Hit high notes at all costs
Recently, singer Cao Thai Son held a music video launch for the song "Life Fee" . The event lasted about 4 hours because it included a number of activities that were said to promote the singer's ability to sing high notes.
Specifically, the MC invited a number of singers such as Nguyen Dinh Vu, Bao Yen Rosie, Duc Toan... to perform the challenge of singing the highest note in their vocal range.
After his colleagues had finished measuring his vocal range, Cao Thai Son appeared to introduce his product and continued to change the topic to measuring high notes on the piano. He performed the Re 6th, E 6th, and then stopped at the Fa 6th.
To “guarantee” the high note performance, the singer also invited experts to the event. Former Principal of Hue Academy of Music – Associate Professor, Dr. Truong Ngoc Thang said that Cao Thai Son’s ability to sing the F6 note was “very admirable and commendable”. Musician Luu Thien Huong said that this note is rare even for female voices, and vocal teacher Trung Nhat Vocal commented that Cao Thai Son’s vocal range “stands out among male pop singers in Vietnam today”.
Cao Thai Son sings high notes at a press conference. Clip: Tuoi Tre Newspaper
After that, his team also sent out information to the press and media about his ability to sing high notes and soaring lyrics.
Previously, from the beginning of the year until now, Cao Thai Son continuously showed off his high notes from performances to social networks, regardless of the stage setting or the genre of the song he performed.
How is Cao Thai Son's high note?
Vocally, Cao Thai Son's high notes in the 6th octave are not stable.
On the stage of the 2023 Blue Wave Awards, Cao Thai Son once drifted to end the song with an acceptable E note in the 6th octave. The headvoice drift was weak and off-key, but it helped him gain momentum to sing the E note in the 6th octave with a whistle. In some clips of singers practicing in the studio, these whistle notes are more stable.
However, at the event on June 19, Cao Thai Son failed to sing most of the notes. An anonymous vocal expert told VietNamNet that the first notes in the 6th interval were not achieved, and were not supported by other parts of the body.
An E note in the 6th octave by Cao Thai Son. Clip: Blue Wave
Poor form, the more he sang, the more tense and bad the notes became. At the climax, after the F note in the 6th interval was flat - lower than the required pitch, the singer still tried to continue singing the G note by screaming instead of hitting (a term that refers to singing high notes with standard technique), causing these notes to be completely ruined. Due to exhaustion, Cao Thai Son could not hold the note for even 1 second.
Sharing the same opinion, vocal teacher Thai Duy Dinh said that Cao Thai Son was under a lot of pressure from the press conference, combined with the continuous high notes, which did not allow his body to relax and recover, so the following notes were flat. However, according to him, the male singer "could have done better under favorable conditions".
Do not abuse display
From the first days of joining showbiz until now, Cao Thai Son has never been criticized for his singing voice. Compared to his colleagues in the same segment, he is highly appreciated for his ability.
In fact, the fact that a tenor can sing a note in the sixth octave is impressive enough, and the fact that he fails is not worth discussing. In fact, the fact that a singer consciously practices and improves his professional skills is commendable and encouraging.
However, Cao Thai Son indulged in abusing high notes and massive promotional strategies.
The trend of singers showing off their ability to hit high notes has been over for nearly 10 years. In an era where artists and audiences of Generation Z are at the center, music tends to return to its original mission of serving emotions and nurturing the souls of listeners.
A singer trying to hit high notes becomes out of place. The more you try to promote, the more likely it is to backfire.
Equally important, Cao Thai Son misidentified his core values, leading to misguided promotional activities. Although he was recognized for his talent in the segment, he had not yet reached the standards of a pop vocalist, not to mention fields with higher requirements such as chamber music. Therefore, what the 8X and his team were trying to promote was “a shirt that was too big”.
From his recent performances, Cao Thai Son shows that he needs to practice more basic techniques such as breath column, resonance, head voice... instead of "learning to run before learning to walk" by practicing fancy techniques such as flute voice.
According to vocal teacher Thai Duy Dinh, practicing singing high notes is good, but the most important thing is still connecting and serving the audience's spirit through the song. The value of melody, story and lyrics need to be expressed most fully to the public.
“Not all audiences like to hear notes that are too high, anything too high is not good. As for Cao Thai Son, I believe he knows how to handle it professionally, emotionally and use high notes appropriately to highlight the song with his 20 years of experience in the profession,” said Thai Duy Dinh.
This teacher added that Cao Thai Son should be viewed from the perspective that he is doing his best to serve the audience and trying to improve himself rather than judging harshly.
Besides, the public and experts always recognize the efforts of artists, typically the case of singer Ho Ngoc Ha.
Having caused controversy about her voice in the early years of her career, she quietly practiced and improved her vocal technique over a long period of time. Unlike Cao Thai Son who was hasty in promoting, the female singer let the recognition of experts happen naturally, from which the public had a different view of her. Currently, there is almost no more controversy about Ho Ngoc Ha's voice.
Loan Le
Cao Thai Son once suffered from depression and talked about Angela Phuong Trinh's scandal . Cao Thai Son talked about the difficult times in his career and revealed his new life as a "dairy dad".
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/cao-thai-son-pho-truong-thai-qua-gay-tac-dung-nguoc-2293654.html
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