👍 I’ve learned how mindsets of singers effect music and audience. It creates an unique world. It’s not begging audience for something, but invite them and let them involved in the world. Thank you, Chris for this eyes opened advice. 🙏
What you are talking about is basically called "musicality". A lot of singers are lack of this ability. By concentrating on the emotions of the song you bring out dynamics and variated tones. Seen a lot of Queen covers on youtube, only a few had this. It's hard in itself to cover a Queen song because of the voice, but even they succeed in that they usually miss the emotions, many singers are just empty vessels of clear notes.
My God Chris what a powerful video. Powerful message and powerful singing in the end! This video has totaly inspired me!! We are not important, we are just a messenger communicating music communicating emotions and hopefully making people feel better. This is true especially to rock music. Other pop genres somehow fail this message in my opinion. This following sentences I've found on Facebook that a Myles Kennedy fan page wrote what he said in some interview have read it is this same message that is in your video Chris: ""I don't consider musicians or songwriters heroes...that's a term for someone more special. As far as trying to be a positive role model or hopefully inspiring people in some way, I don't take that lightly and try to do the best I can. You can never phone it in because you've been given a gift and an opportunity - to not only create music but perform it all over the world. There's a responsibility to not let people down and be the best you can be. Hopefully the people listening will pay it forward if they're inspired- continue that passing of the music torch" - Myles Kennedy
It’s so interesting that I saw this video today for the first time. I just applied that very technique to my last vocal recording and it really worked! Great observation Chris, thanks for sharing.
You're talking about emoting. Technical singers don't emote as much as emotional singers. Freddie is the one technical singer who can emote just as well.
His voice was shot during this concert. Touring(and smoking) had taken its toll. Still, he manages to make the hard songs(Who Wants To Live Forever) masterpieces.
"Not performing _to_ the audience, but _inviting them in_ to what you are doing" "come experience what I am experiencing" "bring people in" are such great points! Thank you, Chris
God damn it, Chris... your performance at the end was lit af!! It really helps having you as a visual and mental inspiration on how to break down certain vocal barriers. Please keep these videos coming, it's always a blast!
Another Queen song that I feel is very underrated is "Too Much Love will Kill You" , just amazing! Also Freddie is one of the reasons that I'm proud of my Persian heritage.
Too Much Love Will Kill You is the Brian's song. Love Of My Life is Freddie's. 🎶 Have you seen Brian's performance with Pavarotti? It's so beautiful but sad...
You and Freddie would surely be a pair if he were still here. I love seeing his songs/style/voice analyzed, since I’ve loved all of that since 1974!!👵🏻 Your voice is amazing and he would be flattered.
@@jamesfretwell1511 not true, he took singing lesson in 1976 (the night at the opera era) when he was diagnosed with nodules. He took other lessons between 1977 and 1980, and he took singing lesson with Monserrat Caballe in the late 80s.
Came for the Freddie Mercury reference, and stayed for the insight. I’m not a great singer, however, what a valuable lesson that could easily apply to any instrument! But then when you put it all into final perspective with your performance... Holy Smokes, man!! So, SO good!!!! Thank you!!!
YES! This is exactly correct!! Even watching his live performances now you FEEL like you want to know him. You see him at Live Aid in the background when Brian May comes out to do a solo, he walks to the side and points twice to the people over there and then claps, like, hey, I see you, come with me. You FEEL like he wants to reach every single person in a stadium and he manages to accomplish that, even the person in the very back row. Even the person watching it all of these years later. It is a gift, he somehow just instinctively knew this and did this. Time and time again. Now I do believe that when he is behind the piano he may be a little bit more intentional with some parts of some songs. But it is still to get that response from you. And he still manages from behind the piano to bring you to him. Spike was brought into the band with intention, so he could do keyboards and Freddie could interact with the audience more. His sweet spot was his live audience and he used that incredible voice to reach them. Even on Live Aid and his little circle dance with the cameraman, he didn’t forget the people at home. In the studio he seems very technical, at least that is the way he comes across in the One Vision documentary. He knew what it should sound like and he pushed for that. Another true gift. Okay more of your video, I just had to stop and say that you have said this with the right words in the right way, not just, I don’t know he is just a legend. So thank you. 💗
When we stop thinking about the notes, and start to feel what they awaken in us, we have an incredible result. Once again, thank you very much for the video Chris!
Dam.. im speechless. I love when a teacher can demonstrate with examples.. Singing with emotions is no easy task.. I think being a little bit familiarized with acting helps.
Freddie makes my heart explode every time, just LOVE him. ❤️ Have you reacting tio Nightwish? Please do so (start with Ghost love score, but put The seatbealt on first). It's a band from from Finland, with na Dutch frontsinger (their third singer) Symphonic Metal ❤️
Inspirational Chris! I think a person must have a very healthy sense of self to deliver such an emotional performance. The confidence you have (and Freddy had) is awesome.
5:10 Inviting the audience in vs presenting 5:40 Experience vs competition 9:15 Technical vs embracing the moment 10:15 Expressing vs related to 13:50 What and how are you communicating?
