The Difference Between Classical and Pop Singing

The difference between classical and pop singing

I always encourage multiple styles of singing as it gives your vocal chords some variety. It allows you to discover different colours of your voice as you learn to adapt your voice to become more stylistically appropriate for the genre of music you are singing. It also makes you a more employable vocalist and the level of versatility is displayed as an advantage in the freelance world.

The technique behind these two styles of singing predominantly caters towards the performance environment. Classical singers typically perform in halls without amplification, working solely with the acoustics of the space. When accompanied by larger ensembles, the voice’s objective is to project a healthily over the instruments, therefore the level of projection acquired is significantly larger than that of a popular singer. Pop singers are typically supported with amplification, and their technique is adapted to work in relation a microphone.

Female classical singers predominantly sing with strong supported head voice and pop singers sing in their modal voice with attention towards belts and soft falsetto. Not only does this indicate more vocal variation in pop singers, but the different larnygeal positions provide contrasting tones. This element is also noticeable in male singers, as a bigger sound is is usually produced when singing classical. This is due to the laryngeal position being placed quite low when singing in this style. A lower larnyx means a bigger and deeper tone is produced. Whilst in pop singing, a higher larynx presents a lighter place. The dynamics and tones in pop singers relates back to the use of microphones, as they make the voice more exposed and pick up the smallest of sounds. Use of falsetto is a common feature in popular music, but in classical singing it wouldn't be as effective as it would not carry.

Other differentiations between the two styles of singing are pronunciation and stylistic characteristics. Both styles share a common approach to the emotion conveyed within the music, but pop music has more emphasis in the conversational approach to the lyrics. In classical music, you are also more likely to sing in different languages which can be extremely difficult when remembering the correct lyrics and pronunciation. When considering stylistic features, in relation to the lyrical content, classical music is typically sang with purity, incorporating large amounts of vibrato and legato. Pop music is generally more choppy and riff based, with false chord growls and vocal frys. Both styles of music can use any of the features but they tend more to be in in these characteristic categories.