How The Microphone Changed The Way We Sing - Cheddar Explains
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- čas přidán 23. 01. 2019
- Ever wonder why some old songs sound outdated and others sound like timeless classics? Cheddar explains how the invention of the microphone changed the way vocalists sang love songs.
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Wait, this isn’t vox?
you can tell because it's missing the political garbage
yeah its actually good
this is equally as bad haha
inb4 this is found out to be connected to vox
I know, right, there's pink instead of yellow so that's a tell. Vox seems to be affiliated to this.
So Sinatra might have moved away from the mic to breathe in?
Chocolate rain
@@josgeerink1254 Came here to say this, you beat me to it. Tay Zonday , the greatest singer of our generation.
Everyone made fun of him for that but Tay Zonday is our generations Frank Sinatra
@@josgeerink1254 Some stay dry and others feel the pain.
@@VOYAGEUR-YT No need to describe the joke.
Oh my god the way your editors made the notes wiggle and the slurs move to the music is genius.
Saved y’all (667th like)
I loved it too!
4:00, for those wondering what OP is referring to.
Miles Huff I love you
Miles Huff we need more of you
*Moves away from mic to breathe in*
Chocolate rain guy has entered chat
Chocolate rain 😐
This might explain, at least in part, why tenors rule the singing world now.
Their range was what best fit the microphone.
Nah.
1. Surfaces and objects have a frequency of resonance, and the human ear has its peak in the alto-soprano register
2. Due to the polyphonic approach, people tend to have roles specialised to their register which results in the lower register of either sex being forced to sing slightly too low for their own abilities, while the top register has to sing too high, and singing too high generally leads to more volume while singing too low leads to less volume.
3. Today's music is very focused on making the vocals hearable above anything else in the pop production's wall of sound
Excellent and very engaging video. A few notes, for what it’s worth:
Early, pre-microphone recordings were done on wax cylinders, which predated the disk shaped record.
On Frank’s mic technique: part of what made it so great was his use of proximity and axis not only for the control of *sibilance* and plosives, but also minute control of volume, allowing him to bellow one phrase and whisper the next with equal intelligibility. He also used proximity effect to his advantage, the tendency of microphones to build up low frequencies when a sound source is closer, which gave his voice a warmer quality in those whisper like passages. AND, finally, it might be worth mentioning the next huge leap forward in technology - the Neumann U47 condenser mic with which frank is pictured many times here. It is vastly more sensitive and has a wider frequency response then all of its ribbon contemporaries, and would have allowed him to tailor his performances that much more. (Although, as a side note, “Always” would still have been recorded on a ribbon). Hope this is interesting/helpful!
Actually, no, not all pre microphone recordings, called mechanical recordings, were made on wax cylinders, and Emile Berliner received his first patent for a disc recording in 1887, roughly contemporaneous with cylinder recordings, and his American Grammophone Company eventually took off by 1900. These discs were then made of hard rubber, a few celluloid ones were made, then a shellac formulation. By 1909 cylinders were moribund, and mechanical recordings continued to be made through the late 1920's, although the first electrical recordings were made in about 1926, if memory serves. By 1928 the major record labels had switched to electrical recordings, although some smaller labels were still making mechanical recordings.
@@singlesideman Huh! Well I appreciate that - I didn't know there was so much more to the story. Thanks!
@@JoshTurnerGuitar you're very welcome! :)
A civil and informative discussion in a CZcams comment section. Always a pleasant surprise.
*than
Why does the cheddar logo have a piece of Swiss cheese?
Agree haha. Not sure what icon would represent the word _Cheddar_ though...
Swiss cheese is aesthetical more pleasing
for trademark purposes.
@@LC__15 a orange square is cheddar
@@EvilishDem0nic8732WhatItDo Maybe look up what real cheddar is 😉
This video was edited masterfully.
The audio is off, tho: narration is too quiet compared with the music examples.
always that one person.
I feel like he just named every single artist featured in the Fallout seriers
I suck on big nigerian dick, but Rudy Vallee isn’t in any fallout games
that's a great name, M8
Cuz fallout is awesome and this music is awesome.
