Vocal Range
E3 – G#6 (3 Octaves and 2 notes)
Supported Range
A3 – C#5
Voice Type
Soprano
Strengths/Achievements
- Able to support down to A3
- Resonance is very consistent up to C#5
- Often sings with a lifted soft palate
- Ear for harmony and pitch
- Able to transition into falsetto without problems
Points for Improvement
- Mix is fairly unrelaxed, causing her to push from C5 up
- Belts with a chesty mix
- Notes above C#5 are achieved with a high larynx
- Runs often lack pitch separation and accuracy
- Notes below A3 become unsupported, often with a low larynx
- Sings with an overly airy falsetto
- Belts above D5/Eb5 sound fairly yelled due to pushing and air pressure
Registers
- Lower register: Able to support down to A3. Below that, notes become airy and muffled with a low larynx.
- Mixed register: Sings with a unrelaxed, chesty mix. Despite this, very consistent up to C#5 with a pushed resonance. Notes above this are strained with a high larynx and a large amount of pushing.
- Upper register: An overly airy falsetto that is rarely explored.
Agility
Solar is a person who often likes to add runs in her performances, however she lacks both pitch accuracy and the ability to separate the notes causing her to sound like she is sliding through notes with no actual control of where she will go, such as the runs in “The Way To Sampo“, and the run up to F5 in “Save Me From Myself“. The main issue with her runs is that the musical idea often feels lost in the overall delivery of her runs and it almost feels like the notes are sung at random, without a clean direction.
Overall analysis
The main vocalist of the rookie group Mamamoo, Solar has already been compared to the likes of Ailee, Hyorin, and Taeyeon. Often praised for being a highly skilled vocal group, with the exception of their rapper Moonbyul, Mamamoo is potentially one of the most well balanced female groups in the K-pop industry right now. Not only do all the members show a higher skill level than most other idols, the average skill level for each vocalist is very close together as well, allowing for a better overall vocal balance as a vocal unit.
Despite being used frequently, Solar’s lower register loses support below A3 such as in the G#3s in “The Way To Sampo“, her G3s in Mr. Ambiguous, her F#3s in “Delilah” and “Passion Flower“, the F3’s in “Love Is You” and “Wait A Minute“, and her E3 in “Save Me From Myself“, where her tone tends to either become airier or just muffled due to her lowering her larynx, which creates an artificial approach to more challenging low notes. She has shown that she is able to support A3 and above such as the A3s in her performances on King Of Masked Singer, “I Will Give You All My Love“, and the Bb3s in “Already One Year” and her cover of “You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse, where her voice is more in its natural tone and color without pushing her larynx down. Projection and chest resonance still are areas where she could improve, in her lower range.
Her most used register and most developed by far, Solar’s mix is very consistent up to C#5. Her mix is mostly pretty chest-dominant and with a very strong, loud and powerful sound with openness in the upper fourth octave, producing consistent resonance such as the Bb4’s in “Already One Year” and “Flying Into The Night Sky“, and the B4’s in “I Will Give You All My Love“. Despite this, her mix is overly chesty, very pushed, and her resonance in the fifth octave is never relaxed, such as the C5s in “My Everything” and “Wait A Minute“, and C#5 in “My Everything“, “Passion Flower“, “Mr. Ambiguous” and “No No No”. Above this, her larynx raises and the air pressure from the pushing causes her to sound extremely squeezed and forced, such as in her D5’s in “Wash Away” and “Sting“, her C#5 – Eb5 slide in “Passion Flower“, her Eb5’s in “Delilah” and in “My Everything“, the D5 – F5 slide in “Flying Into The Night Sky“, the F5 in “Wait A Minute“, the sustained E5 – F#5s in “The Way To Sampo” and the F#5’s in “Backwoods” and “Wait A Minute“.
Her upper register is an overly airy falsetto that is only relaxed until about Eb5. Most of the time she is able to transition with relative ease into her falsetto register, which shows more tone and clarity than her lower range and isn’t too raspy, as heard in “I Will Always Love You“, “Wait A Minute” and “Flying Into The Night Sky“. Nonetheless she’s never shown the ability to use a well connected and resonant head voice. Above Eb5 notes become shrill and tight, showing a lack of development and control in the upper extremes of this register. Her highest note is G#6.
The strength and weakness of the vocal unit formed by the three vocalists in Mamamoo is how close together in skill they are. Every single member of Mamamoo shares very similar supported ranges, very similar vocal issues and very similar skills. All of the members use pushed resonance, too much air pressure, chest-dominant mixed voices. All of them lower their larynxes below A3/G#3 and generally are unable to use connected head voices. Whoever taught the members, taught them well enough to have them match one another vocally but also created issues that are hard to reverse. For future improvements, every member should be able to balance their mixed voices better with more head voice and learn to control the amount of air necessary to truly create a balanced tone with more relaxed resonance. As a vocal unit, they’ve shown great vocal skill as rookies and for their young age, as long as their issues are addressed early on, they should be able to improve well over the years.
Musicianship
As seen in Mamamoo’s Immortal Song 2 performances, Solar has a good ear for pitch and harmony. Often, Solar’s main purpose in each performance is the role of the “power house” and usually Solar is the one handles the climax of each performance as well as sings the top harmony, both of which tie the performance together.
Label (Type of Vocalist)
MB Vocalists: Mid-Range Belters
Vocal Range Video(s)
Video by: Hawaiipups and kpopvocalists
Best Vocal Performance(s)
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Analyzed by Haruko & Ahmin
K-pop Vocalists' Vocal Analyses 
I think it’s a bit exaggerated when people compare Solar to Ailee, Hyorin and even Taeyeon. Maybe Mamamoo could improve to that standard but they do need to correct their techniques, hopefully they receive a better vocal teacher.
