Arashi's Voice Analysis - The Television Zoom
A Verification Project
We tried carrying out a voice analysis of Arashi’s vocals
What is the charm behind Arashi’s vocals?
We
asked Suzuki Soushi from the Japan Acoustic Lab to help us analyze the
members’ solos; and inspected the respective voices in a scientific
manner.
Ohno Satoshi
A talented singer whose voice is stable even within a female vocal range
“Ohno-san’s
vocals are rather orthodox. He has no idiosyncrasies, and is skilled
when it comes to transiting from one pitch to another and his vibrato.”
Characteristics of his voice:
- He transits from one pitch to another precisely
- The waveform of his vibrato is precise and beautiful
- He has the technical skill to sing stably at a vocal range that is close to a female’s
Precise, and very stable even in his upper vocal range
As
we examine the waveform, the vibrato portion forms a sine wave, as it
ought to, and the wave form is even. When he goes from one pitch to
another, it sounds very clean, and the transition from his falsetto to
his chest voice is smooth as well. We could say that he is a very
skilled singer. Moreover, he is extremely stable in his upper vocal
range, a range that is twice as high as a normal male’s speaking voice.
Because he has the ability to utilize the vibrato in his upper vocal
range, his voice can be described as “free”.
Sakurai Sho
A manly voice which has a precise sense of rhythm
“The
green portion at the lower end of the diagram represents the lower part
of his vocal range. Normally, a person would control his voice by
altering the volume of his mouth cavity, but Sakurai uses his pharynx as
well.”
Characteristics of his voice:
- An accurate sense of rhythm
- A deep voice which impresses the listener with a manly image
- Beautiful enunciation of consonants, which makes it easy to follow his English
A trait that is suited for dance music
When
we analyzed his rap, his words weren’t misplaced by a single bit, and
aligned with the rhythmic lines perfectly. With strongly rhythmic music
like this, a person’s voice can be easily buried if he didn’t enunciate
his consonants clearly. However, Sakurai-san enunciates his consonants
well, so that makes it easy to follow. As his neck muscles which control
the vocal tract are well developed, he’s able to clearly project lower
notes in the range of 100 ~ 1000 Hz. This would impress upon the
listener that Sakurai-san has a manly charm.
Aiba Masaki
A mischievous voice which appeals to the maternal instinct of each female listener
“His slightly laid-back style of singing, coupled with his character, gives listeners a mischievous image.”
Characteristics of his voice:
- An invigorating and refreshing voice
- A singing voice which appeals to one’s maternal instincts
- Mastery of abdominal voice projection
A refreshing and unique singing style that is cute
He’s
able to carry out basic abdominal projection of his voice to a high
degree. According to the structure of Aiba-san’s mouth, he’s able to
project sounds around the frequency bandwith of 8500 ~ 10000Hz clearly.
When a person projects his voice clearly in this region, we can conclude
that it sounds invigorating and refreshing to the listeners. In
addition, the unique way in which he sings the ends of his sentences
like he’s going to cry imparts a cute image upon his listeners. Perhaps
it might appeal to their maternal instincts?
Ninomiya Kazunari
A kaleidoscopic voice, he sings as if he’s acting
“As
we go from left to right, the projection of the “ah” vowel becomes
progressively stronger. There is a large amount of sound pressure coming
from the “ah” vowels. I should think that during the composition of the
lyrics, he intentionally wanted the “ah” sounds to be the highlight.
Characteristics of his voice:
- He can express the same word in diverse ways
- A bright voice which comes across strongly in the frequency range of 7000Hz
- A pretty falsetto
He possesses a bright voice which is capable of a myriad of expressions
The
areas surrounded by the rectangles are sounds which end with the “ah”
vowel. He sings like he’s talking; and by altering the strength of his
falsetto and belting greatly, he’s able to sing expressively. Another
characteristic of his voice is that it comes through strongly in the
frequency range of 7000Hz. He has a voice like Hosokawa Takashi*, which
is bright and cuts across to its listeners clearly. However, he varies
his tone depending on the song. In any case, he’s a singer with a
diverse range of expressions.
*T/N: Hosokawa Takashi is a Japanese enka singer.
Matsumoto Jun
A singing voice which is rich in overtones
“Normally,
a person would alter his voice by modifying the shape of his mouth.
However, for his voice to be this rich in overtones, it’s proof that the
oscillation of his vocal cords is rather dynamic.”
Characteristics of his voice:
- A very human voice that is rich in overtones
- The slight noise emphasizes the human aspect of his voice
- Dynamic vocal cord oscillation
A rich and warm voice that is like a violin
On
average, he projects overtones up till the frequency of 12500Hz via the
oscillation of his vocal cords. A regular person would only be able to
project overtones up till 8000Hz, so he has a rich timbre to his voice.
He has a voice which resembles stringed instruments, such as a violin;
it’s warm, refreshing and rich. Coupled slightly with the noise that
comes from the shape of his vocal tract, that again adds to the warmth
of his voice. Even after processing his voice through a vocoder, the
human quality in it remains.
raw: 炸鸡味爆米花 via saobang
Music beta: nekobot01
**End**
11. Got my hair curled and had learn more to eye make up!
2. Still, go more crazy about Arashi.
3. (leaving blank!)
I know my 2013 would be very busy cause I'm facing a final exam, graduating, looking for a new job and stuff.
Anyway, I still hope 2013 would treat me well. 
So, Happy New Year Everyone! May the past be a lesson and the future is where you build!