I also play the piano in my spare time.
Zachary King no ink spots
Sinatra's voice is like velvet. 😍
I always thought his voice sounded like a dumpster rolling down a flight of stairs.
@@ReaperCheGuevara Wow 😲😧
@@hunnerdayEDT it's like the equivalent Lil Pump and Ed Sheeran except that was years before. It's popular a lot of people love it but I wouldn't call it good music.
@@ReaperCheGuevara Why?
Right! One of the best singers ever!
Sadly microphones have also made many singers very dependent on the mic. Some singers don't seem to be able to produce much sound acoustically and their singing technique suffers from being too used to singing to a mic. Yet some classical singers lack the skill to use a mic. It takes some practice too.
Oh yes it does, I Hate singing with a mic, it pics up all these wierd noises you dont hear when you sing without it and it's wierd to hear your own voice too
Holy shit, so true. Singing on stage versus in a studio is very different and quite the adjustment.
Hannu Back i was classically trained and i can’t use a mic for dick. My higher registers don’t sound right unless I’m belting them, which isn’t exactly great for recording if you’re trying to do a one take cover of a song that’s in between my chest; throat and head voice. It’s like a nice quiet low section or verse then the Chorus kicks in a half to an octave higher than the verse, i either have to lose power and volume and switch into my falsetto, or gain a lot of power and volume, and peak the hell out of the microphone, and if you’re recording a loud section, it’s not convenient to have to “step away from the mic” to save your equipment and the ears of your audience. It takes a lot of practice, in a lot of ways a microphone is an instrument as much as the voice is and other instruments. It’s like playing a woodwind, and a brass. But only with your diaphragm and vocal chords instead of your lungs and lips?
Interesting, I didn't know there was that big of an adjustment live vs. on mic. Reminds me of the adjustments made to digital art to get it to look good printed out.
The classical singing style has less intelligibility, it's so focused on projection.
Seeing singers singing down the horn reminds me of a story about the English operatic soprano Eva Turner. As shown in the video, opera singers would stand in front of the recording horn with the orchestra behind them. This gave the balance between singer and musicians. Eva Turner was a tiny woman, not at all the stereotype of a huge soprano. When they recorded her, all that could be heard on the resulting playback was her voice. The full sized orchestra was completely overwhelmed by the power of her voice. The same happened when she was standing in the middle of the orchestra. Eventually she had to stand right at the back. I've heard recordings of hers and her voice was amazing.
the thumbnail is more proof that reviewbrah is a time traveler
Haha true... Wait, what?
That's why I'm watching this
I cant unsee this now
He's not a time traveler. He's been rejuvenated.
@@gsilva220 Maybe he can travel through 5 diffirent dimensions
Just FYI, Vallee’s name is pronounced “valley” despite the accent in his family’s surname. A comparison of his earliest Victor recordings, which were made with a double-button carbon microphone, with his mid-1930s Columbia “radio recordings,” shows the progression of microphone technology. In a long interview I did with him, he underscored that his voice barely changed between 1928-1934 but rather that the microphones got better. When he remade his early hits for an RCA Victor “Musical Smart Set” album P-111 in the mid-1940s, the ongoing improvements in microphones and recording technology were evident. He did make one acoustical recording as lead saxophonist and a singer in a vocal trio for the Yale Collegians in 1927 but was not named on the label.
The mics and singing methods from the 40's-70's are the best in my opinion. Classic country from that time just sounds so clear, even when the mic is away from the singing they project so effortlessly, even when doing a whispery song. It's unreal how perfect they sound, not even like they are in the room, just other worldly
Maddy
¿Maybe too much reliance on synthesizer / digital manipulation starting around 1980’s?