I agree Solar pushes her voice a lot, and sometimes even comes across as yelling. But regardless of their average technique, I love how they’re the only current KPop girl group I know of (aside SPICA) that harmonise and reinvent/interpret songs.
Again, thanks for all the analyses. 😀
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They are above average, haha. I love that they harmonize too, especially since they know who they are as a group AND as individual vocalists
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I haven’t watched any of Hyorin’s recent solos so I don’t know what her current standard is. I feel like Mamamoo are close to the standarf that Taeyeon debuted at.
I pray that their vocal teacher is good. Because they come from an unknown company it’s hard to tell what will happen. But they’re all so young so it’s not like their habits are set in stone yet.
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Compared to Ailee, yes. But in my opinion solar is not thaaat far from Hyorin and Taeyeon, given she just debuted last year. Hyorin nowadays gets throaty even on D5 at times and Taeyeon in her early debut days had similar supported range to Solar. She is actually not bad for a rookie.
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She’s not far from them.
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I sent that by accident, lol. But no, she’s not far from them. What she needs to work on is the pushing, then her lower register, and finally developing a connected head voice
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Yeah, I heard about them a lot and how they are praised, but never really follow them. I am actually surprised she is above average cause I watched their IS2 performance and she gave me the impression that she strained a lot. But reading from the analysis she is actually capable of resonating C5/C#5 which is not bad at all for a rookie! Good analysis btw! Really enjoyed it!
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I just read through all of the Mamamoo reviews. It saddens me that they weren’t at least above avg to competant but reading your reviews made total sense (as always). I honestly can’t tell who’s better, Wheein or Solar. I’d say Solar when I’m listening but I’d just be biased af becuase She’s my bias. I’m so thankful they’re all pretty young and have just debuted so there’s still so much room for improvement.
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I think Wheein’s the better vocalist of the two considering she has a better lower range and a more balanced mix. Solar might have a slightly (like really slightly) better upper register than Wheein
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No, Wheein’s falsetto is much more relaxed than Solar’s
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Really? Even if it’s disconnected? Or do they all just have disconnected falsettos?
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They all have disconnected falsettos, yes. But it’s better to have a relaxed falsetto than a shrill one
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Ohh thank you for clarifying! 🙂
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It’s raining analysis(es)! Haha, thanks for all of them guys, I enjoyed reading through each one of them ^_^
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This is a great suprise! Now I know why I had to finish Wheein before Christmas even though I thought Solar was better Merry Christmas. I’ve been enjoying your anaylsis for 2 years. They improved so much also I’m still screaming and crying tears of joy because this is the best Christmas present EVER!!!
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Aaahhh I didn’t expect this to be up so soon. I’m honestly surprised Wheein’s technique is the healthiest but I’m not unhappy haha. Do you think it’s possible that Solar’s role as the powerhouse of the group could be the reason why her mix is chestier than Wheein’s whose role matches her voice type more?
Again, thank you for all these wonderful analyses! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to you haha
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Also hmmm considering the analyses so far and your comments about Yuju, it seems Yuju might be better than anyone from Mamamoo as of now? Do you think she has enough material for a full analysis soon?
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She could be, if she’s to be more consistent.
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wow quick with mamamoo even though they’re a rookie still
i wonder in a few years if their ratings would go up thoughxD
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I hope so too
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So many main vocalists in the 3.0 Above Average section, I know it’s a lot but how would you rank the males and the females? I know you said the vocalists of Mamamoo are pretty much equal to each other, same with Brown Eyed Girls so saying (for example) Solar > Jea works (3 less people to list, haha).
It seems like being above average is adequate for many vocalists since you have enough skill to sound amazing without much damage or strain. I certainly hope I can reach that level at least (obviously the dream is to be considered excellent, haha, or good).
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Do you really want this? Okay. lol Wheein > Solar > Sunye > Bohyung > Narsha > Solji > Hwasa > Minkyung > Dana > Jea and the males are.. Jaejoong > G.O. (could be swapped) > Jokwon > Daehyun > Changmin > Woohyun > Sungkyu
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Lol thanks, and I’m sure others were curious too but were afraid to ask since this is the largest section by far.
It’s always interested to see how everyone stacks up even though things can always change.
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is that Sunye mixed better than Solar and her head voice also better?
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Not really, she is not able to produce resonance above B4 as consistently as Solar. Her head voice is better yes.
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maybe i’m a bit bias toward her hahaha
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You have to watch Mamamoo’s cover of BTOB’s “It’s Okay”, Wheein was off-tune at the beginning and when she tried to harmonize with Solar at the climax of the song. Her voice was shaky and a bit not accurate in hitting the high key. I think, by vocal, technically and accurately, Solar is over-all better than Wheein but frankly speaking, yes, Wheein’s vocal character is sweeter and softer than Solar’s. Therefore, Solar has been remaining more consistent and her pitch has been more accurate than Wheein. Both of them are my fav members anyway, so this is my objective view as listener.
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Solar is better because of one performance? Mhmm let me listen to it again, since I’ve heard it before.
0:04 too much air, 0:08 too much air, so she was flat. That was slightly off yes, but so was Solar who was singing with more tone and less air, both of which were done on purpose. Not the off pitch part, the airiness part. 0:15 flat and the run was pitchy too. 0:21 slightly flat there too, so they were both pitchy in this performance, I don’t see why that would make Solar better or Wheein worse. It’s just one performance. 2:41 yes Wheein’s voice started giving out on that E5, because her mix is less pushed than Solar so when she sings way outside her supported range she might have issues holding a note that high for as long as Solar, but that doesn’t make Solar better since Solar could not do well on an E5 either. So there’s such a small difference between them, they basically have the same issues, Wheein’s issues are just less damaging since she doesn’t push as much.