I was just cleaning my house, casually listening to Chris’s videos and I did not prepare for him to go OFF like that. That was so beautiful, Chris. Damn. I learned a lot from this one. My mind has been all technique and theory and I lost sight of why I love singing so much. This was a great reminder to focus on the reason, instead of what’s right and wrong or what we should be doing. Perfection is impossible anyways. There is a lot of power in deciding to leave tips and tricks in the background so focus primarily on the magic of music.
Wow, so true what you say about Freddie’s style of singing. The only contemporary singer I can think of who comes close is Matt Bellamy of Muse, but Freddie is in a league of his own.
It makes me sad knowing, that in my lifetime, there won't ever be another performer like Freddie Mercury, what amazing talent he was, one of a kind genius. Artists today have technology that helps massively to enhance their voices, that wasn't even thought of in the 80s etc, and I'm not just talking about auto tune, there's loads of things they can do now to help their singing.
Great analysis, observations and singing! Freddie really had great expression in his voice, he could change his voice to add different colours and nuances to his voice. Montserrat Caballe said the same thing after they worked together on the Barcelona album. "His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sang with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word." Opera singers understand this concept very well, they already have perfect technique and all of them perform the same arias with the same notes. The one place where they can make a bigger difference is though their expression in their performances. There are a lot of great singers out there, but most singers are just concerned with technique, and hitting the right notes at the right time. Or on the other end of the scale you have singers that use autotune and they lose a lot of the human expression within their voices. A singer's first job is always to connect to the audience, a singer's voice is a direct connection between the music and the audience. A singer is there to relay the message and emotion from the song. Being able to sing in a technically proficient way is very good for the singer and his voice, but it really makes no difference to the audience if a singer is using the right amount of head voice or hitting a perfect C5. They just want to feel something from the experience. With all of the singing competitions we have today, I think that the emotional aspects gets lost at times. I think this is somewhat of difference we see with some great singers from the 70's and 80's, they didn't have the internet so they often knew very little about using the correct technique, but they sometimes sang with a lot of emotion. Queen and Freddie actually hated performing studio material directly as it was on the album. He said that if you just perform copies of your studio material, that you might as well have a cardboard cutout on stage. Queen believed that singing in the studio and entertaining people live are two very different parts of music that you don't approach in the same manner. For them live shows was meant to be entertainment. Another thing about Freddie is that he had a great tone of voice, sometimes people just listen to his voice for a few seconds and they instantly love it, There are a few singers like that, who simply had a great tone of voice to start off with. Not everyone has great tone, but everyone can add emotion, expression and an individualistic take. People also need to add what naturally fits into their personality, if you act over dramatic it might come across as cheesy or not genuine enough. One of the nicest examples of Freddie using in expression in his voice, is in The Millionaire Waltz th-cam.com/video/H-P0VznfK_E/w-d-xo.html or My Melancholy Blues th-cam.com/video/85gBquP4y3k/w-d-xo.html. He sings almost every line or verse differently. A great example live is, You Take My Breath Away th-cam.com/video/UBBne8R66xo/w-d-xo.html. Freddie was suffering from a cold at the Wembley 1986 show. A lot of people don't realize that.
Great analysis of Freddies voice and style. His power, range, dynamics, tonality, and inflections were second to none...easily could have been an operatic vocalist. Theres been a lot of great singers in rock but none of them could hang with Freddy.
In an interview , Freddie said he was a great fan of Judy Garland and ultimately Liza Minelli because he learned to use gestures like a sign language to the words. It automatically pulls in your attention. Combined with his English boarding school taught enunciation of the English language, everyone knew every word to every song so audiences around the world ,no matter their native language, could sing along in confidence and full enjoyment. The ultimate choir master.
I agree with everything you said. Its total Audience participation. Total engagement. Thanks for posting!!Really dig the grit you throw in on some of those consonants.
the fact is just that that was an his song and he put inside that song his feelings.. he feels what he sings because them were the his songs and not songs of someone else...
Great motivating teacher, excellent way of teaching. Learnt one aspect, u have sing with feelings and put ur best emotions up , u need not imitate the singer, that's what different emotions look like. Freddie forever in our ❤️💕❣️
Sharing those kinds of experiments with your voice is such an incredibly vulnerable thing to do and provides us such a powerful experience. Thank you so much sharing this kind of content. Imperfection with heart, that's what makes us humans and connect
There is one thing that even the movie missed-his spontaneous sense of fun, which is there right thro the music,in his lyrics,in the song constructs also. Incidentally,pl listen to the song Good Company from A night at the Opera album of Queen which is sung by Brian May. He's got a great sense of expression as well. Both of them hv it in their cong compositions as well. And of course, Freddie absolutely unique. Just listen to the track Brighton Rock, how the song is constructed from a falsetto to the mid to the ultimate attack on a paragraph.
Freddie loved to engage the Whole crowd ...even those at the back.. so those at the back felt just as much a part of the concert as those at the front. Queen did songs that particularly got the crowd involved...
You are dead right. When you breath out the music that is in you, you invite others to see you, feel you, hear you, to take a journey where you are guiding them. It isn’t a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman who knows he needs to sell a couple more pairs to make bonus. The other question is what journey exactly are you asking me to take? The wise choose their tour guides carefully.
