The human voice is by far, one of the most beautiful musical instruments ever. (If not the most beautiful). And yet, the human voice is simply the result of vibrating sound waves produced by vocal chords. What is it then that lifts the human voice above other instruments and makes it unparalleled? Is it a natural talent that is bestowed to a selected few or is it a skill that can be taught and acquired?
Most artists agree that beautiful singing is conventionally defined using three criteria:
Graceful and effortless delivery
When a performer makes a piece seem so easy, there is beauty and skill in the performance. The singer executes the piece without a single sign of strain despite the fact that beneath the surface it may have been technically and physically demanding.
Mastery of proper style
A singer must have the proper understanding of the particular musical style of the piece being interpreted. Phrasing, technique and language need to be studied and mastered.
Vocal beauty
Although highly subjective, there are certain parameters that are commonly agreed upon to recognize what is a beautiful voice. For one thing, the warmth of a voice is seen as positive across the musical board. Warmth would be referring to a pleasing sensation to the ear as opposed to scratchy and harsh, which tends to irritate.
These three taken together may seem like a hard and fast rule to judge a singer’s performance. But further analysis may show you that it is not necessarily so.
The first two factors, admittedly, are relatively easy to define, as there are concrete indicators for judging effortless delivery and mastery of musical style. Because of these indicators, it may be said that delivery and mastery can be taught and developed through training. The length of time to acquire these skills, though, may vary from one performer to another.
Vocal beauty however, proves more elusive to acquire that simply undergoing training. While singing techniques can be taught, there is no defined way of acquiring a particular warmth or timbre for the human voice. It is a natural feature innate from birth. This is why certain singers remain timeless because even if other people have sung the same song, it is never sung in the same voice.
So the answer to the question is actually both. It is simply a matter of in what proportions does delivery, mastery and vocal beauty come in. And for that, there is no hard and fast formula because singing isn’t a science, but an art.
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