Steve Doe maybe when it comes to volume and fullness. When a good singer sings it sound full, today singers use several takes with one main and at least two backing at lower volumes to mimic that. Ozzy Osbourne used backing tracks in Crazy Train cause he was to old to sing like he used to
Wow, love this video. So interesting. Now I remember why 1920's crooners were my favorite music when I was in middle school. So soulful and sweet!
dare you to do one on how technology changed restaurants. I bet its much easier to maintain something commercially viable nowadays
@Wish Master double dog dare?
seen a burrito? and an enchilada? now look at Taco Bell's "encherito"! used to be about a foot long and 3 inches wide, coated in red sauce. Technology!!
How we use Hobarts
What technology? Technology might aid fast food restaurants, but there aren't many newer kitchen gadgets in a full service restaurant that the chefs couldn't live without.
@@buddyclem7328 what technology? Modern ovens, electric mixers and other tools, running water, just to name a couple examples.
If you want to realize how much modern cooking relies on fairly recent technology, go watch the Townsends channel (or any number of survivalist vloggers) for contrast with pre-20th century cooking techniques.
All singers must learn to "work the mic". Thank you for reminding us. My favorite crooner is Brendan Perry from "Dead Can Dance".
I like how the narrator insists on pronouncing Vallée with a French inflection. Rudy himself pronounced it Valley.
the kid narrator should know better.
This is one of those bits of information you didn't know you wanted until you got it, and now you're glad you have it.
this was the first time i heard frank sinatra sing "always" and - wow - like, an instant favourite. listening to it feels like falling in love. it's magical bro
I'll never forget my dad listening to White Christmas while I played Pokemon Blue on the floor by the tree. Shit man.
In the pre-electric acoustical days, the most famous singer was Enrico Caruso, who had the range of a tenor and the sound of a baritone. The perfect sound for pre-1922 technology.
Thank you CZcams Recommendations. Very Cool
About time I got something cool and informative instead of “Billy chugs pistachios through his nose”
That is exactly that kind of informative videos that you only find on youtube. You wouldn´t get that information explained that precisely, visualized that beautifully on any other website.
“Just One More Chance”, “You’re Getting to be a Habit with Me”, “Out of Nowhere”, and “Please” all by Crosby are terrific songs and examples
Man Crosby is just the best
You should have included samples of singing from the earliest one so we would hear those things you are mentioning what made it so difficult without the microphone.
Vibrato is a beautiful technique that is sadly very rare today. It allows you to carry a note between words and removes the need for a instrumental backing even if the song is sung extremely slow.
Vox Almanach quality. Thank you.
This ain't vox? Subbed anyways
you mean the earworm series
Cheddar is Vox minus the need to push liberal ideals into every video.
The entire Bing album from the movie "Going Hollywood", especially the songs "Beautiful Girl" and "Temptation", will forever stand head and shoulders above the rest.
I remember watching re-runs of The Lucy Show (or Here's Lucy, whichever was from the 60s), and Rudy Valee appeared in an episode as himself. Lucille Ball pronounced his last name with the first syllable emphasized, so it sounded like valley.
My favorite crooner is and will always be the one and only Bing Crosby. I really like his song "Moonlight Becomes You".
my favourite romantic song is mo bamba
No despacito?
Love when cheddar does series on music
Rudee Val lee. Is how it's pronounced and among my favorites. He was also quite funny!
Those old microphones reminds me of hello my darling hello my sweetheart hello my ragtime gal.
I don't know why. They aren't from the same era.
SAME LOL during that one song the melody almost sounded the same, I had to pause it and sing Ragteime Gal to myself before hitting play again 😂😂😂
So true 😂
Song Title - Hello My Baby
Hello my baby,
hello my darling,
hello my ragtime, summertime gal.
Send me a kiss by wire (by wire),
baby, my heart's on fire (AH!).
If you refuse me,
then you will lose me,
then you'll be left alone, oh baby
telephone, and tell me that you're mine
(all mine)!
That's the refrain/chorus.
You mean the sing loonytoon frog.
Ha! After hearing the two recordings I guessed that the difference is Sinatra was singing *to* the microphone as opposed to the other guy who was merely singing near the microphone.
Nailed it! 8D
Another interesting stylistic difference between the two clips is the lack of a portamento (slide) on always. You'll find exactly the same stylistic change in classical vocal music of the time. Some time in the 1940s everyone just decided that sliding was really tasteless.