I Will tell you why Back then, the Musician's who have taken kno short cuts. Are the One's who can do it all write, produce, Sing & 90% of the Time give a smashing performance! These are Artist who love to always show all emotions. With " ❤ in Hand"
Chris... What a performance in the end! Just want to say that you've been helping me enjoy songwriting again, as I'm starting to be able to sing. Before I could write good instrumental songs, but now I'm writing better lyrics and feeling passionate as I sing them. Thank you so much!
So, less worrying about technicalities like being in tune, time, the cost of the mic, soundproofing...and more telling your Story. Whoda thunk! I have been saying this to deaf ears for 20+ years and watching those acts fail when they could have achieved something.
Do Bowie, "Win" Golden Years" "Young Americans'. Bowie had greatest range, effortless cooing, falsetto, to way down to a whisper again. "China Girl" another show case on vocals worth study. Love your tutorials dude.
Again thanks for this video , for the emotional support in what we all should do when singing . It's not easy but a long path. Maybe this Is the beauty in the discover of our voice
Oop, maybe you should do a Video on jonathan davis from Korn, I've allways wandered how a someone who teaches music would talk about what he does(saw Korn in concert{never heard of a bad Korn concert}) he's also pretty amazing at what he does.
Awesome video, Freddie’s ability to connect with the audience and bring a song to life was second to none. Listening to you sing reminded me a lot of why I love Jeff Buckley. He had a way of pulling the audience into his performance, just fearless and 100% raw emotion.
Yes! I try to imagine how Freddie channeled emotion in the studio, and then extend that to being on stage and connecting with the audience. This mental picture makes rehearsing fun.
I just tried this. Holy SH*T....i never realized it but indeed..this is SO major I can't stop laughing. Closing my eyes and inviting them into my head there is actually a lot more degrees of freedom. Singing to the crowd or camera instantly limits what can be done next cuz we're locked on to something external. This is GENIUS Chris!!!
Impeccable Musical Psychology you teach, Chris. Freddie was, is and will the One and Only to perform or sing in such depth. He loved his audience. He embraced human beings. Ever since I have come to learn his pattern of singing, since the Movie was released, he has become "Music" to me, in flesh. I'm truly blessed to know this God gicen Miracle to our Musical Universe ❤. Thank you so much for covering Freddie so largely. Best regards from Auckland New Zealand 🇳🇿❤ 🇳🇿❤ 😊
Hey Chris... thanks... really enjoyed this video. As a friend once told me, Queen were the "Master Manipulators of Emotion", they could get you to laughing and crying in the same song... I really think that is precisely why their music is so timeless... they add so much feeling and humanity into the song, you cannot help but fall in love with it (and them)... whether it is a romantic ballad, a catchy jazzy tune or an intricate "Bohemian Rhapsody", whether it is a thumping bass like "Under Pressure" or a whacked out drum beat like "Can't Stop Me Now" or "We Will Rock You", it always brings in just the right emotion to make it memorable and likeable... and when SIR Dr. Brian May plays... the entire world stops to listen... as they do when Freddie sings too... Only ONE PERSON I know could have a #1 hit record in 22 countries on the FIRST day of release over 30 years AFTER his death... that would be Freddie Mercury!! We SO LOVE our Queen classics... and you for doing such an amazing analysis... thanks again. blessings.
He wrote the lyrics. So, he pour his feelings into it.. that's why it comes out so touching and very relateable. He is not faking it.. Probably, he cried over it.. whatever agonizing experiences he went through. He lived it and he wants you to feel his pain in a way! That's why he is closer and more genuine than any artist in modern times! Sublime taste feelings and delivery!! Freddie is so talented so sensetive so musically gifted plus the hard work.. he is undoubtedly, Unmatched!
Chris Liepe, great insights... I would suggest that you should be in the smaller inset when viewing/reacting... I would suggest that you intentionally make that reaction part NOT about you, but about whom you are reacting to...
Philosophical epiphany! I know that my voice is only really good when I shut my brain off and let my soul take over. We only have so much mental bandwidth to work with, and anything competing for that just stifles the flow. But…to hear that verified, and also paired with a completely different mindset of singing…something I had never even entertained before..well…dunno what to say, other than thank you for that! And your performance at the end gave me chills.
OMG Chris, this is so beautiful and full of emotion! I absolutely LOVE Freddie's vocals and performance, but what you did was truly inspiring. Thank you!
Hi Chris, i want to tell you how you absolutely captured the essence of Freddie Mercury's style and appeal. I have become a Queen fan the past many months and immediately recognized the incredible musical talents of the entire group; however could not quite figure out why I could not take my eyes off of Freddie (other than the allure of his amazing voice). After listening to your opinion regarding his innate ability to bring you INTO his songs rather than sing his songs outwardly TO his audience I have been paying close attention to his body language, as well as the different tones he brings to his songs. I agree with your opinion that he may not even be aware he's doing this. I want to thank you for your great insight, I think you're a very talented and intuitive musician. Thank you very much, it's added a new layer to my appreciation of Freddie's gifts! Sincerely, Anne Craycroft
Freddie was great story teller,he every songs sung as story what captivated auditions therefore is not importatnt what is your vocal range but emotions,and how you know work with your voice and person must have feeling you sing just for you and only you even there is for example 100.000 auditions
He is the goat but there are other singers who do this front man for The Struts always kills it live. First time I saw them in concert I compared him to being Freddy's love child. LOL I thought he was lip syncing he was so clear and clean on his live vocals.