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2:41 was Solar lol, listen to the belting directly after
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So Solar was the one whose voice was failing on her while sustaining the E5? That proves my point further.
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Not only giving the opinion based on this one performance. I’ve watched almost all of their performances especially in Immortal Song, where their vocals were very pointed. But in this particular performance, Wheein’s inaccuracy was quite fatal for me (that’s at the beginning of the song though). However, many thanks for your explanation, really appreciate it. As for me, Solar is Mamamoo’s member with the healthiest vocal. I love Mamamoo as a group, though 🙂 It doesnt too important for me whose voice is the healthiest because as a group their performances have been epic! 🙂
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Let me explain to you how this argument is flawed. You are basing it around one single performance where they were both off pitch and both straining(more so Solar, but I digress). Second, you believe this based off of mix alone. Solar and Wheein’s mixing isn’t far apart, Wheein simply does less pushing and is more relaxed while Solar pushes and that makes her louder(not better) than Wheein. But you haven’t taken the other registers into account: Wheein’s lower register is supported better than Solar’s even outside of her supported range, and because of this she can actually handle lower notes in songs without her voice nearly disappearing. Wheein also has the better, more relaxed falsetto. Wheein’s voice is more developed and more relaxed in every single register and you would know this should you have read the analyses.
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just 1 more point: on this particular performance, esp in 2.41, please listen to it carefully, Wheein was the one who shaking in sustaining the high key.
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I believe as Haruko pointed out that the higher harmony was Solar. Regardless of who it was, both of them strain a lot above C#5, Wheein just pushes a lot less below that which makes her approach healthier and gives her a slight advantage over Solar but it’s not worth arguing, it’s a tiny difference. You can like Solar better but to say her technique is healthier is just not right because of how much she pushes to be loud.
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I agree with Moomoo_Bie that 2:41 was Wheein. But actually as Ahmin said they were both kinda off pitch here so it doesn’t really prove much (especially since it’s just one performance). I’m also a moomoo (Solar biased in fact) but I trust the admins of the site enough when they say that Wheein has the healthiest technique, even by just a little. Healthy vocal technique doesn’t just equate to having perfect pitch all the time. Plus even if Wheein failed to sustain E5, you can counter argue that Solar has also had moments where she failed to hit notes (i.e. her voice cracking on Eb5 for YTB perf)
What I’m getting at is that there are many things that need to be considered when it comes to determining how healthy someone’s vocal approach is and that a lot of these things are not as easy to point out as inaccuracy in pitch or failing to sustain a note, especially to common listeners like us so even if our opinions may be objective, they aren’t necessarily conclusive haha.
Vocal technique aside, yes haha their showmanship is very impressive.
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The E5 at 2:41 was Solar, the way the note was attacked was very Solar. Not to mention Solar’s belts directly after sound the exactly same. Also, look at Solar’s face in comparison to Wheein’s. Solar literally always makes that face when she belts D5 or above because she is pushing the sound out to the extreme. The C#5 sounded more like Hwasa than Wheein or Solar tbh.
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Thanks for Ahmin3, Frostprincess21, and Yongsunnie! I really enjoy the discussion and appreciate your thoughts!
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They were sick (the three vocalists) during the “It’s Okay” performance. I’m not defending them, just saying. They had a V-live that same day and they were all coughing like there’s no tomorrow. lol. Also, you’ll notice how Solar sounded like she has a cold or something – http://www.vlive.tv/video/7485/MAMAMOO-V-TV-33-%EB%AD%94%EB%93%A4-%EC%95%88%EB%85%95
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Oi Ahmin, por favor me ajuda, você pode me dizer qual a classificação de Linzy do Fiestar? As pessoas falam que ela é quase do mesmo nível da Taeyeon, mas eu só confio em você e na equipe do Kpop Vocal Analysis, você concorda com esse ranking: http://i.imgur.com/QcNJ6LA.jpg (você vai ter que dar zoom), e se você não concorda, por quais motivos? (Pelo o que eu vi, esse ranking se baseia em técnicas vocais/qualidade vocal, obrigado novamente! 🙂
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A Linzy é average. Este ranking tá mais ou menos certo mas tem gente muito alta e pessoas que não são vocalistas. O Niel e a Baek Jiyoung por exemplo.
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Wait, wait… She and Wheein are just Above Average? They have consistency with RESONANCE up to C#5, this is not enough to Above Average to Competent vocalist? lol You guys have changed the system?
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But it’s pushed resonance, and Solar’s other registers aren’t developed well enough. Wheein is closer, but her placement can be too nasal
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I remember when Taeyeon had consistency with resonance up to C#5 with the other undeveloped registers and she was considered Above Average to Competent… If Solar stop to push her resonance and Wheein stop being nasal they could be AA to C, right?
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Yes, possibly
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So, I know this clip isn’t the highest quality and the range of the song is pretty limited, but it’s really the only singing I’ve heard from Moonbyul, Mamamoo’s rapper. Is there anything that you can tell about her vocal ability from it?
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She kind of rap-sings… Her support is kind of there, it’s just this seemed like it was in a very easy and not challenging range for her.
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Here’s a compilation of times Moonbyul has sung but i’m not sure if you’ll be able to find any more from it
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Hey I was just wondering yall thoughts on this performance?
