degree of difficulty

[sung]

I often hear during music competitions (such as Super Singer) the following. The musicians tell the contestant that a given song he or she chose to sing is a difficult one.

On the surface it appears to me that properly singing a given song consists of just moving from one swara to the next one in a correct manner, nothing more than that. This doesn't obviously explain the existence of various degrees of difficulty associated with various songs. So, what are the factors that contribute to the degree of difficulty of any given song?

Thank you in advance for your responses.

[Rsachi]

Let me try:
Obvious levels of challenge in any song presentation:
1. language (rare words, tongue twisters, long words, difficult to pronounce words, word splits, emphasis, emotive value of words....)
2. range of notes ... for example lower Pa, higher Ma, etc
3. Modulation requirements
4. Gamakas... not all come easy to everybody
5. Breath control (remember Breathless by Shankar Mahadevan)
6. Beats ...pauses, offset from "samam" etc
7. Speed of song
8. Scale shifts, modal shifts, raga changes, swara singing, etc
9. If a song is extremely famous, one has to match the expectations and the content of that famous voice, eg Shreya Ghoshal, Janaki, Yesudas..
10. In a competition, there is an expectation from a contestant. If they are known to be good but fare poorly in a song which is out of their zone on any of the points above, the judges say "it was a difficult song". remember all these contests have lots of training and rehearsals for the singers to ensure a certain minimum deliverable!!!

[shankar vaidyanathan]

Adding to Rsachi's exhaustive list:

11) type of voice (head, chest, etc) especially if the original voice had a specific timber and voice density (think of Ganam or Weight here with underlying and trailing vocal.)

12) singing some songs live with the orchestra - the train usually leaves the station before we get on and we keep running on the platform trying to hang on for dear life - unplugged versions are easier for knowledgeable and trained singers.

13) where the underlying melody is in point-counterpoint style and where the chords are playing a different melody - syncing is a challenge. The voices, especially in duets, may be interdependent harmonically but may be independent in rhythm. There was a memorable Itsdiff Bay area Stanford University radio show (by Sri) on this subject that I have heard several years ago - google it to find archived files.

[SrinathK]

14) Tone, tone tone.
15) The ability to hear yourself in the presence of mics that drown out your own voices on stage. (In micless singing the ears offer instant feedback to correct most errors before they appear, but all electronic equipment has a delay significant enough to ensure that errors go through). -- I don't know if the equipment on star shows is better than the one in a typical stage.
16) Speaking of which what happens when electronics play truant - kutcheris.
17) Nerves and the fact that your imagination and emotion may not be 100% every time (even the best of us can't control those ups and downs -- some days nothing seems to fall into rhythm). In the case of instrumentalists, even your instrument may not be the same every day depending on the climate.
18) Throat problems or illness on any day.
19) Traveling and off the stage stresses. e.g. You might have had a stressful time, but you can't let that affect you on stage. Dehydration is another
20) Avoiding memory slips (I've seen it happen).
21) How recently you learned the song.
22) Your vocal range.
23) Bigger the song, less repetitive the melody, the harder it will be.
24) Acoustics of the stage and hall.
25) Hopefully your hearing isn't damaged (in many youngsters, the headphones/earphones have already started their job in school). In older people, it is cumulative.
26) The difference between your 10 min of glory every other day for a few rounds and 300+ 2-4 hour concerts year after year, sometimes 2-3 in a day!
26) Your health and physical stamina overall. Old age. You might not be able to do everything you could at 20-30 when you are past 70-80.

I'm not just speaking w.r.t. TV concerts.

[ganesh_mourthy]

The supersingers works in a unique way. Here it is important that they mimic even the voices of the popular songs and there is no much freedom. In carnatic songs you listen to it in many style and voice range, paces, sangathis , but that is not the case in popular cine music. It is just ONE that is hammered on your head from a clear edited recording. So , anything out of that is considered an aberration and lack of skills. It is as simple as that. The difference is the actual recording takes place in few hours from scratch which where whole team has to be credited. Susila has mentioned that Iravum Nilavum song has to be sung by TMS and her with a single mic which they have to exchange and the orchestra around. So , a single goof calls for the whole thing again. But here, the participants have to croon and mimic that for several months of the same song and again embellished and polished by several voice techs.

[Nick H]

I have never been able to see the point of this mimicry. I acknowledge the necessity of vocal ability and sheers guts to be on the stage, but it is wasted in imitation with no personal creativity or flavour. My wife watches this competition: the only reason I can stand the odd minute or two (I don't like film music anyway) is that I don't know the "originals."

These youngsters, it seems, dream of a profession in film music. How do they make the transition from imitation to "new" music? Or is it that the inflexible imitation fits them to giving just exactly what is demanded by directors?

[Rsachi]

Nick, you will be amazed how these "promosing" youngsters sing and are encouraged. A relative in Sydney is truly proud of his daughter's exact reproduction of a famous Lata song and makes her sing it every time. The song itself is a tribute to martyrs after 1962 China war and goes with words like "you didn't die just like that, you also killed the enemy soldiers bravely" and so on, which wrenches my guts about the futility of war as such. The song is incredibly shrill as befits the nightingale of Bollywood in her heyday. And the girl will wring out the song from her slender frame to much applause. To give you the song itself:
http://youtu.be/M39a7GbNsLA

[SrinathK]

I've watched more than my share of all these shows and it makes me wonder -- "Is Prodigy the new average?" But these kids must be coached really well for each and every song by the staff -- the level of talent is truly incredible and I've seen so much of it that now I think every kid seems like the next Lata or <Insert great name here>. In some cases, I wonder if even the judges could sing that well.

Nevertheless, singing one or two songs at 100% for a few min to clear a round can't be compared to performing 300+ concerts of several hours in a year with all the other off-stage stresses like traveling, family, etc... -- no wonder few prodigies despite this initial promise become enduring artistes (this is NOT to say anything bad about the flood of amazing talent, but this is also what most prodigies who have become complete artistes themselves feel).

[Nick H]

I wonder if even the judges could sing that well.

it has to be easier to sound like a teenage girl if one is a teenage girl. I'm sure that that kind of voice is designed by nature to charge up the hormones of teenage boys. I now find it tedious, if not actually painful.

Yes, I am a grumpy old guy when it comes to film music: very, very grumpy! And very aware that millions disagree with me!

[Rsachi]

Bollywood (= all mass film music) is an incredibly synthetic creation with constant polishing and star dust sprinkling. Madras is the centre of many monsters ( I typed masters but SwiftKey reads my mind).
To me what is incredible is actually how someone like a Shreya Ghoshal or I daresay Sonu Nigam emerges triumphant and lasts so many years.
I don't wish to discuss music reality shows. They are the opiate of the doting masses. and some so-called classical music reality shows are donning grease paint in imitation!

[vasanthakokilam]

Rapid scale traversal in AkAram is usually thought of as difficult since it is hard to get it right by the majority.

There are obviously more difficult stuff ( like complex gamaka or spin up some intricate Nadais etc. ) but majority of the people do not relate to that difficulty. This AkAram scale traversal is within the grasp of most people in the sense that they can try to imitate it. But most will fail miserably.

Another example is singing continuously without taking a breath for like a minute or so is considered difficult. It is difficult alright but it is recognized as difficult because people can relate to it. They can try to imitate it and they will fail.

So you need those two things for the public to consider something difficult.