JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Microphone and Vocalist Forum Is there a reason why people prefer female vocalists?

Other than the fact that they are much prettier, is there a main reason why girl singers are praised over male vocalists? Someone once told me in general female vocals are more asthetically pleasing to the ear. But I often find the opposite is true. I do enjoy Patsy Cline and Karen Carpenter, but they are exceptions.

Many female vocalists have their own genre called guess what "female vocalists'. Theres nothing on Last FM that has the category "male vocals". Its just the biased opinion if they sound better, but its not always true.

I think the reason female vocalists (I'm one) are sometimes preferred over male vocalists is because a lot of them have more range. They can sing higher, more clearly, and if they're in a cover band like I am, are more useful in covering a wider range of material. In this male dominated business it's refreshing to see and hear a GOOD female vocalist! I don't care for the ones that are pitchy or have a "nasally" sound...I like ones that KICK ASS, like Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Gretchen Wilson, ANN WILSON, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, etc. There's nothing I detest more than a "lame" female vocalist who can't project or stay on key. But then again, I don't like that in a male vocalist either. LOL

IMO, male vocalists in general are more limited. Very few really impress me. The lead singer for Rascal Flatts is outstanding, he sounds like he has frets in his throat. Geddy Lee from Rush could sing high, but his voice was somewhat irritating to people. When I sing Rush, it's not irritating. Robert Plant was my idol growing up. His wails and screams, and vocal imitating Page's guitar was amazing to me. I aspired to be a female version of him (and somewhat succeeded). But a lot of male vocalists are gruff and limited range wise, so IMO, they don't have as much to offer.

I think your premise is off-base. I think male artists way out-sell female artists (I think buying the record is the most tangible type of "praise" for a commercial artist). Of course there are a lot of females on this list, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_music_artists

Kevin

The range of the vocalist is NOT determined by the sex. I've met several FANTASTIC male vocalists over the years and can list many many more I've never met.

I give you -
Geddy Lee (Rush, as mentioned - great range)
Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave)
Brent Smith (Shinedown)
Freddie Mercury (Queen)
Paul Rodgers (Bad Company)
Elton John
Art Garfunkel (Simon and Garfunkel)
Jon Anderson (Yes, Anderson and Vangelis)
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

If you want me to go on I will, thats barely scratching the surface.

Female vocalists are more unusual than male vocalists, hence the separate "genre". I think, as Kevin said, the majority or singers are male, so you have something different from the norm no the side.

At local shows and open mics female singers get a better reception because they are SIGNIFICANTLY more unusual than male singers.

I'm not saying male singers are better, I like a good mix of both, and neither one is "better" for any physiological reason.

Oh, I DID forget to mention KEVIN EMMRICH as one of my fave male vox!

Can you be more specific about who you include when you say "people"? To me it just sounds like a male preference, Vasinger - I love female singers too. But, I think Kevin is about right on sales, and furthermore male singers are preferred demo's as female artists doesn't have a problem with hearing the song for them even though it's sung by a male, while the opposite is not so. If you look a bit deeper in the music industry, it's also heavily male dominated, think producers.. sooeh

I think many of the posts here are way off. In my experience there is no general preference for male or female vocalists per se although some people may for their own reasons prefer certain sexes singing and trends seem to follow whatever sex happens to be in fashion at any particular time. OK the pop charts currently are dominated by females but that trend changes on a whim. Nest month it could be different Michael Buble and Justin Beibers could be the IN THING. There is no "better than" as Polly tries to make out issue either....I have heard great vocalists from both sexes and some pretty dud ones as well. My own preference of rock music is dominated by male singers BUT that does not mean that there are no great female rock singers. I know many.
On a personal note I hate whiny nasally female voices that seem to be in vogue at the moment......but that is just my own preference. Many people like that kind of sound. It is all down to personal taste.

ps I just used Buble and Beibers in the same sentence. WOW must be slipping. Comparing these two is like comparing Sinatra with the drunk guy who grabs the mic at a Saturday night karaoke.

Surely Bublé are waaay more entertaining than Sinatra :-)

On the local level, there are ten males for every female doing open mics, rock bands, etc. so the scarcity probably makes the good females more popular.......not to mention the sex appeal aspect.

On country radio here, it is relatively unusual to hear a female vocalist - maybe one song in six.

