For a figure so prominent in the field of pop music, not very much has been said about Madonna´s voice. It´s as if it were taken for granted or overlooked. And yet, it´s an integral part of her performing.
That being said, most of the attention in her performances always goes to the show elements, her figure and shocking outfits, her dancing, and choreography.
Madonna has a good voice but not an exceptional one. Some writers have described it as mezzo-soprano but in CCM singing the vocal fach is not of importance as a classification, as in operatic singing. A real mezzo-soprano has depth and substance. Madonna´s voice is such a basic material that it can go towards many different colors, depending on the meaning of the song.
That is also a great skill.
It´s like a good photo model whose face would not attract particular attention without makeup but who can look stunning in different pictures with a skillful makeover. Likewise, Madonna likes to change her voice according to the songs.
Her range in most songs is actually quite limited, ranging between F3-C5 which is about 1,5 octaves. Usually, this is sufficient for a lot of CCM repertoire. She uses a basically healthy vocal technique, very seldom going for extreme pitches, screaming, sighing or crying. The emotional color is actually missing; it seems she always wants to be in control.
Of course, when dancing like crazy, you must keep your core support and rather not lose vocal control if you want to survive. From a vocal pedagogue´s point of view, she uses thin vocal folds and avoids forcing.
Madonna was criticized in the early stages of her career of a childish, naive, little- girl voice. This can be heard in her hit Like a Virgin. She sounds very girlie, a little breathy and nasal. This was the so-called ”Minnie the Mouse on Helium”. But what better describes the song´s provocative feeling? So one suspects it was done on purpose.
During the filming of Evita, Madonna had to take vocal lessons, which increased her range. So her voice grew much deeper and fuller. Of this experience, she has been quoted saying that she studied with a vocal coach for Evita and realized there was a whole piece of her voice she wasn’t using. Before, she just believed she had a really limited range and was going to make the most of it.
Isn´t that what so many singers notice after taking lessons! Usually, her singing is still very close to speech: every word is carefully articulated, the words are clearly understandable, and the pitches resemble the speech melody of the sentences. It is called speech quality singing. There is not much resonance of the back or higher cavities of the vocal tract but rather the sound is resonated in the mouth. The vocal folds can be thin or thick or something in between. It can also be called mixed voice which is basically a healthy production.
For any artist, straining her voice all the time is dangerous to the vocal cords. In Madonna´s later songs there is less nasality, sometimes thicker cords, not very much vibrato but nevertheless, control which can, unfortunately, let her down in live performances doing all the other stuff. That is when we may hear her singing off key.
Career women often start lowering their voices, reinforcing the stereotype that power and a low voice go together. A similar stereotype can also be found in rock music. Women with low, raw, raucous voices are perceived as strong, sexy, wild and intense. Their voices seem to witness an intense, wild life of sex, drugs, and rock enroll. This is not always healthy for the voice either!
But Madonna again goes against these masculine traits. Perhaps Madonna’s girlie voice can be considered as a statement against this stereotype?
In her latest hit Gang Bang Madonna again breaks all rules; both in the context of the text and suddenly singing with a much heavier vocal style. The chest register is somewhat strained, like it were too low for her but well conveying the appalling content of that song.