4 great vocalist in one performance made me excited and immediantly thought what you would all think. Thanks 😀 and happy holidays
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A bit of a distorted C#5 for Ailee at 0:49, nice transitions back and forth from head voice. Nothing new there, support and placement were there. Lots of phrased B4’s and C#5’s for Luna and she’s floating through them, 1:08 nice C#5. After that, I know two women are singing who I’m assuming are Solar and Eunji but I can only tell Eunji apart with all that full lyric sopranoness. 1:40 everyone hit E5, can’t tell who did it well or not. Again Ailee floating on those phrased C#5’s and B4’s, Eunji doing the same right after. They all look gorgeous too. 2:10 yes to that resonant C#5, Eunji. 2:19 head voice for Luna, transitioning back and forth. The only perk about Luna’s head voice is that below E5 she gets nasal. 2:38 strained F#5 for Luna but finally a much better live F#5 for her compared to every other live F#5 I know of hers, which this was there when I made the Taeyeon vs Luna video. 2:55 Ailee harmonized that line with a G5 and F#5, strained. 3:00 Solar is adlibbing finally. D5’s and she’s growling through them, tension is there. 3:12 D5 key change, D5 is not a happy place for all of them like C#5 is. 3:30 yes to the C5.
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I love it when you take the time and make this mini analyses explaining bits of the videos, thank you so much guys ❤ 😀
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i was wondering, how far the distance between solar and seohyun. i think it must be the power and agility. but seeing solar in the higher level in above average category, ah it must be that far. what makes solar win against seohyun? i see both have similar supported range
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Much more consistent placement and support, seohyuns voice often closes up and she’s unable to produce resonance consistently, solar produces resonance all the time, at will.
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May I ask between the Mamamoo members, what do they have over the other 2? or is it that Wheein is just more well-rounded than Solar/Hwasa that both of them don’t have anything over Wheein? hope i didn’t make u confused lol… Great analysis anyway!
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Wheein has a better lower register, and a more healthy approach to mixing as well as a more relaxed falsetto than the other two
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so, who’s the strongest/best vocalist in mamamoo recently?
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Wheein is. It’s in the analyses.
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oh.. i think it goes to Solar..
every i watching their live Solar has the most high note part and she such as main vocalist in the group..
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The strongest vocalist in Mamamoo is Wheein then Solar.
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Hello, can u explain “ear for harmony and pitch”? I don’t clearly understand it 😦
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It means someone who has an ear for pitch as in they’re able to hold their own pitch well and be in tune often and also be able to hold their pitch in a harmony setting so when singing with others, they’re able to sing their parts without going off. Cause when you sing harmonies, you’re singing different notes together so you have to be able to sing your own line without going off for the harmony to work.
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That sounds pretty hard to do, you probably need a lot of concentration to do that. Do harmonies work better when singers have similar voices, qualities? The weird boo/woo Solar does at the end of high notes is stylistic? Also not related to MAMAMOO have you ever heard Park Sihwan his latest single is Monster. Doesn’t he seem like a pretty good vocalist?
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It works better when people’s voices match but matching is kind of a try and see thing but it also helps when people know how to blend and their voices don’t stick out from others. Boo/Woo? What do you mean? Park Shihwan…the name is familiar.. I have never him singing or at least I don’t remember.
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I think she did it in her Masked Best Singer? performance, but it’s just a minor thing. I don’t think it’s mentioned in this analysis but how much her age (25/6/7?)can hinder her possible improvement? I don’t really know much about him but his voice is….pleasant. http://youtu.be/MXGSrYH04Ac http://youtu.be/Qe-r_7nId2I http://youtu.be/a0DsoXvvlM8
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Her age? Not much, she’s not old. She just needs to keep working on herself.
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Mamamoo recently made their comeback; here’s the live performance. How did you think each member did?
Thanks a lot 😀
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Nothing new, they’re singing the same way as before.
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Hi! Here’s a vid from 2012 of Solar predebut – how has her technique changed? She sounds almost fuller than she does now, but I have no idea if that’s just the performance or just me. http://youtu.be/J3kHUtq4MsA
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How was the vocal technique in this performance? The usual? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf0MrSgJ_Hc
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0:23 oh hey Wheein hit Eb3 lol Not new but not usual either. lol 3:17 pushed Eb5 for Solar, nice harmonies throughout. 4:17 that slide could’ve been more relaxed for Hwasa. 5:04 oh that is basically just pushed, it was good placement but that was SOOOOOOOO pressured, so overly exaggerated vocal pressure and air pressure, that was not relaxed. C#5, could’ve been much better. So yeah the usual. lol
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Is there a difference between pushing the note and straining it? Does that mean there’s no resonance?
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Pushing a note can cause strain, Ailee pushes too much air but supports, so it’s fine. Mamamoo push a lot of air with high larynxes and a lot of throat pressure, which lacks freedom and becomes kind of just well placed yelling. So the good placement of resonance is present but since they’re not relaxed, strain is also present. So well placed shouting.
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Oh that makes sense now. I always got confused whenever you said good placement but no resonance. I think the example with Ailee really helped because the difference between her and Mamamoo is distinguishable. Thank you! I was also wondering, does Wendy achieve resonance or is it just good placement?
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Good placement with support results in resonance, Wendy lacks fullness and is unable to produce resonance because her placement isn’t in her mask and her soft palate isn’t lifted well enough but supports her voice consistently.
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I apologise for asking so many questions but she achieves resonance in her head voice right?
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Wendy? Yes. She can produce correct head placement, but not mask placement so she lacks resonance in her mix.
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Rather than one of the balanced group, shouldn’t they be the only one or the best? With BEG follow behind. Balance group is where the all vocalist member have the same skill level, isnt it? The other group have that one or two pretty skilled vocalist and the rest being decent vocalist.