Just looking around this space, since it is close to my MOST favorite singer, front man, artist, Freddie Mercury" birthday. I must say hearing you talk and sing brought a special appreciation for Freddie's talent. You have a sincere, unique voice and it almost made my cry when you sang "Love of My Life". My dear, you have a great voice and YES I felt what you are saying. Excellently done, great insight, you are genuine. Thank you for this!!! I have seen Queen in concert many times in the early days, yet you rocked me back to those concert. ox
Underrated lesson/philosophy on performance! I’ve had epiphanies similar to this and said “I have to love everyone here and give them everything I have” but I think this sums it up really well. Also great performance.
The mindset of any performer should simply be to convey to the audience “I’m getting ready to take a ride and I’m inviting all of you to come along”. That sounds cliché and over simplifying but it’s not. It’s so powerful. And your performance at the end was a perfect example of that. You had my undivided attention to see where we were going and any imperfections didn’t matter. It was all part of the journey.
What a fantastic video I don't sing but I always wondered why people like Freddy are so captivating to listen to and you nailed it they are not trying to get your attention it just happens that's a real problem I have with modern music it's to forced autotune also doesn't help as well it takes out all the emotion and it just sounds bland
I've always wanted to learn to sing and ever since I found your channel Mr. Liepe it has helped me tremendously and I feel like I sound better than I ever have and still improving. I'm so thankful for your channel!
Freddie's been dead for 30 years and he's still at the forefront of expressive singing and vocal performance. GOAT.
Yeah... pretty amazing!
29 years ago* Hehe
GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAT!
29 years ago
29 years he died in 1991, so not far off 30yrs
👍 I’ve learned how mindsets of singers effect music and audience. It creates an unique world. It’s not begging audience for something, but invite them and let them involved in the world. Thank you, Chris for this eyes opened advice. 🙏
YES IT IS A GIFT TO SHARE ART, TO SHARE YOUR VOICE!!! Sing to give, do not give to sing! Give your soul and let it ring!
YES
What you are talking about is basically called "musicality". A lot of singers are lack of this ability. By concentrating on the emotions of the song you bring out dynamics and variated tones. Seen a lot of Queen covers on youtube, only a few had this. It's hard in itself to cover a Queen song because of the voice, but even they succeed in that they usually miss the emotions, many singers are just empty vessels of clear notes.
RIGHT... which is a bear to do sometimes with the voice!
My God Chris what a powerful video. Powerful message and powerful singing in the end! This video has totaly inspired me!! We are not important, we are just a messenger communicating music communicating emotions and hopefully making people feel better. This is true especially to rock music. Other pop genres somehow fail this message in my opinion.
This following sentences I've found on Facebook that a Myles Kennedy fan page wrote what he said in some interview have read it is this same message that is in your video Chris:
""I don't consider musicians or songwriters heroes...that's a term for someone more special. As far as trying to be a positive role model or hopefully inspiring people in some way, I don't take that lightly and try to do the best I can. You can never phone it in because you've been given a gift and an opportunity - to not only create music but perform it all over the world. There's a responsibility to not let people down and be the best you can be. Hopefully the people listening will pay it forward if they're inspired- continue that passing of the music torch" - Myles Kennedy
This is great stuff!
It’s so interesting that I saw this video today for the first time. I just applied that very technique to my last vocal recording and it really worked! Great observation Chris, thanks for sharing.
I have been paying attention to transmitting emotions when I sing but Freddie, and you! are on another level! Wow, that was great!
You're talking about emoting. Technical singers don't emote as much as emotional singers. Freddie is the one technical singer who can emote just as well.
Totally!
His voice was shot during this concert. Touring(and smoking) had taken its toll. Still, he manages to make the hard songs(Who Wants To Live Forever) masterpieces.
He was sick during this concert with a cold, and he performed for 3 nights in a row. His voice was not shot, the whole Magic was actually pretty good.
you're the best chris
OMG thank you! Gonna try
Awesome love your video
So great as usual! :)
You're absolutely great
Thank you!
Relating in the streets. Dynamic in the sheets.
oh hi
I don't think many people are BORN to do something, but Freddie was definitely born to perform. He didn't just sing. Damn, what a God given talent.
Chris doesn't give "classes" he gives MASTERclasses, he's an amazing singer and teacher. love the channel.
Thanks so much!
I agree. I thought the same thing
The word masterclass is overused… this is a senseiclass 😂❤
"Not performing _to_ the audience, but _inviting them in_ to what you are doing" "come experience what I am experiencing" "bring people in" are such great points! Thank you, Chris
You're very welcome!
