| theCro 07.06.2006 05:26 |
I was wondering if the hero, original studio song is real or ... i mean, how HIGH can human being sing... is this for real Freddie voice or a bit modified, or edited... its too freeking HIGH!!! |
| Rick 07.06.2006 05:29 |
I think they did the same with Another One Bites The Dust. Yes, it's high and it doesn't sound like Freddie's natural voice. I think they highered the pitch a little. |
| deleted user 07.06.2006 06:49 |
<font color=blue>Rick wrote: I think they did the same with Another One Bites The Dust. Yes, it's high and it doesn't sound like Freddie's natural voice. I think they highered the pitch a little.Are you sure? As for AOBTD I don't think it has to be pitched. Freddie is using a style where he is just letting it all out. A little like Gimme The Prize. That one pitched too? |
| Sebastian 07.06.2006 08:36 |
Bites The Dust is raised by a half-step only. I doubt Hero is speeded up. He really could sing that high, or even more. |
| Queen T 07.06.2006 09:13 |
Ummmmmm...have you not heard his solo album...particularly Exercises in Free Love? Also, listen to his duet album with Montserrat Caballe... |
| Digitube 07.06.2006 10:12 |
Queen T wrote: Ummmmmm...have you not heard his solo album...particularly Exercises in Free Love? Also, listen to his duet album with Montserrat Caballe...YES, but he sang that one with his falset-voice, and that makes a huge difference. The Hero and AOBTD are sung with the midrange-voice (don't know how to call it exactly) but Exercises in Free Love is a lot easier to sing than AOBTD! I sang both, or, must I say, tried both. EIFL was no problem, AOBTD nearly killed me and was a huge problem! :-S I personally don't think The Hero was pitched. Freddie just really could sing that high. And what to think of In My Defence?!? There are some reeaaally high notes in there, also non-falset! And than also considering that the vocaltrack on In My Defence was a first take! :-| But notice: during live-performances, even Freddie himself could not copy his "album-voice". The live-version of AOBTD is indeed half a tone down from the original, but maybe better to say that the studio version is a half tone UP, on that one, The Red is tuned in F, while a guitar always is tuned in E (wich is a half-tone difference, hello, you still there? :-P) On stage, even Freddie could not do the high vocals as on the studioversion of AOBTD. When I covered AOBTD some months ago, I also sang at the "live-pitch" The studioversion is MENACE! :-| But pitching? In the studio? Freddie? Neh. Don't think so. Working in a studio is my job actually, and pitching makes a very audible difference in the colour of the voice, wich I don't seem to hear in AOBTD. Or does anybody else? Because, hey, I'm not always right of course... ;-) |
| Poo, again 07.06.2006 10:18 |
What about that high note in Under Pressure? |
| Digitube 07.06.2006 10:25 |
<font color=pink>The Millionaire Waltz wrote: What about that high note in Under Pressure?Also very interesting indeed! That note CAN be done! Though it does require superb voice technique. But hey....we're talking about Freddie here. Don't know what that guy did in a studio :-| Maybe people are going to kill me for this, but I *think* Freddie might have used "the white stuff" a looooot in Musicland, Townhouse, Record Plant, Mountain Studio's, etc etc?.... |
| Sebastian 07.06.2006 11:14 |
> But notice: during live-performances, even Freddie himself could not copy his "album-voice". I think Fred was a studio singer rather than a live one. Don't get me wrong, he sounded well live, but in the studio he took it to another level, also when he multi-tracked his own harmonies. > The live-version of AOBTD is indeed half a tone down from the original, but maybe better to say that the studio version is a half tone UP, on that one, The Red is tuned in F, while a guitar always is tuned in E (wich is a half-tone difference, hello, you still there? :-P) No, it IS speeded up. They recorded it in Em, then they speeded up the tape half a tone. Still the notes Fred reached were quite high. > pitching makes a very audible difference in the colour of the voice, wich I don't seem to hear in AOBTD. When you raise or lower half a tone the difference isn't so noticeable. When you varispeed a tone or more it does get the chimpunk effect (or the Darth Vader one if you're lowering). > What about that high note in Under Pressure? Not pitched, but falsetto. Fred sang the same note in several other songs, like All God's People and Great King Rat. |
| Queen_Rox 07.06.2006 11:20 |