I sing second bass in a church choir. Our choirmaster is always yelling at us "No SLIDING!" LOL!
@@AtlantaTerry in choirs is very important no to slide because it's a much more difficult thing to coordinate between all the voices.
Sounds so smooth and buttery though
But not if you do it tastefully.
Probably Frank himself decided that. His phrasing set a new standard from the 40s onward.
Your editing is truly amazing! You are adding so many details, it's just great! Thumbs up :)
That video editor deserves a raise this is fantastic
2:16 it's suppose to be "Yes! We Have *No Bananas"
Apparantly there was also an "Answer" song called "Yes We Have Bananas" as well. These used to be fairly common, a sort of sequel/copycat to a hit song, usually rushed out by a competing artist to try to cash in on the original's success.
@@briangonigal3974 actually no, both of those artists recorded the same song.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes!_We_Have_No_Bananas
Would’ve been nice to know, if Sinatra and others experimented with different types and brands of microphones or even met inventors or engineers.
What an excellent video. I learned a lot from it. It gives me greater appreciation of the early artists, and why some people became so famous. Thank you for sharing the video.
Thanks for the history of the microphone ,and the singers who learned to use it.👍
@2:50 - They certainly have great faces for radio.
I'll take the one on the left.
sheet music at 4:00 is...questionably accurate if not out of meter entirely
Timotej Bernat yeah I have perfect pitch, and the notes aren’t right.
I thought a lot of the transcriptions were pretty questionable throughout. at 5:55 the pulse isn’t aligned at all with the measure
One of the best videos I've seen on this channel to date... very well done and interesting.
Very informative and beautifully and professionally produced. Very nice indeed. Something to be proud of. Thank you
Rudy Vallee's last name is pronounced like valley.
At least one of the sheet music covers renders his last name as Vallée, which would be pronounced the way the narrator does. My hunch is that he just stopped correcting people.
@@JayTemple that's certainly possible, but he himself pronounced it valley. So it seems that if that was not the original pronunciation he adopted it for simplicity sake.
I’ve always heard it pronounced Valley as well. But how does someone writing about/narrating this topic never hear anyone pronounce RV’s name? And if he hadn’t heard it pronounced, why wouldn’t he look it up?
@@stvp68 or just watch some the movies he was in where he pronounces his own name as "valley".
I thought Rudy Valle was a place between two hills.
Never heard that pronunciation of Rudy's name before as I always heard it as "Valley".
What an amazing video, thank you so much for sharing!
This was an amazing video! The graphics were so engaging too.
"High tenor range" once again altos ard given the shaft
I love the content, its like vox but better. Way better.
Gold Clouds you should check out Nerdwriter1 - this is basically a clone on his content.
This is very good, but Vox ia still better
I prefer Vox, but to each our own.
Manuel Cunha Rocha box is trashy
@letter h true, but not everything they covered is political.
the Earworm series by them is great. it only touches on music.
Thank you for this piece. I enjoyed it and appreciate what you did w this
Wow, what a fantastic video! I loved this, thank you :)
I think Crosby in the 30’s and his many popular recordings is my idea of true crooning.Crosby he milked it dry to put it frank.
Crosby was the first to conquer the microphone for radio, Sinatra conquered the microphone for vinyl.
Kevin Richards RPM Vocal Studio well stated
I only know Crosby because of the Looney Tunes cartoon where he rivals with Sinatra
Sintatra is singing like Crosby here. It’s why it sounds good.
Crosby scoops like he worked for Baskin Robbins.
When Rudy Vallée was a pannelist on “What's My Line”, they pronounced his name “valley” with the emphasis on the first syllable, and he didn't frown. So maybe that's the correct pronunciation.
kid pronounced it wrong, period.