God damn it, Chris... your performance at the end was lit af!! It really helps having you as a visual and mental inspiration on how to break down certain vocal barriers. Please keep these videos coming, it's always a blast!
Glad you resonated with it!
So true
Legion has it a reporter asked him what instrument he played best......"the audience darling! "
Wow this idea of 'drawing people in' just stood everything on it's head. So insightful. Brilliant. Thank you
You're very welcome!
Music is not competition!!! Great vídeo!👍🤩👍 Freddie Mercury is still THE ONE!🤩
He pulls everyone in, like a magnet…he’s the only one who did this, he made himself and the audience come together as ONE ❤ …Sweetly Magical…
Another Queen song that I feel is very underrated is "Too Much Love will Kill You" , just amazing!
Also Freddie is one of the reasons that I'm proud of my Persian heritage.
Too Much Love Will Kill You is the Brian's song. Love Of My Life is Freddie's. 🎶
Have you seen Brian's performance with Pavarotti? It's so beautiful but sad...
Wrote B.May
That Persian heritage just shines through. You deserve to be very proud.
Persian-Indian*
@lararoostalu9318 yes it's been sung by Brian May and Freddie. Freddie sings it on the album Made in Heaven. Both are different but great. ❤
You and Freddie would surely be a pair if he were still here. I love seeing his songs/style/voice analyzed, since I’ve loved all of that since 1974!!👵🏻
Your voice is amazing and he would be flattered.
Thank you!
Of all the comments, I kinda feel the same. I would like to think Freddie would absolutely be flattered
🙈😂😂😂
Did you know Freddie was told by his Doctor not to sing at live aid because he had a bad infection in his throat. What a guy.
didn't know that... wow!
Wow had no clue!
I knew that, and I also know that Freddie Mercury is self taught, well apart from what little he learned in the school choir when he was a kid.
@@jamesfretwell1511 not true, he took singing lesson in 1976 (the night at the opera era) when he was diagnosed with nodules. He took other lessons between 1977 and 1980, and he took singing lesson with Monserrat Caballe in the late 80s.
Thanks Chris ! Now can I request a video on Roger Taylor as well ? I love his grit and aggressive singing
Roger is a fantastic singer . I love his solo work too.
Came for the Freddie Mercury reference, and stayed for the insight. I’m not a great singer, however, what a valuable lesson that could easily apply to any instrument!
But then when you put it all into final perspective with your performance...
Holy Smokes, man!!
So, SO good!!!!
Thank you!!!
You're so welcome!
YES! This is exactly correct!! Even watching his live performances now you FEEL like you want to know him. You see him at Live Aid in the background when Brian May comes out to do a solo, he walks to the side and points twice to the people over there and then claps, like, hey, I see you, come with me. You FEEL like he wants to reach every single person in a stadium and he manages to accomplish that, even the person in the very back row. Even the person watching it all of these years later. It is a gift, he somehow just instinctively knew this and did this. Time and time again. Now I do believe that when he is behind the piano he may be a little bit more intentional with some parts of some songs. But it is still to get that response from you. And he still manages from behind the piano to bring you to him. Spike was brought into the band with intention, so he could do keyboards and Freddie could interact with the audience more. His sweet spot was his live audience and he used that incredible voice to reach them. Even on Live Aid and his little circle dance with the cameraman, he didn’t forget the people at home. In the studio he seems very technical, at least that is the way he comes across in the One Vision documentary. He knew what it should sound like and he pushed for that. Another true gift. Okay more of your video, I just had to stop and say that you have said this with the right words in the right way, not just, I don’t know he is just a legend. So thank you. 💗
Great Chris!!! "The singing is an experience, it´s not a competition". Some many people should learn this first. Regards
YES
Please consider watching "You Take My Breath Away" live at Hyde Park. One of the most beautiful and amazing performances of Him.💗
Yes I agree, also love the white Queen performance live at the Hammersmith stadium I think it was.
I love the song You Take My Breath Away it's so beautiful 💯💯💯👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
You Take My Breath Away live at Hyde Park is truly amazing! Just Freddie’s voice and the piano show that Freddie’s voice is an instrument in itself!
When we stop thinking about the notes, and start to feel what they awaken in us, we have an incredible result. Once again, thank you very much for the video Chris!
Absolutely!
EXACTLY---focus on telling someone the story the song is trying to convey and the emotions will carry you.
The best way to sing is in your deep heart does Freddie's did.
Dam.. im speechless.
I love when a teacher can demonstrate with examples..
Singing with emotions is no easy task.. I think being a little bit familiarized with acting helps.
Greatest singer of all time for many people and for science :)
Freddie makes my heart explode every time, just LOVE him. ❤️
Have you reacting tio Nightwish? Please do so (start with Ghost love score, but put The seatbealt on first). It's a band from from Finland, with na Dutch frontsinger (their third singer) Symphonic Metal ❤️
There's something about this song that gives me chills, Bravo Chris.
Inspirational Chris! I think a person must have a very healthy sense of self to deliver such an emotional performance. The confidence you have (and Freddy had) is awesome.
