how does one decide that a song is tough?

Hi everybody,

There were some posts yesterday that mentioned priyani having sung a tough song and if contestants should choose an easy song to sing.

My question is ...
How you you decide that a song's tough ? Who decides it? The judges ??? but doesnt it depend on the contestants ?

for e.g. for a classical singer like aditi any classical number would be a cake walk but a romantic number is entirely another matter ...likewise for others a classical song is tough ...

so what makes a song tough ?

Pls let me have your thoughts on this ...

I agree..Toughness, in technical sense, is a very relative concept. But in that also, there are some aspects which are really prominent than others and are fairly the same level of competence for majority of singers. For example, Aditi may have classical expertise; but what I've heard so far from her still makes me feel that a classical song with fast 'taans' will be still be a tough thing for her. But yes, if she does lot of pratising, she can do it.
Do u think Abhilasha would not hv practised the song 'Tu chanda Main chandni' a minimum of hundred times (if not so she would hv been singing the song since a few yrs in other competitions be it in her school,college,etc)
So, leaving apart some typical singers who are good in one genre, a tough song should be tough for the majority of singers. It may be classical/semiclassical number or a rock/disco number, some common factors can be - a song with varying tals, a song which spans over a wide range(scale), a song with lot of harqat in a limited range of surs which vary slightly everytime n consequently, a song with up-down notes which continue for a long time, a song with a stretchy note for a really long span of time which requires a good control over 'Saans'(what Anup Jalota/Chanchal did very efficiently), etc.

Some very good points mentioned here and in the other topic by Vanaja...

I would add something more to it that I think makes a song tough...

Song that has very little breathing space
Song that intentionally goes off-rhythm at places and then comes back (Eg. - Baahon me chale aao)
Song that needs a lot of 'abhinaya' through your voice
Song that has the same line being repeated in different sur and mood at different places in the song (its extremely important to sing that line differently and perfectly each time, or else the beauty is lost)

Will add more....

I am looking fwd to read very interesting things in this topic... I think more we discuss with examples, more we will learn 😊

Here is one example using Jaya's criteria:

Song that has very little breathing space : Dil mein jaagi dhadkan aise (Sur)

And one criterion that I would add: Songs with lines that start a little before or after the beat (a common challenge in Carnatic music) by design so you have to remember the arithmetic of the taal all the way. Just blank for examples though.

Originally posted by: kiti_g

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How you you decide that a song's tough ? Who decides it? The judges ??? but doesnt it depend on the contestants ?

for e.g. for a classical singer like aditi any classical number would be a cake walk but a romantic number is entirely another matter ...likewise for others a classical song is tough ...

so what makes a song tough ?

Pls let me have your thoughts on this ...

good point kiti 👏👏👏 thats a very valid issue - every contestant has his/her preferred genre and they are more comfortable in it... and wat is tough for one, cud be easy for the other... i think that is why we see judges so often asking contestants to sing different genre songs - to be versatile and not get stuck with a particular style of songs... the best possible soultion wud be to have rounds based on different themes - classical, semi classical, pop, new songs, ghazals... that ways, it equals out for all contestants...

Originally posted by: lifeztuf

Do u think Abhilasha would not hv practised the song 'Tu chanda Main chandni' a minimum of hundred times (if not so she would hv been singing the song since a few yrs in other competitions be it in her school,college,etc)

I agree, am sure she must have practised the song. There is truth in the saying practice makes perfect. So in effect, a practised song that is tough for someone else will be easier for you.

Originally posted by: smallwonder

the best possible soultion wud be to have rounds based on different themes - classical, semi classical, pop, new songs, ghazals... that ways, it equals out for all contestants...

Yes i agree, it will be good to have themes based on different genres to test the contestants. Of course it is not necessary that everyone sings well in all gestures but the one who comes closest will surely come out as the best.

One example that comes straightaway to my mind is a song that is heavily dependant on mood but other wise seems simple for e.g waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam, you really have to get into the mood of the song to be able to sing it close to perfect

another one with a different mood would be sooraj hua madham ... i think sonu nigam sang that beatifully and not one who has sung this song has matched him ... the one who came closest was rahul vaidya in II1

keep replying folks ... am really enjoying this 😊

Originally posted by: kiti_g

Yes i agree, it will be good to have themes based on different genres to test the contestants. Of course it is not necessary that everyone sings well in all gestures but the one who comes closest will surely come out as the best.

yes, thats true... but again, there can be another point of view where we say that - when one is comfortable singing one genre - and excels in it, then why shud we want him to sing another type... if in one genre he can be the best around, then wats the harm... when sunidhi has her trademark, and she is awesome in that role, why wud we want her to be an all rounder... i feel, every singer has his role defined, and is doing well in it... we have shaan who has a very peculiar kind of songs - almost immidieately you associate him with those... you have abhijeet - he again has very similar sounding songs - almost all of them... i am not saying they shouldnt try different songs, but the only question is, everyone has a strong area and is well suited for that... it cud be an option that ok - everyone is free to sing his choice and show how good he is in that...

very true ... when one is comfortable singing in a particular genre we really wouldnt want him singing something else.
but is this really applicable to a contest?? wouldnt we as discerning (am not talking abt ppl who watch these shows for just a single contestant based on various parameters) viewers want more versatility? and who should be given preference, a contestant singing same kind of songs at 10/10 or someone singing different types of songs and getting 9/10 sometimes but 10/10 at others?

I think versatility of a singer is very important... Yes, Sunidhi has been more successful in singing one kind of songs, but dont we love 'beheta hai man kahin' and 'meri zindagi me aaye ho' (infact I love them better)... dont we love the very sensual 'Jadoo hai nasha hai' and equally peppy 'barso re megha megha' from Shreya (not her genre for sure).... The reason we love Asha'ji and Rafi'saab is perhaps because they were the most versatile singers HFM ever had.... I think versatility is important if we are talking about playback singing, or even stage singing.. the only genres that a singer can choose is perhaps if they want to do pure play classical, or say only ghazals.. the moment you are competing in a light music contest.. versatility is going to be very important and looked for by all...

well said jaya ...

coming back to the topic ...
Some more examples ---

a song that is sung in a high pitch for the major part - yeh dil sun raha hain from khamoshi

a song that changes taal as pointed by vanaja - tere bina jiya jaaye na from ghar

again something pointed by vanaja ... songs by hridayanath mangeshkar - all songs from lekin and plenty of marathi songs ... he used to relish making songs like that 😆