Singing #4 - Punk Rock and Somewhere Over the Rainbow Should Never Have a Baby...
- Emily Jade
- Nov 1, 2020
- 5 min read
This session, we looked at examples of the same song sung in different styles. The song was ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, and we had to pick up on the similarities and differences of these things:
Sound and tone of the voice
Articulation (or accent)
Dynamics
Acting through Song
The first video we looked at was of Judy Garland, in the 1939 film, ‘The Wizard of Oz’,
Although this one wasn’t my favourite, I thought her use of tone was clever. She is an American, yet her way of singing was verging on the type of legit sound that comes from more classical musicals. Obviously, as she’s in a musical her acting through song is there and she kept a very innocent approach from Dorothy which I think was perfect.
The second was of Ariana Grande, from her One Love Manchester concert in 2017.
Personally, I didn’t like this version, as it really doesn’t suit Ariana’s voice. I personally think there’s too much ad-lib and too much vibrato on the notes, so much so it sounds desperate and breathy. I can appreciate that it was sung from the heart, and it was a very emotional time for her, but it’s just not that good compared to what she’s like.
Ella Fitzgerald was next and I actually loved this version. I think she has an incredible voice, and her version of this song proved that. The jazz elements really heightened it, and brought it so much life, it exudes sexiness in my opinion as her voice is just so low and raw. I felt that the smoothness in her tone was part of the song's charm, as it really added to the ambience of the mood within the meaning. Although she’s singing it in a sultry American accent, all of her articulation seems to be there, and it seems to be effortless. It’s unusual to hear an alto woman’s voice singing this song, as Judy Garland’s original was sung in a soprano key, I feel like it was a nice breath of fresh air for me to hear another vocal tone singing it.
Israel Kamakawiwoʻole in my opinion was one of the smoothest versions we listened to.
His voice wasn’t as soft or sultry than the previous ones we’d heard. It was completely unique, as it is just him and a ukulele, and I think it’s a very nice adaptation of the song. Although it’s not my personal favourite, I can see why people both like and dislike it, as I do think it can get a bit repetitive, and the video is very strange. He had a very mumbly tone to his voice, and I think that suited him well; especially as he was controlling the beat with his ukulele. I think his accent is really nice, but you can hear the clear difference in how he doesn’t pronounce his words properly in comparison to the previous three.
My least favourite by far was the punk rock version of this song.
In my personal opinion, this song is not made for any rock or EDM genre of music, as it’s connotations are far softer than that of rock music. It completely takes the innocence of the song away without any room for explanation. At first listen, I thought it was the band Blink-182, as it sounds very much like them and the kind of thing they would do to such an innocently sounding song. They’re not really even singing it, it’s more of a shout into the microphone than anything else. Their use of articulation isn’t really there either, as they’re singing it in a very stereotypical American punk rock manner, and so therefore the vowels and articulation of them is lost, which is a very strong difference to Judy Garland’s version.
Eva Cassidy’s version of this song was my favourite of the five, but I think it stems more from childhood memories than anything else.
My dad used to play this version around the house - and bang on about how beautiful it was - so I think I was used to hearing this one. Her voice has so much power without being overpowering, which makes you want to keep listening, and I think that (very similarly to Israel), she can control the pace and tone of the song as she’s playing it on her own instrument which means she can take all the time she wants. Personally, I really like the way she uses the breathy voice that leans into seduction. It’s the complete opposite of Ariana Grande’s use of breathiness, which was desperate and needy, Eva Cassidy creates more of a composed breathiness that, like Ella Fitzgerald, oozes sexiness.
Out of all the five, I definitely felt like Eva Cassidy, the punk rock and Ariana Grande targeted my limbic system the most. Eva Cassidy gave me goosebumps as it brought back memories for me that I had completely tucked away until that moment, the punk rock one made me cringe quite hard, while Ariana’s - especially when I watched it on the TV back in 2017 - definitely made me quite emotional. Specifically, Ariana’s made me emotional as a result of the situation that she was in at that current moment, and you can really feel the sadness in her voice and in her body language.
Primal Sounds are something I’ve never learned of before but I was fascinated by them. They are present from birth and they are the basic sounds you make throughout life, each one is different depending on the person and their upbringing and their surroundings etc. Some examples of primal sounds are:
Moaning
Screaming
Shouting
Laughing
Seduction
As you grow through life you’re able to use and adapt these sounds wherever suitable. Eva Cassidy uses the primal sound of seduction to be able to get the controlled, breathy tone to her voice in the cover of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, and I’d also say that Ella Fitzgerald does to some extent too, but rather hers isn't breathy.
In relation to our own songs, we need to think of the primal sounds we could potentially use, and think about their content and context. The content is what’s being said by the songs lyrics, or the singer, whereas the context is what they actually mean by their words. For example, in ‘Once Upon a December’, the song I’ve chosen, Anya sings the line ‘Someone holds me safe and warm, horses prance through a silver storm’, but the context of the line is what she remembers. It’s a really high point of drama in the musical, as she has just realised that she is the missing Princess Anastasia, and she’s relaying all the things she once remembered to the audience after finding a music box that her Grandma gave her as a child.
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