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ValMikeSmith
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17 Feb 2010, 2:53 am

There is a kind of music that has high (like soprano) vocals and no lyric
but I don't know what it is called. The voice uses the vowels ah, auw, and uh.
Some things like it are:

1.The intro and outro to original Star Trek series
2.The intro to old Underdog cartoon, but only in the background vocals
3.In Shrek, when the troll princess singing, a bird exploded, after that Shrek
fried the eggs.
4.In Dark Crystal, when Gelflings sang and played pan flute on a boat.
5.In AVATAR there was some background music like that.
6.Andreas Vollenweider in White Winds album

I used to use the phrase Siren Song to describe this kind of music
and maybe it is sometimes used as background in movie scenes
of paradise (or even sung then), or in scenes of sad desolation and ruin
with a slightly more somber but not much different sounding voice.
I imagine that the Odyssey sirens sing that way, or mermaids,
whale songs may have a vague resemblance. Also, the f shapes
on a violin remind me of how this kind of music is usually sung,
vaguely like American fire truck sirens, high to higher, then higher to high,
with the vowels uh-ah, ah-uh, uh-ah, ah-uh, and with less loudness
in between each / \ / \ glide.

I just remembered I heard a man sing this way on a TV show, as part
of a song in a band, which I will try to search for. He sung it almost
perfectly except that it wasn't in soprano and didn't sound feminine
as it usually does. The list of songs above sound much closer to
the KIND OF MUSIC I am searching for the name of.

Also, ...

Maybe the Snoods in Doctor Who sound that way too.
The song "Torn" has something similar but with instruments near the end.
Everything Beautiful is Far Away by Granddaddy sounds close to what I mean,
where the voice is singing ah-ah-ah---ah-ah.
That's all I can remember that sounds that way.

If you hear what I am talking about, I know everyone feels different
about music, its not a universal language, but the music I am describing
induces longing for me, and for that reason it is appropriate for
Everything Beautiful Far Away even though thats not a prime example
of the exact style, which I am not finding while searching because of
not knowing exactly what it is. I'd say ambient but I'm not finding it there.
Maybe Celtic? It doesn't seem to be concentrated anywhere.
Enya may have sung a few songs like that, but I'm not sure.
In general, the sound is "mystical"
and seems prototypical/archetypical to me.

Any Ideas? :?:

If not, I think I may have to synth a prime example of it (for) myself. :idea:

Deep Forest Lullaby is also similar as much as 'everything beautiful' is.



Redd
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17 Feb 2010, 4:02 am

based on your description id say the genre you are searching for is Opera.



MoonRa
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17 Feb 2010, 9:18 am

mmmm... makes me think of Neoclassical or Etheral Wave (Arcana, Artesia, Nox Arcana, Dead can Dance).



Ambivalence
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17 Feb 2010, 12:45 pm

Soprano aria?


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17 Feb 2010, 10:15 pm

world music/ethnic electronica/ethnic fusion

Artists:
Enigma
Youssou n'dour
Ikarus:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEDq2UiMg9U[/youtube]
etcetera


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ValMikeSmith
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18 Feb 2010, 2:50 am

Um... Opera and some of the above is kind of vibrato-y and tremolo-y.
If my attempt to post it works, notice the not so wavy voice pitch glide.
(I have trouble keeping up with the constantly changing Youtube formats.)
I think of the ones I listed, this is the closest.
I'm beginning to think that this might not be a category,
just something that tends to come up in similar scenes in movies.
I'll try both ways of posting it, and consider mixing all other examples I can find
into one track and posting that.
[Youtube]http://www.youtube.com/v/85CMWJQH7tw[/Youtube]

http://www.youtube.com/v/85CMWJQH7tw

Or if I find other good examples and this posted correctly, I'll post others.



ValMikeSmith
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18 Feb 2010, 2:56 am

Well, not quite right but the link seems to work.
Testing... OK
Everything Beautiful Is Far Away... Parts of the song are sung without words.
http://www.youtube.com/v/x01qhspv6vY
Shrek Troll Princess Singing (more vibrato than I thought though, but OK)
http://www.youtube.com/v/HTkV-ZXLblA
Final Fantasy X 2 Morning Glow (this sort of qualifies)
http://www.youtube.com/v/Gyyl4_8b3LM
Switchfoot singing live a synth part, one time instance, not their style...
...Example is a little bit past the middle. This is the male voice example.
http://www.youtube.com/v/_aCeVeBefGU
Underdog song. The background vocal which has no words, and ignore the rest.
http://www.youtube.com/v/tEVsRLhet2k
Except for the first example in the previous post, I'm not really satisfied
that I've accurately represented "it" yet. Still searching for another prime example.
I hope these links all work.



MoonRa
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18 Feb 2010, 7:08 am

ValMikeSmith wrote:
I'm beginning to think that this might not be a category

I'm pretty sure it isn't a specific music style you'r searching for.

You may find some in there catagories:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethereal_Wave
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoclassical_(New_Age)

Also look up the composers of film music.

Maybe:

Carolyn's fingers - Cocteau twins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh83z5vIP0w

Lullaby - Nox Arcana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0LDtwAa ... re=related

Dead Can Dance - Mesmerism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eehMhx5VSI

Loreena McKennitt "Prologue" The book of secrets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5VEjeQSVPE

For A Few Dollars More (Theme by Ennio Morricone)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLXQltR7vUQ



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18 Feb 2010, 1:32 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KsD4OI7QbI[/youtube]

Not the same, but you might like this.



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20 Feb 2010, 1:40 am

I used to the think the intro/outro of the original Star Trek had a woman singing but it's actually a theramin.



ValMikeSmith
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21 Feb 2010, 5:44 am

Spencerkieft That's interesting because I asked someone else about this
and mentioned Star Trek and they said it was synthesizer but I was sure it
was a woman's voice too. I couldn't think of what kind of synthesizer would sound
like that but I can try to make sounds like a theremin and like a woman singing.



SpencerKieft
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21 Sep 2010, 12:25 am

ValMikeSmith wrote:
Spencerkieft That's interesting because I asked someone else about this
and mentioned Star Trek and they said it was synthesizer but I was sure it was
was a woman's voice too. I couldn't think of what kind of synthesizer would sound
like that but I can try to make sounds like a theremin and like a woman singing.


OK. I was wrong. It was really Loulie Jean Norman singing. She was imitating a theremin, though.



marshall
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21 Sep 2010, 1:32 am

It looks like you're keying in on a type of melody rather than a genre.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.



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21 Sep 2010, 2:23 pm

maybe opera



MrXxx
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21 Sep 2010, 6:24 pm

Ambivalence wrote:
Soprano aria?


I agree. This is what you mean. Though I do believe there is a more specific term as well, that means "sung in vowels." Can't remember what it is, but if remember right it comes from medieval church music, not opera.


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21 Sep 2010, 11:12 pm

The term you're thinking of, and also to answer the OP's question, is vocalise. Not to be confused with vocalese, a style of jazz singing. It's more just a particular technique used in a wide variety of styles, rather than a genre unto itself.


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