My grandma loves that song and my Dad sang it to me when I was little too...Always...love them both
Thank. You so much for your vdioe I have been searching for weeks, trying to do my music exam i did it and it was compelety wrong your vidoe has helped me so much. As it doesn't have much history on the Greek style what is not needed and I can't belive that I'm done my assignment of a 7 minute video thank you so muchh ❤️
For all the people commenting about the pronunciation of Rudy Vallée's surname, we get it. It's pronounced Valley. But it's an easy mistake to make, since the pronouncing it as 'valet' follows rules of French pronunciation - é is pronounced as 'ay'. After doing some research myself, Vallée grew up in Vermont, so most likely had people mispronounce his surname all the time. He probably got sick of correcting people and gave up, instead adopting the current pronunciation to make it easier for people.
If you're an amateur blogger then sure. BUT If you want to be a professional (I'm assuming that's cheddar's goal) then one must check pronunciations especially for names and places before one records for posterity. The fact that Rudy Vallée was one of the most popular entertainers of the early 20th Century makes checking that pronunciation easy. Bottom Line: mispronunciations have a direct negative impact on credibility.
The credibility of the piece is shown by the actual information given, not how they pronounce a name.
When you see a name in a language you don't know, it's easy to figure out you might need to look up the pronunciation. But when a name is spelled as if it is pronounced one way but is actually pronounced another way, it is easy not to even know you needed to look it up.
It's fine to correct the creator, but it's weird assume the pronunciation challenges the credibility of an overview article like this.
@@ZipplyZane I going to guess that you've never worked in a broadcast newsroom. There it is never okay to blow a pronunciation. If you're a high school kid and you are just having fun go for it but real pros double check pronunciations. The reason professionals deem this important is that "if you can't even get the pronunciation right what else did you get wrong?" It sows seeds of doubt among those that catch the screw up. Again, real pros double check pronunciations especially of people and places.
Bill Vegas And I'm going to assume you know that all newsrooms will have the correct pronunciation written out on the TelePrompTer. I'm going to further assume you realize this isn't a news article.
So I'm now going to put you on mute, because you can't seem to understand that attacking people for a mistake in pronunciation is an asshole move, and that you need to stop.
@@ZipplyZane Sloppy is sloppy. With today's internet it's easy to double check pronunciations. According to their wikipedia page Cheddar is a 'news network.' One that I'm sure is trying to present itself to the world as professional. Wire copy, which this was not, has pronunciation guides but professionals know not to rely on it. That's why in serious, professional broadcast newsrooms pronunciations, especially of names and places, are double checked.
I had this turned down, autoplay on and using it as white noise and thought this was Jon Bois and was really confused for a moment.
I really enjoyed this video, thank you so much for the education!
That was so amazing! Thank's a lot!
Good video.
6:57 these notes aren't right on the treble clef. on the word "i'll", he's singing a G#2, and you out it on the treble clef as a D4.
Really great video! Thanks.
Your animations show the 78's looking like LPs with multiple tracks.
So many really old song recordings make me think of somebody singing "Winchester Cathedral" through a tin megaphone. "A-vo-dee-oh-doe!"
No wonder why so no chi no sadame sounds so loud
there you are, another really active day coming up again? you were commenting like crazy yesterday, quite impressive...
Ah Culture Of Jojo
fuck off, dumb e-celeb
@@Beebo buddy you'll soon come to find that encountering the "legendary" justin y is not quite a feat at all, the greater feat is not finding him
Justin no matter how many times I see you or how much people hate you. I'll still like you.
I love these videos! I always learn so much 🥰
It's always nice to learn more about these classic songs ^_^
Videos like this are great and all but anyone who reads this, please note that Cheddar doesnt always do the most solid research
True, but they take out a lot of legwork and at least draw up a shorthand map of places to look for your own research.
Could you provide an example? I’m seriously curious.
@@nicksurfs1 See further down in the comments where people are discussing the mispronunciation of Rudy Vallee's name.
@Theomite: Your comment is so sensible that I'm going to go lie down to get over the shock . . .
@@kopesetik yes, Cheddar said it wrong 5 times.
Excellent video. I'd even suggest that the legato style of Bing Crosby and others was developed specifically because they wanted to avoid plosives in the mic. Later, when studio tricks like comping (compositing), de-essers, and even wind screens came along, singers didn't care about plosives anymore and vocal stylings in pop music changed again.