Digitube wrote:Wow! Nice explanation on Freddie's voice, dude. Freddie may have had a raspy, gruff sort of voice in the mid '80s, but hey, even when he was suffering from AIDS he sang at his best while recording "The Miracle" and "Innuendo."Queen T wrote: Ummmmmm...have you not heard his solo album...particularly Exercises in Free Love? Also, listen to his duet album with Montserrat Caballe...YES, but he sang that one with his falset-voice, and that makes a huge difference. The Hero and AOBTD are sung with the midrange-voice (don't know how to call it exactly) but Exercises in Free Love is a lot easier to sing than AOBTD! I sang both, or, must I say, tried both. EIFL was no problem, AOBTD nearly killed me and was a huge problem! :-S I personally don't think The Hero was pitched. Freddie just really could sing that high. And what to think of In My Defence?!? There are some reeaaally high notes in there, also non-falset! And than also considering that the vocaltrack on In My Defence was a first take! :-| But notice: during live-performances, even Freddie himself could not copy his "album-voice". The live-version of AOBTD is indeed half a tone down from the original, but maybe better to say that the studio version is a half tone UP, on that one, The Red is tuned in F, while a guitar always is tuned in E (wich is a half-tone difference, hello, you still there? :-P) On stage, even Freddie could not do the high vocals as on the studioversion of AOBTD. When I covered AOBTD some months ago, I also sang at the "live-pitch" The studioversion is MENACE! :-| But pitching? In the studio? Freddie? Neh. Don't think so. Working in a studio is my job actually, and pitching makes a very audible difference in the colour of the voice, wich I don't seem to hear in AOBTD. Or does anybody else? Because, hey, I'm not always right of course... ;-) |
| Farlander 07.06.2006 11:21 |
Sebastian wrote: I think Fred was a studio singer rather than a live one. Don't get me wrong, he sounded well live, but in the studio he took it to another level, also when he multi-tracked his own harmonies.I agree. As great a showman as Freddie was, his studio vocals are what really made him something special. |
| Farlander 07.06.2006 11:21 |
Oops - double post. |
| Queen_Rox 07.06.2006 11:24 |
Farlander wrote: Oops - double post.It's okay, many of us do that...even I do, too. |
| Digitube 07.06.2006 11:47 |
I think Fred was a studio singer rather than a live one. Don't get me wrong, he sounded well live, but in the studio he took it to another level, also when he multi-tracked his own harmonies. > Yes, I fully agree on that. Of course, in the studio, you can do a certain part over and over again. You can also break the song in different portions, and create 2 or 3 voxtracks, wich can be bounced back to 1 voxtrack. Did that trick myself once or twice ;-) And yes, Fred's multitracks are BRILL! > The live-version of AOBTD is indeed half a tone down from the original, but maybe better to say that the studio version is a half tone UP, on that one, The Red is tuned in F, while a guitar always is tuned in E (wich is a half-tone difference, hello, you still there? :-P) No, it IS speeded up. They recorded it in Em, then they speeded up the tape half a tone. Still the notes Fred reached were quite high. >Okay, if you say so, I trust you upon having a reliable source to verify that one. I remember a website giving inside info on several queenrecordings, but lost track of that accidently :-( > pitching makes a very audible difference in the colour of the voice, wich I don't seem to hear in AOBTD. When you raise or lower half a tone the difference isn't so noticeable. When you varispeed a tone or more it does get the chimpunk effect (or the Darth Vader one if you're lowering). > Hmmm. Maybe you're right. I once did varipitch with a tone, and it sounded. I never tried pitching a halftone myself, so I guess you might be right. > What about that high note in Under Pressure? Not pitched, but falsetto. Fred sang the same note in several other songs, like All God's People and Great King Rat. You mean the long "we're" as in " weeeeeeeeee're all God's peopleeee" I presume? Hmmm... Yup. I just listened to it, I agree on that being a falsetto also. In my opinion, in Under Pressure, Freddie starts off with a non-falsetto, but slowly goes into a falsetto during the note. Great voice-technique here! (Don't try that at home folks! :-P) Sebastian, you also have a musical background? Reading your posts, I do believe you have. |
| Poo, again 07.06.2006 12:00 |
Yeah, about the falsetto in Under Pressure. Doesn't it take a lot of skill to smoothly go from your normal voice to falsetto? |
| deleted user 07.06.2006 12:12 |
<font color=pink>The Millionaire Waltz wrote: What about that high note in Under Pressure?Oh my god, at the part where it is "Whyyyyy" it is sooooo hard to do on kareoke Revolution because they make you get higher and higher while holding it. |
| Sebastian 07.06.2006 12:37 |
