Matt's Diction

[Vance_Adair]

We all know how skillful Matt was in terms of enunciating lyrics. However, here is an interesting aside that came up in conversation recently with a record producer. Sinatra was very careful to close off phrases cleanly and audibly - even going so far as exaggerating conjunctions like the word 'and.' Sinatra also broke some rules, especially his tendency (particularly prominent late in his career) of sustaining consonant sounds to aid syncopation or to apply texture to a song.

The literary term for this is consonance - but I happen to think that Matt does something marvellous here. Consonant sounds are generally harsh and so are by their very nature 'un-musical.' Listen, though, to the way that Matt enunciates 'c' sounds - particularly at the end of a phrase. He softens the edge of the sound and manages always to make it musical.

I know that this point may appear to be a little esoteric, but I am always spellbound by the way he does this. Anyone else noticed it?

-Vance

[mariana44]

Hi Vance-welcome to the Forum--I have really enjoyed reading your interesting postings today.

[Vance_Adair]

Thank you, Mariana: it's great to be back.

-Vance

[Marian]

Do we take it you were a member of the forum some time ago Vance?
You sound to be very knowledgeable about Matt and his music.

Marian

[GregT]

We all know how compelling Matt's vocal style is...We wouldn't all be here otherwise!!
Most vocalists drop 'g' s when the lyrics or feel demand it, but I have noticed that in Matt's
version of Singin' In the Rain' he deliberately says Singing. Gene Kelly conveniently dropped the 'g' .
Matt comes along , deflty scoops it up..puts it back where it belongs..and bingo..musical magic!!.
Greg

[Lena & Harry Smith]

Matt's phrasing and diction is what makes his singing stand out amongst the rest and incomparable.
Vance, we have seen on My Space and listened to your singing. Fantastic, we are very impressed, and yes a touch of our Matt in those vocal tones. Great.!!!

[Gloria]

Matt has a more precise, by-the-rules, approach to enunciation and diction, and there's definitely a great, exhilarating beauty in that approach. Sinatra pretty much created his own rules, manipulating his phrasing to project a specific emotion, as well as his own (commanding) attitude and personality. Tony Bennett's style is a bit more jazzy and passionate. He enjoys creating contrast in his phrasing, moving from deep and quiet contemplation to sudden, dramatic exclamation. Jack Jones, during his Kapp/London years, is interesting to study because his entire youth was captured in the duration of one single recording contract. His phrasing was initially tailored to express youthful exhuberance, innocence, tenderness and optimism, and then the style and diction were refined further, displaying how assured and jaded Jack was becoming with age. I imagine that Gene Kelly dropped the "g" in Singin' in the Rain because he wanted the audience to feel a smoother flow in his words and dance, and not pay too much attention to the words themselves. Really, Sinatra changed the way pop songs were sung, focusing entirely on the emotion of the song. So long as a singer could project that emotion effectively, there were no longer set rules as to the method, personal style or phrasing a singer could use to get there.

[ROBERT M.]

Gloria, thanks for your interesting posts lately .........but to go back to your last post, I have to say that a lot of Matts renditions were very passionate and emotional indeed

[michduncg]

Intersting points Gloria. I'm no expert but..... I think that Matt managed to portray a whole range of emotions in his singing style. Yes, he had a very deliberate style of diction and pronunciation, which I know we have all noticed - that was his trademark. But he could give a very 'grand' performance e.g. the power and majesty of 'Born Free' really suited that song (and film!) very well, whereas he could also deliver a more delicate and sad song' e.g. 'Walk away' or 'Softly as I leave you' with a real tug of the heartstrings. I have heard other great singers (eg Bobby Darin ) try to cover some of these tracks and they can't do it.

I think that in the UK in the 1960s, 'received English' or BBC English was still the expectation in most walks of life -eg my Mum was trained in enunciation as part of her GPO telephony training in the 1950s, my Uncle Chris from Sarf London was trained to make tannoy announcements 'properly' by BOAC etc. You only have to watch old re-runs of shows like Juke Box Jury to see how the celebrities of the day spoke. Yes, pop music swept a lot of that away, but even Helen Shapiro (from London's East End like Matt) didn't sing with a cockney accent (unlike Lilly Allen and other contemporary singers) . So maybe that expectation was a big influence on Matt, particularly with his exposure to broadcasting in Hong Kong. Also, as he was making his big break in the early-mid 60s, his style had to be very different to that of this contemporaries on the British Music scene at the time.

In the USA the style seems to have been much more relaxed, I hesitate to say its because of a less 'class concious' society, but I do think that the American singers of the 1950s/1960s were trying to sound 'hip' and that having a more casual approach to enunciation was possibly part of that? Dean Martin is a classic example.

[Gloria]

Michael: Thanks for all the information and history. It was very interesting to read. I totally agree about the majesty and passion in Matt's voice - it's absolutely unmatched in pop music (sorry that I didn't explain that view clearer in my original post). Nat "King" Cole was the closest we had in America to Matt's style, with the emphasis on precise diction. But he didn't possess Matt's great range, so he made a name for himself on the pure elegance of his vocal delivery.

Yes, American diction in song got quite relaxed with Sinatra's popularity in the 50s. Frank inspired other singers to forge unique personas, and in such a big country with so many singers trying to make it big, this became a necessity. Bobby Darin and Sammy Davis Jr. adopted "hip" styles of enunciation, Louis Prima had his wild, New Orleans jazz style, and, yes, it's hard to imagine a looser approach to delivering lyrics than Dean Martin's. So, it is fair to say that American vocal standards had reached the "point of no return" by the 60's, and that the art of fine diction in song was lost.

[keithgood838]

ENUNCIATION

Annunciation, dictionary definition:
'the announcement by the angel Gabriel
to the Virgin Mary that she would be
the mother of Christ'.
In the sense that Matt's diction was heavenly
there is possibly a tenuous connection.
Sorry to mount my pedantic high horse.
Keith

[michduncg]

Point very well made Keith! As my homework I will go and change the offending words!