GaryAlan
Well-Known Member
Interestingly enough,
Phil Ramone, apparently, was not the only one to have Karen singing in her "head voice":
(Question and answer taken from
Carpenters Fans Ask-Richard Answers Archive »).
Q:What college courses did Karen and Richard take?"
A:“Karen and I took all the usual pre-reqs, and as music majors, had to select an instrument, as well as take the required music courses.
Obviously, I went for a piano major. What one would do the first semester,
no matter how well or poorly he or she played, was perform a “closed recital” for 1, 2 or 3 of the faculty,
and if they deemed you worthy, you got to play for your peers at the next recital (“open recital”, one each semester).
I got “open recital”, which I was certain I would; however it’s a double-edged thing, because most of us got nervous playing for our peers.
“Karen was a vocal major of course, but the trouble with that was she was a “pop” singer,
and they (faculty) didn’t want to know from that.
They had her singing using her “head voice”,
not the “money voice” – the instantly identifiable chest voice of hers,
because it didn’t work for the traditional classical repertoire required.
They had her singing things she really wasn’t born to sing. "
Phil Ramone, apparently, was not the only one to have Karen singing in her "head voice":
(Question and answer taken from
Carpenters Fans Ask-Richard Answers Archive »).
Q:What college courses did Karen and Richard take?"
A:“Karen and I took all the usual pre-reqs, and as music majors, had to select an instrument, as well as take the required music courses.
Obviously, I went for a piano major. What one would do the first semester,
no matter how well or poorly he or she played, was perform a “closed recital” for 1, 2 or 3 of the faculty,
and if they deemed you worthy, you got to play for your peers at the next recital (“open recital”, one each semester).
I got “open recital”, which I was certain I would; however it’s a double-edged thing, because most of us got nervous playing for our peers.
“Karen was a vocal major of course, but the trouble with that was she was a “pop” singer,
and they (faculty) didn’t want to know from that.
They had her singing using her “head voice”,
not the “money voice” – the instantly identifiable chest voice of hers,
because it didn’t work for the traditional classical repertoire required.
They had her singing things she really wasn’t born to sing. "