> Of course, in the studio, you can do a certain part over and over again. Otoh, some people tend to work better when they see the audience. That's not Fred's case (imo). He might be a great showman, but as singer he wasn't half as good as he was in the studio. > In my opinion, in Under Pressure, Freddie starts off with a non-falsetto, but slowly goes into a falsetto during the note. Yes. > Sebastian, you also have a musical background? Reading your posts, I do believe you have. Yes I do. Actually I give some music lessons to complete the income (struggling writers don't earn enough). |
| mayniac316 07.06.2006 12:44 |
I found this on Brian's site concerning AOBTD: Richare Wong asked Brian if Freddie's vocals were speeded up on Another One Bites the dust, or whether he really as hitting those top notes - in real life.... "No speed changes were used ... Freddie just tore his throat to bits! He had such pride!! On a good night he did hit those top notes live too ... it depended on how much he was pacing himself that night. He went even further in the studio later on .... for instance "The Show Must Go On" ... I demo'd the lines using falsetto .... he went for it ALL full voice. Amazing." b |
| john bodega 07.06.2006 13:13 |
Wonderful, a discussion about Freddie's voice! :D I recall that after Brian wrote that at his site, he might have conceded that it was slightly pitch shifted, if only slightly. It can't have been a big adjustment, because he still sounds normal to me. I'd readily agree that Freddie was 'better' in studio, but there are live versions of songs that are pretty much faithful to the studio versions - usually the stuff like Tie Your Mother Down. People crap on the Earls Court show for being 'pitchy' (yeah whatever haha) but there's some moments in that which could've been studio outtakes, muahaha. While we're on the subject of his voice, I don't think I'll ever settle on a favourite 'era'. I find something to like about each period of his career - even on tracks like You Don't Fool Me, where frankly to me he sounds ill, he's still got 'it', whatever that means. NUNO BETTENCOURT: (to Brian May) You are an underrated singer. BRIAN MAY: Me? No. NUNO: Yes. Haha, I've got that magazine if anyone ever wants to read the interview. Hahah. |
| drwinston 07.06.2006 14:44 |
Yeah, I think Brian did admit later that it AOBTD was pitch shifted. Still a great performance, though, and one that ANYBODY would have a lot of difficulty in duplicating live. |
| Sebastian 07.06.2006 16:25 |
Brian said it wasn't speeded up but then he was proven wrong. I love when that happens :D |
| JeroenG 07.06.2006 17:37 |
Come on, AOBTD was pitched up a little indeed, but it's not enough to say that it was really 'speeded up' a lot. It's only one bloody semitone. My Off-The-Record sheetmusic says: "recording sounds one semitone higher". It is written in E, so it sounds in F... Voila, that's all. Still, I wonder why it was pitched one semitone in the first place. And were all tracks pitched up, or were only all instrumental tracks pitched up one semitone befóre Freddie put down his vocals? Could be a possibility too.... |
| fat bottomed innuendo 07.06.2006 17:54 |
even though AOBTD is very slightly speeded up,apparantly for tempo reasons not pitch reasons,he is still hitting a high e(12th fret on the high e string of a guitar)in full voice not falsetto.this is an incredible feat, believe me! however, this is not even the highest note that fred sang.he hit a high f(13th fret of the high e string)on barcelona and on all god's peopl in full voice not falsetto.in fact a music professor(see the voice of freddie mercury web site)considers that all god's people is fred's most accomplished performance.fred didn't need to speed his perfmances up as he was a truly great singer, not just an outrageous frontman.his finest studio performances were undoubtably on the miracle and particulaly innuendo. on another note(no pun intended!)fred sang ever so slightly sharp.95% of singers sing ever so slightly flat.singing ever so slightly sharp is much more pleasant on the ear,hence fred always sounded good!! |
| theCro 07.06.2006 17:58 |
Sebastian wrote: Bites The Dust is raised by a half-step only. I doubt Hero is speeded up. He really could sing that high, or even more.come one even freddie could'nt sing higher than the hero... |
| Oszmercury 07.06.2006 18:39 |
Plant did it my friends, Gillan did it, Hughes did it, so why our freddie couldn't? |
| Sebastian 07.06.2006 21:04 |
> Come on, AOBTD was pitched up a little indeed, but it's not enough to say that it was really 'speeded up' a lot. Nobody said it was speeded up a lot. > he is still hitting a high e(12th fret on the high e string of a guitar)in full voice not falsetto. Indeed. And I did write it above. > come one even freddie could'nt sing higher than the hero... The Hero is, if I remember correctly, C#. Freddie, Roger and Brian all got higher than that without falsetto: I'm In Love With My Car, Coming Soon, Gimme The Prize, Resurrection, Hang On In There, Was It All Worth It, Innuendo, The Show Must Go On and, of course, Another One Bites The Dust :) |