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CSJH The Grace still exists, even if they may be quite inactive. If not The Grace, duos like 15& and Davichi still are stronger vocal units than Mamamoo even if they may not be “groups”, they’re still not solos.
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so that is what you mean by balance group? i thought that the grace and davichi are not balance since lina and haeri are good vocalist, while dana and minkyung are above average. there are gap between them. mamamoo is the nearest gap between each vocalist, so they are a balance group.
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That too, they’re both right.
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How was she doing?? Thanks 😀
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Nothing new to note. She did well within her comfort zone.
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I think even Moonbyul isn’t that weak in the group. Mamamoo is really quite balance group, daebak :O
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Their new brother group ready to debut to serve vocals just like them.
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may i know how well they did? :> and if you won’t mind,perhaps you could tag their company which is Rainbow Bridge World?
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It was nice, their acapella unit is good in terms of blend and harmony. Rainbow Bridge World? Remind me to do it later if you noticed that I forgot.
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hello! i don’t know if you’ve talked about it elsewhere but what are your thoughts on this video? how was solar’s singing at around 3:12? she sounded pretty strained to me but i know next to nothing about vocal theory haha
(sorry if the video didn’t embed, i’ve never posted here before)
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Around 3:12 she sounds pretty good, it’s a comfortable range. Above that it was strained, the 3:15 ish area, but that was about it. It wasn’t too focused on her.
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Hey, Mamamoo performed a lot of their songs at their concert, moosical. How did they do here? I think Solar’s D5 is better than usual, but I could be wrong. Have they improved?
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Oh solar was kind of pitchy in this..Wheein was pitchy when she was airy. 1:08 and 1:11 yeah those…parts. 1:52 that was flat.. oh well, it’s a rehearsal, so it’s okay to be pitchy here and there. 2:27 pushed and slightly flat D5. C#5’s are fine, the falsetto transitions are flat but they might not be well warmed up, I get pitchy when I transition and I’m not warmed up too.
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Oh ok, yeah it’s just a rehearsal. I hope they do better in the concert. I think they will use less falsetto next time like they did in the studio. I’m waiting for Wheein and Solar to support D5 lol
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I know that Moonbyul is not much of a powerhouse vocal compared with the other girls but what could be her vocal ranking?
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Her sense of support isn’t very developed, she has a nice voice and her pitch is adequate, but she tends to half-speak even when she sings and I don’t hear much support. Her rating wouldn’t be anything higher than average if average at all.
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how’s solar here??
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0:36 minor problems with tongue tension and placing her voice in her nose. It has to do with her singing her vowels in a very narrow way instead of opening up. 1:36 resonance with some tongue tension, she’s pushing too much air. 1:43 the falsetto transitions could be smoother. 1:51 The runs could be a bit smoother, but they’re not that bad at all. 4:57 strained D5. There’s not much else to say, she did fine according to her analysis. There’s nothing new/different.
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I’ve always wanted to ask but never knew how but… what is Solar doing at 0:21? In every performance of Um Oh Ah Yeah, she sounds weird on this part of the chorus every time. I used to think it was nasality, but nasality isn’t mentioned at all in her analysis. I feel like it must be some form of strain though, right?
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She’s not straining and she’s not really nasal, she’s a bit bright. She doesn’t tend to be this light in her mix so when she sings this way, it might sound out of place. She was just being light and not using proper mask placement, so she sounds a bit closed in a nasal way but it’s not too nasal. It’s not bad because it’s not like she can’t fix it when she belts, but she could be a bit more opened even though she’s using a lighter mix.
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Oh ok thanks! That makes sense. I mean she sounds really closed to me lol but what do I know, I used to think Seungyeon sounded pretty when all she did was yell in pitch.
Anyways Mamamoo debuted two sub-units. (Idk if they’ll promote or not) and the MV appears to be live. It might be dubbed though, I’m not sure.
I have a really hard time differentiating between head voice and falsetto, even after watching your video countless times. But I’m assuming both Solar and Wheein are still just using falsetto. Otherwise did you notice anything noteworthy/different in the video?
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Seungyeon as in Kara? Oh lol It’s okay! She does sound closed, but not like closed throat. Just closed placement. I think this might be dubbed too yeah. Oh that’s funny. Do these Sub-units have names yet? Well I hear mostly just falsetto yes, and nothing really outside of the ordinary for them in this video, nothing new. So it’s fine, it’s a comfortable range for them. G#3 ~ F5 in falsetto, maybe B4 or C#5 in mix.
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Yeah lol from Kara. I still like her tone, but having read her analysis and learned from this blog I am able to differentiate her poor technique. Off-topic but I watched a bunch of Kara’s performances recently and after Sunghee left, Gyuri almost always got the most challenging lines until they released Pandora. Just a weird thing since Seungyeon has a bit of an edge over her. But the best vocalist isn’t always the Main so I guess it’s not that weird.
Anyways! Yeah there’s Angel Line which is Solar and Wheein and Rapper Line which is Moonbyul and Hwasa. All Hwasa did was sing though, so Rapper Line may not be the most accurate name lol. I wanted to ask about hers, but it’s not really a vocal centered song so I doubt she did anything new.
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in your BTS jungkook analysis you explained why it makes sense for jungkook to be the main vocal even though he’s the 2nd best with techniques. do you also think there is a logical/obvious reason solar is the main vocal even though wheein is better with technique?
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The difference between them is very small. The main difference is that Wheein is lighter so because Solar has a chestier approach, she’s louder and therefore perceived as better. It may have to do with her confidence as well.
