[Vocals and First-Year Students] 15. Do Not Make Exceptions the Default

*This content was translated by AI.

Releasing an album was originally a highly specialized field. It was an industry requiring equipment, capital, and systems.

However, as the market shifted from a CD and download-centric model to a streaming-centric one, and music began to be consumed in the form of data files, the environment changed drastically. Now, anyone can produce music with just a laptop, simple equipment, and a DAW program.

This change did not merely alter production methods; it began to transform the very aesthetics of the voices people prefer. In the past, high notes, vocal volume, power, and technique were considered the core competitiveness of vocals, but now different keywords are emerging. Tones that seem to whisper in the ear, a relaxed naturalness...

As artists like Billie Eilish achieved success in the global market, lo-fi textures and intimate vocals also began to establish themselves as an aesthetic. While high-quality major sounds from artists like Jennie and BTS remain a powerful standard, the definition of "singing well" has become far more diverse.

And this change has directly extended to the vocal lesson market. For some time now, students' requests have become similar.

"I want to create a tone like Baek Yerin."

"I wish I could have a tone like Ariana Grande."

"I want to reduce tension but still sing high notes well."

The problem, in many cases, is that tones are approached like styling. Just as one might show a hairstyle photo at a salon, there is a belief that a specific tone can be implemented immediately. However, a tone is not simply a technique. It is closer to the traces left on the body by a person's time, habits, emotional processing, vocalization habits, and a long training process. What fans like is not merely the texture of a voice. Ultimately, people are listening to the essence of that person.

Of course, there are people with attractive tones even without special training. However, to sustain long-term activities, maintain stable live performances, and expand expression, long-term foundational training is ultimately necessary. If you look at videos of the artists that students cite as role models from their childhood, you will surprisingly find that they often underwent very proactive and standard training processes. Today's "relaxed naturalness" was not complete from the start. It should be viewed as the state remaining after unnecessary elements were stripped away through long-term training.

The same applies to connecting high notes. Attempts to create results without the process of gradually extending and connecting the vocal cords are similar to trying to build the 4th, 5th, and 6th steps of a staircase in mid-air without the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd steps. You might be able to imitate it temporarily, but the body will eventually pay the price in other ways. It may end as a one-off sound, lead to vocal disorders, or ultimately require a much longer time to recover.

A good tone comes from a state of reduced tension. However, that "reduced tension" is not a state of doing nothing. It is a state where, after training for too long, no unnecessary tension is exerted anymore.

That is why the simplicity of a sound from long training captures our hearts.

What we should set as a standard at the vocal beginner stage is not tone-making, but the time filled with many concerns embedded in the tone.

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*This content was translated by AI.