It does come down to personal taste. I absolutely a couple of female voices - Alison Krauss and Jayne Kelli - but as Jim says, there are some awful nasally ones too.

Colin, it's the same thing here in Hampton Roads on the local level. Most of the open mics (when there are any, and there aren't many in my area unfortunately ) and bands are male-dominated. We have a Hampton Roads online radio station called Defenestration run by WHRO, and in the 2-3 hrs I usually listen on any given day, I only ever hear one or two females. Most of it is male-dominated rock.

That means that at open mic nights, I'm one of maybe 2 or 3 total female acts that night. I've gotten used to it though.

it's the same in the UK in terms of pop and RnB but if you look at Hip Hop or C-rap music it is very male orientated.

I am looking for a female artist as I guess from my own perspective they have prettier voices, more sex appeal and more often better ranges. I also just think that women have better chance of succeeding.

thinking about it though there are very few female artists on my iPod. hmm.

I think female vocalists are great, don't get me wrong. I enjoy female vocals on certain songs , especially.

My premise was based largely on reviews on musicians. Will praise the female vocals . Most female musicians are noted for their vocal prowess. Most male solo artists are not, usually, although there are exceptions. Usually with male artists, their vocals are not mentioned, and usually focous on their songwriting, instrument playing, etc. He is a great guitar player, etc. Not his voice. I was just wondering if there was a preference over one over the other. Its just an observation.

If no male vocalists impress you, maybe you aren't paying attention. What about Roy Orbison? Or Elvis? John Denver? Mario Lanza had one of the most incredible voices of the past century. As for covering a wider range of material, I dont like to brag, but I sing everything from Classical to Jazz and Country. I prefer Country, of course (mainly Alt Country), but its all perspective I guess. You sound a bit jaded to me about the industry. I say forget the industry and just do your own thing.

You didn't read my post closely...I didn't say NO male vocalists impress me, I said very few. Then again, I'm a vocalist myself, and I take my skill seriously, so I'm going to be critical of everyone else who claims to be a vocalist, probably more so than the average person.

I'm not jaded at all...I'm just the opposite...I eat, breathe and sleep music! When I'm not making music or writing music, I'm talking about it! Music is my passion!

Me too, I spent years drinking, smoking and shouting to get this voice!!



Just trying to lighten the mood

John

Im sorry I didnt read your post very well. By the same token, very few female vocalists impress me. But then again, very few male vocalists impress me either these days. Maybe its just the modern ones I don't care for. Im very impressed by people who write their own songs.

Unfortunately a lot of what people think is good singing these days is singing as loudly as possible and over-emoting to get attention and say "look at me, look what I can do". Thats not good singing, IMO. But IM not a great singer myself, and it probably is preference.

I naturally have a voice that projects (have had one since I was oh...THREE) and my ROCK voice is just that. That's what a ROCK voice does, it projects. It's not "look at me, look at what I can do" it's actually emoting a song the way it was MEANT to be done! You don't strike me as someone who especially enjoys rock, which is fine (listened to your stuff). It doesn't mean that what I do isn't enjoyable or appreciated by lots of people, just that it's not YOUR cup of tea. Which is why there are COUNTLESS genres and interpretations of music on this planet. To each his own.

I also write my own music, and do other styles, like blues, country, bluegrass, and alternative. That's on my soundclick page in my signature line. My brand new all-female band is doing more "pop" stuff though we do like to rock out!

What I'm hearing from you is that you like old-style country, that's also the style you sing, and you don't care for much else. Well, again, to each his own. Personally, I don't want to be marginal. The more genres and styles of music I get exposed to, THE BETTER! I might not like everything I hear, but I appreciate the effort the artist put into it, and try to interpret it the way the artist meant for it to be.

Polly and Vas you are both way off the mark.......A great singer is a great singer PERIOD..... regardless of sex or the material they sing.....different techniques are needed for diff genres etc but whatever technique is used I judge each singer on their performances....not the style or genre.

A lot of todays pop singers whether male or female are just good looking kids who are there because of their looks and image...most have very poor singing talent or musical skills and the music is ALL PRODUCTION good singing does not feature.

It is true that rock is male orientated and there are fewer performing females than males.....I have no idea why that is exactly ......I think it is more to do with a cultural thing rather than male v female talent.