| KingMercury 07.06.2006 23:55 |
i dont think AOBTD is speeded up jeje i'm not freddie, i dont have his voice but i have a similar vocal range, and i can reach that notes i sang in my defence, AOBTD, and a lot of queen songs, it's very difficult, but if you go with all your voice and you know how to use it, you can do that i did it, butafter a lot of singing lessons |
| Wiley 08.06.2006 00:41 |
Sebastian knows his stuff. He said it already, many times, the track actually plays one semitone faster. It was recorded in E and then sped up to F. Not because Freddie couln't hit the actual notes but for some other reason. You can hear his higher notes in songs like Hang on in There or Let's turn it on (backing vox) and others I can't recall at the moment. Even The Show Must Go On's climax, however passionate and poignant, doesn't feature Freddie's highest note recorded. I don't know about The Hero. I kinda like the song but it sounds to me more like a demo quality performance. Freddie's vocals are very raw, like on Gimme the Prize, but they sound a bit less polished than on GTP. :S Wiley |
| NTL 08.06.2006 08:53 |
Im pretty sure The Hero has been pitch altered. I would imagine the backing track to be recorded in A and then slowed down to Ab or even B for Freddie to do his vocal and then speeded up to its natural A. If you listen to the bits when he speaks, like "save the world" etc, it sounds a little chipmunkey to me, although I may be completely wrong. Some of you have mentioned that he gets alot higher in other songs, the differnece with The Hero is that he is hitting the highest note at the end of a line he has sang in one breath, and its pretty impossible, even in the studio. Try singing a verse from The Hero and then singing All Gods People or Coming Soon, you will probably find the latter two alot easier. |
| john bodega 08.06.2006 09:43 |
NTL wrote: Im pretty sure The Hero has been pitch altered. I would imagine the backing track to be recorded in A and then slowed down to Ab or even B for Freddie to do his vocal and then speeded up to its natural A. If you listen to the bits when he speaks, like "save the world" etc, it sounds a little chipmunkey to me, although I may be completely wrong. Some of you have mentioned that he gets alot higher in other songs, the differnece with The Hero is that he is hitting the highest note at the end of a line he has sang in one breath, and its pretty impossible, even in the studio. Try singing a verse from The Hero and then singing All Gods People or Coming Soon, you will probably find the latter two alot easier.I disagree with you. But that's okay! (thumbs up) |
| JeroenG 08.06.2006 17:03 |
KingMercury wrote: i dont think AOBTD is speeded up (...)It is! It's been said in this topic some times now, with sources to prove it, like my own sheetmusicbook. But it's pitched up only one semitone, so it doesn't make a lot of difference considering tone hights (is that good english? hm) |
| Dusta 02.07.2007 23:15 |
What an incredibly interesting discussion! I am really enjoying myself, here! What an amazing wealth of knowledge resides in this group of Queen fans! Thank you for sharing! |
| QueenTaylor 02.07.2007 23:33 |
*(azzadude)* ..GET DOWN MAKE LOVE! wrote: I dont know, but the more i read these topics its almost as if Freddie didnt do shit. Before you know it, every fucking song has been tapered with.Brian's a shit Guitar player with no X factor, WATC is about being Gay, Brian hates Freddie coz Brian is not as popular Freddie, Freddie's voice cracks on stage so now he's shit, Queen were not loud on stage so they suck, there 80's albums were shit, but 70's were ok.. If you adore Freddie and think he's the best ever you will be condemd for thinking that on this very fucking site... pfft I mean, WTF, I give up... to much nit picking and bull shit goin on.exactly-couldn't agree more!! |
| Dusta 03.07.2007 21:54 |
I can't imagine that anyone who is a Queen fan could say, with any sincerity, that Freddie was not a vital part of the Queen sound. What I'm hearing is that Freddie was not ALL of the Queen sound, and, that he had some periods where he struggled, vocally. Doesn't mean that he wasn't an incredibly talented musician, or, that he didn't contribute to the band, just that, just perhaps, he didn't always fulfill his potential, which was truly explosive. |
| Major Tom 04.07.2007 08:27 |
And how about that Brian May, boy can he high notes... |
| Boy Thomas Raker 04.07.2007 10:16 |
I read a while back where Brian said that Roger got the ultimate say on songs tempo, and while I may very well be mistaken, Roger felt that AOBTD was recorded a bit slow, and the whole track was sped up. Of course, I may be full of shit or losing my mind. Sebastian, isn't "struggling writer" the opposite of an oxymoron? :) |