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Hi! I know this one isn’t a live perfomance, but anyway… What about the high adlib at 3:23? Is it genuine or do you think it’s autotuned? Can you tell me which note is it and if it is whistle range? And finally… is it Solar or Wheein? I’d say it’s Solar bc she’s the main vocalist, but as you said Wheein has better control and it sounds more like her voice… What do you think?
Thank you so much, keep on the good work ~
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This may have been asked bout already. We don’t know whose voice that is and don’t dismiss everything that’s high as auto tune. That’s not what auto tune sounds like, it has a robotic tone. That’s just an Eb6, falsetto. That’s an unusually high note for a Kpop song but not unheard of. So yeah I really don’t know who it is, their falsetto isn’t that much better than one another so Wheeins mixed voice is what sets her apart, not the falsetto.
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Oh! Ok! I thought it might be autotune because I thought it was whistle as it sounded to me like one that Ariana Grande does in The way, but as I don’t actually know music, maybe it was a falsetto too and internet was wrong again as with that F#5 we were talking about yesterday ^^”
Thank you for answering!
PD: Would it be ok if I sent you a cover for you to tell me what’s the best and the worse of it when you have time? Would a vocaroo link be ok?
PD2: You are a sweetheart and I love your videos ❤
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Ariana Grande’s notes in The Way aren’t whistle register, they’re falsetto as well. Ariana can use a whistle but she doesn’t always and usually below F6, she tends to force her falsetto up instead of transitioning into her whistle register so that might be why it sounded like that to you. They’re both falsetto. ^ ^ Yes you’re welcome to do that, I’ll listen when I have time. Thank you so much! >_< I am glad I don't come off as mean to you!
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Hi there,
Mamamoo just released their new title song for their second comeback this year. In this live performance, I feel like the song is not quite in their range, like it’s a little bit higher, and they, especially Hwasa were struggling to get through the whole song. Would you think they would strain their vocal cord if keep singing this song?
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The song with the D5’s? No they’ve sung songs that were higher and had a lot more strain to the approach. Their approach in this song isn’t bad actually, they’re handling the D5’s better than I would’ve expected, except for the sustained ones.
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Sorry, I left out the link http://www.vlive.tv/video/16643/
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How’re they doing here? Did they improve anything?
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0:32 I feel like that was supposed to be C3, but I don’t know if it can be counted as well. Her G3’s don’t sound too bad in this. I don’t hear anything different, Wheein still has the lightest least pushed mix, I still hear airiness and shallowness in the lower range, pushed high larynx on chesty D5’s for Solar and such. Still sloppy pitchy runs as well. Nothing new.
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Do you think they are good in this performance?
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They’re a bit pitchy, especially in the beginning they’re all kind of flat. Solar, Wheein AND Hwasa. 1:58 flat on the falsettos as well. Apart from the pitchiness, there’s nothing really different in this performance. Cool thing that they did a medley. 3:50 oh those pitchy runs.
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How did the girls do on their latest immortal song appearance? And what is the note Solar hit at 3:44, it sounds really nice lol. https://youtu.be/4JVe-GjGiv0
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3:44 The really quick note? That was a B4. I don’t hear anything different from what I usually hear from Mamamoo unfortunately.
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okay, so i found something rather interesting today, that came up in my recommended. strong language warning, by the way.
the whole video is a little long to watch, but they’re essentially reacting to two immortal song performances by mamamoo. the actual reactions start at 1:05 for one video and then ends at about 5:37 while the other starts at 7:07 and ends at 11:45.
also just as a sort of warning, one of the reactors comments (at 12:10) about how hwasa’s riffs are good, and also says that christina aguilera has good technique.
from what i’ve seen, christina aguilera doesn’t have good technique, and classical singing obviously doesn’t translate directly (or at all) into contemporary singing. they say that they’re classical singers, so i’m sorta assuming that they aren’t entirely aware of contemporary singing techniques. they are also all students and not professional singers, so that’s something to definitely keep in mind.
a few timestamps of note:
0:07 — one of the reactors sing (very briefly though). they all sorta sing a little in the beginning, but he has the longest singing string.
2:09 — “so she’s definitely more of a soprano” in regards to solar, in comparison to wheein
4:33 — “so they’re like belting, but not in the bad way. they’re like actually singing with decent technique” and then more commentary about their belting continuing on for a while, about how it could be screamy but it isn’t.
5:21 — “i was waiting for the weird vibrato that people do when they belt” or something like that.
8:34 — “they all sound like a better version of britney spears”
8:55 — “she was in head voice right there” i’m guessing this is referring to solar’s (?) falsetto
11:02 — quick hwasa run, followed by “she’s literally christina aguilera”
11:37 — “ooh, that vocal fry. sounded a bit painful”
13:00 — more singing
and then after the videos, it’s mentioned how it’s “pretty good for belting” and they give a general sort of overview about their feelings.
so this was just an interesting thing that i came across and i guess if you have time you can give it a full look through. mainly i was just curious about the legitimacy, i guess, of the comments that they made, particularly the time stamps that i mentioned.
and obviously, for the reactors, the singing is very quick, so just if you could gather anything from how they sing, that would be interesting to see.
and this comment got super long again! i’m so sorry for always leaving these super long comments, especially since this one is just dropping a video. >_______> but anyway, thank you, and take your type to respond lol because it’s a lot.