5:10 Inviting the audience in vs presenting
5:40 Experience vs competition
9:15 Technical vs embracing the moment
10:15 Expressing vs related to
13:50 What and how are you communicating?
I was just cleaning my house, casually listening to Chris’s videos and I did not prepare for him to go OFF like that. That was so beautiful, Chris. Damn.
I learned a lot from this one. My mind has been all technique and theory and I lost sight of why I love singing so much. This was a great reminder to focus on the reason, instead of what’s right and wrong or what we should be doing. Perfection is impossible anyways. There is a lot of power in deciding to leave tips and tricks in the background so focus primarily on the magic of music.
Omg... Didn't think that way about performances
right?!?
Wow, so true what you say about Freddie’s style of singing. The only contemporary singer I can think of who comes close is Matt Bellamy of Muse, but Freddie is in a league of his own.
It makes me sad knowing, that in my lifetime, there won't ever be another performer like Freddie Mercury, what amazing talent he was, one of a kind genius. Artists today have technology that helps massively to enhance their voices, that wasn't even thought of in the 80s etc, and I'm not just talking about auto tune, there's loads of things they can do now to help their singing.
"Artists today had technology to enhance so much"
Lol, so did Freddy
Great analysis, observations and singing! Freddie really had great expression in his voice, he could change his voice to add different colours and nuances to his voice. Montserrat Caballe said the same thing after they worked together on the Barcelona album. "His technique was astonishing. No problem of tempo, he sang with an incisive sense of rhythm, his vocal placement was very good and he was able to glide effortlessly from a register to another. He also had a great musicality. His phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet or energetic and slamming. He was able to find the right colouring or expressive nuance for each word."
Opera singers understand this concept very well, they already have perfect technique and all of them perform the same arias with the same notes. The one place where they can make a bigger difference is though their expression in their performances.
There are a lot of great singers out there, but most singers are just concerned with technique, and hitting the right notes at the right time. Or on the other end of the scale you have singers that use autotune and they lose a lot of the human expression within their voices.
A singer's first job is always to connect to the audience, a singer's voice is a direct connection between the music and the audience. A singer is there to relay the message and emotion from the song. Being able to sing in a technically proficient way is very good for the singer and his voice, but it really makes no difference to the audience if a singer is using the right amount of head voice or hitting a perfect C5. They just want to feel something from the experience. With all of the singing competitions we have today, I think that the emotional aspects gets lost at times. I think this is somewhat of difference we see with some great singers from the 70's and 80's, they didn't have the internet so they often knew very little about using the correct technique, but they sometimes sang with a lot of emotion. Queen and Freddie actually hated performing studio material directly as it was on the album. He said that if you just perform copies of your studio material, that you might as well have a cardboard cutout on stage. Queen believed that singing in the studio and entertaining people live are two very different parts of music that you don't approach in the same manner. For them live shows was meant to be entertainment.
Another thing about Freddie is that he had a great tone of voice, sometimes people just listen to his voice for a few seconds and they instantly love it, There are a few singers like that, who simply had a great tone of voice to start off with. Not everyone has great tone, but everyone can add emotion, expression and an individualistic take. People also need to add what naturally fits into their personality, if you act over dramatic it might come across as cheesy or not genuine enough.
One of the nicest examples of Freddie using in expression in his voice, is in The Millionaire Waltz th-cam.com/video/H-P0VznfK_E/w-d-xo.html or My Melancholy Blues th-cam.com/video/85gBquP4y3k/w-d-xo.html. He sings almost every line or verse differently. A great example live is, You Take My Breath Away th-cam.com/video/UBBne8R66xo/w-d-xo.html. Freddie was suffering from a cold at the Wembley 1986 show. A lot of people don't realize that.
Great analysis of Freddies voice and style. His power, range, dynamics, tonality, and inflections were second to none...easily could have been an operatic vocalist. Theres been a lot of great singers in rock but none of them could hang with Freddy.
Absolutely love what u wrote about my darling Freddie ❤️❤️❤️
I agree with him. Now watching this video, I now have a concrete idea on how Freddie can do those nuances that other singers can’t.
I adore him singing You Take My Breath Away it's truly beautiful gives me chills 💯💯💯👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
In an interview , Freddie said he was a great fan of Judy Garland and ultimately Liza Minelli because he learned to use gestures like a sign language to the words. It automatically pulls in your attention. Combined with his English boarding school taught enunciation of the English language, everyone knew every word to every song so audiences around the world ,no matter their native language, could sing along in confidence and full enjoyment. The ultimate choir master.
Great tie ins here! YES... He is a true musical actor!
I agree with everything you said.
Its total Audience participation. Total engagement. Thanks for posting!!Really dig the grit you throw in on some of those consonants.
Thanks!
My fav singer of all time is Freddie Mercury and Chester Bennington
the fact is just that that was an his song and he put inside that song his feelings.. he feels what he sings because them were the his songs and not songs of someone else...
Great motivating teacher, excellent way of teaching.
Learnt one aspect, u have sing with feelings and put ur best emotions up , u need not imitate the singer, that's what different emotions look like.
