Karaoke Forums

..I guess twaing is in the ear of the listener

One of my GF here told me Carrie Underwood didn't have a twang to her(LOL) I said SHANIA doesn't have much of one but CARRIE surely does! Then again- my husband the die hard rocker- said Shania is twangin all over the place. I guess since I was raised in the south- it's harder for me to pick up on.

But I think we're basically saying the same thing...country is a "sound" right?

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To me Country always was a sound Paula, and yes we agree. Yet I am a NYC guy I'll get the folks in Muskogee really angry if I start yacking about "Country".. Btw, have you heard Crystal Shawanda's song "You can let go" ? Let me tell you, MY personal definition today is, If it makes me bawl my eyes out like a 3 year old, it's country.. I can't listen to the whole song which is a shame, it's a dynamite composition and IMHO I'd LOVE to accompany females on piano on this song, I just get too depressed !!

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

The "Telecaster twang", and "Chicken picking' guitar styles were ALWAYS indigenous to the country genre when they went Rock-a-billy and Country rock. I think even Pure Prairie League, and Marshall Tucker had "The Twang" when they slowed things down to ballad.. My opinion is Country usually has "twang", and as I'd stated in a longwinded earlier post, something traditionally inherent can be heard i n the voice of the singer which often depicts "traditional" drawl, accent, etc as well !!

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Let me ask those of you who sing (since I'm just a student hacking stuff up). How about the country "Crack" int he voice ? and yodel type break ? Isn't that often listened for too ? I know cracking the voice is important to me as well !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Yep you're 100% correct Moony! The bottom line and minimum requirement for a vocal to be country really is having at least a little twang. But I'm not so sure that a twang applied to let's say a jazz standard from the 40's or 50's makes that vocal sound country.

I think we should preface this with "In our opinion" however. Reason being, factually our opinions are not 100%, they are however OUR opinions and our truths !

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

[highlight=crimson]Let me ask those of you who sing (since I'm just a student hacking stuff up). How about the country "Crack" int he voice ? and yodel type break ? Isn't that often listened for too ? I know cracking the voice is important to me as well ![/highlight]

Kappy- since I'm not a big fan of that kind of country- ESPECIALLY yodelling....I think that crack stuff may just be a bunch of 5 pack a day smokers singing - when they really need to hock one up

[highlight=crimson]Yep you're 100% correct Moony! The bottom line and minimum requirement for a vocal to be country really is having at least a little twang. But I'm not so sure that a twang applied to let's say a jazz standard from the 40's or 50's makes that vocal sound country. [/highlight]

You ever heard Willie Nelson singing "stardust" Odie? I'm telling you - not just "Country" but "KUNTRY"

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Well, I didn't state I'd wish to sit in the front row of this type singer without wearing a splash guard, but I do sort've like that "cracking" the voice at the right times when the singer controls the resolution of that nuance.. Just something I find pretty depending on the song. If course Yodel to the oldies with Slim Whitman I can do without.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Yes Paula, I have a copy of Willie's Stardust album. Willie has his Willie voice and Texas twang going for sure and he does a great job on all of the songs, but to me anyway the twang doesn't make the songs sound country. To me it takes a true country song sung with some twang and other elements like dropping the g's tp make the singer and song sound country.

While I can agree that when we hear certain instruments/styling and a vocal twang, we instantly recognize it as "country" I don't know if I agree that a twang is a "must" to be country. Alison Krauss comes to mind being one of my favorites and there's no doubt that she's recognized as both a bluegrass/country singer. Some of her songs fall into one category and some in the other and some overlap the two genres. Ron made a good point when he mentioned Marty Robbins. I don't recall him having a twang (though I remember the occasional yodel) but he's still a country western singer.

I believe it depends...there are so many country styles that span decades. A lot of today's country music is cookie cutter, in my opinion. Who knows...by the year 2018 country will probably morph into another sound yet will still be considered country music.

Country is now more eclectic than rock. Often the guitars, dobros, banjos, steel guitars will give off a trebly sound but the vocals might be smooth and soothing. As I've stated most of the time I listen for an accent, drawl, how the vowels are annunciated, sometimes poor diction on vowel sounds can give that "twang" sound when a singer is projecting. Many might think types of folk music also had a twang.. I really feel "It depends" on the style and location of the country music. Stuff evolves as has been stated, much of what was never considered country in the 1960's and 1970's would be categorized as "country" today due to the paucity of ballad music being produced, Much ballad would be lumped into :Country: today.

In the early 1990's, The pop-40 scene wouldn't acknowledge Garth Brooks, It wasn't easy for a singer out've Nashville to get a hit on NY top 40 radio since that time styles have bridged somewhat but the styles weren't "bridged" in the early early 90's.. Garth Brooks had a lot to do with the Crossover to pop later in the 1990's. He was a fan of Kiss and introduced high energy, laser light and pyrotechnical bombast to country music. This was unheard of in the earlier years.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

After reading what Debbie wrote a couple of posts back I thought harder about the huge list of country singers out there. There are a few notable country singers that did not have much of a twang if any. Singers like Eddy Arnold, Ray Price, Marty Robbins and Johnny Horton didn't have much if any twang. When Ray Charles tackled country songs he didn't put in any twang. So I guess the twang isn't really mandatory after all but it sure makes country music more easily identifiable.

gots to agree with Debs too...the nasal twang and the pitch bends on the steel geeetar dont necessarily a country song make.

Mary Chapin Carpenter also springs to mind as one who rarely needs to add a twang to be considered country.

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Another interesting fact is that if you play a country song backwards, you'll regain your wife, your truck, and your dog ! (even if you're a guy)

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I have nothing factual to add here, 'cause really, I don't listen to alot of country. But the point of this thread was...what makes a country song sound country? Improper grammar? Twang? Wardrobe?

I say, anything that sounds like "Larry The Cable Guy" singing is definitely country! He doesn't wear a cowboy hat!

I thought that video that Odie posted was funny as hell! I didn't see cowboy hats....just a fat dude in overalls wearin' a ball cap rappin'?
Was that Miranda Lambert? She sounds like a soul singer to me?

I hate when country singers take a popular R&B song and sing it with a country twang......yuk.

I don't know anything about the origin of country music, but to be called country, it has to have some kind of old school expression in the vocal, or the singer's ability to articulate a country style....yodeling (yuk)....twang....improper diction etc....
Any bunch of damned fools can get in front of a camera and make a song/video and call it country music.
Maybe that's what country is?
Any damned fool that can put a label on it?

I think you're right Perry:)

Don't forget though, it helps with the image if you're spittin' tabacco. (or atleast have a Skoal ring in your back pocket)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

I do have a question though. No, not a question, just a thought I'm pondering. I can sing any style, be it blues-pop- rap (just kidding)- whatever song style, and always get told the same ol' thing, that I sound country.

I have NO twang, whatsoever. None. My accent left me by the time I was probably 10. (parents moved me up to the Northwest, where nobody has a twang and I guess I outgrew it) So why would people tell ME that..... if I have no so-called "twang"? Cause you can ask anyone here who's talked to me in person, I do not have any kind of southern accent at all.

(perhaps it's the skoal ring in my back pocket?)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

What an idiot..... she quoted herself instead of "editing"

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

If you quote yourself instead of editing ........ you may be a redneck!

I don't know for sure Charmin. Like I mentioned to you, it may just be like "guilt by association" so to speak. Most of your songs are country or bluegrass and even though you don't have a real twang, I think people just may automatically think of you as sounding country on your occasional pop or rock songs. Even if you really don't sound country on those particular songs.