Kinda meta voice thoughts
Okay, by now we've all seen the Hobbit trailer and squeed at the Dwarf song, right?
Recently, fileg linked to a video where a lady sings the whole 27-stanza thing to the tune from the trailer.
This should, in principle, be a wonderful thing, but somehow I can't enjoy it.
One issue is probably the recording software or otherwise the sound system of my computer - either way, it sounds kind of overdone and overdriven, particularly the pseudo-ethereal background vocal.
Which brings us to issue #2: The vocals. I don't know enough about singing to be able to judge the quality of her singing as such, so I'll leave that judgement to more able minds and ears. Suffice it to say that they just don't fit the song. I'm unsure about the lead vocals, but I'm damn sure I don't like the background wail. (In this context, mind you. There surely are contexts where it would fit, but it is not Far over the Misty Mountains cold.)
I mean, everything about this lovely lady - from the dress to the voice - screams Elf/Faery. (1990s Elf/Faery, what's more, but that's a different kettle of fish.) This is a dwarf song. It should not sound pseudo-Elvish/Elfin.
At which point I must realise that I'm being kind of sexist, here, because of course Dwarves come in two sexes, too (although, at least if you take the Pterry view of them, they traditionally only come in one gender...). As Gimli so kindly reminds us in the movie adaptation, they don't crawl out of the earth. Neither should the Uruk-haî, technically, but that's yet another topic...
However, even granting that Dwarf-women might sing this song, as likely they would, I can't hear it sounding like that.
Which brings us to the question of: What do Dwarf-women sound like, really? Considering that they have beards, I've kind of been assuming that they'd also show other signs of heightened testosterone levels - such as deep voices. Even if we assume that this is fantasy and doesn't do the whole RL hormone thing, I'd just instinctively assume that Dwarf-women are Altoes at the very least.
And that's where, for me, the linked video goes wrong. Because even if I'm ok with the lead vocals (about which, as I said, I am uncertain), that high-pitched background vocal ruins it. Maybe a Dwarf-child might have such a high voice, but this is not a childish voice singing (don't ask me to explain, as I said, I have no idea about the technique, but you DO hear it).
Which brings us to yet another question, namely, the question of sharing things. I mean, I like to sing, for instance. I like to sing songs that were never written for my (pathetic) vocal range. Many of the songs I sing to Felix aren't meant to be sung by an unschooled mezzo-soprano. Shanties, for instance. That's ok, because Felix is not (yet) particularly picky and doesn't know the originals, anyway.
I would NOT, however, record myself and share it on a large scale, even if I thought I could sing well enough to pull that off, if my voice just doesn't fit the song. Because even if a gap exists - as in the case of this song - that just doesn't fill the gap. To my mind.
Does this post have a point? I dunno. I guess so. What do you think? Am I just being weird here? Or would you, too, prefer to have a recording of this song sung by a couple of Altos or guys? What do Dwarf-women sound like in your head? Talk to me!
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ETA: Just to make that clear, I don't mean to bash the good lady. I'm just analysing and discussing my reaction to her video and her musical choices. Completely subjective. Mind you, my subjective reaction to people's music is very often weird. For instance, I still don't get what's supposed to be great about Adele: I listen to her and think "Ok, yeah, I guess she's got a powerful voice, but... what else?". Clearly I'm clueless!