Freddie forever in our ❤️💕❣️
Really agree. It's a mix o natural talent, carisma and attitude. Fred Is the ultimate one, from so far. ;)
8:48 - engage full tenor
Sharing those kinds of experiments with your voice is such an incredibly vulnerable thing to do and provides us such a powerful experience. Thank you so much sharing this kind of content. Imperfection with heart, that's what makes us humans and connect
YES! You're so very welcome!
Love to see Freddie analysis, wow! And great how you inspire and advise others. Much bless ❤
There is one thing that even the movie missed-his spontaneous sense of fun, which is there right thro the music,in his lyrics,in the song constructs also. Incidentally,pl listen to the song Good Company from A night at the Opera album of Queen which is sung by Brian May. He's got a great sense of expression as well. Both of them hv it in their cong compositions as well. And of course, Freddie absolutely unique. Just listen to the track Brighton Rock, how the song is constructed from a falsetto to the mid to the ultimate attack on a paragraph.
thanks so much for this!
Freddie loved to engage the Whole crowd ...even those at the back.. so those at the back felt just as much a part of the concert as those at the front. Queen did songs that particularly got the crowd involved...
You are dead right. When you breath out the music that is in you, you invite others to see you, feel you, hear you, to take a journey where you are guiding them. It isn’t a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman who knows he needs to sell a couple more pairs to make bonus. The other question is what journey exactly are you asking me to take? The wise choose their tour guides carefully.
I Will tell you why Back then, the Musician's who have taken kno short cuts. Are the One's who can do it all write, produce, Sing & 90% of the Time give a smashing performance! These are Artist who love to always show all emotions. With " ❤ in Hand"
As soon as he stepped out on stage he had the crowd in the palm of his hands. I always cry when I see him sing this song.
I cry every single time I hear him sing this song.
Freddie pulls me in for sure. This song makes me cry every single time I hear it.
Chris... What a performance in the end! Just want to say that you've been helping me enjoy songwriting again, as I'm starting to be able to sing. Before I could write good instrumental songs, but now I'm writing better lyrics and feeling passionate as I sing them. Thank you so much!
Great to hear!
I would say it is even If Freddie made love with audience you can feel such intimacy.....
You’re amazing Chris
“Love of my life”
BRAVO
There is many words that describe Freddie….. but the one that I say the most when watching his vids is just “incredible!”
Thats good stuff Chris! I was expecting some kind of technical analysis but was very pleasantly surprised.
oh good :) I've done a "sing like" for freddie as well but this one needed to happen
So, less worrying about technicalities like being in tune, time, the cost of the mic, soundproofing...and more telling your Story. Whoda thunk!
I have been saying this to deaf ears for 20+ years and watching those acts fail when they could have achieved something.
Do Bowie, "Win" Golden Years" "Young Americans'. Bowie had greatest range, effortless cooing, falsetto, to way down to a whisper again. "China Girl" another show case on vocals worth study. Love your tutorials dude.
yes please. Do Bowie
Again thanks for this video , for the emotional support in what we all should do when singing . It's not easy but a long path. Maybe this Is the beauty in the discover of our voice
I was listening to love of my life..
Me:this is gonna be an emotional video where are my tissues.
Oop, maybe you should do a Video on jonathan davis from Korn, I've allways wandered how a someone who teaches music would talk about what he does(saw Korn in concert{never heard of a bad Korn concert}) he's also pretty amazing at what he does.
He's on the list!
The way Freddie sang was filled with emotions and pain for the people to be able to relate to his feelings
Awesome video, Freddie’s ability to connect with the audience and bring a song to life was second to none. Listening to you sing reminded me a lot of why I love Jeff Buckley. He had a way of pulling the audience into his performance, just fearless and 100% raw emotion.
Yes! I try to imagine how Freddie channeled emotion in the studio, and then extend that to being on stage and connecting with the audience. This mental picture makes rehearsing fun.
Totally!
I just tried this. Holy SH*T....i never realized it but indeed..this is SO major I can't stop laughing. Closing my eyes and inviting them into my head there is actually a lot more degrees of freedom. Singing to the crowd or camera instantly limits what can be done next cuz we're locked on to something external. This is GENIUS Chris!!!
Impeccable Musical Psychology you teach, Chris. Freddie was, is and will the One and Only to perform or sing in such depth. He loved his audience. He embraced human beings. Ever since I have come to learn his pattern of singing, since the Movie was released, he has become "Music" to me, in flesh. I'm truly blessed to know this God gicen Miracle to our Musical Universe ❤. Thank you so much for covering Freddie so largely. Best regards from Auckland New Zealand 🇳🇿❤ 🇳🇿❤ 😊
Hey Chris... thanks... really enjoyed this video.
As a friend once told me, Queen were the "Master Manipulators of Emotion", they could get you to laughing and crying in the same song... I really think that is precisely why their music is so timeless... they add so much feeling and humanity into the song, you cannot help but fall in love with it (and them)... whether it is a romantic ballad, a catchy jazzy tune or an intricate "Bohemian Rhapsody", whether it is a thumping bass like "Under Pressure" or a whacked out drum beat like "Can't Stop Me Now" or "We Will Rock You", it always brings in just the right emotion to make it memorable and likeable... and when SIR Dr. Brian May plays... the entire world stops to listen... as they do when Freddie sings too...
