Ava Paul

Mus 88a
Comparisons
October 22nd, 2018

Tell Me On Sunday

The first singer I listened to was Marti Webb. She starts off the song very soft, almost
speaking the words but with open vowels. She has very nice tone with her “Aws” and “Ooos.”
I’m not sure how to word it, but she sounds as if she sings a lot in her throat with the lower notes.
Almost as if she’s tired, but she’s not. She has a very strong voice. She is not raising her neck to
sing, so she has a lot of power and range. It’s funny because she barely opens her mouth. The
lyrics “that covered with trees” she speaks but sings. Her diction is really good with her “ts” and
“sssz.” She sings pretty effortlessly.

Denise Van Outen sang with a whole lot of air. She started off her phrases with a huge
breath and just ran into every line. Listening to it a third time, it is so funny to hear her. The way
she sighs into every line. Marti and Denise seem to love to talk the lines, “Take me to a…”
That’s how they connect to it, and I do too a little bit, but I don’t want to do it in a way that is
just no longer singing. Even the way Denise says, “Please” she is literally just saying please and
not singing it. The only time she doesn’t have a lot breath is when she goes into “I know…or I ..”
She doesn’t do, “hhhhiii” she does, “i.” She does her belting pretty well because she doesn’t
seem to struggle. The only thing that really bothers me is her just sighing all throughout the song.

Bernadette Peters takes her beginning notes very carefully. A lot more use of vibrato
compared to the other ladies. I love how she takes her time with every note. She’s very smooth
with her transitions into the next verses. It’s almost as if she makes the phrases longer. She takes
the bridge with not too much force and stays in the head voice and goes slowly into chest voice
very little. She takes the last bridge with chest voice and a lot of power. She finishes every
phrase very well. She takes the whole song pretty slow compared to the others. There’s a
crescendo, but the tempo doesn’t increase. She stays pretty steady through out, but she doesn’t
really speak the words as the other ladies, she really uses every word to her advantage.

Sarah Brightman has a very quiet and elegant beginning. She is very soft with her
singing, but is not shy with her vibrato. I can hear a lot of control in her voice. Long vowels and
almost overly British. She uses every note finds a way to put vibrato in it, but it’s not too much;
she uses it very well in my opinion. She has a very nice build up into the heart of the piece. Her
belt is almost so comfortable that it’s hard to distinct it as a belt. She doesn’t belt, “Take the hurt
out of all the blame.” She crescendos, but takes her time with this line. She sings almost
operatically. I love the way she holds out the notes and finishes them effortlessly.

Michael Crawford has almost an Elvis/Frank Sinatra voice. Starts off with a very soft
entrance along with all the other singers. He uses a little bit of access air throughout this song
with his singing. He has a slower vibrato. Vowels are great. He reminds me a lot of Marti Webb,
but not as much talking. He has a great way of starting soft and then getting larger than life or
even just a slight crescendo. The pace of this one is faster. So so beautiful with his line,
“Taaaake….the hurt out of all the blame.” His belt is incredible, I was not expecting it to be so
amazing. I just didn’t imagine a man singing this, but was so gorgeous. He grabs that mike and
puts that mike through it all. I could really feel that hurt in his singing and his tone got me
swooning.

Patti LuPone does a lot of swinging with the notes. I love to swing the notes, but I know
Priscilla. I’m not Patti, so I won’t. Wow! She uses a lot of vibrato along with Bernadette, Sarah,
and Michael. She shows a lot of musicality, because she does constant crescendoing in every
phrase, to make an arc. She is belting pretty early in the song. She is taking it at the same pace as
Michael. Effortless vibrato and belt. She mostly belts. She takes the last two lyrics of the chorus,
“Take me…” very preciously and soft. She goes for it for the whole song. She really stood out
against the other ones that I’ve listened to. She has a tone of control, she can handle herself. So
much power and confidence.

Listening to all different singers sing “Tell Me On Sunday” made me realize how
different and how similar some people are when it comes to singing. Some things that these
people love are a dramatic effect of silence before the last two lines of the song, vibrato: a lot or
none, straight: a lot or none, belt at just the end or throughout, and speaking the lyrics or
completely singing them. There are so many choices when it comes to singing. I know that from
listening to these, I hear some habits that are similar to mine that I have to break, such as: too
much air into phrases, not singing from my throat, and being connected throughout the song. I
don’t feel like I have a problem so much in the connection of the song, because I love it so much
and the message is so crucial and devastating, but simply: Tell me on a Sunday! I know that I
valued this exercise a lot because I could hear different versions and interpretations of the song
that I cannot replicate but take into consideration. “Tell Me On Sunday” is a beautiful song that
all of these singers sang it in their own unique way, that helped me find my own inspiration and
story behind my way. I recently just found out that my friend Joe from back home died and I’m
going to sing to the person that told me the news about him. “Tell Me On Sunday” not Thursday.