| Sebastian 04.07.2007 15:02 |
Sebastian, isn't "struggling writer" the opposite of an oxymoron? :)Actually, unless you write legal thrillers, magic schools or the odd fling between Jesus Christ and a prostitute, "struggling writer" is a semantic pleonasm ;) |
| Boy Thomas Raker 04.07.2007 15:33 |
Clever! It's a noble calling, though, and admirable that you're pursuing it. |
| inmydefence 04.07.2007 20:59 |
why do people assume that because they cant sing it themselves that freddie couldn't have done it either, and that it must have been pitched!? had you not thought maybe freddie was on particularly good voice that day? its amazing what your voice can do on a good day. AOBTD isnt impossible to sing in original key at all! its difficult, but no way impossible. |
| Sebastian 04.07.2007 21:55 |
It's not impossible, and Freddie COULD have done it, but he DIDN'T. |
| Fur 05.07.2007 16:10 |
The version at the end of the film sounds a bit sped/pitched up but the album version sounds right to me. |
| The Real Wizard 05.07.2007 16:30 |
Sebastian wrote: It's not impossible, and Freddie COULD have done it, but he DIDN'T.Exactly... but he would have destroyed his voice for the rest of the tour. |
| inmydefence 06.07.2007 05:03 |
*(azzadude)* ..GET DOWN MAKE LOVE! wrote: I dont know, but the more i read these topics its almost as if Freddie didnt do shit. Before you know it, every fucking song has been tapered with.Brian's a shit Guitar player with no X factor, WATC is about being Gay, Brian hates Freddie coz Brian is not as popular Freddie, Freddie's voice cracks on stage so now he's shit, Queen were not loud on stage so they suck, there 80's albums were shit, but 70's were ok.. If you adore Freddie and think he's the best ever you will be condemd for thinking that on this very fucking site... pfft I mean, WTF, I give up... to much nit picking and bull shit goin on.just in case the "Freddie's voice cracks on stage so now he's shit," part was directed at me for making a thread about it... I just did it for a laugh.... because it IS quite funny. never did i say he was shit! just human! but what you're saying is completely right! and you have a cool screen name. (my name is aaron) |
| J R Deaky 06.07.2007 22:26 |
When you're in the studio recording you can do certain things you cannot do when you're gigging. When you are a singer out gigging,you have to pace yourself like a marathon runner.That means not straining your voice too hard too early in the gig.So you sometimes pitch lower in the key that the song is being played in. Whilst in the studio,because you dont go singing for 2 and a half hours solid, you can sing the higher notes.That,plus the fact that when your wearing the headphones( sometimes known as "cans")your voice can automatically pitch up as much as a semi-tone.Also your voice becomes automatically stronger if the music coming through your cans(also known as "foldback") is turned up I'd believe Brian when he says that Freddie went at these high notes full tilt. You can do that in the studio. |
| Queen-Obsessed 07.07.2007 00:06 |
To everyone who got on the topic of Freddie not going as high during live preformances as he did in the studio, was that not partially a choice due to problems with nodules on his throat earlier in Queen's career? I may be wrong but I seem to remember that having something to do with it. |
| john bodega 07.07.2007 01:46 |
Some singers just can't reproduce studio stuff on stage all that easily... and some seem to sound BETTER live for whatever reason.... it's a very different environment!! One has to remember that Freddie set himself some pretty high standards by releasing the kind of music that he did. |
| Sebastian 07.07.2007 08:38 |
Yet it's a little sad that a 33 years-old Freddie didn't do the high notes on 'Teo Torriatte' while a 59 years-old Brian sang them. |
| Raf 07.07.2007 19:12 |
Zebonka12 wrote: NUNO BETTENCOURT: (to Brian May) You are an underrated singer. BRIAN MAY: Me? No. NUNO: Yes. Haha, I've got that magazine if anyone ever wants to read the interview. Hahah.If it won't be a problem for you, I'd love to read that! But about what Brian writes... No offense, I love reading his soapbox... But according to Sebastian's site, once in a while Brian writes wrong info. |
| Sebastian 08.07.2007 07:16 |
according to Sebastian's site, once in a while Brian writes wrong info.Yes but I don't think he does it on purpose. Anyway, it's some sort of one-mistake/hundred-facts ratio IMO. |
| NTL 08.07.2007 09:06 |
Sebastian wrote: Yet it's a little sad that a 33 years-old Freddie didn't do the high notes on 'Teo Torriatte' while a 59 years-old Brian sang them.Yes, and if we are refering to Super Live, quite obviously missed them completely! |