Camryn-McCoy Ch. 1

 This chapter talks about sound qualities, and gives lots of listening examples to connect the descriptions with real-life examples. Something I found interesting was the paragraph regarding healthy vs damaged voices. I love how the author emphasized that some artists use raspy sounds for stylistic purposes--such as jazz. Louis Armstrong is known for his raspy voice in his recordings. Some reasons explaining these symptoms is simply due to aging and extended voice use. Frank Sinatra was listed as an example of this, as his later recordings have a gradual increase of a raspy, throat quality. The audio paired with this paragraph was the most shocking sound I've listened to thus far in the book. At first, the healthy voices are played first, with the operatic singers singing clear and healthy. Next, a woman's voice singing "Happy Birthday" is played. My jaw DROPPED to the FLOOR, and my hand flew to my face to cover my mouth. This young girl's voice sounded injured, painful, and centered in the throat. I don't think I've ever heard more physical pain in a voice than in this recording. 

Another interesting fact I learned from this chapter is that "singers are the only musicians who perform words" (6). After reading this sentence, I stopped to really think about it. There are symphonic bands, orchestras, etc. Singers are the only ones who convey music and emotion through words. I thought that was super interesting, and have a deeper appreciation for the songs that I have learned and am learning now. They are meant to convey a certain emotion, and only I and other singers are capable of letting go the true feelings of a piece. I don't know about anyone else, but that makes me feel special. :)

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