Melisma. I know it's something vocalists do, but no one will tell me exactly what it is or why some people really don't like it. Melisma is a progressive and incurable disease, but with treatment, its ...

Whitney Houston will be remembered as a master of "melisma". But what is it and why did it influence a generation of singers and talent show aspirants? An early "I" in Whitney Houston's I Will Always ...

AS symbolic shifts go, two recent events in pop music couldn’t have been more illuminating. On Nov. 24 “Burlesque,” a big-screen musical starring Christina Aguilera, opened and landed with a thud, ...

The pop icon, who died 10 years ago, often sang using melisma, a technique spanning time and cultures. Nowhere was it better than in her iconic hit, "I Will Always Love You." Some songs are so ...

A singing technique spanning time and cultures, Whitney Houston, who died 10 years ago today, utilized melisma best in her iconic hit, "I Will Always Love You." Some songs are so incomparable in their ...

Listening to Kelly Clarkson sing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at President Obama's second inauguration, I experienced a twin set of powerful and concurrent reactions: (1.) Wow, that gal has an amazing ...

As symbolic shifts go, two recent events in pop music were illuminating. On Nov. 24 Burlesque, a big-screen musical starring Christina Aguilera, opened and landed with a thud, both critically and at ...

Whitney Houston will be remembered as a master of "melisma". The singer had an ability to pack a series of different notes into a single syllable. For example, an early "I" in Whitney Houston's I Will ...