Only ONE PERSON I know could have a #1 hit record in 22 countries on the FIRST day of release over 30 years AFTER his death... that would be Freddie Mercury!!
We SO LOVE our Queen classics... and you for doing such an amazing analysis... thanks again. blessings.
Wow!! This is exactly what I feel! I'm so happy to hear it articulated!!.
He wrote the lyrics. So, he pour his feelings into it.. that's why it comes out so touching and very relateable. He is not faking it.. Probably, he cried over it.. whatever agonizing experiences he went through. He lived it and he wants you to feel his pain in a way! That's why he is closer and more genuine than any artist in modern times! Sublime taste feelings and delivery!! Freddie is so talented so sensetive so musically gifted plus the hard work.. he is undoubtedly, Unmatched!
Chris Liepe, great insights... I would suggest that you should be in the smaller inset when viewing/reacting... I would suggest that you intentionally make that reaction part NOT about you, but about whom you are reacting to...
Philosophical epiphany! I know that my voice is only really good when I shut my brain off and let my soul take over. We only have so much mental bandwidth to work with, and anything competing for that just stifles the flow. But…to hear that verified, and also paired with a completely different mindset of singing…something I had never even entertained before..well…dunno what to say, other than thank you for that! And your performance at the end gave me chills.
OMG Chris, this is so beautiful and full of emotion! I absolutely LOVE Freddie's vocals and performance, but what you did was truly inspiring. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
Please watch GREEN DAY 2017 the crowd sang BOHEMIAN with no band it was soooo emotional 😭
Hi Chris, i want to tell you how you absolutely captured the essence of
Freddie Mercury's style and appeal. I have become a Queen fan the past many months and immediately recognized the incredible musical talents of the entire group; however could not quite figure out why I could not take my eyes off of Freddie (other than the allure of his amazing voice). After listening to your opinion regarding his innate ability to bring you INTO his songs rather than sing his songs outwardly TO his audience I have been paying close attention to his body language, as well as the different tones he brings to his songs. I agree with your opinion that he may not even be aware he's doing this. I want to thank you for your great insight, I think you're a very talented and intuitive musician. Thank you very much, it's added a new layer to my appreciation of Freddie's gifts!
Sincerely, Anne Craycroft
Thanks for this wonderful comment!
Freddie was great story teller,he every songs sung as story what captivated auditions therefore is not importatnt what is your vocal range but emotions,and how you know work with your voice and person must have feeling you sing just for you and only you even there is for example 100.000 auditions
This is brilliant. Great perception! Blew my mind. Will be chewing on this and trying it myself. Thank you.
Very interesting watch. Extremely educating for me. I will always look at music differently now.
The most significant video you have done ever
Wow! Thanks!
Holaaaaa! Amo a Freddy! Cuando puedas reacciona
a Dimash kudaibergen please! Saludos desde Argentina!
He is the goat but there are other singers who do this front man for The Struts always kills it live. First time I saw them in concert I compared him to being Freddy's love child. LOL I thought he was lip syncing he was so clear and clean on his live vocals.
Just looking around this space, since it is close to my MOST favorite singer, front man, artist, Freddie Mercury" birthday. I must say hearing you talk and sing brought a special appreciation for Freddie's talent. You have a sincere, unique voice and it almost made my cry when you sang "Love of My Life". My dear, you have a great voice and YES I felt what you are saying. Excellently done, great insight, you are genuine. Thank you for this!!! I have seen Queen in concert many times in the early days, yet you rocked me back to those concert. ox
Wow just wow! Every musician needs to hear this.
I agree
Holy Shit!! Chris this was an AWESOME performance and lesson. I’m actually speechless after your singing
Underrated lesson/philosophy on performance! I’ve had epiphanies similar to this and said “I have to love everyone here and give them everything I have” but I think this sums it up really well. Also great performance.
The mindset of any performer should simply be to convey to the audience “I’m getting ready to take a ride and I’m inviting all of you to come along”. That sounds cliché and over simplifying but it’s not. It’s so powerful. And your performance at the end was a perfect example of that. You had my undivided attention to see where we were going and any imperfections didn’t matter. It was all part of the journey.
Thanks for watching!
Chris... You re a treasure! Greetings from Argentina, You give me a lot to think after every vídeo!
I'm so glad!
Without emotion, music is meaningless
Tom Chaplin from Keane is the only one I would put next to Freddie Mercury. Their ranges are perfect
What a fantastic video I don't sing but I always wondered why people like Freddy are so captivating to listen to and you nailed it they are not trying to get your attention it just happens that's a real problem I have with modern music it's to forced autotune also doesn't help as well it takes out all the emotion and it just sounds bland
The perfect intersection of bringing studio sound and emotionally drawing in the audience together: th-cam.com/video/eXCvz614Iiw/w-d-xo.html
I've always wanted to learn to sing and ever since I found your channel Mr. Liepe it has helped me tremendously and I feel like I sound better than I ever have and still improving. I'm so thankful for your channel!