aimless conversations: like an intermission where the band keeps playing

My Music Teacher Says...

ITZguitarDIVA:
They have glorious harmonies, great musicianship but their technique sucks. Taylor sings from the throat and it could prove to be very damaging to his voice in the future, Zac isn't so badly off but there are times when his singing could use more breath support and sometimes he sings from the throat too. Isaac is the one who has the best technique out of the three.

ejohnson:
Taylor eats the mike when he sings & mumbles BADLY!! But we still love him *lol*

BladeChick09:
Yes Tay does have horrid ennunciation but we love him anywayand my friend who's been taking voice lessons forever says the same...Tay doesn't open his throat to sing and that's not good. but he has an amazing voice anyway

zeus22:
sounds good to me.

zestykat:
Yep, Tay's a mumbler, but what's a Hanson song without the trademark mumbling?

Eustacia:
Hey! awesome post! that's exactly wut I wuz trying 2 say with my post with the subject "is anyone majoring in vocal perf or had a lot of vocal training"!!!!! Read it because in it is my idea of petitioning on the question section to rethink their (esp. singing) technique so they can produce a better sound and most importantly prevent permanent damage. I'm so glad that someone else realizes this!!!!! awesome!

starryeyed2:
all i know is i know nothing about "vocal talent" and all that jazz. taylor sounds better than i ever will, so i say rock on.

jordandoucette:
I'm especially partial to Isaac's voice out of the three of them. He seems to have a very defined voice that he carries wonderfully! Not trying to shun out the other two though. :o)

ITZguitarDIVA:
Just so none of you get the wrong impression about my post... I"m not sayin the guys don't have talent... They are incredibley talented in so many ways and on so many levels... but as far as technique goes it needs some work.... Gotta love those boys though noone and I mean noone mumbles quite like Taylor :sighs: hehe

MuSiCfReAk805:
Hanson are incredibly talented, but they do need to work on enunciation. My choir teacher tells us that all the time that we need to speak the whole word, something Hanson doesnt do. I noticed it on Broken Angel when Zac says "tonigh" not "tonight". Singing from the throat will definitely mess up their vocal chords, which we dont want cause we want them to make glorious music forever. :)

RhythmicVenus:
My pet peave about enunciation:

"chu" instead of "you"

I don't know how many times my choir director corrected me for that one. Now it's drilled in so deep, I can't get away from it!

Democrat:
Taylor eats the mike when he sings & mumbles BADLY

lol, my best friend and i used to always say that he was gonna chip a tooth someday, so when we got news of that time that he chipped a tooth (in aus i think) and had to be rushed to the dentist, we weren't at all surprised . . .

i also agree that they need to work on their projection skills . . . if they use their diahragms, then they won't have any vocal cord troubles . . . it is very damaging to sing with your throat, and not your stomach . . . your vocal chords are two thin strings in your neck, and singing irritates them very very much. but when you project your voice, it's almost like the sound is just riding over the vocal chords, like a surfer riding the waves. it just grazes over and used the Vocal chords as a median between the stomach and the mouth . . . our bodies and how many functions we get out of them are abcolutely intriguing . . .

CaptainAmerica:
Hanson are incredibly talented, but they do need to work on enunciation. My choir teacher tells us that all the time that we need to speak the whole word, something Hanson doesnt do.

That's just the by the book method. There's really no reason to "work on it." That's their style...that's part of what gives them their sound.

Choir teachers, especially older ones, seem to lose sense of that fact.

ITZguitarDIVA:
Although that's true it is their style and generally pop musicians and rock musicians generally don't follow rule (actually they pretty much throw the rules out the window) there is still a correct way to sing so that you preserve the voice because after years and years of bad singing habits you eventually lose your voice and begin finding new ways to sing which are even more dangerous to your vocal health. Itz not about style really itz about getting the most out of your voice without damaging it. Gosh I sound like my voice teacher.... I hate to admit that what she says is true but it kind of is... There are those teachers that are really picky when it comes to technique posture, breathing ect but I think all that matters is health.

fangirl:
i kind of agree with everyone... i see nick's point, in that the by-the-book method isn't always the right one, but it is a good step to keep your voice. but everything about the technique hanson uses is what makes them them, so i guess we'll just wait and see...!

oh, as for the chipped tooth thing... that happened in germany. *smiles*

richieprep:
I agree completely. Bad enunciation especially on Taylor's part has always been one of my main gripes, because I can hardly sing along to any of their songs because there are not enough clues to get them. Remember all those misheard lyrics?! LOL I doubt that many casual fans who know their songs from the radio or tapes friends gave them get a lot out of them, and few may think that they are great because of the lyrics (just think how many detractors point to MMMBop as that 'silly gibberish song', just because they believe it has no meaning at all).

Also Taylor should relax far more. Not all songs warrant that pained, strained, high-register delivery, although it works very well a lot of times and has become their trademark sound.

And yes, I think in the end it's about longevity. It's not that everyone should sound like they're singing Schubert songs, but I am in little doubt that Taylor and Zac, being exposed to all this performing during their most sensitive years in puberty, have been under too much strain vocally. Remember Roger Love's comments from the time he was Hanson's vocal coach on the Middle Of Nowhere sessions? It's good not to forget that so-called tough rock idols like Jon Bon Jovi and Roger Daltrey of The Who had to take singing lessons, because otherwise they'd completely lost their voice. And yes, Iggy Pop took many singing lessons too in his later years

RhythmicVenus:
I agree with Rich, many great rockers took singing lessons, and those that didn't, or chose to sing in a way that "Sounded good for their band" lost their voices... Robert Plant can hardly sing at all now, and the lead singer from Cinderella (can't remember his name off hand), can't sing at all! He sounds horse when he talks.