Why Brazilian Singers Are Different | Djavan - Oceano | Vocal Coach Reacts & Analysis

it is Friday which means I am listening to music from around the world and today we are back in Brazil listening to a well requested Javan and do not worry I have listened to you all I have the lyrics up here on my screen because I've heard that this guy is particularly poetic let's give him a listen [Music] [Applause] [Music] with do [Music] we I see [Music] wow oh I neverone singing along instant leakage of the eyes apparently I think that first note it really really hits how he's doing that a little improvised section at

the start it's really interesting there's so much going on in the chords so you've got your basic Triads which is how most chords are constructed but they're adding a little Jazzy seventh note in there and that little seventh note is very close to home it's close to your octave but not quite there so slightly off kilter in a very very dreamy way there's lots of unusual chord changes in this that I was not expecting I'll have to have a proper listen but there's also some really interesting things going on and I want to listen to

that start again cuz it hits beautifully and it's quite [Music] unusual I love that you sort of range at the top like no ver bretto it's really really flat and allowing some of the air to travel through the nose it's quite unusual to use an EVO because it's a little bit more of a nasal vow this is super interesting because Portuguese language is a nasal vowel language also French but that's a different story this means that a lot not all but a lot of Brazilian singers sing with a little bit extra nasal resonance that you

might hear in someone who is English for example and this is good because if you're singing in Portuguese you really want to be able to do that whereas if you're singing in English you might want to get rid of a little bit of that nasality and nasality is just when the air travels up through your nose instead of raising your soft palette and coming directly out of your mouth and it gives a very very specific sound so on that if you pinch your nose you'll find out if you're being nasal because the sound will stop

so I bet if you pinched his nose he wouldn't be able to sing that e anymore so don't do it [Music] that's so much warmth [Music] there before we get into this main section it really reminds me of Nina Simone's improvisations because [Music] she's actually someone again who has a lot of warmth in her tone so it means that she can add quite a lot of nasality for me as a higher female voice if I sing throughout my nose the whole time it sounds a little bit gross and a little bit too direct but if

you're someone with a lot of warmth in your voice adding that nasality actually can balance the tone a little bit more and again it works particularly well for any Brazilian songs because of those nasal vs in Portuguese Nina Simone did it just because and it worked for her voice he's doing it probably just because as well and it works for his voice [Music] [Music] give [Music] there some really interesting Melody here it's so smooth and dynamic and it has this very Oozy feel which I really love it reminds me of the ocean and those of

you that speak English and not Portuguese then I think you we all understand oano the name of the song it's ocean right at the start of the song his lyrics are likening love to the ocean and that's such a beautiful image it's that profound depth that changeable nature and it's all there and how he's singing it that beautiful storytelling that he has and then later on I don't think we've heard it yet he changes that metaphor to be about the desert and love being this Barren land Escape it has that feeling of isolation which is

completely different I really love songs that use nature and Nature's Cycles as metaphors for love because it does have that changeable feeling to it and perhaps you know we're all part of nature humans flow like nature does so it makes complete sense to use that okay let's go back a little bit [Music] [Music] it just makes me smile even though it's sad [Music] I love that o where he's going really narrow and actually I don't recommend this all the time but he's kind of moving his jaw forward a little bit so he's like oh no

this is a tricky one because our draw there's some little mus here that connect down to the bone above our lenx our voice box and that can add a little bit of tension I'm going to say something that a lot of singing teachers will be like Boo Beth I don't think that's bad all the time if it adds to emotional expression and it doesn't cause fatigue so I would use that sort of emotional expression sparingly so that as little highlights and nuances in the music but if you're there all the time with that jutting jaw

then you might start to come across some issues I think he's using this very cleverly to make sure that his voice isn't tiring but also to be really really emotional with the singing and there's some beautiful storytelling it feels really conversational it's not too loud it's as if he's talking directly to you and I think that's part of what hits especially with the amazing warmth in his tone which is going to be down to his natural Anatomy [Music] that is so cool cuz he is a little bit loaded there he's not shouting at you still

he's not being like seura he's adding actually a little bit more of that nasality in to give a little bit more of that biting tone rather than which you might hear in Opera or actually quite a lot of Mexican music uses that warmer rounder tone whereas this is ah and that does really punch through and give you that emotional [Music] feeling that's so interesting [Music] [Music] that connection with the audience I love Brazilian audiences everyone's always singing along everyone's so super supportive it's just beautiful to see I also love the imperfections that he's allowing into

his voice I know that there's a lot of maybe new Brazilian music that has gone down the same route as maybe a lot of American music where it's really really produced and really overly perfect but I love some of these artists where they're completely embraced as their human selves you want to hear the cracks you want to hear the breaks you want the imperfections like I say you want the jutting jaw sometimes that to me is what hits me because it's Humanity it's how we express emotion and there is a balance to be found you

don't want that to come at the complete expense of pitch and Rhythm and the basis of music but you do want enough that we we feel it I personally think that this is way more engaging than anyone who sings completely perfect we're not robots you know [Music] [Music] hear that little crack I want to play it [Music] again let the cracks happen they I just so like oh you hear how people are responding as well they're screaming because they're like oh this is so [Music] [Music] emotional oh that's really interesting I think if we were

in D Minor before yes we have ended up in a major chord which I think is the first time we've heard D major it's all been a D Minor probably with that little seventh which gives to me either a feeling of Hope or lift or the waves kind of crashing it's a really interesting twist we're coming towards the end and the lyrics mean something around the idea of I only know how to live if it is for you so maybe that's just a hint of Hope in there from the singer it's a really interesting emotional

moment and really unexpected because we've been there feeling the depths of that despair that profound depth of the ocean we've been in the desert and now we're like maybe [Music] s it's like waves isn't it [Applause] [Music] such an interesting use to as well I totally get it it's so heartfelt and the storytelling you know I don't speak Portuguese but I can feel the journey that he's taking us on and to me that is the sign of fantastic singing I say it to all my students you want people who don't speak the language to be

able to feel what you're expressing he definitely does that