Music and Gender
In the music industry, they have awards for things like Best Male Artist and Best Female Artist of the year. Each gender has a difference in their music, that its best to give an award to each gender. Males have much deeper voices and in the past have had what I consider more manly music about alcohol, women, and their money. Women have usually higher voices and can cover a large range and their music is usually about love, heartbreak, and family. More recently the two have started to blend together in what they sing about and the sound they want, like men, are singing in higher keys and the songs about love and how they see it.
When I was younger, I preferred female singers because I could relate to them better than I could with male singers. I could imagine loving a boy or being a wild child, but I could not imagine myself understanding what it meant to go out drinking with my buddies and seeing a pretty girl like in my dad's favorite song "Longneck Bottle."
I also could not hit the low notes when I sang along because when I was younger I had a very high pitched voice. Now I prefer male singers because of the deep sound of their voices and I can see myself being in their shoes. Also since I'm older I can hit lower notes better than I can the high ones as some female singers can sing, for example, Whitney Houston.
You can really hear the difference between men and women when you watch or are part of a chorus. The choir will be split into sections depending on the range that they can sing. For example, people who can sing at the highest pitch will sing in the soprano section and the lowest pitch will sing in the bass section. Each section will sing the song but in harmony with each other and not exactly singing the same exact words, melody, or note. You will notice men are usually in the bass section while the and women will be in the soprano.
Some songs can be changed to fit the gender of the singer like for American Idol or The Voice. I've seen many singers change songs to fit their range and abilities in singing. I like how music is very adaptable to what the singer enjoys and their personality and no two singers have the same style of song.
When I grew up, I personally liked the male singers more. I loved listening to the timbre of their voices because I found it fascinating that they could sing so low. It's no wonder that my favorite in a capella groups is usually the bass singer. I also love how music is so adaptable. It's universal and amazing.
ReplyDelete-Katie Edge
I love how you talked about the differences in male music and female music I've never really thought about it that way. Not only is it different in sounds and techniques they use but also what those artist sing about it different so I found that interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love watching youtube videos of old and new shows of American Idol and The Voice because you can really see the difference in what people sing. I watched one video of the judges being very surprised of who was singing when their chairs turned.
ReplyDeletePersonally, when I was growing up (and I guess now as well), I loved male singers (be it country or whatever genre). I loved how low their voices could go. I felt like the female singers were whining about problems in their lives (I don't think this anymore, though). I also love listening to choirs and hearing how the harmonies work together!
ReplyDelete-Katie Edge
I never really thought too hard about the difference between what men and women write songs about. I can understand why you identified more with female artists when you were younger.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I find it interesting that you talk about how easy or hard it is to sing along, and how that impacts your impressions. One thing that drives me crazy is that, while I love really deep male voices, many of my favorite male pop artists (Paul Simon, Lyle Lovett, REM, etc.) have relatively higher voicees, but not, obviously, as high as a woman's voice. And so when I sing along, I'm constantly having to shift back and forth between singing in unison with the radio and singing an octave higher. Drives me crazy. But not crazy enough to stop listening and singing :-)
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