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Hi there! So I wasn’t sure if I was going to watch the video because the idea of it was kind of doubtful to me. So I sent it to Haruko and Pandayeu last night before I went to sleep, they said they were knowledgable and said some pretty good stuff, so I decided it was fine for me to watch. Both Pandayeu and Haruko felt used and are mad at me for this now. lol 2:10 when she said she is more of a soprano but it doesn’t really matter, I guess they mean cause it’s pop and so it doesn’t matter what her voice type is or something. 2:31 아주 bless you LOL 4:33 so far when they said about them singing with decent technique and belting well, so they’re not singing high and they acknowledge that they’re not singing high, that they’re mixing like C5’s which all of them can support so yeah what they’re saying here is pretty valid. 5:21 the vibrato did not happen.
But yeah overall, I think they made some very general statements. They could tell Solar was a soprano, nice. They could talk about their belting relatively well, nice. They talked about low notes, okay. Did not mention the quality of how they hit the low notes in anyway. They made general statements about their harmonies, their choreography, their hair, their clothes, their range but didn’t really go too deeply into technique so there wasn’t anything to be said majorly wrong. 5:58 they’re talking about the slide, which is fine in pop. It is indeed stylistic. 6:44 Christina Aguilera-y doesn’t necessarily mean it’s technically good or not, just “soulful” according to her.
7:30 it is very Burlesque. 8:33 I have no idea how they sound anything like Britney Spears, but yeah. 8:39 So he acknowledged that Wheein is also a soprano, again good for them. 8:53 it was a quick transition dynamically to falsetto, which is valid too. 10:08 yes good mic technique. 11:02 that run, the chestiness of Hwasa, comparing this to young Christina Aguilera wouldn’t be that incorrect tbh. 11:37 The vocal fry was throatiness.
11:54 grinding their vocal cords together he means and he’s got a point, indeed. 12:14 she meant that Hwasa, I believe, is a Christina Aguilera WITH decent vocal technique, but not that Christina herself has decent technique. At least I think so. 12:32 they’re aware that the style is different and that they can’t critique it much. So they barely said anything too complex or deep so there’s little wrong with this. 13:18 Oh Jury, oh dear lord the Jury. Let’s not talk about the Jury. Anyway. I think they said some pretty clear stuff and yknow it was mostly pretty simple and true. I don’t have a problem with much of what they’re saying.
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Solar and hyorin recently sang a mixed G5 here : https://youtu.be/fA3QICeLR3s skip to the end. Will you add them to the Analysis?
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It was known that Solar could mix G5. I don’t see why it’s necessary to add new strained notes to their analyses.
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can I ask what do you think of Mamamoo’s brother group Vromance?
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I’m sorry but due to many reasons we won’t be guessing nor estimating a vocalist’s possible ratings without their analyses. So I ask that you be patient and wait until they’re analyzed, thank you.
What I can say is that the one who went on Duet Song Festival can support up to G4 at least. It’s hard to come to any conclusions because they mostly like to belt above A4, with a lot of strain and they harmonize a lot so it’s inconclusive for now.
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Thank you for answering me^^
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Did you watch all of new mamamoo immortal song performances? I think they have improved a lot from 2k15? Or not?
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If you look through the comment sections, we often get asked about more recent performances for every vocalist we’ve analyzed, including Solar. Unfortunately no, they have not shown changes to their vocal technique yet.
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Where did she hit G#6?
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There was a video link of them doing a high note battle on Wheein’s analysis and Solar hit G#6 there but the video has been deleted, sorry.
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http://www.vlive.tv/video/32534
How was her low notes at 0:15? What notes were they?
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Sounds like low larynx G3’s and F#3’s to me.
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Was the slight E5 before the C#5 at 2:31 resonant?(or supported at least?)
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I don’t mean this rudely, but you do know this performance is mentioned in her analysis, right? Even though this note wasn’t specifically time stamped, we have seen it. If it were supported or resonant, we would have mentioned it within the analysis of course! ^ ^ Unfortunately no, it is just pushed.
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I thought you’d mention it in the analysis XD but I just wanted to double check because to me the E5 sounded excessively pushed and you had commented this on March 17 2015,”3:06 solar C#5-B4-E5-D5-C#5 omg what was this?! It sounded resonant and relaxed….Solar never has this kind of ease on the high notes, am I hearing things? ._.” I just thought you were more of an expert at hearing these things lol. Anyway so sorry haha
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Yeah ignore me from 2015, I talked too much and got too excited, it is an old comment. For some reason I missed the pushing, that was something I learned to identify better overtime. This is why I tell people not to take anything I say in comments as 100% truth because that will be all confirmed in the analyses.
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Hi! Probably you won´t analyze Moonbyul because her main role is being the rapper, but I found this little analysis on Facebook and I want to know your opinion, thanks in advance XO
Mamamoo Moonbyul’s Vocal Analysis
Vocal range: Bb2 – D6 (3 Octaves, 2 notes)
Supported range: F#3/G3 – A4
Voice Type: Lyric Mezzo Soprano
Strengths:
Lower range has support down to G3, and F#3 multiple of times
Mixed voice has consistent support up to A4
Occasional resonance up to A4
Able to connect her vocal cords in her upper register up to Eb5
Minimal issues with nasality
Able to support her voice despite of being the main rapper of the group
Weakness
Unbalanced mix
Throaty above Bb4
Support is absent in head voice
Disconnected F3’s and E3’S
Least consistent with resonance among Mamamoo members
Sloppy runs
Disconnected legatto at times
Lower register: Able to support F#3/G3 with chest placed sound. Below F3, she sounds airy and disconnected.
Mixed register: Her A4’s are well supported and even with resonance. Occasional resonance happens from F#4 – A4 range. Most of the time, she also uses pushed resonance where she’s pusing with air and pulling her chest voice in to her mix.
Upper register: Only member of Mamamoo who has able to connect her vocal cords up to Eb5. However, it’s still tense and pushed.
