of vocal training, and don't sing with a glottal voice. Who are some of your favorites? Which bands have really good vocalists? I like Neal Morse and Steven Wilson's voice.

Even singers WITH training use "glottal voice" (I presume you mean "head voice"); you can't reach certain high notes without using head voice. If you don't believe me read the wikipedia entry about vocal resonation:
http://vocal resonation
Vocal training only teaches you  how to switch between them effortlessly and to support the sung note with the diaphragm.



Edited by BaldFriede - April 09 2011 at 05:12

Snow Dog wrote:   He shouts. Belting a song throughout is shouting.

Snow Dog wrote:   Lets get this clear...to me he is a shouter. Nothing you say will sway that opinion.

Snow Dog wrote: rogerthat wrote: Snow Dog wrote: richardh wrote: Technically the best imo: Bruce Dickinson   How can a screamer be technically the best? While I agree that Bruce is not technically the best, there's much more to his singing than just screaming.  He used to sing at the top of a tenor's range all the time in the 80s so that is very demanding. Sure, we have so very many of those metal sirens by now but it's still not for everyone. And not just the fact that he hits those notes, he belts them powerfully. And he sings in tune all the time, so it's not screaming in the Tom Araya-sense at all.  Lacked adaptability and favoured an overwrought style of emoting but that's a different story.   I meant shouter rather than screamer. My mistake. He shouts.