The editing in this video is great! Good job 👍
Beautiful video great insight
My favorite crooner has got to be MC Ride hands down.
what's that song from the part where they were talking about how oldest mics worked, the band with no vocals song
I had my doubts but this turned out to be interesting. I enjoyed it. 👍🏼
Beautiful. We need more videos about the early ages of jazz
Rudy Vallee's name was pronounced "Valley".
My favorite crooner is smash mouth and my favorite love song is all star.
This officially answered my question as to why exactly in old timey radio and music the peoples voices always sounded kind of the same and very particular. It always puzzled me.
Damn this is done so smoothly such an underrated video or channel probably both
“Cymbal”-ance??
...oh you punner!
I'm wonderful aren't I?
You are wonderful
Considering you’re not the real Sinatra, no
@@Shirai_Ryu92 who said that? Of course I'm real.
@@FartTurd69 you're dead.
@@windyboys is that a threat?
can i please just applaud the person(s)that edited this? The graphics and design of this video is so goood wtf. Like I stayed and watched all the video only because of how well it it edited.
I felt like the video should never end!
I'm a terrible singer but I needed to sing in the band I was in to relieve the burden on the lead singer. We used Shure SM-58's and would put our lips nearly on the mike. Of course the venue we were in and the music we played wasn't nearly as subtle as what was presented in this video. The Shure SM-58 is the workhorse of popular music and club bands. You'll even see it in live concerts by top rated bands playing to thousands of people. Some musicians swear on the Shure SM-57. The 57 is usually used to mike instrument speaker cabinets. It's possible it works better with some voices.
Shure should start paying you for such a glowing recommendation or at the very least, give you their stuff for free :D
@@LC__15 Nah, everybody uses their stuff. There are plenty of other good microphones too though. If you don't want to think too hard about it or are new and don't know what to get, just buy an SM-58 for your vocal mike. Simple.
I've had the best quality from CAD and Shure microphones, especially the Shure 12L, Shure SM57, and the CAD u37. The CAD u37 works great for one-take recordings, like you might get recording at a live performance, or doing a podcast. The SM57 does an amazing job with mic-ing instruments and doing vocals. And the 12L is a solid all-around choice, on top of being extremely hardy, although most musicians would chose the 58 over the 12L.
@@arnehurnik If I knew that I probably wouldn't have posted my comment about them. But I'm not surprised. They are basically very good, all around mikes and very tough.
The 57 and the 58 are the industry standards for very good reasons. They're not the only options, but usually the ones you compare other mics to. You really can't go wrong with those mics, though you might find something better suited for your voice or other recording purposes. Shure mics are good to start with, if you don't know what you're looking for. Chances are you're going to use them for your whole career at least every now and then.
4:26 so "Learn to croon" that was 1920s #LearnToCode?
Fascinating presentation
what a FANTASTIC video
Can't mention Billie Holiday without mentioning her recording of Crazy He Calls Me
One small nitpick: Rudy Vallee's name is pronounced like "Valley", not like "Valet"
I caught that too
czcams.com/video/H8UFa6PcvuM/video.html
No, before he was a singer he used to park cars at a fancy restaurant.
It's a Québécois name, not an English one, it has a French pronunciation, not an English one, it has the same last syllable as fiancée, thereby making its pronunciation more like valet.
@@epiroks Maybe, but indications are that isn't how he pronounced it.
Great info about vintage ribbon mics!!!!
This editing is perfect!
To answer the question that was overhead: Crosby had the better voice, but Sinatra did better things with his.
Having a better voice is subjective though. Sinatra had an outstanding singing technique.
It’s all preference. I hate Sinatra’s voice but love Crosby’s. I think Crosby did better with his.
@@adorabell4253 Sinatra did have the better technique and control over his voice. Bing had a beautiful voice too and good technique.
It's sibilance, not semblance...
Shut up Westley
Wow. The editing on this video is as amazing as the content.
Great video!!