#26
Posted: 12/24/04 at 6:09am
Ustadance,
Your comment: "The woman is a fool: There is not one note of "melisma" in her entire performance. In fact, whether you like the sound or not - it is near pitch perfect and does not meander around the notes a lick" suggests to me that you don't know what the word "melisma" actually means, which makes your act of calling the Amazon.com reviewer a "fool" look, well, rather foolish.
Melisma is a specific musical term that refers to the act of singing one or more tones on a single lyrical syllable. It has nothing to do with singing off key, as your post implies. Melisma can be used for appropriate dramatic effect, although it is often extremely overutilized for no reason by modern singers (including Ms. Espinoza).
Melisma can be written into a score, although it is generally considered "lazy" writing. For example, the song "On My Own" contains a good illustrative example of an intentionally written melisma: when Eponine sings "Pretending he's be-si-ide me", the two syllable word "beside" is stretched into a three syllable one. THAT is melisma. In that case, it's done for dramatic effect: it implies sexual longing.
Another good example of melisma can be discovered in DREAMGIRLS. When Jennifer Holiday sings (and the notes are actually written this way in the score) "You're going to lo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ve me" at the end of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," it's another intentional dramatic use of melisma. Effie is desperate at that point, and distraught that her lover is abandoning her. However, a good example of the overuse of melisma can be found in Lilias White's performance of the same song, where she uses melisma on notes that serve no dramatic purpose -- she simply does it to make herself sound more vocally impressive.
The overuse of melisma is rampant in modern singers, and I have long theorized that Mariah Carey is the leading cause of it. However, in a pop song, melisma is a stylistic choice. In musical theatre, it's a dramatic choice. As a singing actor, if you overuse melisma to impress audiences with your vocal abilities (not that it's a particularly difficult vocal trick to achieve), you lose out on the intentional dramatic effect that melisma can provide. Espinoza may be able to bring audiences to their feet because they don't realize that what she's vocally doing isn't that big of a deal, but she'll never get them to truly care about her character unless she specifically utilizes melisma as a dramatic tool, instead of a cheap trick to garner meaningless insta-applause.
Your comment: "The woman is a fool: There is not one note of "melisma" in her entire performance. In fact, whether you like the sound or not - it is near pitch perfect and does not meander around the notes a lick" suggests to me that you don't know what the word "melisma" actually means, which makes your act of calling the Amazon.com reviewer a "fool" look, well, rather foolish.
Melisma is a specific musical term that refers to the act of singing one or more tones on a single lyrical syllable. It has nothing to do with singing off key, as your post implies. Melisma can be used for appropriate dramatic effect, although it is often extremely overutilized for no reason by modern singers (including Ms. Espinoza).
Melisma can be written into a score, although it is generally considered "lazy" writing. For example, the song "On My Own" contains a good illustrative example of an intentionally written melisma: when Eponine sings "Pretending he's be-si-ide me", the two syllable word "beside" is stretched into a three syllable one. THAT is melisma. In that case, it's done for dramatic effect: it implies sexual longing.
Another good example of melisma can be discovered in DREAMGIRLS. When Jennifer Holiday sings (and the notes are actually written this way in the score) "You're going to lo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ve me" at the end of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," it's another intentional dramatic use of melisma. Effie is desperate at that point, and distraught that her lover is abandoning her. However, a good example of the overuse of melisma can be found in Lilias White's performance of the same song, where she uses melisma on notes that serve no dramatic purpose -- she simply does it to make herself sound more vocally impressive.
The overuse of melisma is rampant in modern singers, and I have long theorized that Mariah Carey is the leading cause of it. However, in a pop song, melisma is a stylistic choice. In musical theatre, it's a dramatic choice. As a singing actor, if you overuse melisma to impress audiences with your vocal abilities (not that it's a particularly difficult vocal trick to achieve), you lose out on the intentional dramatic effect that melisma can provide. Espinoza may be able to bring audiences to their feet because they don't realize that what she's vocally doing isn't that big of a deal, but she'll never get them to truly care about her character unless she specifically utilizes melisma as a dramatic tool, instead of a cheap trick to garner meaningless insta-applause.
Updated On: 12/24/04 at 06:09 AM
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