Alright, someone asked me this question but I just deleted it like an idiot. It was my anon with all the double-commas and abbreviations. I understood that you were mainly asking about Dong Bang Shin Ki’s vocal harmony. I’ll also surmise you’re referring to DBSK as a quintet.
Yes, DBSK’s vocal harmony is one of their best attributes. It distinguishes them as a vocal group, as they even employ this through their Pop material, the characteristic vocal movement in, say, many sections of ““O”-正・反・合 (“O”-Jung.Ban.Hap.)”.
At 1:17, the definitive “O-o-o-o…” uses step vocal movement, and it’s their vocal tone as one but also how their movement is completely parallel, all vocal lines along the same contour, and interconnected in phrasing (they sound so in sync, they almost form a chord). An embodiment of one of their Pop songs, but only the five voices will attain that characteristic chorus line of “O-o-o”, and this is not some OT5 exclamation, but the fact that the amalgamation of the five voices is individual.
Changmin, Junsu, and Yoochun remain in the middle because of their vocal roles – tenor, tenor, and bass baritone respectively – and they very much provide the foundation for DBSK’s harmony. If anyone were to pull out the members that harmonise the “best” together, it would be these three; however, rather than best, I would say that together they form that characteristic DBSK harmony. Sometimes, one of the three might come out a little stronger – either because they just widen the dynamic range, or maybe they’re singing the 5th or higher part of the chord. One can hear Junsu strongly in the harmony parts of “Whatever They Say (Acapella Version)”, pinpoint Yoochun in the beginning harmony of “PROUD (Acapella Version) ”, and distinguish Changmin (who’s brilliant as a tenor in a capella) in their over of the Gospellers’ “永遠に (Towa ni)” (just listen to those beautiful notes he’s hitting and his precision at 0:23).
I’ll write of when Yunho takes the bass first, though. He is trained as a bass vocalist in a cappella and has great understanding of his role. Yunho doesn’t solely hit the root note of each chord they sing in harmony, he often (to create interest) is actually a walking bass, which requires fairly good pitch. He’ll move around within the chord with consonant notes (don’t think I’ll ever heard much dissonance in DBSK) – usually using the root, third, fifth, or sixth – of each chord Yoochun, Changmin, and Junsu sing (they each take first, third, or fifth to make up the chord) – and, he has to move with them. Yoochun, as a bass baritone, might assist (or even do his own, but rarely) Yunho in the bass movement, but they have a tendency to place Yoochun for the main harmony as he really establishes that full and round sound (with his deep, warm timbre). So, Yunho is on his own as one might hear in “ 하하하쏭 (HaHaHa Song) (A Cappella)” or “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” (one of the most complex, multi-layered a cappella pieces of theirs). His walking bass movement will be prominent in their Christmas Carol songs and such, as a cappella was originally religious, church music (all five, even Jaejoong, in homophony and parallel in “Jesus, Joy Of Man’s Desiring (Acapella Version)”).
Yunho is deemed the weakest singer because he was, and still is, incredibly unstable when he takes the main melody lines. He can take the high register well and, of course, has a high aptitude in the bass, but he is incredibly shaky (his voice is actually tremulous sometimes) in the middle register – which is where he would be singing the melody lines in songs, and this is where many criticise Yunho so easily. When he sings in the middle register, I believe sometimes he tightens his chest or occludes his throat, therefore he might squeak or become nasally. He can’t yet sing with vocal leaps like Junsu (at, say, 0:34 in his solo lines in“Whatever They Say (Acapella Version) ”) or flow effortlessly in register like Jaejoong. In the middle register these days, he takes the lower end of the spectrum and it’s really quite languid and smooth – lovely R&B material. Yunho’s got a sodding lovely voice, really – and that can be determined by preference – but what he needs to retain is control. His best vocal performance has been “Honey Funny Bunny”, where he does actually have a fairly wide range, and his aptitude in the higher register is shown; what defines its brilliance is his control – he manages so many techniques well, it’s ridiculous – and retains his flow. This is why I suggest he perform this, at least once, without dancing so he can solely focus on his vocals when he performs it live.
Ah, and my lovely Jaejoong. Of course he harmonises with them, but he, as everyone can palpably hear, sings the lead. He’s the most technically adept, is always languid in his phrasing (effortless slides, falsettos, vibratos), his tone colour is brilliant, and perhaps it’s how smooth his vocals are, that is seems his voice seems quite ‘round’. My criticism would be that sometimes his breathing is a little odd, and can jar his flow – but this is quite rare. Yoochun and Changmin have the best pitch, I’m only surmising, but Jaejoong has the worst. He’s got the loveliest voice of them all, but even the group have said that Jaejoong will incorrectly set the pitch, and this is also why he rarely sings the chord but will sing the lead on top (but indubitably, he sings the lead because he is the best as the lead vocalist). He’s sort of absolutely perfect to be the lead vocalist. I can’t even select a favourite vocal performance from him, but I’ll choose a small snippet: DBSK’s cover of Boyz II Men (one of my favourite groups and songs, so good job, DBSK) “ It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday (Acappella)” – I mean, did you hear that phrase at the very end?
On the topic of Yunho and Changmin harmonising, I’m still warming to it. Yes, their voices do sound strikingly similar at times, but that does not immediately ensue in good harmony. When they sing in harmony, it’s natural they’re going to assume their vocal roles, and Yunho is a bass and Changmin a high tenor – so, often they’re going to clash. However, during the split, they were both palpably intensely vocally-trained, particularly to expand their vocal ranges. Perhaps my favourite moment of Yunho and Changmin in harmony, is “이것만은 알고 가 (Before U Go)”; they’re both taking the middle register but, frankly, they don’t sound jarring and it was balanced and lovely to my ear (but enjoying different harmonies is also preferential). I support Changmin and Yunho as DBSK so avidly because, for one, the split has broadened their vocal abillity, and they’re creating their own sound to re-define DBSK. Alike “이것만은 알고 가 (Before U Go)”, in their more mainstream Pop songs such as “Maximum”, the chorus perfectly balanced with their voices and really quite powerful. Yunho and Changmin’s improvement needed, in terms of harmony, would be to gain the aptitude to move more dynamically in parallel harmony (the vocal movement for choruses for “Before U Go” and “Rumor” is in fairly small steps and ranges), because their narrow movement in R&B and Pop songs is alright, but they bore me in ballads.
Finally, I must just comment on DBSK in harmony once again. It can’t be considered wholly in a technical and mechanistic manner, with all these solidified roles. Of course, we have Yunho hitting the consonant notes as a walking bass, the middle three forming the chord, and Jaejoong singing in line above it all – but, much of their harmony is most likely set by intuition or the ‘visceral feeling’ (what they feel in their gut). They don’t all have perfect pitch, but they will look at one another (Jaejoong looking at Yunho to assist him and follow him – not completely Yunjae, guys) and feel interconnected, that hitting the right notes and staying within harmony and key will come rather, well, naturally. They know each other: each other’s vocal tonalities and range, and will each accommodate to one another – and they’ll achieve this beautiful harmony that defines Dong Bang Shin Ki.
(You ask me such a heavy topic, I’ll give you a heavy answer. I may have gone off topic. Sorry for any grammar errors, and some musical errors for sure — I’ve been ignoring my aural work for a couple weeks… Why do I even write these?)
listening to the links while reading. hello acapella heaven.
(via spillingwithlovestories-deactiv)
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