Music: how can you become a good singer?

Alexandre Dalifard 7:00 p.m., January 16, 2023

Is singing accessible to everyone?

Guests on the program 

Elena Hurstel, vocal mentor and Marie Mailly, ENT surgeon, discuss the subject of voice and song.

At the microphone of Julia Vignali and Mélanie Gomez, the specialists explain their role with the artists, how the vocal cords work and what exercises must be done to become a good singer.

The contribution of a phoniatrist

For singers, the consultation of an ENT doctor specialized in the voice, a phoniatrist, is necessary for their practice.

"They often come because they have a recent difficulty singing certain notes or the famous passage when going from bass to treble. In addition, they often consult to ensure that their vocal cords are in good health. Sometimes it there are small benign lesions, nodules or polyps", specifies Marie Mailly.

If singers turn to phoniatrists, it is mainly to work on vocal technique.

"We all have the same vocal cords, they are two small folds which vibrate and which must be worked with resonance and breathing", she underlines.

But then, how do they work?

"To make a voice, it's simple. You need air exhaled through the lungs. So when you exhale the air, the strings touch and will vibrate, which creates a very sketchy sound. This one will sublime by passing through the resonance cavities that are the throat, the mouth and our tongue. This will refine the sound produced by the vocal cords. Then, when we sing, either the cords tense, or they relax and it gives a more or less high-pitched sound", explains Marie Mailly.

>> Find all the shows of Mélanie Gomez and Julia Vignali from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Europe 1 in replay and podcast here

"If you can talk, you can sing"

For Elena Hurstel, vocal mentor, "we can all manage to sing correctly".

According to her, "it's a technical problem".

YouTube channel owner Elena Hurstel says some people may have difficulty singing but would like to point out a phrase from her trainer, Richard Cross, famed

coach : "If you can talk, you can sing."

Do you feel like you'll never get there?

Faced with your concerns about your level in singing, Elena Hurstel wants to reassure.

"It's possible, you just have to be accompanied," she says.

Obviously, to achieve a voice like Celine Dion's, you have to work a lot on technique.

"Besides that, Celine Dion has an instrument, that is to say, there are predispositions. She has a well-organized instrument and a morphology that has favored her somewhere to be able to sing well", explains the vocal mentor.

>> READ ALSO -

 Celine Dion: this big project that could be postponed because of her health problems

A particular morphology?

To have a beautiful voice, do you need a particular morphology?

"Not at all, there is no predisposition. This is what finally makes the magic of the voice", insists Marie Mailly.

"We have big sopranos who are small and quite thin. On the contrary, we know the big sopranos who were very imposing. That's the magic. It's the alliance of this breathing, of his vocal cords, of his cavities of resonance, of technique, which make the voice extraordinary", she concludes.