Coutry and pop has its fair share of female performers but I still think the major decisions in all music matters are made by men. So that means they will promote the sexy image of a good looking female. Sadly the world is still a place where sexual inequality still is the norm. Sex sells over talent any day.

Polly I do not think you do the equality thing any favours by saying that women are better singers than men...this simply is not true......there are good and bad singers and musicians from both sexes. To state any preference or that one sex is better than another is an opinion based just on personal taste not any factual evidence. I have listened to a lot of your stuff and you have a good voice but have a ways to go.....you need to show more light and shade and control and have a tendency to oversing in places....

Now Vas I have listened to some of your songs and you also have a good voice.....not keen on the mixes as your voice is a bit too far back in the mix for my ears. Your songs however IMO are way way way dated and old fashioned. This style was popular in the fifties and sixties but has been left by the wayside generations past. IMO you are uncomfortable with any style that does not fit that narrow slot thereby adopting the attitude that no one from the modern era impresses you. You look quite young in your pics.....surprising for someone stuck in a bubble with such a narrow minded old fashioned taste and attitude.

Sometimes I wish I had a tail, then I could start chasing it

i perfer male vocalist,that's it.I have thousands of lp's and cd's and i know 85% are male vocalist.Also i think a male singer puts on a way better show than a girl singer.I do have my favorite girl singers however.

Echo Michael LeBlanc and I love KD Lang, Emmy Lou and Nancy Griffith.
Vic

I like Brad Delp (Boston). I think he had a great range.

Well, female SOLO artists sell more than male SOLO artists, but female fronted groups are outnumbered and sell less than male fronted groups.

Humm,
Over the last decade or so the Female Artists were a lot better than the Male Artists in my opinion. In the 40's and 50's male singers were at the top of the heap. We're speaking Country here. But even in Pop music the male artists were really good but the females were pretty even.

Finding good male country demo singers was a bit harder. Maybe it still is.

THEY ARE AROUND, MOST OF THE GUYS WHO HAVE MADE IT WERE DEMO

SINGERS AT ONE TIME.

THE HARDEST THING IS WRITING A SONG WORTH MAKING A DEMO WITH

It's goes with their tops and bottoms? THEE Bermuda triangle?! Once you got all three,,,,your sunk?! Held Captive?!

I preferred male vocals in the Elvis and Beatle years. The change came with ABBA in the 70s. I would much rather go into the studio with a girl than a guy.

I always heard being the youngest in the crowd, Abba and Fleetwood Mac. Also Heart (all three started out as guy bands). Then I heard acts like No Doubt and Berlin. Then there is the drummer from The Velvet Underground, as well as Patty Smith. Then Tina Waymouth of the Talking Heads. There is a certain female that I have noticed from the age of a toddler in my hometown of Duluth, Minnesota from some 30 years ago in a band called Hostage.
I have to admit that I slant towards guy players, mostly because the music is derived from the other sex.
But good music is good music, whatever the sex.
Some guy and gal songs have been exchanged in cover songs too.
"Girls just Want to Have Fun" was originally "Guys Just Want To Have Fun".

Adding female vocalists is the ultimate compliment in a song from what I have heard.

Matt

It has been stated, over and over, that women buy the most music. If the law of supply and demand runs true, then they must be buying more male singers. Personally, I love both. I also love instrumentals. Come to think of it, I just love any music that isn't about hate.

In the past there were very few female singers you could buy recordings by. Many times a female singer could not get such and such a song and had to take what they could get. Today it is probably much better and most of the current female singers at least country are much more pleasing than the male artists.

Some Pop Female singers that come to mind are Kay Starr, Peggy Lee, Jo Stafford, Gogi Grant, Rosemary Clooney, Patti Page, Doris Day, Connie Francis, Teresa Brewer, and some groups namely the McGuire Sisters, the Chordettes and the Fontaine Sisters.
In Country there were only Kitty Wells, Jean Shepard, later Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.

Geez Ray - the later ones are 84 years old.

Uh, so what Colin,
I still listen to Beethoven and Mozart. And they are really old! I remember one time a Navy Chief asked a young lass out. She retorted, I don't go out with no one lower than an Ensign. The Chief replied, I didn't know there was anyone lower than an Ensign! Well, you had to be there.