Ways of singing in French
VOICE CLINIC
From Piaf’s rolled “r” to Céline Dion’s diphthongs, French can be sung in several ways. Adeline Toniutti groups them into four families.
Four ways of singing in French
The French language has changed a great deal, and so have its codes for singing it. When an artist goes into the studio, it is hard to guide them towards the way of singing that will best suit their vocal style, because none of this has ever been formalised. Following a conversation with her manager, Adeline Toniutti grouped these ways of singing into four families: the retro style, the American-Québécois style, the urban style and the French variety style.
Moving from one family to another does not call for a different instrument: the five pivot points of her method remain the foundation of the vocal gesture.
The retro style
In the retro style, you roll your “r”s the way Édith Piaf did and cut the words to let the silence live. The vowels are pure and the vibrato is owned.
Barbara Pravi and Zaho de Sagazan have taken up some of these codes, such as the rolled “r”. Chimène Badi, for her part, covers Piaf, stamping her own soul style and an owned vibrato on the songs.
The American-Québécois style
Female singers with big voices, the ones who rely on power, take English-speaking ways of singing for their own. They keep a more nasal placement and cut the syllables like an American diphthong. Céline Dion and Natasha St-Pier are examples.
English encourages this gesture: its many diphthongs and long vowels move with a single movement of the tongue, which helps you find twang. That is why Adeline Toniutti calls twang “singing American-style”. Céline Dion and Diane Dufresne use twang in French, which gives their songs a particular colour and an impressive vocal virtuosity. A professional singer must be able to use twang and to remove it, depending on whether they want a brighter or a more intimate colour.
Twang is produced with the soft palate raised. Nasalising the sound to the extreme, with the soft palate lowered, is only an imitation of it, and is often associated with a lowering of the larynx that is dangerous for the vocal cords.
Illustration © Emma Blanc-Tailleur, Anatomie du Chant, Adeline Toniutti
To recover the fluidity of this kind of French, Adeline Toniutti sometimes has singers perform a French song with the lyrics replaced by English “yaourt”: meaningless syllables that sound like English, full of onomatopoeia. When Claudia Tagbo and Michèle Laroque visited the Star Academy château, Claudia Tagbo’s yaourt got a lot of laughs.
The urban style
In the urban style, certain sonorities come from rap and urban music, in the way sounds are pronounced or linked together. Vitaa has an urban musicality with a purity of timbre all her own. Some singers, such as Yseult or Angèle, go as far as personalising the vowels according to their emotions.
In La Bonne Voix, Adeline Toniutti talks about the animal quality of the vowel in rappers: they make it sound and vibrate differently, while staying close to the speaking voice.
The French variety style
In the French variety style, the vowels are pure, the vibrato is absent or discreet, and the singing stays close to the natural feel of the text. Mylène Farmer and Françoise Hardy embody this vocal style.
Staying close to speech does not mean doing without technique. It is the fifth pivot point of the method, vowels and consonants, that keeps the text clear and intelligible.
Illustrations © Emma Blanc-Tailleur, Anatomie du Chant, Adeline Toniutti
Moving from one family to another
You do not change larynx to go from Piaf to Céline Dion. What you change is what you ask of the vowels, the “r”s, the silence, the vibrato and the link between syllables. The same artist can, moreover, move through several families.
“Let us always remember that we always have the choice of using our whole sound palette and our registers when the technical gesture is healthy. The moment we have less choice, it means that the gesture is less and less optimised, or even dangerous.”
In the studio, the question therefore becomes: in which family is this song to be sung?
Exercises
English yaourt
Sing a French song with the lyrics replaced by English “yaourt” full of onomatopoeia, until you find the fluidity of the American-Québécois style. Then go back to the text, keeping that fluidity.
The text without consonants
To feel the vibration of the vowels, work on your text in its real rhythm, removing all the consonants and linking all the sounds together.
Speaking with an accent
When the voice is tired, we tend to whisper, which is not advisable. Speak instead with an accent that encourages a good vocal placement, such as the Québécois accent, the Marseille accent or Chantal Ladesou’s: you will get an organic result with a minimum of effort, and the exercise has the added merit of lightening the atmosphere.
These exercises must be done while respecting the five pivot points. If you have a vocal cord condition, ask your specialist for advice.
CALYP
Find your way of singing at CALYP
The method is set out in detail in Anatomie du Chant (Marabout, 2024). To work on it with Adeline Toniutti and her team, book an appointment.
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Frequently asked questions
What are the ways of singing in French?
Adeline Toniutti distinguishes four families: the retro style (Édith Piaf, Barbara Pravi, Zaho de Sagazan), the American-Québécois style (Céline Dion, Natasha St-Pier), the urban style (Vitaa, Yseult, Angèle) and the French variety style (Mylène Farmer, Françoise Hardy).
Is singing American-style the same as twang?
Yes. Adeline Toniutti calls twang “singing American-style”, because the diphthongs and long vowels of English help you find it. It is produced with the soft palate raised, and a professional must be able to put it on or take it off depending on the colour they are looking for.
Do you have to roll your “r”s to sing in French?
It is a hallmark of the retro style, in the manner of Édith Piaf, taken up by Barbara Pravi or Zaho de Sagazan. In French variety, the vowels are pure and the vibrato discreet; in the American-Québécois style, the syllables are cut more like an American diphthong.
Can you change your way of singing from one song to the next?
Yes. As long as the technical gesture is healthy, the singer keeps the choice of their whole sound palette and all their registers, and can move from one family to another.