So Moonbyul is an Average or an Average to Above Average mezzo?
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I don’t mean to sound annoyed but are you really asking about her rating based on an analysis not written by us? You can’t rate her using our criteria if we are not the ones analyzing them. The answer is yes and no, though. Yes, that would be her rating in case this analysis was correct. But it’s not correct, so no. That’s not her rating. Simply because Moonbyul does not produce resonance, let alone support almost at all. So no, don’t trust this page. I know where you got this from and that user does not have enough experience to hear supported vs unsupported singing. He’s written about Eunha and others claiming supported ranges that are inexistent too.
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I feel very sorry, I didn´t want to make you annoyed, I discovered that page description and I think I become a bit too much excited because Moonbyul is my bias in Mamamoo, also I was a little suspicious about that analysis that´s why I asked about it here. Again, sorry if I made you feel annoyed, it wasnt my intention XO
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Oh no it’s fine, don’t feel bad. I’m just kind of confused by you posting that and asking for her rating.
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Probably I should have avoided the last question asking for her rating.
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It’s okay lol just don’t trust this page
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I’ve follower thia blog for a big while and I learned that you like specific questions but still, I would like to know if you can see any general improvement in Mamamoo?
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Awww that’s okay thank you and thank you for at least noticing! Wheein’s C#5’s at 2:02 were really nice. 2:13 Bb4’s and C#5’s for Solar, those were nice. 2:18 phrased C#5’s nice, peaked at Eb5 with pushing. 2:22 shouty F#5. There’s the general pushing, the general support but breathiness and lack of freedom as they go above C#5. 3:50 That was nice and opened for Wheein. 4:06 Eb5 to E5 for Solar, very pushed. 4:15 I feel like I hear a B5, but I am not sure who’s singing it. 4:33 Tight D5 but not completely unsupported, the vowel is just bad for singing high. 4:46 Slightly off runs.
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I think 4:15 is Hwasa? Because Solar (she sounds like she is the one sustaining off-camera) was still finishing up her line
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I was thinking that too, yeah.
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Hey what’s up
So MAMAMOO just released a song today and I would like to share opinions
It’s a studio version but their vocals sound clean enough to make a judgement
The chorus is full of D5s
1. 0:01 Hwasa’s D5s are pushed and more like… pressed? I don’t know how to say it
2. 0:53 Wheein’s D5s sound the best for me in terms of relaxing, she is actually supporting
3. 0:44 Solar’s D5s sound fairly resonant but not quite relaxed, but still opened like she is supporting but kind of pushing her voice. However, I would say they are supported.
4. 1:31 About Moonbyul’s singing in a lower tessitura, the A3s are supported, the F#3 not quite but still decently performed, I guess it’s because she’s a mezzo soprano. On the other hand, the highest she goes is G4 (in the song’s choruses) in the song which is kind of supported, like the rest of her voice, she sounds like she has a weaker breathing technique than the other girls but still she is not completely lost.
What are your thoughts?
I didn’t know where to post this but I suppose Solar’s analysis is the most popular one so yeah. Happy New Year!
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Hi there. Happy new year! Posting on this analysis is perfectly fine. I disagree about Moonbyul possessing any form of proper support or Solar supporting her D5’s. I think they’re quite glottal and pushed, there’s a lot more blockage than support or freedom. So if they’re not supported, they can’t be resonant. I’d really rather not go in depth with a studio recording.
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Taeyeon resonance is consisten until C5/C#5 and Solar resonance is VERY consistent until C#5. So could i say that Solar resonance in mixed voice is a bit better than Taeyeon ? Could u explain..
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And yet Solar always strains D5 while Taeyeon supports them and sometimes Eb5 too. Plus Solar’s resonance is quite pushed.
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Emmm.. yeah.. if talking about support, Taeyeon is better with her some Eb5s.
I actually asking about resonance. It has the same case with Wendy (C#5/D5) and Jimin (C#5). Wendy can support higher than Jimin but Jimin resonance is bigger & rounder in B4 ~ C#5 range. So Jimin is better in resonance.
So… what about Taeyeon & Solar ? And this blog said Taeyeon consistent resonance C5/C#5 and Solar VERY consistent until C#5.
If the answer is still Taeyeon , so Is Solar pushing resonance is serious issue ?
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Hi, not the admin, but here to try to help. The thing with pushing is that the vocalist pushes more air than needed to produce the note. Pushing can wear out the voice and pushing with a chesty mix can fatigue it even faster, to my understanding.
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She hits a D3 in a new live performance. https://youtu.be/6RmhBQo5YK0?t=31s
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Hi! I’m not sure where to post this other than here… I’ve been scouring the internet for info about Moonbyul’s vocals haha and I saw in one of your comment replies that she doesn’t really support and also tends to speak/rap-sing, which makes sense with what I’ve seen from her. However, I recently found two less-typical videos of her that I hadn’t seen before that I was wondering if you could provide any insight on. The first is her singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town on a vlive (unfortunately, I couldn’t find a youtube link, but the video is in the tweet) https://twitter.com/byulieyerimie/status/860731353733644288
Obviously she’s goofing around, but this is pretty different from the ‘rap-sing’-y singing I’ve usually seen from her so I was curious whether it was any more supported or otherwise better technically than usual. That vibrato coming from her also surprised me.
This second video (just the first minute) has both a pre-debut clip of her singing Primary’s Love (probably during the time she was still training primarily as a vocal) and one from a recent live performance. To my untrained ears, she sounds more relaxed in the pre-debut clip. In this case, I was wondering whether there seemed to be a difference in her technique between the two.
Thank you!
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